Ramsay's Disease

The disease name "Ramsay's Disease" was coined to honor Dr. A. Melvin Ramsay, the infectious disease specialist who worked on the 1955 epidemic at Free Royal Hospital, London. He is much respected for his diligent work that continued for 30 years after the initial outbreak. In his writings, he used the term, myalgic encephalomyelitis (which was coined by other physicians), because he felt it most accurately described his clinical findings.

There is a history of naming illnesses after a prominent physician who worked on the illness. This is especially true when the etiology at the time of discovery is unknown. Well-known examples include Alzheimer disease named for Dr. Alois Alzheimer, Down syndrome named for Dr. John Langdon Down, and Huntington's disease named for Dr. George Huntington.

The advantages of using the term, "Ramsay's Disease," is that as science discovers more about the pathophysiology of the disease, the name would not have to change. Currently, the many changes in the name of the illness has interfered with an accurate literature search for research, as well as, the education of physicians and the public, and contributed to frustration in the patient community.

This is the preferred term championed by renowned ME/CFS physician, Dr. Derek Enlander. He stated in a 2014 interview by Gabby Klein for Phoenix Rising:

“I’m not really interested in the semantics – I am much more interested in proper diagnosis and effective treatments. There is lively debate, and aspects of this are important, but at times it tends to overshadow issues that I consider more important. For all intents and purposes we could call this Ramsay’s Disease.”