In advance of tabling a legistative proposal to Congress Sen. Bernie Sanders, Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee has asked the long COVID community (including Long COVID patients and their families, scientific researchers, and medical professionals) to submit their views on how proposals for research funding and infrastructure can be ..read more

Key points: Background Research suggests that compared to people without ME/CFS, those with the disease are more likely to have a family member with ME/CFS, or other chronic illnesses including cancer, autoimmune conditions, and metabolic disorders. For example: Author Summary of findings Albright and colleagues  (2011) Relatives of people with “CFS” were more likely to ..read more

ME Research UK is currently helping to fund the work of Dr Sarah Annesley at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. The main topic of her research is investigating mitochondrial dysfunction in ME/CFS, including supervising a PhD project in this area. But Dr Annesley has also been involved in a study measuring the characteristics of ..read more

Dr Barnden and his team at Griffith University and the University of Queensland have recently published the most recent article in a series reporting the results of their ME Research UK-funded study investigating brain abnormalities in ME/CFS. Their new findings show increased levels of the neurochemicals glutamate and N-acetyl-aspartate in the brains of people with ..read more

A topic explored in several studies is the relationship between ME/CFS and hand grip strength (a measure of the force exerted by hand muscles when gripping an object). In 2018, Dr Luis Nacul and team demonstrated in a cohort including 272 ME/CFS participants that not only is hand grip strength reduced in individuals with ME/CFS ..read more

An abstract published in the journal “Neurology” details a study carried out using data from the UK biobank on 295 people with “CFS” and 63,133 controls. Regrettably, no description of the diagnostic tool used to define “CFS” was provided. The study team collected self-reported experience of fatigue, and used information from a special type of ..read more

On 25th March 2024 Lord Hunt of Kings Heath laid a written parliamentary question to the Department of Health and Social Care To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which the 2021 NICE guidance for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) has been implemented (1) in general, and (2 ..read more

Key points Post exertional malaise (PEM) is often referred to as the cardinal symptom of ME/CFS – and one of four “symptoms for suspecting ME/CFS” in the 2021 NICE guidelines alongside; fatigue, unrefreshing sleep, and cognitive difficulties. PEM is also experienced by some people with long COVID – the 2022 NICE guidelines which ask “What ..read more

Last week, ME Research UK attended, virtually, the “1st International Conference on Clinical and Scientific Advances in ME/CFS and Long COVID” held in Portugal. The conference spanned two days and featured talks by established ME/CFS researchers (several of whom have previously received funding from ME Research UK), as well as discussions with early career researchers ..read more

A frequently discussed topic in ME/CFS research is the heterogeneity of ME/CFS, often referring to symptom differences between individuals, suggestive of diverse disease mechanisms. Disease heterogeneity makes the development of diagnostic tests and treatments more challenging, as a ‘one-size fits all’ approach is unlikely. A recent cross-sectional study explored heterogeneity in ME/CFS with regards to ..read more