Paper by Nigel Speight: 'ME/CFS: Review of history, clinical features and controversies'

[Sasha]

Just read the first few paras. It looks like it will be good!

http://www.sjmms.net/article.asp?issn=1658-631X;year=2013;volume=1;issue=1;spage=11;epage=13;aulast=Speight

Oh! Much shorter than I expected and aimed at Saudi doctors but it's an interesting recap on history, particularly. Nice potted version.

 

[alex3619]

Yes Sasha, an interesting paper. He also has the same opinion as me as to the primary turning point in ME medicine and politics: McEvedy and Beard's 1970 paper. This was happening at a time when the biopsychosocial movement was about to take off, and about the time that there were big changes in global politics and economics. Once many in medicine, and particularly psychosomatic medicine, become fixated on ME as mass hysteria, the issues began. On the one hand we have biomedical evidence, repeated cluster outbreaks, and sound reasoning from the experts (for the most part). On the other we have unsubstantiated claims, reams of rhetoric, and political promotion of the biopsychosocial view. These are two different paradigms. One is based on reason. The other uses reason, politics and public relations methods to manipulate the public discourse.