New! Sunday Conversations with MassME

Support and Discussion Groups

New Evidence-based Strategies Pilot Program!

We are pleased to announce that we will be offering an eight session pilot program applying evidence-based strategies to help people with ME improve their quality of life.  Erica Scioli, Ph.D. , Assistant Professor at Boston University School of Medicine, will lead this exciting new program, which begins February 5th.  Spaces are limited. Watch for your upcoming Member News for more information.

Support Groups Open to All

The following support groups meet regularly and are open to all:

Patients (Lyme, Long Covid and ME)
Sponsored by the Dean Center at Spaulding Rehabilitation
Register Here    

Patients, Friends and Partners
Sponsored by Bateman Horne Center
Register here

Caregivers
Sponsored by MEAction
Register here

Thank you to our friends at the Dean Center, the Bateman-Horne Center and MEAction
for making these resources available.

Meet Our New Administrative Assistant
Ellen Rosenfeld

Ellen joined MassME in November, 2021 to help coordinate our growing number of events and support services.  Ellen is a paid professional, the first employee to be hired since our strategic plan made clear that we can no longer meet member needs with an all-volunteer staff.  We are absolutely thrilled to have Ellen on board.

Latest Articles, Videos, and Links

There is so much important information to share!
Here are our highlights for this month.

Video: Pathophysiology of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) by Dr. Anthony Komaroff
Do you wonder what doctors are learning about ME/CFS? Heywood Health, a hospital system in central Massachusetts, asked for our help in finding a doctor to do Grand Rounds for their staff. Dr. Komaroff graciously agreed to do this and Heywood allowed us to post a video of the event.

Video: Amy Proal interviews Dr. Liisa Selin of UMass Chan Medical School
In this video, Dr. Amy Proal (PolyBio) interviews Dr. Liisa Selin about her ME/CFS research. Dr. Selin is a professor of pathology at the University of Massachusetts TH Chan Medical School. She and her colleague, Dr. Anna Gil, recently received an NIH grant to study the role of viral infection and T-cell exhaustion in the development of ME/CFS. Their work may also help shed light on the Long COVID disease process.

Article: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Essentials of Diagnosis and Management
Updated ME/CFS Recommendations Published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings
Thanks to years of hard work by Dr. Lucinda Bateman (Bateman-Horne Center) and other members of the US Clinicians Coalition, the Mayo Clinic Proceedings have published up to date recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of ME/CFS. If your health care provider is open to learning more about ME/CFS, this article in a prestigious journal is a good resource.

Radio Program: Thank you to National Public Radio for airing this fantastic program on What We've Learned About Identifying and Treating Long Covid
Special thanks to:
Dr. Igor Koralnik - Chief of Neuro-infectious Diseases and Global Neurology, Northwestern Medicine
Dr. Alba Azola - Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Co-director, Post-Acute COVID Team Clinic
Rebecca Heick - Epidemiologist; Professor of Public Health, Augustana College; COVID long-hauler  for their wise, compassionate and moving commentary.

Course: New CDC/Medscape Course on ME/CFS
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has teamed up with Medscape to offer continuing medical education (CME) course on ME/CFS. CDC just posted a new course called "A Fresh Look at Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Diagnosis and Management of a Multisystem Illness" for primary care physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, and other health care providers. This is a great resource for health care providers who want to learn more about ME/CFS, much of which will apply to Long COVID.

Video: Episode 130 of ME/CFS Alert features a conversation with MassME member Rivka Solomon
In late 2021, MassME member and long time ME advocate Rivka Solomon was interviewed by journalist Llewellyn King. They discuss exciting ME advocacy successes, how advocacy can impact ME advocates' health, NIH shortcomings, and more.

Lecture Series: Solve ME Lecture Series on Data Analysis for ME/CFS Research
On Jan 21st and Feb 6th, Solve ME is presenting a two-part lecture series by recipients of their new Stupski Award which funds research using the You + M.E. registry.

Thank you to The Economist, for this encouraging prediction in their World to Come, 2022 Issue
"Tests and treatments for 'long-covid' will help treat other disorders ...such as Lyme disease, chronic fatigue syndrome and complications from flu. For millions of people whose lives have been upended by a viral infection that will not go away, 2022 will be a year of hope."