As many of you know, #MEAction activists for myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) met with the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dr. Francis Collins, on December 7 to discuss accelerating research in order to more rapidly provide diagnostics and treatments to people with ME. To read about the details of the meeting, click here.
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
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.
Friday Letters to Francis Collins
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
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
It was truly unsettling to learn about the news of an invited speaker lecturing at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on November 9, 2016. For decades, the speaker has been a staunch adversary of studying the pathophysiology of ME/CFS and refuses to acknowledge its root cause. I have written many times previously, including in an editorial in March of this year, on the aftermath of the revitalization of the Trans-NIH ME/CFS Working Group—specifically on the perils caused by what I then called “ME/CFS deniers” and “psychosomatization sympathizers.” We will not dedicate additional time to these individuals or elaborate on their misguided theories on our pages other than to make the following three points…
It has been nearly five years since the National Institutes of Health (NIH) last released a funding opportunity for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) research.
Dr. Mark VanNess and Staci Stevens recently visited the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to present their findings on cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and the importance of the symptom of post-exertional malaise to the NIH ME/CFS Special Interest Group. Out of this conversation, Dr. Brian Walitt, lead investigator of the ME/CFS Intramural Study, extended an
Recently, #MEAction in conjunction with other advocacy organizations and many individual advocates have also successfully lobbied Congressional members to achieve: Favorable language to ME in the FY 2016 House appropriations report; Congressional tweets of support for the #MillionsMissing Day of Action on Sept. 27, 2016, which called attention to the millions of Americans struck down by
