Sophia Mirza

Sophia suffered from very severe ME

Sophia Mirza (8 August 1973-15 November 2005) was a young British artist who suffered from myalgic encephalomyelitis. She has been referred to as the first patient in the UK to have CFS (ME) listed as a cause of her death, however a letter to New Scientist magazine suggested there had been a previous death attributed to the disease.

Life

Sophia joined the Woodcraft Folk and enjoyed weekly groups as well as camping. She was involved in the eco movement and recycling. Her art was incorporated into organic foods, yoga, camping, cycling and music.

Illness

Sophia suffered two car crashes as a teenager and was hospitalized with meningitis. At age 19, she had multiple vaccinations before traveling to Africa for work, where she twice had malaria. She fell ill with ME after an apparent flu-like illness.

Death

Her death came not long after someone forced entry into her mother's home, sectioned her under the Mental Health Act, and forced Sophia to undergo psychiatric treatment at a mental hospital in 2003. After Sophia's death, an autopsy by an independent neuropathologist found Sophia's spine contained massive infection.

Inquest

Summary by: Invest in ME

• Jun 13, 2006, The Inquest in the Death of Sophia Mirza

Dr. O’Donovan, one of the neuro-pathologists who had examined Sophia's spinal cord testified at the inquest he would not support the term ME as CFS is the modern term and he hadn't seen evidence of muscle inflammation (which they didn't look for.)

Sophia's November 25, 2005 death certificate verdict: "SHE DIED AS A RESULT OF ACUTE RENAL FAILURE ARISING FROM THE EFFECTS OF CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME"; previous meningitis; high body mass index, dorsal root ganglionitis; and hepatic steatosis were also listed.

Doctors Abhijit Chaudhuri, a neurologist and Dominic O’Donovan, a neuropathologist, examined spinal tissue from Sophia Mirza prior to the inquest into her death and found changes to her spinal cord.

TV news coverage

ITV Meridian Tonight

• "Late M.E. sufferer Sophia Mirza"

Video 1

Video 2

• "UK: Psychiatric Industry Victim (Part2)"

Video 3

Newspapers and print media

• Jun 16, 2006, First official UK death from chronic fatigue syndrome
• Jun 16, 2006, "I never imagined my sister would die"

BEFORE MY sister Sophia got Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), I had subconsciously developed a disparaging view of the disease. The little I knew about ME at the turn of the century was from how it had been portrayed in the tabloid press.

• May 15, 2010, 'She went into a hellhole': A mother's candid account of her daughter's battle with ME

The coroner ruled that the 32-year-old had died of complications due to myalgic encephalomyelitis, a landmark verdict in the UK. A neuropathologist told the court that Sophia’s spinal cord was inflamed, with three quarters of her sensory cells displaying significant abnormalities. Yet, as Sophia’s treatment by the medical establishment had underlined – she was forcibly sectioned for a spell in 2003 – many doctors handle ME (also known as postviral or chronic fatigue syndrome), as if it were a mental condition.

• Jan 24, 2012, First official UK death from chronic fatigue syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome has been given as an official cause of death for the first time in the UK. CFS, which is also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), has occasionally been recorded on death certificates in the US and Australia but it is far from being accepted as an organic disease.

Website commemoration

• Sophia and M.E. Site created by Sophia's mother Criona Wilson to commemorate her daughter's life, illness, and passing.

Severe ME Day

After Sophia Mirza's death, the British charity Invest in ME Research announced an annual Severe ME day would be held on August 8th, Mirza's birthday. Severe ME Day is a day of understanding and rememberance for those who have died from or with severe ME, and for those who are still living with severe ME.

See also

Severe ME Awareness Day.

Other deaths from ME

A number of other deaths have been caused by myalgic encephalomyelitis, including Merryn Crofts, who passed away soon after her 21st birthday and donated her body to medical research into ME. In 2010, Professor Malcolm Hooper published Magical Medicine: How to Make a Disease Disappear, which described the deaths of Sophia Mirza, Merryn Crofts, Brynmor John MP, who collapsed outside the House of Commons gyms after being told to exercise by his doctor, and many others whose deaths were attributed to ME.

See also

List of deaths caused by ME or CFS.

See also

• Merryn Crofts
• Causes of death
• Dorsal root ganglia
• Severe and very severe ME
• Biopsychosocial model
• Abhijit Chaudhuri

flare-up A symptoms flare in ME/CFS is a temporary increase in symptoms, alternatively known as experiencing post-exertional malaise. May be referred to as a "crash" or "collapse".

See myalgic encephalomyelitis.

See chronic fatigue syndrome.

myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.) - A disease often marked by neurological symptoms, but fatigue is sometimes a symptom as well. Some diagnostic criteria distinguish it from chronic fatigue syndrome, while other diagnostic criteria consider it to be a synonym for chronic fatigue syndrome. A defining characteristic of ME is post-exertional malaise (PEM), or post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion (PENE), which is a notable exacerbation of symptoms brought on by small exertions. PEM can last for days or weeks. Symptoms can include cognitive impairments, muscle pain (myalgia), trouble remaining upright (orthostatic intolerance), sleep abnormalities, and gastro-intestinal impairments, among others. An estimated 25% of those suffering from ME are housebound or bedbound. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies ME as a neurological disease.

myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.) - A disease often marked by neurological symptoms, but fatigue is sometimes a symptom as well. Some diagnostic criteria distinguish it from chronic fatigue syndrome, while other diagnostic criteria consider it to be a synonym for chronic fatigue syndrome. A defining characteristic of ME is post-exertional malaise (PEM), or post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion (PENE), which is a notable exacerbation of symptoms brought on by small exertions. PEM can last for days or weeks. Symptoms can include cognitive impairments, muscle pain (myalgia), trouble remaining upright (orthostatic intolerance), sleep abnormalities, and gastro-intestinal impairments, among others. An estimated 25% of those suffering from ME are housebound or bedbound. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies ME as a neurological disease.

myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.) - A disease often marked by neurological symptoms, but fatigue is sometimes a symptom as well. Some diagnostic criteria distinguish it from chronic fatigue syndrome, while other diagnostic criteria consider it to be a synonym for chronic fatigue syndrome. A defining characteristic of ME is post-exertional malaise (PEM), or post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion (PENE), which is a notable exacerbation of symptoms brought on by small exertions. PEM can last for days or weeks. Symptoms can include cognitive impairments, muscle pain (myalgia), trouble remaining upright (orthostatic intolerance), sleep abnormalities, and gastro-intestinal impairments, among others. An estimated 25% of those suffering from ME are housebound or bedbound. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies ME as a neurological disease.