Basic research and drug trials under discussion at the NIH In October, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced it was stepping up its commitment to ME/CFS and would be expanding its intramural and extramural research programs. Francis Collins, director of the NIH, told Science that his colleagues were “determined to move pretty fast on this.”
The NIH is changing how it decides to fund research. Will it benefit ME/CFS?
Have you always wanted to email your Congressmen/ women about ME/CFS but don’t know what to say? Or maybe you’re too sick to draft a letter? We’ve made it easy! Just go to the listed website and copy and paste the sample letter!
In a budget agreement announced early Wednesday morning, funding for the US Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) ME/CFS program was restored to the full $5.4 million. The omnibus budget bill is expected to pass both houses on Friday. CDC funding for ME/CFS had previously been cut to $0 in the proposed 2016 budget. [pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=””
A new study has found that two human herpesviruses: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), previously only proven to infect B cells, can also infect neurons. For years there has been indirect evidence that gammaherpesviruses like EBV and KSHV could infect nervous tissue. For example, EBV viruses have been found in the cerebrospinal fluid and brain tissue
NIH has now removed its Medline/ National Library of Medicine (NLM) article promoting CBT and GET for ME/CFS treatment. It was taken down just DAYS after we began filing complaints. I received a response from NLM explaining that they “removed the article since it did not provide a balanced view on the topic.” Although the
The United States Department of Labor is proposing new regulations about certain disability claims. Tell them you support this.
Medline Plus, NIH’s web site for patients, just published an article from health news distributor Healthday, based on the recent, discredited U.K. PACE study. The new article states that “cognitive behavioral therapy and graded exercise therapy are among the best available treatments for extended relief” of ME/CFS. Fortunately, if you want to file a complaint about this article, it’s super easy.
November 20th Update: Thanks to all of our members who voted in this poll. A significant minority of our members voted against #MEAction signing the letter, so we have decided to not formally sign the letter. We are still working out what policies make sense and really appreciate all of our members’ flexibility and openness
Call for HHS to Investigate PACE Recently, journalist David Tuller, DrPH, published an investigative report outlining serious concerns with the conduct, analyses, and results of U.K.’s £5 million PACE trial for chronic fatigue syndrome. PACE investigated the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and graded exercise therapy (GET) Since then, other researchers and journalists have
