Tom Kindlon, a patient with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) for over 20 years. I have done a lot of voluntary work in the area for over a decade. Recently I had 11 letters on CFS published in peer-reviewed medical journals [Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, British Medical Journal (x2), Brain, Bulletin of the IACFS/ME, Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine (with Dr. EM Goudsmit), Pain Medicine, Psychological Medicine, Psychosomatic Medicine, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics and the Lancet]. (The letter published in June 2010 edition of Psychosomatic Medicine lists many of my concerns - reference: Kindlon T. Criteria Used To Define Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Questioned. Psychosom Med 2010 72: 506-507). I also had a full paper published in the peer-reviewed journal, Bulletin of the IACFS/ME.
The paper defining the empirical/Reeves definition can be read at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/3/19
Some comments on the paper have been posted at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/3/19/comments
An article by Leonard Jason PhD on the issue can be read at: http://tinyurl.com/2qdgu4 i.e. http://www.iacfsme.org/IssueswithCDCEmpiricalCaseDefinitionandPrev/tabid/105/Default.aspx
Jason, LA, Najar N, Porter N, Reh C. Evaluating the Centers for Disease Control's empirical chronic fatigue syndrome case definition. Journal of Disability Policy Studies 2008, doi:10.1177/1044207308325995. http://www.mecfswa.org.au/News_and_Media/News_Details/CDCs_Empirical_Definition_Further_Discredited/Default.aspx
Jason LA, Evans M, Brown A, Porter N, Hunnell J, Anderson V, Lerch A. Sensitivity and Specificity of the CDC Empirical Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Case Definition. Psychology, 2010, 1: 9-16, doi:10.4236/psych.2010.11002.
Full free text:
http://www.scirp.org/Journal/PaperDownload.aspx?FileName=Psych.20100100010_41160698.pdf
"Defining CFS: The Debate Goes On" - article by the CAA explaining Dr Jason's study in layman's terms. It also includes some other comments on the criteria. http://www.cfids.org/cfidslink/2009/090203.asp
"How Science Can Stigmatize: The Case of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" by Leonard A. Jason, PhD and Judith A. Richman, PhD Empiric criteria (Reeves, 2005) and CFS: what do we know about the percentage of CFS (empirc) patients who would satisfy the Fukuda definition from random number population studies in the US:
http://listserv.nodak.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0810C&L=CO-CURE&P=R4166&I=-3
Recording of CAA webinar (April 14, 2010) by Leonard Jason
http://www.cfids.org/webinar/defining-cfs041410.wmv or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JelwLvzW6eI Program slides:
http://www.cfids.org/webinar/jason-slides041410.pdf
Measuring substantial reductions in functioning in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.
Jason L, Brown M, Evans M, Anderson V, Lerch A, Brown A, Hunnell J, Porter N.
Disabil Rehabil. 2010 Jul 9. [Epub ahead of print]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20617920
Switzer WM, Jia H, Hohn O, Zheng H, Tang S, Shankar A, Bannert N, Simmons G, Hendry RM, Falkenberg VR, Reeves WC, Heneine W.
Absence of evidence of xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus infection in persons with chronic fatigue syndrome and healthy controls in the United States.
Retrovirology. 2010 Jul 1;7:57.
http://me-cfs.se/dok/081205-cfs-no-longer-cfs.pdf By Kasper Ezelius M.Sc. This includes some links to other definitions, Kasper's take on the issues and a list of some papers that have involved using the empirical definition (this list is not up-to-date; virtually all the papers from the CDC 2-day Wichita study and also from the Georgia cohort have used the empirical definition to define CFS) http://listserv.nodak.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exeA2=ind0810C&L=CO-CURE&P=R4166&I=-3&m=11343
Dr. Mary Schweitzer's piece, "CFS Research on CFS: Open Deception" http://listserv.nodak.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind1002b&L=co-cure&T=0&F=&S=&X=5EB41759C9BC1FDE2B&Y=tomkindlon%40gmail.com&P=823
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