ME Awareness Week – A Recap
Living with ME/CFS can be incredibly isolating, often due to major shifts in life trajectory, disbelief from others, and lack of accommodation. This year, during ME Awareness Week (11th – 17th May), we highlighted the profound impact of the disease and published a series of articles examining the progress and ongoing challenges in investigating core symptoms.
12th May marked International ME Awareness Day, also promoted as World ME Day. On this important day, organisations and individuals stood in solidarity with the millions of people worldwide who are affected by ME/CFS and other chronic immunological and neurologic diseases. On 12th May, we also announced the theme of ME Research UK’s annual Founders’ Science Writing Award – “Heterogeneity in ME/CFS research populations – challenges faced, lessons learned, and next steps”.
Fundraisers – Thank you!
A heartfelt thank you to Anna Redshaw for organising Blue Sunday – “The Tea Party for M.E.” and to everyone who donated or fundraised on behalf of ME Research UK. All funds raised will go towards ME/CFS research.
Thank you to Rosie, who last month took on the London Marathon, in aid of ME Research UK, to support her mum, brother, and friend, who all live with ME/CFS.
In other news, Sophie will be challenging herself to swim 1 mile at the Great North Swim at Windermere Lake. She says: “For 11 years of my life swimming was my entire personality, from training at 4:30am before school, to dragging my mum to another competition. However that changed when unexplainable symptoms started to affect my swimming, and later my life.” Thank you so much, Sophie, and please take care. If you are able to, please help us support Sophie’s fundraising with a small donation.
Our fundraisers are the beating heart of the charity. Every mile, challenge, and act of kindness helps us invest in ME research worldwide.
Researcher Circle
On the 23rd of April 2026, the fourth meeting of ME Research UK’s ‘Researcher Circle’ took place online.
The Circle meets every other month, and alternates between more structured sessions with a speaker followed by time for questions and discussion, and informal ‘catch-ups’ which aim to provide a friendly forum to network and share relevant knowledge, to discuss progress and challenges faced, and to practise presentations.
Breakthrough magazine – Spring 2026 issue
The Spring 2026 issue of Breakthrough magazine is now available online, with news of the ME research you are helping to fund.
This issue includes newly funded projects exploring autoimmunity in ME/CFS, the use of cell electrophysiology to develop a diagnostic test, and the search for blood-based biomarkers; findings from Prof. Elisa Oltra on the role of HERVs in ME/CFS; Prof. Bhupesh Prusty’s study on how viral infections may influence the development of ME/CFS updated estimates of the UK prevalence of ME/CFS, and much more.
Articles
The case against deconditioning
Last May, with the help of data from NASA, a team of researchers led by Braeden Charlton and including ME Research UK-funded researcher Associate Professor Rob Wüst published a pre-print paper, which made a case against deconditioning as a primary cause of ME/CFS symptoms.
International ME/CFS Conference 2026
ME Research UK attended remotely the International ME/CFS Conference 2026 – Understand, Diagnose, Treat (May 7-8th). Highlights included the use of PET scans in ME/CFS research and Post-Acute Vaccination Syndrome.
TRC’s Bush Tucker trial
Thank you to The Recruitment Crowd (TRC) who are raising money for ME Research UK in a creative manner – A Bush Tucker challenge – where they will be tasting a range of ‘not-so-delightful’ delicacies.
New Address
In case you missed it – we have moved office!
Our new contact address: ME Research UK, PO Box 19691, Greenock, PA15 9FA.
Email address and telephone number are unchanged. Letters to The Gateway, Perth will get to us but please address new correspondence to our new PO Box number. NB – Our registered office is now 6 Atholl Crescent, Perth.
Help us make the breakthrough
We know that, as a subscriber to our newsletter and someone who is interested in our work, you join us in the belief that only robust scientific research is the key to understanding ME/CFS.
Donations from our valued supporters are vital if we are to continue our work to inform, influence and invest in ME/CFS research globally.
