The above topics clearly show the misinformation, the contradictions of the behavioural studies, and  the lack of rigorous science from establishment organisations and individuals which has been occurring for the past decades with regard to ME. The above also illustrates that the establishment view of ME, aided by organisations, individuals and some ME charities is continuing to sell out people with ME.

IiME have campaigned for a substantial and ring-fenced funding of biomedical research into myalgic encephalomyelitis since we were formed and have attempted to get the government and the Medical Research Council to create a policy based on science.

News recently comes that Professor Stephen Holgate, a professor of clinical pharmacology at Southampton University, is to act as chair of a new multi-disciplinary panel set up by the MRC which will focus on the subtypes and aetiology of ME/CFS as part of a plan to fertilise cross-disciplinary research activity in this field.

At first sight this might at last seem to be going the way for which we have campaigned for so long. Indeed, as we have attempted to demonstrate the necessity for Sub Grouping of ME/CFS - as proposed by the theme for our conference on 23rd May - a change in MRC strategy to  ensure that research on sub typing of ME/CFS is performed would be a great achievement.

However, IiME feel it wise to caution against premature judgement on this.

It is abundantly clear that the views expressed by Wessely-school psychiatrists have no role to play in treating myalgic encephalomyelitis.

The idea that there can be any collusion or working together with a powerful psychiatric lobby which currently controls funding for research into ME is a disservice to people with ME and their families.

Whilst a holistic approach does need to be taken toward any illness it is impossible to accommodate such blatantly biased views as have been presented over the last decades from these vested interests who have so controlled strategy and funding of research into ME.

Invest in ME take the position that any intention to bring together the biological and psychological ME/CFS factions in order to encourage the MRC to give money is misguided.

Any research performed in collaboration with the psychiatrist lobby who have so manipulated the lives of people with ME and their families over the last decades is doomed to examining relationships between valid and proven biological markers and generic, unproven and sometimes deleterious treatments. This will merely delay the only sure way of finding a cure for ME - biomedical research.

There has been an incomprehensible pattern of behaviour toward ME from government, MRC, NHS, some ME charities and individuals over the last decades and it has been the ME patient and family who have suffered. A parallel world of denial and obfuscation has existed backed by an establishment intent only on removing any real hope of curing this illness.

The only strategy which makes any sense from a scientific, moral or just viewpoint is to fund biomedical research into ME and treat ME in the same way as cancer, Parkinson's, MS or any other mainstream illness.
Attempts by organisations or individuals to mix these parallel worlds is consigning another generation of pwme and their families to the medical scrapheap.
We should not accommodate the psychiatric view with biological view of ME. There should be no attempts at mixing these up in the name of having a balanced view.

All studies performed using the  Oxford criteria do not study people with ME as classified in ICD10 G93.3.
CBT should have no more prominence in ME research than it has in heart disease or cancer. If someone is cured from ME using psychological therapies then their problem was likely psychological to begin with. No one has, to our knowledge,  been cured from cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer�s , MS etc. by CBT or similar therapies and no one claims to cure these illnesses with such therapies either. Why should it be different with ME?

We need to adopt proper diagnostic criteria, the Canadian consensus criteria, to differentiate idiopathic chronic fatigue, burn out, overtraining syndrome, fibromyalgia, multiple chemical sensitivities etc. from ME and find the correct treatment for each of these groups. We don't expect miracles but want an objective scientific approach to ME.