By Janet Dafoe in Phoenix Rising. There are a lot of various threads and tweets about this so I asked Ron to clarify where the research is at and what the plans are. As for everything else, this has gone a lot slower than it could have if he’d had more funding. The […]
ME Support and Awareness in York – The York ME Community
Natural Born Killers
From ME Research UK. Despite their dramatic name, natural killer (NK) cells are actually a very important part of our immune system and help protect us from viruses by killing cells that have been infected. They can also target tumour cells. There is evidence to suggest that the cytotoxicity of NK cells (that […]
Tips On How To Survive The Festive Season
By Jo Moss in A Journey Through The Fog. Christmas can be a particularly hard time of year for people living with chronic ill-health. It can be a mental and physical strain, filled with potential pitfalls. I have to admit I’ve never been a Christmassy person. We (my family) didn’t celebrate Christmas when […]
Metaphors And ME
Resting When Tired Isn’t Lazy – It’s Self Care
What “Phantom Nasal Congestion” May Tell Us About ME/CFS And Fibromyalgia
Trial By Error: Fiona Godlee Doubles Down On Lightning Process Study
By David Tuller, DrPH. Earlier this week, Dr Fiona Godlee, editorial director of BMJ, e-mailed me in response to concerns expressed about the study of the Lightning Process published in Archives of Disease in Childhood, one of the journals under her purview. Those concerns were expressed in an open letter to her […]
Christchurch Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Sufferer Told It Was All In Her Head
By Oliver Lewis in stuff.co.nz. An estimated 16,000 to 20,000 people in New Zealand have chronic fatigue syndrome. Despite this, the debilitating condition remains poorly understood. OLIVER LEWIS reports. Gillian Watson calls it the year she forgot. The Christchurch woman was struck down with flu in the latter half of 2015 and never really […]
7 Ways To Tackle Low Self-Esteem With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome And Fibromyalgia
By Colleen Downey in The Mighty. Self-esteem is generally described as the degree of regard or respect individuals have for themselves and is a subjective measure of worth that we place on our abilities and judgments; it is an understanding we create of our worth based on emotions and beliefs about how we […]
Sainsbury’s, I Don’t Need A Lanyard To Warn You About My Disability – You Need To Provide Better Training
By Liz Johnsin in The Independent. It’s great that major brands are getting serious about inclusion, but initiatives should focus on taking away barriers, rather than forcing marginalised groups to mark out their difference. Sunflower season may be over but Sainsbury’s wants to see more in bloom this autumn following its latest announcement. On […]
ME.rry Christmas !
Lovely Coffee In Fulford !
UK Charity Pledges £500,000 For Research Into ME In Norwich Research Park
From The Quadram Institute. UK Charity Invest in ME Research is pledging £500,000 for continued research into the disease myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME or ME/CFS) in Norwich Research Park, UK (NRP). This major investment builds on the foundations already made for a UK/European Centre of Excellence for ME research hub in Norwich Research Park. The […]
International Day of People with Disabilities: Hannah Dines – Why I’m sick of ‘inspiration porn’
By Hannah Dines in BBC Sport. It happens time and time again in Paralympic sport that the story is chosen for us. Our disability is the negative comparison that makes our positive sporting performance legitimate. We cannot have one without the other. The irony here is that for many Paralympians, their disability […]
General election 2019: What’s Pledged For Disability And Mental Health ?
