This article discusses how inflammatory and oxidative stress pathways are not working appropriately in people with disorders like Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. While I agree that these systems are not functioning as they should, the reason why they are malfunctioning in the first place is not answered. I would like to suggest that it is due to a metabolic dysfunction caused by the plethora of new chemicals in the world that ultimately stress and weaken the body’s natural detoxification system. So that over time, the detox pathways are either exhausted from over use and therefore not working properly, or are too busy detoxifying new chemicals so that they allow viruses and bacteria to exist in the body at a low level and keep the immune system always on, leading to chronic inflammation.
One test that would help us determine if this is happening is the Amplichip by Roche. This relatively simple blood test can assess a person’s ability to metabolize many drugs, by testing how specific detoxification enzyme pathways are working. It has been recently discovered, based on how the general population reacts to prescription and over the counter drugs, that  approximately 25% of the population are slow or poor metabolizers, resulting in negative side-effects when taking the typical dosage of many drugs. These people should be given much smaller doses to avoid these side effects. I assert that this same population are the people who are also getting auto-immune diseases. Approximately 24% of the general population, especially in industrialized countries, where there is much more exposure to modern day chemicals. Testing people with this test may show that the people with auto-immune diseases are also slow or poor metabolizers which could indicate that they have a metabolic defect. Then treatment could be created to help improve or correct this defect.