The ME/CFS Society of NSW Inc.

I thought it might be helpful to get in early and arm you with a scientific
appraisal of the recent article in Science regarding a new retrovirus
discovered in patients with CFS.
The first comment is that the findings are potentially very important to our
understanding of the illness.
The paper describes the detection of genetic material of a virus known as xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) in 68 of 101 (67%) patients in the US, described as having illness "fulfilling the 1994 CDC Fukuda Criteria for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and the 2003 Canadian Consensus Criteria for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) and presenting with severe disability", compared to 8 of 218 (3.7%) healthy individuals.

Once in a lifetime opportunity to discuss the condition (ME/CFS) and management with one of the world’s most highly regarded researchers and clinicians.

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Disability Insurance May Be a Saviour
Never Assume!
In the early 1990's the surge in superannuation entitlements under the Superannuation Guarantee legislation also brought with it an increase in employees who had access to Superannuation Disability Insurance. The problem is, people forget that it exists, or believe that it does not apply to them.

You may well be very wrong. Do not assume that you are not entitled.

What Insurances Are There?

Following a press conference at the Ritz Hotel in London on Thursday May 28, a number of UK newspapers have been reporting that the cause of ME/CFS has been identified and that a simple home-based diagnostic test for ME/CFS is now commercially available to the general public.

Daily Telegraph story

The urine test is based on the new scientific hypothesis that people with ME/CFS are producing excessive amounts of a chemical called hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and that this abnormality can be measured by a specific urine test (that measures an H2S metabolite/by-product).

The Society created this brochure in response to a number of clients' experiences in the hospital system. It outlines major symptoms of ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia, explains ways that a medical setting can be detrimental to a patient's health, and suggests ways that health professionals can make a patient's time in hospital more comfortable.

Please feel free to print and distribute this brochure as required. If you want a large number, contact the Society for more information.

Dr Stephen Graves, Director of Hunter Area Pathology and the Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory spoke with me about the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Conference held in Cambridge in July 2008. What is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? What are the causes, and what is it like to be struck down by the illness? Why is it still the invisible illness so many years after its

The interview was broadcast on Diffusion Science Radio on 2SER on the 4th of August 2008 You can download the whole show here

The Sleepydust ME/CFS video was made for the friends and family of ME/CFS sufferers. Please help to educate people about this illness by forwarding this page on to as many people as you know.

Visit the Sleepydust website: http://www.sleepydust.net/

-by Ros Vallings

Scepticism has been a problem for people with ME for a very long time. In this article, Dr Rosamund Vallings takes a look at scepticism and disbelief in ME from a medical practitioner’s point of view.