“Neither Dying, Nor Recovering”: Learning From ICUs To Solve ME/CFS And Fibromyalgia – A Synopsis
By Dominic Stanculescu in Health Rising. From Dominic I believe observations made in Intensive Care Units can further understanding of ME/CFS. Indeed, following a severe injury or infection some ICU patients fail to begin recovery for unknown reasons. This condition, termed “chronic” or “prolonged critical illness,” is characterized by neuroendocrine dysfunctions perpetuated by cytokines and oxidative/nitrosative stress. Regardless of the initial injury or […]
You Don’t Look Sick: ‘People Think I’m Too Young To Be Disabled’
By Laura Abernethy in The Metro. ‘But you don’t look sick’ is something that people with chronic illnesses often hear. Others judge them based on their idea of what disability looks like. Our series speaks to a different person each week about their experiences of living with a long term condition and how […]
Disabled People Like Me Are Being Forced To Battle Daily For Our Most Basic Needs
By Susan McKinstery in Huffpost. I was born in 1981, the year declared “International Year of Persons with Disabilities” by the UN. It heralded the beginning of the “Decade for Persons with Disabilities”, which saw the beginning of what would go on to become landmark equalities legislation and political policy making. The intention for […]
Are You A Clumper Or Slider ? The ESR ME/CFS And Fibromyalgia Poll
By Cort Johnson in Health Rising. It’s the simplest of medical tests. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR or SED rate) test simply measures the rate at which the red blood cells in whole blood descend in a test tube over a period of one hour. This non-specific measure of inflammation works because, during an inflammatory process, […]
York Disability Forum
Ask About My Disability If You’re Curious, But Don’t Patronise Me
By Samantha Renke in the Metro. As a disabled woman, I’ve sadly become somewhat immune to overt forms of aggression and discrimination. I almost expect the lift to be out of service whilst shopping. I also acknowledge that my work prospects are diminished in comparison to my non-disabled peers, and that it’s highly […]
Solid Ground At Last ? Cytokines Make Good In Major ME/CFS Review
By Cort Johnson in Simmaron Research. The immune system in chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) has been kind of like a mirage in the desert. Given the way the disease starts and its symptom presentation – so close to the “sickness behavior” produced during an infection – it seems that the immune system must […]
Meet The Researchers – Michael Van Elzakker (PhD) and Kenneth Kwong (PhD)
From Solve ME/CFS Initiative. Michael (Mike) Van Elzakker, PhD, a researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, has been an influential thought leader in how the field might leverage imaging techniques to assess neurological features of ME/CFS. Kenneth (Ken) Kwong, PhD and Suk-tak (Phoebe) Chan, PhD, experts in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), will co-lead the […]
‘They Think Disability Is Almost Worse Than Being Dead’
Antibiotics: Even Low Use In Children Can Have A Negative Impact On Health – New Research
By Oliver van Hecke in The Conversation. GPs in the UK carry out over 300m patient consultations every year and at least a quarter of these deal with children. Almost two-thirds of such appointments are for coughs, sore throats, or earaches – illnesses which young children commonly get. Doctors and nurses group these types of illnesses […]
Link Between Inflammation And Mental Sluggishness Shown In New Study
From Science Daily. Scientists at the University of Birmingham in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam have uncovered a possible explanation for the mental sluggishness that often accompanies illness. An estimated 12M UK citizens have a chronic medical condition, and many of them report severe mental fatigue that they characterize as ‘sluggishness’ or ‘brain […]
What An M.E. Crash Feels Like
HELLO, IS IT ME YOU’RE LOOKING FOR ?
Don’t Fight The Quicksand
A Trial Of ME – Elizabeth’s Story
How England’s Broken Planning System Has Created (Not Reduced) The Risk Of Floods
By Lee Bosher in The Conversation. Recent floods in England have been described as unprecedented or even “biblical” events, often with the misguided assumption that they were unavoidable or unpredictable. That is not the case. Over the past few decades, development practice in England has led to more than 300,000 homes being built in […]
5 Things Councils Can Do To Make Areas More Accessible
Trial By Error: “Bristol, It Is Time To Withdraw Your Complaints To Berkeley”
By David Tuller, DrPH I have sent the following letter to Jane Bridgwater, Bristol University’s director of legal services and deputy university secretary. ********** Jane Bridgwater Director of Legal Services and Deputy University Secretary University of Bristol Bristol, UK Dear Ms Bridgwater: I have raised multiple concerns in recent years about research conducted […]
GP Home Visits Under Threat
From Action For ME. Action for M.E. has raised serious concerns with every Local Medical Committee (LMC) following the announcement of a motion at their conference by Kent LMC to stop home visits by GPs. LMCs are the independent bodies who work with the British Medical Association to shape policy. If successful, […]