Arthritis
Arthritis is a general term that refers to any inflammatory condition of a joint. There are more than 100 conditions that qualify for this description that are differentiated by how the condition evolved, signs and symptoms, the joints involved, etc. Symptoms range from one affected joint to a systemic condition such as rheumatoid arthritis. Some of the conditions that fall under the heading of arthritis include:

• infectious arthritis
• lupus
• fibromyalgia (see below)
• psoriasis
• rheumatoid arthritis (see below)
• Reiter's syndrome
• Scleroderma
• Sjogren's syndrome

While the symptoms differ sufficiently to allow categorization into syndromes, there appears to be an underlying pattern that is found in the description of many of these conditions. They all involve:

• autoimmune reaction
• prior illness is believed to be a trigger
• often internal organs (heart, kidney) and the nervous system are affected
• skin conditions are frequent
• the severity of the symptoms is cyclic (alternating periods of flare-ups and remission)
• low energy, fatigue
• disturbed sleep
• often several members of a family are affected

The cause for these disorders is unknown, but two factors almost always mentioned are:

• Infections (treated with antibiotics)
• Stress

In some of these autoimmune diseases the connection between candida infection and the symptoms have been made. In others a great deal of anecdotal evidence shows that candida treatment of any kind led to a marked improvement or disappearance of the symptoms.

Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is an illness where direct evidence for candidiasis as a contributing factor has been found. Abnormally high amounts of yeast metabolites (primarily tartaric acid) was detected in the urine of patients with fibromyalgia and treatment with antifungal medication decreased the amount. It has also been shown that large doses of malic acid supplements are able to alleviate the symptoms. Malic acid (the natural compound) and tartaric acid (the yeast compound) compete for the same enzyme in our energy producing biochemical cycle. Tipping the scale towards malic acid will prevent tartaric acid from inhibiting this cycle, thus leading to improvement of some symptoms.

References:

Abraham G, Flechas J. Management of fibromyalgia: rationale for the use of magnesium and malic acid. J Nutr Med 1992;3:49-59.
Russell J, Michalek J, Flechas J, et al. Treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome with SuperMalic: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover pilot study. J Rheum 1995;22:953-7.

Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the most widespread of the autoimmune diseases, and the evidence that it is linked to candidiasis is the most established (see links and references below). Probably not all cases of rheumatoid arthritis are caused by candida infection, but if you test positive for candida, chances are that your arthritis symptoms are directly related to it.

References:

Septic Arthritis as the First Sign of Candida tropicalis Fungaemia in an Acute Lymphoid Leukemia Patient. Vicari P, Feitosa Pinheiro R, Lopes Ferrari Chauffaille Md Mde L, Yamamoto M, Figueiredo MS Braz J Infect Dis. 2003 Dec;7(6):426-8.
Candida glabrata arthritis: case report and review of the literature of Candida arthritis. Zmierczak et al., (1999). Clin Rheumatol 18:406-9.
Fungal arthritis. A review. Hansen BL, Andersen K. (1995). Scand J Rheumatol 24:248-50.
Candida arthritis. Silveira et al., (1993). Rheum Dis Clin North Am 19:427-437
Candida arthritis in adult patients who are not intravenous drug addicts: report of three cases and review of the literature. Cuende et al., (1993). Semin Arthritis Rheum 22:224-241.
Candida septic arthritis in rheumatoid arthritis. Campen et al., (1990). J Rheumatol 17:86-88.
Candida arthritis of the knee. Case report. Gambrioli et al., (1986). Ital J Orthop Traumatol 12:245-252.
Arthritis and osteomyelitis due to Candida albicans: a case report. Lertratanakul et al., (1977). J Rheumatol 4:317-320

Addison's disease
Most cases of Addison's disease are caused by the gradual destruction of the adrenal cortex, the outer layer of the adrenal glands, by the body's own immune system. About 70 percent of reported cases of Addison's disease are due to autoimmune disorders. Children with Type I form of the disease are prone to recurrent candida infection. It is also believed that, in some cases, the primary adrenal insufficiency is caused by chronic infections of mainly fungal origin.

Asthma
A link between asthma and candida has not been made in most of the literature, but there is evidence that asthmatic patients respond well to antifungal treatment and elimination diet. There is also clinical evidence that children with asthma react well to elimination diet.

References:

Children with Allergic Rhinitis and/or Bronchial Asthma treated with Elimination Diet. Ogle K., Annals of Allergy 1980 May: 44; pp273-8. (91% of 322 children showed significant improvement in trial)
Food Sensitivity and Asthma. Wraith D.G., Brostoff, and Challacombe. Food Allergy and Intolerance, London Bailliere, Tindall 1987; pp486-97

Chronic fatigue syndrome
For many people, chronic fatigue syndrome begins after a bout with a cold, bronchitis, hepatitis, or an intestinal infection or mononucleosis. In some cases the illness starts after a period of high stress, in others, chronic fatigue syndrome develops more gradually, with no clear illness or other event starting it.

Diagnosis is often made based on unexplained, persistent, relapsing chronic fatigue that has not been of long duration that is accompanied by a number of these symptoms:

• Headaches
• Muscle/joint pain
• Tender lymph nodes
• Fatigue and weakness
• Muscle and joint aches
• Impairment in short-term memory or concentration
• Sore throat

These symptoms are very reminiscent of the ones listed for arthritic disorders where the involvement of candida infection is better documented. In fact, some believe that chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia are related illnesses.

A list of websites with further information on all the disorders described on this page can be found at our Links page.