An American with ME had strong words for the National Institute of Health (NIH): You have stolen 40 years of my life. Johanna Kaiser gave a brave testimony about the neglect of people with ME during the February 1, 2017 phone meeting with the NIH in which institute leaders answered questions about the planned ME research
Want to know more about the research centers and data center being planned for ME/CFS by the National Institute of Health (NIH)? Directors at the NIH discussed the research centers and answered questions from people with ME along with researchers in a phone call on Feb. 2. The NIH will provide $30 million over the
Bird-dog: (verb) search out or pursue with dogged determination. Contact with elected officials at town hall meetings cannot be overvalued. Handfuls of bird-doggers attend meetings around the country and change the course of history everyday. Never heard of bird-dogging? Bird-dogging is a strategy used by activists who seek out elected officials, pin them down with
Patients in the Ampligen clinical trial are asking for community help to protest changes that will force many to stop getting this medicine. Please sign our petition urging Hemispherx to put ME patients first, always.
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
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.
Yesterday, Mary Dimmock, Arthur Mirin and Leonard Jason published a hallmark study in disease burden in myalgic encephalomyelitis. Why is funding so low? Funding for ME/CFS is arguably the lowest per patient for any major disease in the United States, averaging to about $5 per patient per year. Compare this to multiple sclerosis, an illness
The Solve ME/CFS Initiative (SMCI) hosted a webinar December 15 in which Zaher Nahle, PhD, MPA, summarized research in which they are participating or supporting. Nahle is the Vice President for Research and Scientific Programs at SMCI. Nahle began by listing the problems associated with ME’s perception, funding, and research. “The mother lode of our
