Journal of IiME Volume 2 Issue 1 www.investinme.org John also became acquainted with Dr Melvin Ramsay, who defined benign myalgic encephalomyelitis in 1956 after studying an outbreak of Bornholm disease at the Royal Free Hospital, London. John became a founder member of the ME Association, renamed the Ramsay Research Fund in 1999 after Melvyn Ramsay's death. John's own international reputation grew rapidly after an international symposium on myalgic encephalitis was held in Cambridge, United Kingdom, in 1989. He chaired the conference and the book that followed in 1992, The Clinical and Scientific Basis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, edited by Dr Byron Hyde, not only contains a chapter written by John, but is dedicated to him. John gave up all NHS work in 1992 and his appointment as a senior police surgeon. However, he continued to see patients privately. Most came from the United Kingdom, but some also from France, Republic of Ireland, Belgium, and Norway. He refused fees, but suggested instead a contribution to the research fund that he established. This he used partly to finance scientific papers that he wrote and partly as gifts to individuals and university departments where the effects of long term survival of virus in the human body were being studied. His own papers were into what part of the brain was involved in ME. John also used the patient contributions to finance an annual international conference in his local area. The pursuit of these researches did not prevent him playing a full part in the general practice of which he was a partner, including training medical students sent to him by the university. Outside medicine his main interest was music, especially playing the three manual pipe organ, which with assistance he had built in his own house and for which he composed 28 pieces. John Richardson, former general practitioner Ryton, Tyne and Wear (b 1915; q Durham 1952), died in the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle, on Invest in ME (Charity Nr 1114035) 18 July 2002. The above information was taken from the BMJ obituary for John Richardson by Hewan Dewar. The John Richardson Group The Newcastle Group was founded by Drs John Richardson, Hewan Dewar and Irving Spurr back in 1993. Its purpose was to promote research into the origin and consequences of viral infections (entero viruses in particular). The group was renamed following the death of Dr John Richardson in 2002. The group also organises an annual conference which attracts many eminent participants from around the world. More articles from Dr John Richardson: - • Myalgic Encephalomyelitis: Guidelines for Doctors Journal: J of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Vol. 10(1) 2002, pp. 65-80 • Enteroviral and Toxin Mediated Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Other Organ Pathologies (Hardcover) ME Story I am …. a fully grown man of 44, I am now into my 6th year, soon planned to get married but my girlfriend is very worried about what to expect - the outlook will be for her having to deal with me as I get worse. I have got to the stage where I can no longer breathe through my nose channel despite 4 operations. They have said there is nothing more they can do so I am now finding myself becoming very fatigued by about 11am sleeping for about 9 hours per day and again during the night, I have lost a lot of weight gone from 12 stone down to 9 stone in one month. I wish the government would put more money into research to find a cure for this bad, painful illness. - I Page 7
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