By Gurli Bagnall 15 May, 2006

Genetic involvement in ME has been a topic of discussion for some time  and prompting this article, was a report on the CDC findings in a study regarding ME and genetic mutations.  The piece was entitled   ³Genes and Chronic Fatigue:  How strong is the evidence?² It was written by Jocelyn Kaiser and it appeared in Science on 5 May, 2006.  (Vol. 312. No. 5774, pp. 669-671.)

My object is not to upset people by rocking the boat, but I feel there are aspects to this line of study which are of concern and which need careful examination if we are to avoid further disappointment and harm.

One of the first red flags that started to wave about, was when I read the mild criticism offered by a Patrick Sullivan under the title of "psychiatric geneticist."  I¹m no expert on qualifications, but for goodness sake,  what is a psychiatric geneticist?   When was THAT branch of medicine invented? But the title certainly fits CDC¹s findings that ME:  "is thought to afflict 1 million Americans, mostly women."

ME may well affect more women than men due to hormonal differences, but traditionally this is a medical face-saving ploy used to explain the otherwise inexplicable: the "diagnosis" being that women are ultra prone to neuroses and hysteria.

Throw-away comments such as this, do nothing to explain the implied statement that women are more likely to be affected by genetic mutations than men.  Nor do they dispel the "hysterical upper-class professional white women" model of ME,  as claimed in the report.

Genetic mutations it seems, are the reason why ME sufferers are less able to handle stress than normal healthy people. What we are NOT told is if sufferers of other serious physical illnesses have the same mutations for they are similarly afflicted;  a serious omission which seriously misleads.

A little voice coming through the either says:  "Oh, come, come!  The article is aimed at professionals.  They don't need basic explanations!" But I am afraid they are the very people who DO. They need every "i" dotted and every "t" crossed. Independent thinking is not part of the medical curriculum.

From fatigue, to insomnia, to stress, according to the CDC, genetic mutations explain the lot. It is even supposed to affects serotonin levels which offers an excuse as good as any, to revitalize and push that depression and prozac barrow again.

While the CDC appears to be  giving us the first official glimpse and acknowledgment that genetic mutations have been found in ME,  it comes with a spin that white washes culpability.  It offers a splendid excuse for the psychiatric paradigm.  "See! We were right after all!"

If this study was truly serious, why are the researchers still piddling about in the same pond? Telling us that the answer lies in genetic mutations is not good enough. We need to get to the root cause.  Remember thalidomide and flipper babies? Remember the denials and the lying to distraught parents? This was and remains into the second generation, a highly visible example of genetic mutation caused, in this instance, by a prescribed drug.

The question that the CDC seems at pains to ignore,  is:

IF INDEED THERE ARE GENETIC MUTATIONS IN ME, WHAT HAS CAUSED THEM?

The typical "parting-your-hair-on-the-wrong-side-of-your-head" explanation, is not acceptable.  Nor is further waste of time and money on attempts to bamboozle.

If science is to follow this line of inquiry, then let it be honest with realistic terms of reference. As it stands, it could well be another route to the psychiatric dustbin. In fact, with the endorsement of people like Simon Wessely, it is a certainty.

Click here to read more articles by Gurli Bagnall

See also My comments on the CDC's latest 'CFS' press release