The following article helps explain how ME/CFS is biological in nature. Unfortunately, Sophia Mirza had to lose her life to help convince those who believe otherwise. To keep within copyright regulations, I have reprinted about 200 words of the original article. Please use the link at the bottom to view it in it's entirety. Sophia's mother has posted video on YouTube, so you can see what a brave young woman she was. Braver than those that relegated her to a psychiatric wasteland that helped contribute to her demise.
There is also an excellent piece written by Sophia's mother at the investinme.org site, detailing the way both she and Sophia were blamed for Sophia's ME/CFS by authorities that did nothing but let them down time and again. After reading through Sophia's medial records, I see a huge, but common problem emerge: authorities being so set on doing their job, even if it's to the detriment of those they are supposed to be assisting. It's one of the worst cases of ME/CFS negligence I've ever come across; I highly recommend reading it.
First official UK death from chronic fatigue syndrome
16 June 2006 by Rowan Hooper
Coroner Veronica Hamilton-Deeley of Brighton and Hove Coroners Court, UK, recorded the cause of death of a 32-year-old woman as acute aneuric renal failure (failure to produce urine) due to dehydration as a result of CFS. The deceased woman, Sophia Mirza, had suffered from CFS for six years.
Dominic O'Donovan, a neuropathologist at Oldchurch Hospital in Romford, UK, who gave evidence at the inquest, said that Sophia's spinal cord showed inflammation caused by dorsal root ganglionitis - a clear physical manifestation of the disease.
"Sophia's case sheds light on CFS because there were changes in her dorsal ganglia - the gatekeepers to sensation in the brain - and we know that fatigue depends on sensory perception," he says. "What we need to understand is what happens that makes fatigue more persistent, without there being an obvious systemic disturbance."
The verdict was welcomed by Sophia's mother, Criona Wilson, who had to fight for recognition that her daughter was physically - rather than mentally - ill. Sophia was sectioned for two weeks under the Mental Health Act in 2003.
www.NewScientist.com