Chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) Research
Professor Stephen Holgate says ME/CFS is a spectrum of disorders that need to be understood through new approaches, and patients must be partners in research. Simon McGrath reports. ME/CFS probably isn’t one disease, or even a few different ones – but could be as many as fifteen. So said Professor Stephen Holgate, Chair of the UK Research Collaborative (CMRC), when
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by Sasha On June 6, the Norwegian Medical Research Council agreed to give a large enough grant to the Haukeland Rituximab trial for the study to begin. Later that day, the charity Invest in ME announced that they were initiating a UK Rituximab trial. It seemed to come out of nowhere. There were no details – cost, size, location, research
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Mark Berry invites readers to join 11 organizations and 31 advocates and write to the CDC, asking them to include appropriate medical tests in their multi-site study. The historical approach of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the study of ME/CFS has not been universally well-received – and that’s an understatement. The majority opinion of the
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Simon McGrath reports on Dr Snell’s new study demonstrating that ME/CFS patients have a reduced capacity to exercise when they repeat a maximum exercise test one day on – unlike healthy controls. One of the biggest problems of getting ME/CFS taken seriously is that often we ‘look’ normal, even though we feel lousy, and most lab tests produce ‘normal’ findings.
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Mark Berry introduces Dr Neil Coulson and Anna Maddison from the University of Nottingham, and their new 2-part research project with Phoenix Rising The most rewarding part of my work with Phoenix Rising is meeting people who tell me that treatment information they have found on our forums has dramatically changed their lives and their health, or that the forums
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by Sasha Imagine that you’ve just been put in charge of the world’s ME/CFS research – yes, you – and you’ve got to decide what research you want. Come on, hurry up! Erm, erm, erm… oh yes, well, of course, as a patient you want something that’s going to get practical benefit for you in the shortest time possible. You’ve
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Simon McGrath examines the latest research publication from Professor Baraniuk and Dr Rayhan Exercise challenge is fast the becoming THE key method when studying illnesses characterised by Post Exertional Malaise, such as Gulf War Illness (GWI) and ME/CFS. A paper just published looks at how exercise affects pain, cognitive performance, heart rate and brain functioning in patients with GWI. These
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by Sasha On 9 March, ME/CFS patient Dr Maria Gjerpe started a 90-day campaign to raise $1.2 million (£780,000, €920,000) to fund a confirmatory trial of the effects of immune drug Rituximab on the disease at Haukeland Hospital in Norway. Ninety days because that’s all she could confidently commit: she herself had gone from bedridden to completely well on Rituximab
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by Simon McGrath The new UK CFS/ME Research Collaborative has had its first meeting and it very much looks like it means business. They have plans to rev up the research agenda and raise funds – and they have key players on board too. The Players The CMRC is chaired by Stephen Holgate, MRC professor of Immunopharmacology at Southampton, with
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Mark Berry reports from London on the 8th Invest in ME International ME Conference. This was only my second year at the Invest in ME conference, but already I feel right at home! The presentations you’re about to read about are only half the story; the opportunity to mingle and network with a family (yes it really does feel like
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Joel (snowathlete) continues his series on zoonotic pathogens with an introduction to Bartonelliosis Bartonella is a zoonotic that frequently infects humans causing diseases termed Bartonelliosis. Probably the most commonly known is cat scratch disease (CSD) which, you guessed it, you catch from cats (especially cute kittens). Cat scratch disease is caused by two species of Bartonella: B. henselae and B.
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This is an extended version of an article originally published on ProHealth as “An Interview With Julia Newton, Founding Member of Newly Launched CFS/ME Research Collaborative.”By Clark Ellis Dr. Julia Newton is one of the founding members of the recently launched UK CFS/ME Research Collaborative (UK CMRC), a new initiative aimed at expanding medical studies into ME/CFS by bringing together
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