Understanding and treatment of ME sufferers

What I find strange about Rebecca Sultana's (ME Sufferers Malta) contribution on Bassant Puri's work (May 30) and his claims that VegEPA is essential to recover from ME, is the fact that the feature in The Times Weekender (to which, I presume, Ms Sultana's organisation had contributed input) contained no mention of Prof. Puri or VegEPA. I responded to the Weekender feature to correct this most important omission.

Her contribution now seems mainly aimed at instilling doubts. Before Prof. Puri made these claims of a breakthrough in the understanding and treatment of ME, sufferers and their families had no hope. Now Prof. Puri claims that over 80 per cent of his patients improve within three months of taking the ultra-pure VegEPA supplement, no matter how long they have suffered from it. He recommends a dose of eight capsules daily, and a maintenance dose of half that after recovery occurs, usually within three months. In my view, the best thing sufferers can do to help themselves is get Prof. Puri's book entitled Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - A Natural Way To Treat ME, from the publishers ( www.hammersmithpress.co.uk ) or from the manufacturers of VegEPA ( www.igennus.com ).

Prof. Puri has been criticised for recommending only one product, but he explains that he knows of only one product (VegEPA) which has the required ultra-pure EPA (without DHA - so generic fish oils don't work in his opinion) required by ME (and mood disorder) sufferers. Ms Sultana quotes Prof. Puri's point that ME sufferers who do not have an essential fatty acids (EFAs) blood deficiency, won't respond to VegEPA, and that they should therefore keep this in mind considering the not so cheap supplement being recommended.

This seems to me another bit of doubt-instilling advice. Having your blood tested for EFAs deficiency (only done in very specialised overseas labs) would almost certainly cost more than the first three-month supply of VegEPA, by which time a sufferer would know whether he/she is one of the over 80 per cent of lucky ones that Prof. Puri claims respond favourably to this supplement. Get his book, because it contains more advice besides VegEPA.