2nd Letter: Re: New ME website launches to help support sufferers in Dorset (Bournemouth Daily Echo, 15 February 2012)

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Daily Echo Letters.

The claim that M.E, (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) is the same as Chronic

Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and any of its variants (Re: New ME website

launches to help support sufferers in Dorset, Bournemouth Daily Echo, 15

February 2012 --

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/features/yourhealth/9531839.New_ME_web/)

is as unacceptable and leads to the same erroneous conclusions, as

saying that any person, place or thing is the same as the name of its

collective group and/or any of its other group members. For example,

that apple could stand for ALL fruit, when we know there are many other

types of fruit, or that apples (which may have variants of its own kind

- Granny , , Gala etc.) are just the same as oranges, bananas etc.

The crucial problem is that studies are not comparing like with like

and, conclusions that may be recommended for the eating, packing,

storing or processing of some fruit, may be inadvisable or even harmful

for, say, mangoes, which were included not in the study.

Although the membership of some items may be contested (for example,

tomatoes, most often a fruit, are sometimes claimed to be a vegetable if

cooked) it is most often possible to be sure which categories they may

not be in, for example insects, or road vehicles.

Some refinement may be by provenance, for example, Champagne is a

sparkling, alcoholic, wine from only that part of France. If the

essential criteria are progressively loosened to, say, Bubbly/Champagne,

one can permit other sparkling wines; then, if the requirement of

alcohol is dropped, lemonade and fizzy water may be test subjects, with

which no comparison with Champagne is possible.

To avoid such contamination of subject selection in other areas, there

are advertising standards and rules of product labelling to ensure

consumers know what they are about to purchase. I suggest such a

voluntary code for all groups and individuals who use the term M.E, to

include a definition of what they mean by it (for example,

Ramsay-defined M.E.; or World Health Organisation Handbook ICD-10;

G.93.3) and the more specific the better.

If people were not aware that the naming of M.E., quite separate from

CFS, was such a crucial matter, you could put indiscriminate labelling

down to ignorance; now they know, it would have to be carelessness, or

wilfulness.

Yours sincerely

drjohngreensmith@...

Dr H Greensmith

ME Community Trust.org