Professional Publications

Listed Below are 175 of Dr. Lerner’s over 200 professional publications.

The most notable of Dr. Lerner’s non-Chronic Fatigue Syndrome publications are:

• The first description of a series of bowel (enteric viruses) producing rashes, fevers, and pneumonias predominantly in children.


• Original research demonstrating the progression of coxsackieviris myocarditis into a chronic cardiomyopathy and demonstrates a 1,000 times increase in virulence and lethality of this acute myocarditis by concurrent exercise.


• The original discovery of pneumonias that are caused by common bowel organisms (gram negative bacteria). These pneumonias now account for 50% of pneumonia deaths today.


• The first study of antiviral pharmacokinetics in humans. This showed that antiviral effects could be measured in human serum, thereby providing a model for testing future treatment.


• The first discovery of vitamin B-6 deficiency causing convulsions in severe alcoholics.


• We reported 13 cases of Herpes Simplex virus encephalitis in Michigan from a single institution (1970). Five cases were proven by brain biopsy virus isolation and intra-nuclear inclusions plus rises in specific complement-fixing antibodies. Six patients were treated with idoxuridine and recovered. This report initiated interest in this devastating endemic disease and more effective chemotherapy with intravenous acyclovir (forerunner of oral Valtrex (valacyclovir) which is effective in EBV subset CFS.