The Immunological basis of ME - new article

[Daisymay]

This is posted on behalf of Margaret Williams:

An article by Margaret Williams has been published in the Journal of Invest in ME which documents immune system abnormalities in ME from 1983 to 2011. This article will be an important resource for researchers, clinicians and patients.

Journal of Invest in ME, Vol 6 Issue 1, 29-98 (June 2012)
THE IMMUNOLOGICAL BASIS OF ME/CFS: what is already known?
A compilation of documented immune system abnormalities in ME/CFS from 1983-2011
by Margaret Williams

Journal of IiME
The Volume 6, Issue 1 Journal is available via these links -
Screen version pdf (2.5 mb) - http://tinyurl.com/6sme3pc
Print version pdf (3.5 mb) - http://tinyurl.com/87qzko7

Permission to repost.

 

[Enid]

Thanks dasiymay - such good reading.

 

[Ember]

I appreciate the way she articulates the “name game” in her Introduction:

Essentially, there are two camps, one consisting of internationally renowned medical scientists and clinicians who acknowledge that ME/CFS is a multi-system neuro-immune disorder with protean symptomatology and who understand the extensive and compelling biomedical evidence-base that underpins the demonstrated organic pathophysiology.

The second camp, a small group of UK psychiatrists and their adherents known as the
“Wessely School” (Hansard: Lords: 9th December 1998:1013) choose to ignore this body of scientific evidence and they continue to subsume ME/CFS within their own construct of “CFS/ME” (which they insist is the same as “ME/CFS” or “ME” or “CFS” alone) and is defined by them as “medically unexplained chronic fatigue”.

The Wessely School’s intention is known to be to “eradicate” ME by dropping the “ME” from “CFS/ME” when expedient (Pfizer/Invicta: 4-5 /LINC UP, 15th April 1992; BMJ 2003:326:595-597) and then to reclassify “CFS” as a “functional” or behavioural disorder in the forthcoming revisions of both the WHO’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD–11) and the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5).

 

[sianrecovery]

I loved this piece. I wish I could tatoo it on Wessely's eyelids

 

[SilverbladeTE]

On his ass you mean?
Though I think there, it would be better to have:
"Insert correct change only"

 

[sianrecovery]

that made me laugh xxxx

 

[roxie60]

awesome collection of info, a little tough on the brain but encouraging their are those trying to find answers and fight the good fight against flat earth thinkers....

 

[justinreilly]

Excellent work as always from Margaret Williams! I wasn't aware of the recent Wessley paper advocating use of the term 'functional' disorder to describe ME specifically because of the benefit that it can be used to deceive patients!

 

[allyb]

So Wessely thinks we have "functional" disorder! Well I'm I am quite certain that he has "dysfunctional" disorder but I'm not about to waste my precious energy telling the whole world in a paper, his behavior is evidence enough. :thumbdown: