ME Research UK funds high-quality biomedical research into ME/CFS. It does this to find its underlying cause, to develop diagnostic tools and effective treatments, and ultimately to discover a cure.
Thanks wholly to the support of our donors, we have provided over £4.5 million of funding for more than seventy research projects around the world.
Projects funded by ME Research have covered a wide range of areas, and have already made significant advances in helping us understand more about ME/CFS, including:
- Changes to the structure of different regions of the brain such as the hippocampus and brainstem, as well as impaired connectivity between them. These may help explain ME/CFS symptoms involving problems with concentration, memory and vision.
- Evidence of infection with Epstein-Barr virus and a member of the anellovirus family in some people with ME/CFS. An underlying viral infection has long thought to be one potential trigger of the disease.
- Several abnormalities in the mechanisms by which muscle cells generate energy, including impaired cellular energy exchange and a reduced ability to use glucose as a fuel. These metabolism problems could underlie the muscle fatigue associated with ME/CFS.
- Elevated release of a protein during physical activity which can increase the sensitivity of pain pathways, and which may therefore play an important role in the pathophysiology of ME/CFS.
However, there is still much more to do. If you would like to help support further research into ME/CFS, please consider fundraising for ME Research UK or making a donation to the charity, so that we can continue to inform, influence and invest in ME research.
