WHENEVER the cause of an illness is unknown, as in the case of ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis), there is the unjustifiable assumption that it must be of psychological origin rather than there is an, as yet, unknown physiological or neurological cause waiting to be discovered.

This illogical tradition continues despite the experience that illnesses, whose causes were hitherto unknown and assumed to be mental illnesses, are not understood, like MS, for example, thanks to advances in medical technology such as scanning.

Although people with ME may be understandably fed up with being unable to work or go to school, consequently having a poorer quality of life, fewer social contacts and fragmented relationships on top of the physical symptoms of the illness itself, there is no evidence of a higher proportion of psychiatric history than in the general population.

Yet one of the treatments recommended for people with ME (often wrongly bundled with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, developed for psychiatric illnesses, which may do no more good than having no treatment at all and, more worryingly, Graded Exercise, which leaves more people feeling worse after it.

Money squandered on these illness management techniques would be better spent on research to find the physical cause of ME, which should, in turn, suggest treatment towards cure.

Dr John H Greensmith, editor,

ME Free For All.org,

North Street,

Downend, Bristol.

Updated: 09:29 Tuesday, May 09, 2006