The 25% ME Group is pleased to report the appointment of their new Patron and Medical Advisor.

PERMISSION TO REPOST

The 25% ME Group is pleased to report the appointment of their new Patron
and Medical Advisor.

We are absolutely delighted to announce that Dr Byron Hyde will be taking up
the role with immediate effect.

Dr Byron Hyde is leading physician and researcher specialising in Myalgic
Encephalomyelitis (ME) and has worked exclusively with ME patients since
1985.

He is the founder and chairman of the Nightingale Research Foundation which
is dedicated to explore, understand and treat patients disabled with ME and
is at the forefront of the struggle to draw a clear distinction between ME
and the current definitions of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. In 1992 he
published the medical reference book still used by researchers
internationally "The Clinical and Scientific Basis of Myalgic
Encephalomyelitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome".

Dr Byron Hyde is an outspoken critic of the role psychiatry has played in
ME. His entreaty that "Psychiatrists should not ever be placed in charge of
diagnosis and treatment of M.E. patients" is one we fully support.

Dr Byron Hyde has been instrumental in bringing about recognition of ME as a
serious illness and we feel he fully represents the interests and aims of
the 25% ME Group. We are proud to have him as our Patron.

We also take great pleasure in announcing our new additional Medical
Advisor, Dr Nigel Speight, who, as you will read below, recently departed
from AYME. We are extremely pleased to have Dr Speight on board as he is a
highly respected medical professional within the ME field and a great
advocate for the biomedical view of ME.

Below we have posted resignation letter from Dr Nigel Speight to AYME (Young
Childrens' ME Charity) for your information.

"Dear all

I just thought I should inform you officially that after a long and happy
association with AYME I have decided to resign as their Patron. Without
going into too much detail I would say that over the last couple of years I
have become aware that they have changed their position on several areas and
that our views have accordingly

diverged.

In particular AYME seem to have become more willing to collaborate with the
medical and psychiatric establishment in order to appear respectable. This
appears to have been the cause of AYME's relative enthusiasm for the NICE
Guidelines, which most of us feel involve an overemphasis on CBT and GET.
This compromise seems to have helped the

psychiatrists to get a new lease of life.

The result of all this is that AYME appear to have alienated themselves
from most of the other ME charities (with the exception of AfME who appear
to be taking a similar position). In this controversy I feel more in
sympathy with the rest of you.

I have gained the impression that AYME no longer appreciate my opinions and
prefer my status as their figurehead to be a largely

silent one.

It is a combination of all these factors that has caused me to resign and I
am sure you will all understand.

With Best Wishes

Nigel Speight"

We are especially delighted to announce the new Patron and Medical Advisor
for our Group because as many of you will know, both stand for the true
recognition and research of ME (as opposed to including it along with other
Chronic Fatigue conditions). They also are firmly opposed to any
psychological intervention within the area of ME.

We hope you will be delighted along with us regarding this news and please
feel free to report or republish this information within your own
publications etc.

With best wishes

Simon Lawrence

Chairperson

25% ME GROUP

21 Church Street

Troon

Ayrshire

KA10 6SQ

enquiry@25megroup. org

www.25megroup. org