Understanding, diagnosing, and treating Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome – State of the art: Report of the 2nd international meeting at the Charité Fatigue Center.
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a devastating disease affecting millions of people worldwide. Due to the 2019 pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), we are facing a significant increase of ME/CFS prevalence. On May 11th to 12th, 2023, the second international ME/CFS conference of the Charité Fatigue Center was held in Berlin, Germany, focusing on pathomechanisms, diagnosis, and treatment. During the two-day conference, more than 100 researchers from various research fields met on-site and over 700 attendees participated online to discuss the state of the art and novel findings in this field. Key topics from the conference included: the role of the immune system, dysfunction of endothelial and autonomic nervous system, and viral reactivation. Furthermore, there were presentations on innovative diagnostic measures and assessments for this complex disease, cutting-edge treatment approaches, and clinical studies. Despite the increased public attention due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the subsequent rise of Long COVID-19 cases, and the rise of funding opportunities to unravel the pathomechanisms underlying ME/CFS, this severe disease remains highly underresearched. Future adequately funded research efforts are needed to further explore the disease etiology and to identify diagnostic markers and targeted therapies.
FörderungenLost Voices Foundation Fatigatio e.V German Research Foundation (DFG) German Ministries of Education and Science (BMBF) and Health (BMG) German Ministries of Education and Science (BMBF) Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority (LGL) Amar Foundation, USA ME Research UK BMBF Gordon Parish Charitable Trust, UK EU-funded projects ImmunoSep Solve ME/CFS Initiative NEUROCOV Weidenhammer Zoebele Foundation Bavarian Ministries of Science and Arts (StMWK) and Health and Care (StMGP) BCCDC Foundation for Population and Public Health, Canada National Institutes of Health (NIH) , US Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) DFG BMBF via iTREAT