See the IiME Press Release for biomedical research.

Invest in ME would like to thank all those who took part in the conference for contributing to the wonderful atmosphere which was present during the conference.

The theme of the conference was Sub Grouping and Treatments for ME/CFS. After last year's conference the message went out that we needed data to prove the organic nature of this disabling physical illness. The 2008 conference provided that data.

The 3rd IiME International ME/CFS conference was our best yet. This year the chair was performed superbly by Professor Malcolm Hooper whose minimal but expert interventions kept the event on schedule with minimum interruption and thus enabled the conference to flow and maximise the time given to each of our presenters.

The atmosphere at the conference again showed the positive and forward-looking side of the ME community around the world - patients, carers and researchers who want to get better, who continue to campaign for better education and who are determined to find preventions, treatments or cures for this debilitating neurological illness. The intention to educate and publicise the need for sub grouping and treatments was proven to be correct as the experts presented their data showing clear subtypes of this illness.

And then there were the presentations from our distinguished speakers. An amazing amount of knowledge was presented showing the organic nature of myalgic encephalomyelitis.

A full review of the conference may downloaded from here.

Now the challenge is for the Chief Medical officer, the Medical Research Council and the government to take up the challenge laid down by the conference and commit to a national strategy of biomedical research into ME, without any conditions or provisions for enforcing the psychosocial model to be incorporated. The conference clearly showed that we do not need to perform research in collaboration with the psychiatric lobby in order to gain access to funding from the MRC. After looking at the evidence presented by Drs Lerner, Jason, Chia, Newton, Kerr, and experiences of Drs Monro and Spurr, and after seeing the exciting and dynamic presentation of research from Dr Mikovits showing what can and will be achieved then the examination of relationships between valid and proven biological markers (as in the conference) and generic, unproven and sometimes deleterious treatments (as advocated by NICE and the psychiatric lobby) is doomed to failure and unnecessary delays in providing real treatments and a cure for ME. As Dr Lerner said at the conference -

Treatments (for some sub types) are already there.

Invest in ME has passed on an invitation from Mrs Annette Whittemore of the Whittemore-Peterson Institute for Neuro-Immune Diseases in Nevada, USA, to the CMO, the MRC, the Secretary of State for Health and health minister Mrs Ann Keen to visit the institute in the next 6-8 months to look at the plans and strategies being developed for biomedical research into ME. Mrs Whittemore has also extended an invitation to for these same people to attend the opening of the WPI in 2010. 

>> Click here for the text of these letters  (CMO example) <<

From our point of view one of the most enjoyable aspects of the conference was the networking which occurred and the possibility of putting people with ME or their carers in direct contact with our presenters, enabling them to get answers or information for their personal set of circumstances.

Invest in ME published its third Journal of IiME [click here] prior to the conference. A supplement to the Journal also served as a conference brochure and that is now available [click here]. 

Please use the links above to branch to different aspects of the conference. We will add more data over the next few days.

We do value and appreciate all the comments and feedback which we received and we shall use these to attempt to improve the conference for 2009.

Invest in ME have produced a DVD, containing the complete presentations at the conference, which can be ordered here.

The presentations are available and included on the conference DVD, as they were on last year's DVD - available here.

This conference was dedicated to the work and memory of Dr John Richardson whose dedication to those suffering from ME is still evident today in the work of the John Richardson Research group whose chairman, Dr Irving Spurr, was a founder member of the group and was speaking at the conference. 

Many thanks for all of the support we received.

Best Wishes from all at Invest in ME

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