Each month we scour the Internet and bring you a list of news articles, blogs and research publications we think you’ll find interesting for our What’s the Buzz post. Occasionally, we’ll highlight and summarize a few of them for you, like these:
On Tuesday, March 8th, NIH held a one hour tele-briefing to answer the community’s questions about their plans for the intramural study and the ME/CFS program.
Francis Collins, Director of the NIH, opened the call by saying, “please take our commitment with great seriousness and stay the course with us as we seek to identify the most compelling research questions and how we can address those. I understand many of you have waited a long time, perhaps, to see this kind of attention. I hope you understand how much we are now looking at this in a very serious way and seeking to come up with some of those answers. So, if we can work together on that, and not work apart, I think we have a much better chance of making real progress. We are your partners. We want to hear from you, that’s why we’re having this call today. And we’re listening carefully to the comments and suggestions you might have about how best to move this effort forward.”
Walter Koroshetz, chair of the trans-NIH working group of 23 institutes and centers that is working on a plan to transform ME/CFS research at the NIH, calls for an army of really good researchers working together to fight this illness, as recapped in a blog post by Simon McGrath
#MEAction has published a full transcript of the NIH call
__________
Australian scientists claim to have identified new markers on white blood cells which they believe could possibly be used to screen patients who present with symptoms characteristic of chronic fatigue syndrome.
Read the original press release
Read the transcript from an Australian ABC Radio interview
__________
On February 25th, the syndicated cartoon, Blondie, which mentioned Chronic Fatigue Syndrome appeared in the Washington Post, the Salt Lake City Tribune and (we assume) many other publications. Read our response letter to the editors of those papers…
__________
Read one person’s perspective on the NIH ME/CFS study: Extraordinary NIH ME/CFS study may be most comprehensive and in-depth ever By Simon McGrath 3/3/2016 as posted on #MEAction
__________
Hemispherx, the makers of Ampligen, fired their longtime Chairman and CEO. The Food and Drug Administration rejected the company’s most recent new drug application for Ampligen, seeking its approval as a chronic fatigue syndrome therapy, for a second time in early 2013 saying the data submitted did not adequately demonstrate Ampligen’s effectiveness. Struggling Philadelphia biotech firm gets new CEO as reported in the Philadelphia Business Journal on Feb 26, 2016
__________
A recent article in Kennedys, a legal advice publication, explored fibromyalgia in the claims environment and takes a fresh look at tactics for defendants and their insurers. Defending fibromyalgia claims: a modern strategic approach 25 January 2016
Lucinda Bateman, MD, is a renowned clinician, researcher, and educator. Her Johns Hopkins University Medical School training instilled an approach to care that she has employed throughout her career - the patient comes first and the unknown or unexplained does not equate to a lack of proper and compassionate care. Since starting her own practice in 2000, she has served on six boards or committees, been the principal investigator for 45 studies, authored/coauthored 40 journal articles, served as adjunct instructor and adjunct assistant professor in the University of Utah Departments of Preventative Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Anesthesiology, and lectured around the world.