Miriam Tucker reports on the overwhelming evidence for the biological basis for ME/CFS which was presented at the IACFS/ME conference in the USA in October 2016:
Biomarker Research Advances in ‘Chronic Fatigue Syndrome’, by Miriam E. Tucker in Medscape Medical News, November 08, 2016
Extract:
The symptom heterogeneity, combined with the lack of specific biomarker, has resulted in skepticism among some clinicians that the condition is biologically, rather than psychologically, based.
However, studies during the last decade point to biological underpinnings. At the biennial IACFSME conference, more than 100 papers were presented that contribute further to the evidence base, according to Anthony L. Komaroff, MD, professor of medicine at Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, and editor-in-chief of the Harvard Health Letter.
“Case-control studies comparing patients with ME/CFS to both disease comparison groups and healthy control subjects find robust evidence of an underlying biological process involving the brain and autonomic nervous system, immune system, energy metabolism, and oxidative and nitrosative stress,” Dr Komaroff said in a conference summary at the end of the meeting.
He added, “To those people out there who still question whether there is really anything wrong in this illness, my advice to them would be try consulting the evidence.”
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Margaret Williams comments on Miriam Tucker’s article:
Professor Hornig told Medscape Medical News: “in addition to accelerating research on causes and treatment, we critically need to find ways to educate medical professionals about the disorder”.
Attempting to educate the UK medical profession, the DWP and benefits decision-makers,
the media and local authorities about ME/CFS has proved impossible for the last 30 years.
Since the psychosocial model is demonstrably wrong, to continue treating ME/CFS as a
behavioural disorder is both unethical and harmful, and is wasteful of tax payers’ money.
Thirty years of behavioural research and interventions have yielded a null result.
The stranglehold of the psychosocial school in the UK over this disorder must be broken so
that actual progress can be made.
How can so much evidence be ignored by so many people for so long?
Read the article: Extracts from Medscape Medical News: “Biomarker Research Advances in ‘Chronic Fatigue Syndrome’ ” by Miriam Tucker, 8th November 2016 – Comment by Margaret Williams 9th November 2016
