A member of the Shaw family reads their testimony during the comment period at the January CFSAC meeting: Good afternoon. I have had untreated ME/CFS for 38 years. Our testimony today is on the topic of the Center for Diseases Control’s (CDC) CFS group. The 2015 National Academy of Medicine report characterizes post-exertional malaise, or
The CFS Advisory Committee (CFSAC) provides advice and recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) through the Assistant Secretary for Health on issues related to myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). The committee meets twice-yearly, and recently met Jan. 12-13, 2017. #MEAction activist, Terri Wilder, spoke during the comment period at
Government funding for research centers and a data management center for ME/CFS has been made public, and the amount of funding allocated is infuriatingly small. The National Institute of Health (NIH) plans to issue two Requests for Application (RFAs) in January to fund 2-3 collaborative research centers and a data management center for ME/CFS. The
Thank you for this opportunity to address the CFS Advisory Committee. I am writing to in response to the call for comments regarding how the US government might engage members of the ME/CFS community, especially patients and their lay supporters, in addressing and solving the clinical, research, educational, and public health challenges of this condition.
2016 was a big year for ME/CFS advocacy. As we turn over the page to the fresh new year, the #MEAction Network Australia group reflects on some of the highlights of its advocacy efforts in 2016.
Momentum continues from the #MillionsMissing campaign that was born last May. Activists took to the streets worldwide in 11 cities in May – and in 25 cities in September – to protest their government’s neglect of people with ME. While the posters are now stored away, activism has continued behind the scenes in follow-up
21st Century Cures Act Passes House with Overwhelming Bipartisan Support ME/CFS advocates have been eagerly awaiting passage of the 21st Century Cures Act since it was initially introduced in 2013, given it was originally written to increase NIH funding and fast-track research and treatment development. On Wednesday, November 30, a compromise bill with modified provisions from the original 21st Century Cures Act swept the House… READ MORE
As reported in the August 5 update on the meeting between HHS and advocates for ME on August 1, Assistant Secretary of Health Dr. Karen DeSalvo had committed to follow up on specific actions and meet again in October. On October 24, Jen Brea, Terri Wilder, Carol Head, Jennie Spotila, and Mary Dimmock met again
These demands were originally issued for the May 25, 2016 MillionsMissing demonstrations. Minor revisions were made to the demands in November 2016 to reflect community input on the definition, the primer, the name, and the need for improvements in clinical care. You can access and download a pdf of the revised protest demands by clicking
M.E. denier, Edward Shorter, called CFS the modern version of hysteria in a presentation chronicling the history of 19th century hysteria before approximately 20 people at the National Institute of Health (NIH) on Nov. 9th. Shorter is a professor of the history of medicine at the University of Toronto. In his presentation, Shorter showed a
