Research Summaries

Written by Charlotte Stephens and overseen by Dr Charles Shepherd for the ME Association, these popular lay summaries focus on research we have found particularly interesting or important.

They also include updates relating to the research being funded by the MEA Ramsay Research Fund. And often feature comments from researchers we have interviewed with some being written by the researchers themselves.

We make our summary reviews freely available as downloads or to view as website blogs and hope they help bring a greater understanding and appreciation of M.E. research.

Index of Published ME/CFS Research

All research relating to ME/CFS can be located in the ME Association: Index of ME/CFS Published Research.

This extensive library of research is updated at the end of every month, and is correct to the end of July 2020. It is a free resource available to anyone.

The Index provides an A-Z of published research studies and selected key documents and articles, listed by subject matter, on myalgic encephalomyelitis, myalgic encephalopathy, and/or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).

You can use it to easily locate and read any research in a particular area that you might be interested in, e.g. epidemiology, infection, neurology, post-exertional malaise etc.

You can also find the Research Index in the Published Research section of the website together with a list of Research Summaries from the ME Association that provide lay explanations of the more important and interesting work that has been published to date.

2020 Summary Reviews:

• September: IACFS/ME New York Virtual Research Conference Report
• September: Small-Fiber Polyneuropathy May Underlie Dysautonomia in ME/CFS
• May: Is mystery factor in plasma causing viral immunity in ME/CFS?
• February: Assessing diagnostic value of microRNAs – Dr Elisa Oltra

2019 Summary Reviews:

• December: Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) in ME/CFS – Update
• November: Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) in ME/CFS
• October: Differentiating Medical Uncertainty
• July: The Role of Mitochondria in ME/CFS
• April: A Critique of the CBT Model in ME/CFS by Dr Keith Geraghty
• April: UK ME Biobank – MAIT Cells are Increased in Severe ME/CFS
• March: Assessing PEM – The characteristic symptom of ME/CFS
• March: Energy production in ME/CFS by Dr Cara Tomas
• February: Metabolites from ME/CFS implicate ‘Redox’ imbalance
• January: US study of onset patterns and course of illness in ME/CFS
• January: Whole-brain imaging study suggests brain inflammation in ME/CFS

2018 Research update:

• August: Metabolomics and ME/CFS – Dr Morten and the Oxford research centre

2018 Summary Reviews:

• December: Red blood cells in ME/CFS demonstrate reduced ability to change shape
• November: Cardiac abnormalities in ME/CFS not due to deconditioning
• September: The search for biomarkers in ME/CFS using Raman spectroscopy
• August: Natural killer cells as a biomarker in ME/CFS
• June: ME/CFS and the Biopsychosocial Model – by Dr Keith Geraghty
• March: Vision impairment in M.E.
• February: Elevated BNP levels in ME/CFS associate with cardiac dysfunction
• January: The dysfunctional autonomic nervous system in ME/CFS

2017 Summary Reviews:

• December: Changes in ‘brain chemistry’ after exercise in CFS, Gulf War Illness and sedentary controls
• November: Cellular bioenergetic deficiencies in ME/CFS – by Dr Cara Tomas
• October: Rethinking childhood adversity in ME/CFS
• October: Grey and white matter differences in chronic fatigue syndrome
• August: Cytokine signature associated with disease severity in ME/CFS
• August: To the heart of the issue – new study on two-day CPET in M.E. and MS

The ME Association

Ramsay Research Fund

We are a national charity working hard to improve the lives of people devastated by an often-misunderstood neurological disease. 

We believe biomedical research offers the best hope to people affected by M.E. If you would like to support our investment then please donate to the Ramsay Research Fund. 

Just click the image opposite to visit our JustGiving page for single donations or to establish a regular payment. You can even establish your own fundraising event.

Or why not join the ME Association as a member and be part of our growing community? For a monthly (or annual) subscription you will also receive ME Essential – quite simply the best M.E. magazine!

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ME Association Registered Charity Number 801279

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Visit the other pages in this section:

• Published Research – Supported by the MEA Ramsay Research Fund
• Research Summaries – Lay summaries of interesting and important research
• PACE Trial Reanalysis and MEA Illness Management Reports

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