Charles Lapp

From MEpedia, a crowd-sourced encyclopedia of ME and CFS science and history
Source: Hunter-Hopkins Center

Charles W. Lapp, MD, is a retired Internal Medicine physician and the Medical Director Emeritus at Hunter-Hopkins Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, US, which has a practice specializing in ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and related conditions.[1] Earlier in his career, he practiced family medicine and pediatrics in Raleigh, NC.[2] He became interested in ME/CFS following an outbreak of three small epidemics of a chronic fatiguing illness in the Raleigh area. One of these outbreaks was among all the members of the N.C. Symphony Orchestra.[3]

From 1992 to 1995 Dr. Lapp acted as Medical Director of the Cheney Clinic in Charlotte, in collaboration with Dr. Paul Cheney. In August 1995, Dr. Lapp opened the Hunter-Hopkins Center in Charlotte, North Carolina where he practiced until his retirement in 2018.[2] His center does testing for disability insurance such as the two-day cardiopulmonary exercise test (2-day CPET) and a computer-assisted cognitive function test.

Following Dr. Lapp's retirement in 2018, the Hunter-Hopkins Center director became Dr. Vincent F. Hillman with Dr. Laura Black continuing on staff.[2]

Dr. Lapp serves on the editorial board of the journal, Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior, published on behalf of the IACFS/ME.[4]

Awards[edit | edit source]

IOM Committee on Diagnostic Criteria for ME/CFS[edit | edit source]

Dr Lapp was a reviewer for the 2015 report produced by the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Diagnostic Criteria for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.[6]

Pediatric Case Definition[edit | edit source]

Clinical Trials[edit | edit source]

The Hunter-Hopkins Center was one of two clinical sites participating in the Hemispherx Biopharma 511/open label Ampligen trials to gain FDA approval, which was ultimately unsuccessful. The Ampligen phase III trial results were published in 2012.[8][9] Ampligen, a brand name for Rintatolimod, is an IV medication, and was given twice weekly at the Hunter-Hopkins infusion room during the trial. The Hunter-Hopkins Center is currently one of four clinics that can administer Ampligen in the US.[9]

Clinic location[edit | edit source]

Dr Lapp retired in 2018, other physicians with expertise in ME/CFS can be contacted at the clinic he founded.

Hunter-Hopkins Center
7421 Carmel Executive Park Dr.
Charlotte, North Carolina 28226
Telephone: (704) 543-9692
Email: drlapp@drlapp.net

Notable studies[edit | edit source]

Talks and interviews[edit | edit source]

Grand Rounds Video
Grand Rounds Presentation Slide Deck

HHS/CFSAC Testimony[edit | edit source]

Open Letter to The Lancet[edit | edit source]

Three open letters to the editor of The Lancet urged the editor to commission a fully independent review of the PACE trial, which the journal had published in 2011. In 2016, Dr. Lapp, along with 42 colleagues in the ME/CFS field, signed the second letter.[22] In 2018, Dr. Lapp, with more than 100 colleagues in the ME/CFS field, signed the third letter.[23]

Online presence[edit | edit source]

Learn more[edit | edit source]

