redo
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A couple of times it has been stated that the illness is perhaps neuropsychiatric. The last time I saw it was here (hat tip to Omar88 for the link).
My view is that it's probably right. I think it's either autoimmunity running alongside neuropsychiatric symptoms, or neuropsychiatric symptoms being caused by some autoimmune reaction. And needless to say, having nothing to do with psychosomatism. The big question is 'what' the various triggers (EBV, giardia and such) get going, and that 'what' causes the symptoms via autoimmunity or neuropsyciatric mechanisms. I think that 'what' is some form of a RNA virus.
To me, it being neuropsychatric, really implies that the symptoms of e.g. vision problems and numbness are caused by changes in the way the nervous system reacts, rather than changes in the eyes and skin. It's probably easier to revert the symptoms if they are not primarily related to organs throughout the body, so it's not necessarily a bad thing...
Mella/Fluge also proposed (on the London conference if I remember correctly) that the fatigue symptoms of ME/CFS may be mediated first and foremost via signalling in the brain.
What's your opinion on this?
Both Dr. Lipkin, who is a board certified neurologist, and Dr. Hornig, who is a board certified psychiatrist, stress that while they believe ME/CFS is a neuropsychiatric disorder because of the problems with concentration, memory and autonomic nervous system involvement, they do not consider it psychosomatic. “It’s very difficult in my mind to make this a psychological disorder,” said Dr. Hornig,“We do patients a disservice if we focus solely on secondary phenomena of being disabled or being unable to carry on life to your capacity – that shouldn’t ever be viewed as being the primary problem.”
My view is that it's probably right. I think it's either autoimmunity running alongside neuropsychiatric symptoms, or neuropsychiatric symptoms being caused by some autoimmune reaction. And needless to say, having nothing to do with psychosomatism. The big question is 'what' the various triggers (EBV, giardia and such) get going, and that 'what' causes the symptoms via autoimmunity or neuropsyciatric mechanisms. I think that 'what' is some form of a RNA virus.
To me, it being neuropsychatric, really implies that the symptoms of e.g. vision problems and numbness are caused by changes in the way the nervous system reacts, rather than changes in the eyes and skin. It's probably easier to revert the symptoms if they are not primarily related to organs throughout the body, so it's not necessarily a bad thing...
Mella/Fluge also proposed (on the London conference if I remember correctly) that the fatigue symptoms of ME/CFS may be mediated first and foremost via signalling in the brain.
What's your opinion on this?