When does an illnessbecome a disease? When the underlying biological abnormalities that
cause the symptoms and signs of the illness are clarified. The illness now called myalgic
encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) was first described in the mid-1980s.
At that time, nothing was known about its underlying biology. Indeed, because many
standard laboratory test results were normal, some clinicians explained to patients that
“there is nothing wrong.” There was, of course, an alternative explanation: the standard …