Myalgic encephalomyelitis or “M.E.” is a long-term neuroimmune disease, often triggered by viral illness, that causes an array of debilitating symptoms – intense fatigue that is not improved by rest; constant muscle, joint and gastric pain; immune deficiency; and neurological dysfunction. It’s estimated that 24 million worldwide live with M.E. But, as there’s currently no biomarker – a measurable indicator of the condition’s underlying pathology – many go undiagnosed. Even for those with a diagnosis, there are no effective treatments.

M.E. sufferers don’t get a break: the pain, neurological dysfunction and fatigue are constant. The disease, sometime misleadingly labelled ‘chronic fatigue’, is cruel because things that should allow a person to feel healthier – like exercise – make the condition much worse. A key symptom of M.E. is “post exertional malaise” (again the term “malaise” underplays it), whereby exertion triggers a flare-up of severe flu-like symptoms, unrelenting pain and collapse in function that a Pulitzer-prize winning science journalist described as “the annihilation of possibility”. Few diseases have been so under-funded relative to the catastrophic burden.

I chose to support Action for M.E. as one of the UK’s leading charities funding high-quality biomedical research to uncover a biomarker for M.E with the hope of leading to the discovery of effective treatments.

I’m extremely grateful for any donation you can make and feel free to contact me if you’d like more info.

Liv (olivia.elliot25@gmail.com)

Ps. If you’d like to learn more, the links below are good:

https://www.actionforme.org.uk/

https://www.meresearch.org.uk/what-is-me/

https://www.cdc.gov/me-cfs/index.html

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