This week #MEAction, in collaboration with Solve ME/CFS and USAWG, conducted advocacy efforts with members of Congress to make two key requests for the benefit of greater ME/CFS medical research funding. Senators were asked to support a letter to NIH Director Francis Collins requesting that an equitable share of the $2 billion increase in fiscal
On Tuesday, March 8th at 10am ET, the NIH is holding a one hour tele-briefing to answer the community’s questions about their plans for the intramural study and the ME/CFS program. Due to the limitations of the technology, only 100 lines are available. Call-in information has been sent to a select number of advocates including members of
NIH is dropping the functional movement disorder (FMD) control group from their intramural study, according to an email Simon McGrath received from Vicky Whittemore.
Recommendations submitted by advocates to NINDS to proactively contribute to a strong federal research program and to encourage collaboration between NIH and our community.
Last Week at NIH with a focus on the post-infectious ME/CFS intramural study – You can watch an introduction to the proposed NIH intramural study from the Principal Investigator of the study, Dr Nath, and can read a full transcript of his presentation and the subsequent Q&A session. The presentation was from two weeks ago
Solve ME/CFS had a conversation with Vicky Whittemore of the US National Institutes of Health today regarding some pressing issues, in particular the participation of Brian Walitt in the study and the NIH’s plans for patient involvement. Dr. Whittemore was receptive to Solve ME/CFS’s opposition to Dr. Walitt’s participation in the study, but said that she has
On Feb. 8, I wrote to NIH Director Francis Collins to express concern over the NIH’s mostly negative responses to the CFS Advisory Committee’s latest recommendations; the slow pace of formal patient involvement in the NIH’s new ME/CFS research program; and the originally-released use of the outdated Reeves criteria for selecting patients for the upcoming NIH inpatient
Open letter to Francis Collins, director of NIH, concerning myalgic encephalomyelitis Dear Francis Collins: The following happened since I got sick, without the NIH funding myalgic encephalomyelitis (m.e.) as a global crisis: Humans landed on the moon AIDS discovered, science, HIV discovered, excellent treatments; 2015 US funding $30.7 billion.1 multiple sclerosis sufferers released from mental
Brian Walitt is the lead clinical investigator for the NIH’s new intramural ME/CFS study. His appointment has raised serious concerns due to his strong views of diseases like chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia as psychosomatic. In 2015, Walitt co-authored a paper in which it was stated that CFS and fibromyalgia are somatoform illnesses, characterized by a “…discordance between the severity
Jennie Spotila Reports on NIH ME/CFS Spending in 2015 Jennie Spotila has written another detailed analysis on NIH spending on ME/CFS research. On a positive note, spending on ME/CFS grants increased to $6,470,000 in 2015, which was a 20% increase over fiscal year 2014 and, “for the first time since at least 2009, there were no
