Posted by Cort Johnson The federal advisory committee on chronic fatigue syndrome (CFSAC) meets twice a year to propose recommendations and interview and prod federal officials to do more to meet the enormous needs of the chronic fatigue syndrome community. Join Phoenix Rising as we cover the two-day event (June 13th, 14th 9am-5pm EST) live with commentary and the opportunity
ContinueRituximab Is…. Developed by IDEC Pharmaceuticals, Rituximab is the first of a new class of drugs called B-cell depleting monoclonal antibodies. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1997 for B cell non-Hodgkins lymphoma patients who were resistant to other chemotherapy regimens Rituximab is now part of the standard therapeutic protocol for many B cell lymphomas. It is also used
Posted by Cort Johnson For the last article in the “20 Years Ago Today” Series celebrating the 20th anniversary of International Awareness Day, we asked ME/CFS researchers and professionals to have some fun and take a look in their crystal ball and hazard a guess as to where CFS will be on a variety of topics in five years. We
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Posted by Cort Johnson An Institute for all Americans…. Or Just Some? The Department of Health and Human Services 2013 Budget proposal doesn’t mince words about whose health the Department, which oversees the NIH and CDC, is charged with protecting…. This Budget request represents the Administration’s priorities for guiding the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to enhance the
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Posted by Cort Johnson In the World – President George Bush made news by suddenly falling violently ill and doing a face-plant into the lap of the Japanese prime minister. The European Union is formed (perhaps to break up 20 years later?) and a 12-year civil war ends in El Salvador. Yugoslavia breaks up and the Bosnian war begins… Pope
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Posted by Cort Johnson Who’s made the most difference in the chronic fatigue syndrome research field? A measure called the ‘H-index’ attempts to determine the impact a researcher has had on a field based on how often his/her work is cited by others. Researchers publishing ‘seminal’ papers in highly read journals will do the best. The index does not measure
ContinueThe chronic fatigue syndrome name has raised hackles in the ME/CFS community since the day it was adopted in 1988. Just how upset the patient community was quickly became clear when Tom Hennessey, a former advertising executive and the fiery leader of the RESCIND advocacy group, bellowed out “Just change the *&%&#@!! name to startled officials at a San Francisco
Posted by Cort Johnson RESEARCH A Biological Cause of ‘Poor Stress Management’ Found in ME/CFS? Brain Behav Immun. 2012 Mar 6. Stress management skills, neuroimmune processes and fatigue levels in persons with chronic fatigue syndrome. Lattie EG, Antoni MH, Fletcher MA, Penedo F, Czaja S, Lopez C, Perdomo D, Sala A, Nair S, Fu SH, Klimas N. Its certainly not clear that everyone with ME/CFS reacts poorly to stress but anecdotal reports suggest that
ContinuePosted by Cort Johnson Discuss this article on the forums Many researchers think the problems in the brain or central nervous system probably play a key role in ME/CFS. Some of the most interesting research in the past couple of years has focused on the brain and the Ottawa conference was no exception. At the conference we saw research findings
ContinueAmpligen (AMPlIfied GENetic Activity) is a double-stranded RNA molecule developed in the 1960’s by Merck and Co to reduce tumor formation. Effective in the lab but too toxic for use Ampligen languished until Dr. William Carter, working with other Johns Hopkins University researchers in the 1970s, was able to reduce its toxicity. Ampligen’s reported mode of action – bolstering the
Posted by Cort Johnson Many researchers think the problems in the brain or central nervous system probably play a key role in ME/CFS. Some of the most interesting research in the past couple of years has focused on the brain and the Ottawa conference was no exception. At the conference we saw research findings begin to focus on specific areas
ContinueSince EBV reactivation commonly occurs in healthy people but rarely produces symptoms a finding of EBV reactivation is not necessarily a cause for alarm. But could EBV reactivation be more likely to cause harm in ME/ CFS patients than others? Some researchers suggest that while many of the pathogens found in ME/ CFS patients do not cause ME/ CFS they
