Folie à deux, the psychosis of association, has been defined as ‘the transference of delusional ideas and/or abnormal behaviour from one person to one or more individuals who have been in close association with the primary affected person’ (8). At least three conditions have been regarded as pre-requisite for its diagnosis: (a) definite evidence that the partners have been intimately associated, (b) identical content of the delusional ideas in both the patients, and (c) unequivocal evidence that the partners share, support and accept each other's delusions (7).

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I take the last point concerning the age-distribution ofthe patient groups in the study by Dr. Grilfiths and myself. Gregory (:958) pointed out that because of improved mortality rates younger individuals nowa days are much less liable to experience the death of a parent. In our series there may be a slight tendency to underestimate the significance of parent-loss among the schizophrenics, who are probably younger on average than the control individuals. This would not apply to the affective disorders, in which the age distribution would be relatively similar to that of the controls. This field is bedevilled by conflicting results, failure to make adequate definitions, and a tendency to rush into hasty conclusions, of which we are all guilty. Many of our difficulties are semantic, and I regret that, in my opinion, Dr. Birtchnell's letter has increased rather than decreased such difficulties.