Rapid Responses to:

LETTERS:
Charles Shepherd
Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome are being ignored
BMJ 2004; 329: 1405-c [Full text]
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Rapid Responses published:

[Read Rapid Response] Chronic Fatigue Syndrome should come of age
JOAQUIM FERNANDEZ-SOLA   (18 December 2004)
[Read Rapid Response] treatment of cfs
jon c gamble   (15 April 2005)

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome should come of age 18 December 2004
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JOAQUIM FERNANDEZ-SOLA,
Medical Consultant. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Unit
Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona. Villarroel 170. 08036. Barcelona.SPAIN

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Re: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome should come of age

I fully agree with the recent Charles Shepherd letter ( BMJ 2004; 329: 1405) with respect to the need to seriously come to look Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) as a neurologic cause of central fatigue. There is enough evidence to avoid psychological hypothesis in the pathogenesis of this disease, although not in its consequences. The proposed model of predisposing, precipitating and perpetuating factors seems absolutely reasonably and applicable, acording to our experience of 2,000 cases, to the majority of pactients with CFS. Scientific community should pay more attention to this important disease that causes clear functional physical and neurocognitive impairment to almost 1 / 1,000 subjects in the general population, being half of them underdiagnosed. It's time to come of age with CFS.

Competing interests: None declared

treatment of cfs 15 April 2005
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jon c gamble,
homeopath
Wollongong, Australia, 2500

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Re: treatment of cfs

I have been treating CFS almost exclusively with homeopathy for the last 20 years. The problem is that there are many aetiologies and disease presentations which are all lumped together under the one banner of cfs.

Aside from the question of aetiology, treatment with homeopathy has given us overwhelming success: our most common prescription is gelsemium and we often alternate this with a viral or amoebic pathogen in homeopathic potency: the common ones are: coxsackievirus (recurring pharyngitits); toxoplasmosis (fibromyalgia); epstein barr (post glandular fever).

In some cases, particularly those of children with cfs, no aetiology can be found. Fortunately, symptom presentations can still be treated effectively without identifying an aetiology.

Competing interests: None declared