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. "Curriculum Vitae – Charles W. Lapp, MD". Hunter-Hopkins Center. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lapp, Charles (February 12, 2018). "Dr. Lapp Retires and Dr. Vincent Hillman Takes the Helm". Hunter-Hopkins Center. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  3. Garloch, Karen (2009). "Cause of illness remains unknown". NewsOK.
  4. "Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior". tandfonline.com. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  5. "IACFS/ME Awardees". IACFS/ME. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  6. Institute of Medicine. "ME/CFS Presentation" (PDF). National Academies Press. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  7. Jason, Leonard A; Jordan, Karen; Miike, Teruhisa; Bell, David S; Lapp, Charles; Torres-Harding, Susan; Rowe, Kathy; Gurwitt, Alan; De Meirleir, Kenny; Van Hoof, Elke LS (2006), "A Pediatric Case Definition for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" (PDF), Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, 13 (2–3): 1–44, doi:10.1300/J092v13n02_01
  8. 8.0 8.1 Strayer, DR; Carter, WA; Stouch, BC; Stevens, SR; Bateman, L; Cimoch, PJ; Lapp, CW; Peterson, DL; Chronic Fatigue Syndrome AMP-516 Study Group; Mitchell, WM (2012), "A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, clinical trial of the TLR-3 agonist rintatolimod in severe cases of chronic fatigue syndrome.", PLoS One, 7 (3): e31334, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0031334, PMID 22431963
  9. 9.0 9.1 Hunter-Hopkins Center. "Ampligen | Research | Hunter-Hopkins Center, P.A." Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  10. Charles W. Lapp. (1997). Management of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Children: A Practicing Clinician's Approach. Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Vol. 3, Iss. 2, pp 59-76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J092v03n02_07
  11. Vojdani, A; Choppa, PC; Lapp, CW (1998), "Downregulation of RNase L inhibitor correlates with upregulation of interferon-induced proteins (2-5A synthetase and RNase L) in patients with chronic fatigue immune dysfunction syndrome", J Clin Lab Immunol, 50 (1): 1-16, PMID 10189612
  12. Aristo Vojdani & Charles W. Lapp. (1999). The Relationship Between Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Chemical Exposure. Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Vol. 5, Iss. 3-4, pp. 207-221. http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J092v05n03_18
  13. Charles W. Lapp. (2006). Recognizing Pediatric CFS in the Primary Care Practice: A Practicing Clinician's Approach. Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Vol. 13, Iss. 2-3, pp. 89-96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J092v13n02_06
  14. Van Hoof, E; De Becker, P; Lapp, C; Cluydts, R; De Meirleir, K (2007), "Defining the Occurrence and Influence of Alpha-Delta Sleep in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome", The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, 333 (2): 78-84, PMID 17301585
  15. Jason, Leonard; Porter, Nicole; Shelleby, E; Till, L; Bell, David S; Lapp, Charles W; Rowe, Kathy; De Meirleir, Kenny (2009), "Severe versus Moderate criteria for the new pediatric case definition for ME/CFS", Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 40 (4): 609-20, doi:10.1007/s10578-009-0147-8
  16. Irlbeck, David M.; Vernon, Suzanne D.; McCleary, K. Kimberly; Bateman, Lucinda; Klimas, Nancy G.; Lapp, Charles W.; Peterson, Daniel L.; Brown, James R.; Remlinger, Katja S.; Wilfret, David A.; Gerondelis, Peter (2014). "No association found between the detection of either xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus or polytropic murine leukemia virus and chronic fatigue syndrome in a blinded, multi-site, prospective study by the establishment and use of the SolveCFS BioBank". BMC Research Notes. 7: 461. doi:10.1186/1756-0500-7-461.
  17. Unger, ER; Lin, JS; Brimmer, DJ; Lapp, CW; Komaroff, AL; Nath, A; Laird, S; Iskander, J (2016). "CDC Grand Rounds: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome — Advancing Research and Clinical Education". Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 65 (5051): 1434–1438. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm655051a4. -
  18. Unger, Elizabeth R.; Lin, Jin-Mann S.; Tian, Hao; Natelson, Benjamin H.; Lange, Gudrun; Vu, Diana; Blate, Michelle; Klimas, Nancy G.; Balbin, Elizabeth G.; Bateman, Lucinda; Allen, Ali; Lapp, Charles W.; Springs, Wendy; Kogelnik, Andreas M.; Phan, Catrina C.; Danver, Joan; Podell, Richard N.; Fitzpatrick, Trisha; Peterson, Daniel L.; Gottschalk, C. Gunnar; Rajeevan, Mangalathu S.; MCAM Study Group (2017), "Multi-Site Clinical Assessment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (MCAM): Design and Implementation of a Prospective/Retrospective Rolling Cohort Study.", American Journal of Epidemiology, 1–10, doi:10.1093/aje/kwx029
  19. Lapp, Charles W. (January 2019). "Initiating Care Of A Patient With Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)". Frontiers in Pediatrics. doi:10.3389/fped.2018.00415.
  20. Proskauer, Charmian; Rowe, Peter C.; Lapp, Charles W.; DeMaria, Alfred Jr; Bateman, Lucinda; Attewell, John R.; Proskauer, Daniel; Kiernicki, David J.; Adebayo, Seyi (2019). "Estimating Prevalence, Demographics, and Costs of ME/CFS Using Large Scale Medical Claims Data and Machine Learning". Frontiers in Pediatrics. 6. doi:10.3389/fped.2018.00412. ISSN 2296-2360. PMID 30671425.
  21. Campbell, Bruce. "Dr Lapp's Recommendations on Supplements | ME/CFS & Fibromyalgia Self-Help". cfidsselfhelp.org. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  22. "Open Letter Lancet Again".
  23. "An Open Letter to The Lancet, Two Years On".
  24. Johnson, Cort (March 28, 2018). "An ME/CFS and FM Pioneer Says Good-bye: The Charles Lapp Interview". Health Rising. Retrieved December 23, 2018.