Rome, 3rd march 2009 – Just a couple of weeks past the suicide of a lady with EMS – Electromagnetic Hyper-sensitivity in Tuscany[1], Giancarlo Guiaro, 55 years old, who was affected by MCS – Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, commits suicide, shooting himself in the office of his doctor.

„We know him from many years and recently we followed his legal action against the Health Services Administration of the Region Emilia Romagna“ Donatella Stocchi, of A.M.I.C.A. comments „he just asked to go on with the therapies of a German doctor who helped him very much, because he wanted to regain a life as normal as possible, while the Region denied him the reimbursement of the therapies“.

The doctors of the Center for MCS of the Hospital Sant’Orsola Malpighi in Bologna declared in Court that they could treat MCS patients but Giancarlo complained he did not trust doctors with no specific experience in MCS treatment who just wanted to study this new illness. Morover, Giancarlo used to repeat that his MCS started after an experimental hormonal treatment he received (without notice) just in the same hospital a few years ago.

Giancarlo’s lawyer brought a complaint about these facts to the Prosecutor’s Office, but the practice was archived.

„It’s not by chance that he ended his life in the office of his doctor; it’s an extreme cry for help that will weigh on the conscience of the doctors of Bologna, of the Superior Council for Health“ Francesca Romana Orlando, Vice President of A.M.I.C.A. comments „but this fact is also a warning to our Members of Parliament to approve an immediate law for MCS (we have five projects waiting to be discussed[2]) and to prevent the conflict of interest in the medical area.“

„For us it is inconceivable that the management of MCS is given to experts of occupational medicine whose hospital/university received funds from an insurance that is facing dozens of trials vs MCS patients“, she concludes.

Donatella Stocchi remembers that „He was an active and intelligent man, full of life and instead was forced to stay in his car to run away from the fumes of chimneys of neighbours, from pesticides spraying, from paint fumes, etc.“

For people with MCS chemical avoidance in the home environment is comparable to a life-saving drug and, in fact, in the United States and Canada, the MCS is covered in the guidelines of urban planning and environmental laws and there are public houses for MCS.

Last September, the Superior Council of Health presented a position paper according which MCS cannot be recognized as a rare disease since it affects 2-10% of the population and it can not be even recognized as a real „illnessâ“ because there aren’t diagnostic tests.

„Actually, many illnesses are recognized even if there is not a specific diagnostic test, for example migrain and Fibromyalgia“ the Vice President of A.M.I.C.A. adds „and all over the world the diagnosis of MCS is based on the 1999 International Consensus Criteria which are the conclusion of a 10-year long study.“

„The Chemical Sensitivity is a condition recognized, but it becomes a problem when it comes to multiple chemicals together“ Miss Orlando adds „today from Japan  to USA, from Germany to Denmark, the diagnosis of MCS is based on 5 criteria and the individual can obtain a legal recognition of disability on the base of his/her own chronic illnesses“.

„We suspected that the MCS was not going to be recognized in Italy when we read, 2 years ago, the position paper draft of the inter-regional working group on MCS (of which the doctors of Bologna were members)“ Silvia Bigeschi, Vice President of A.M.I.C.A. claims „because it quoted so many studies by scientists with conflict of interests who consider MCS a „psychosomatic disorder“; so we wrote immediately to the Second Chamber of the Superior Council of Health and we sent a large volume of studies with the pray to consider the new evidences about the neurological and metabolic anomalies in MCS, but this was ineffective. Nonetheless, MCS is considered a physical disability not only in the U.S. and in Germany, so Italy should not be left behind“.[3]

Press release: A.M.I.C.A.

Telephone of A.M.I.C.A.:

Silvia Bigeschi, Tel. +39-0572-767884, Wednesday 17,30 to 18,30, Tuesday and Friday 14,00 to 15,00
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1.  http://www.infoamica.it/engart.asp?a=5&sa=0&art=373
2. Projects of law for MCS: http://mcseurope.blogspot.com/2008/12/projects-of-laws-for-mcs-recognition-in.html
3. MCS recognition in Germany http://mcseurope.blogspot.com/2009/01/idc-10-code-for-mcs.html

Geschrieben am Dienstag, 03. März 2009 und abgelegt unter Chemical Sensitivity, Chemikaliensensibilität, MCS, Chemikaliensensitivität, Chemikalienunverträglichkeit, Gefahren durch Alltagschemikalien, Krank durch Chemikalien, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Medizin, Menschenrechte, Pressemitteilungen, Psyche, psychisch, Schwerbehinderung, Umweltkrankheiten, Umweltmedizin. Verfolgen Sie die Diskussion zu diesem Beitrag per RSS 2.0 Feed. Sie können diesen Beitrag kommentieren oder einen Trackback von Ihrer eigenen Webseite setzen.