The ME Association has made this release:

Have a Cuppa for ME - October 14

This received from Kathleen McCall, Eastleigh and Winchester ME Support Group:

As you probably know Bio-Medical research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) is desperately needed.

Government funding via the established research agencies is hard to access for groups wishing to research ME.

So we the M.E. Community must do something to help ourselves.

The idea is simple but brilliant (as the best ideas often are).

We are asking M.E.sufferers, individuals & Support Groups across the country, to host a Coffee Morning on October 14th or as near to that date as possible. Posters are in Word and are downloadable and of course the wording can be edited to suit your needs.

It needn't be a huge affair, if you can just manage to invite a couple of friends or neighbours in, even for half an hour.

(Get them to make the Cuppa if you are not able)

Then charge them for the privilege!

Money raised can be donated directly to your nominated research team but we would ask that you specify the money came from a "Have a Cuppa for ME" event.

We would also like to keep a running total of the money raised from this initiative so could you feedback the information directly to us?

Links to some Research sites can be found at the following websites.

Have a Cuppa for ME

Invest in ME

Release by ME Association regarding the controversial PACE trials:

The MEA and the PACE trials

Contrary to recent reports on the internet that the ME Association did absolutely nothing with members' endorsements of the PACE letter, the following was sent out on behalf of the members of The ME Association on 6th February 2005.

The letter was circulated to all those involved in the funding of the PACE Trials and also to the leaders of all the political parties and many others.

As I thought, the replies were all the same, stating that PACE was up and running and to stop them now would not necessarily mean the money would go to ME/CFS research.

The ME Association is still publicising its stance against the PACE trials and will continue to do so. This was not a chance missed, it was part of an ongoing campaign to discredit the trials and highlight the amount of public money being wasred on them.
..............................................

Dear xxxxxx

On behalf of our members, The ME Association calls for the PACE trials to be suspended and the funds involved to be set aside for research into the physical causes of ME/CFS.

Please find attached 351 endorsements from our members and an additional 861 endorsements from others who requested their names be put forward even though this campaign was directed at members only.

We back this call up with the 29,000 plus signatures handed in to 10, Downing Street on May 12th 2004, which were then forwarded to the Department of Health. The Petition called for more research into the physical causes of ME/CFS and less involvement with the psychiatric lobby in future research.

I have taken the liberty of enclosing two editions of our magazine ME Essential where you can read for yourself the two campaign calls.

With a General Election on the horizon, I would like to point out that with an estimated 240,000 + sufferers, their families and carers in Britain, there are in excess of maybe two million or more votes up for grabs, any political party backing our call for a suspension would therefore benefit greatly.

Yours...........

Christine Llewellyn
Chair
The ME Association

Recent update by the ME Association:

Ramsay Research Fund - brief update

The Ramsay Research Fund, a restricted fund operated by the ME Association, supports research into all aspects of ME. In particular, the RRF finances studies which are designed to (a) improve our understanding of the underlying cause of the illness, (b) produce a diagnostic test, (c) develop effective forms of treatment.

Recently completed studies include those carried out by:

Professor Ronald Chalmers and colleagues at St George's Hospital Medical School, London into the diagnostic and clinical role of various urinary markers and metabolites. These results have just been published as three separate papers in the scientific journal Clinica Chimica Acta.

Dr Derek Pheby and colleagues at the University of the West of England into factors which are involved in the development of severe ME. These results are being prepared for publication.

Research that is currently being funded includes the study into gene expression being carried out by Dr John Gow and colleagues at the University of Glasgow. Preliminary results are being prepared for publication.

Future research initiatives that are currently under active discussion include a study involving the examination of brain and nervous system tissue from people with ME who have died and a study to assess the value of a new investigative test which may identify specific food allergies and intolerances in people with ME.

Dr Charles Shepherd
Medical Adviser, The ME Association