3 October 2011
A summary of recent M.E. related stories in the news. Headlines appearing in the media as dated.
XMRV authors say data is still valid
Scientists have published a partial retraction of their 2009 Science paper that found a possible link between XMRV and CFS. However, the study’s authors, led by Vincent Lombardi at the Whittemore Peterson Institute in Reno, Nevada, say their research didn’t rely solely on the data they are retracting.
British Medical Journal, p 661
01/10/11
Treatment for M.E. in Northern Ireland
Seven people were admitted to hospital with M.E. last year in Northern Ireland’s Western Trust – the second lowest number in Northern Ireland after the Northern Trust (four admissions). There were 54 admissions in Belfast, 30 in the South Eastern Trust and 24 in the Southern Trust. Health Minister Edwin Poots said, ”Treatment for those people living with ME is, for the most part, provided by general practitioners; however, patients (both adults and children) have access to a wide range of care and support services in primary, secondary and community settings, including specialist medical, paediatric, neurology and mental health services.”
Londonderry Sentinel, online
http://www.londonderrysentinel.co.uk/news/local/7_admissions_for_me_in_whsct_1_3101099
29/09/11
We must increase support for basic research
Patients have suffered because of doctors’ failure to fully understand the M.E./CFS, say US physicians Dr Jay A Levy and Dr Daniel Peterson. They go onto discuss the difficulty in attracting researchers to study the condition and the likelihood that the cause of M.E./CFS lies in the immune system. “Until we determine the causes and work out the best treatments for this debilitating condition, people with CFS will continue to suffer,” they add. “In the meantime, we must increase support for basic research and for finding the best, evidence-based approaches for treating the disease.”
LA Times, online
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-levy-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-20110930,0,4021674.story
30/09/11
Sussex M.E./CFS Society medical meeting
In a letter to the editor, David Butler, Sussex M.E./CFS Society, refers to a recent story about the economic cost of M.E. to the UK. He says nearly 90 people recently joined Simon Kirby MP at a Sussex M.E./CFS Society medical meeting at Hove Town Hall where speakers discussed research into the illness.
Brighton Argus, p 10
03/10/10
MP had CFS in her twenties
Yvette Cooper MP, who is in the running to succeed Ed Miliband as Labour leader, will never make Prime Minister if she doesn’t “project some sort of personality,” says Matthew Norman. “The closest she has come to producing a (dread word) “narrative” was confiding that, in her early twenties, she was stricken with chronic fatigue syndrome.”
The Daily Telegraph, p 25
01/10/11
M.E. after holiday in Australia
Dr James Le Fanu discusses the case of a previously fit and healthy lady in her 40s who, having returned feeling unwell from a holiday in Australia, can now barely walk. Further symptoms include dizziness, muscle aches and bowel problems. Dr Le Fanu says she most likely has M.E., and speculates that an in fection such as Lyme disease or Ross River fever may be the likely trigger.
The Lady, p 55
30/09/11
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