What causes M.E.

What Causes M.E?
It is not exactly known what causes M.E, but research has revealed a number of abnormalities in M.E. sufferers.

Findings include:

Evidence of persisting viral infection, abnormalities in muscle structure and function, immunology and evidence of damage to nervous tissue.

Is M.E. a "New" Disease?
M.E. has been around - under different names - for at least a century.

It was probably seen before then, but perhaps in far fewer people.

So it isn't a "new" disease - but rather a newly recognised disease - and probably much more common.

Why is M.E. So Controversial?
There are a number of reasons for this:

There are such a variety of symptoms involved in M.E, that it is a difficult disease to define clearly and doctors don't like illnesses that won't fit into neat diagnosis pigeonholes.
There are no clear tests to diagnose M.E. - it has to be diagnosed by doctors using "clinical judgement" - i.e. listening to the patient's description of their symptoms. Doctors often seem unwilling - or unable - to do this.
There is very little satisfactory "orthodox" medical treatment for M.E.
Some of the symptoms of M.E. overlap with illnesses that doctors label as "psychiatric" disorders, so M.E. has tended to be lumped in with these conditions in the past.