Bristol ME Support Group

04/09/2026

From the ME Association
(See comment from Dr Charles Shepherd below)

** Trigger Warning: Contains upsetting content **

The British Association of Clinicians in ME/CFS (BACME) have published their report on the ME/CFS Tube Feeding Survey conducted last year.

"A notable finding was the volume and strength of the personal accounts submitted. The emotive responses illustrate the considerable distress that nutritional compromise and tube feeding decisions can cause for pwME/CFS, their families and clinicians."

Read more: https://meassociation.org.uk/cpj9

Download the report on the BACME website: https://bacme.info/bacme-tube-feeding-survey-report/

04/09/2026

From the ME Association
TV BROADCAST MEDIA INTERVIEW REQUEST - SOMERSET

TV BROADCAST MEDIA INTERVIEW REQUEST - SOMERSET

We are working with a journalist who is putting together a regional TV news piece on ME/CFS. The journalist would like to interview people with ME/CFS who live in Somerset and are happy to share an insight into the impact of ME/CFS on daily life. Filming would be in-person at your home. If you live in Somerset, and would like to share your experiences, please send a brief overview of your situation to our press office [email protected]

Thank you!

04/09/2026

A new article by Margaret Williams via Cambridge ME group

03/09/2026

Prof Chris Ponting says "“Unfortunately, the 2026 study’s claims are impossible to evaluate because the computational methods they used are proprietary, locked within black boxes they term EpiSwitch® Analytical and Data Portals, Knowledgebase and Orion v1 anchor detection. Researchers are thus disallowed from reproducing this study independently.
“What is clear from the methods is that “3D genomic anchors” are predicted for each disease using genome-wide association study summary statistics. Most of these anchors will have only very weak statistical support from genetics. This is because the authors apply a highly permissive filter (p < 0.01), rather than the usual stringent threshold of p < 5 x10-8.
“Another likely limitation is a cellular mismatch between the chromosome conformation data, derived from circulating blood cells, and the GWAS data that implicates other cell types: lung epithelial cells and alveolar macrophages for Long Covid, and cortical neurons for PTSD and likely ME/CFS. This is important because different types of cell (e.g., T-cells vs neurons) typically adopt different chromosome conformations.”

A study published in Journal of Translational Medicine looks at shared biological mechanisms between ME/CFS, Long COVID, PTSD, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Multiple Sclerosis.

03/09/2026

From Tom Kindlon's ME CFS & related page: News, Research and more

The new novel, "Ascent of Crime", by retired ME/CFS expert physician, Dr Amolak Bansal, is now available on Kindle.

The main character has ME!

I haven’t seen any reviews

Official description:
"While in the final year of his veterinary course, Ben becomes profoundly ill. After a slow and difficult improvement, impeded by the disbelief of his medical carers, he becomes disabled by a continual exhaustion. He is ultimately diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) but to his further dismay he then develops a marked hypersensitivity of his hearing and sense of smell. A chance meeting with an open-minded surgeon leads him to a job in cybersecurity with the police and then on a journey in which his disability becomes a much valued asset in the fight against crime."

Dr Bansal sent me this which he told me is on the back:
"Amolak Bansal is a retired clinical immunologist and allergist who has worked in several countries around the world and in his last position in south London also ran one of the UK's national centres for ME/CFS. In addition to his work on immune deficiency and allergy, he has written numerous research papers on the underlying immune issues in ME/CFS and also how the condition may be diagnosed and managed. Despite long Covid now being recognised as a genuine and disabling condition caused by a virus, he is keen to rectify the common misunderstanding that ME/CFS is a psychological illness. This novel is based on his investigation and management of several thousand patients with this condition and their fight to be properly understood and cared for."

03/09/2026

From Broken Battery with concerns from Prof Chris Ponting

03/09/2026

"Scientists have unlocked a “biological secret” which may explain why people with five major illnesses suffer from chronic exhaustion, paving the way for new treatments.
They found “striking biological similarities” between myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), long Covid, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis (MS).
All the conditions cause similar symptoms, including profound fatigue and brain fog, but are triggered by different events — ranging from viral infections to psychological trauma. They had previously been considered separate and unrelated disorders."
Article behind paywall

Scientists ‘approaching unifying theory of fatigue’ from DNA structure in cells of people with ME, long Covid, PTSD, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis

03/09/2026

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-02683-2

Hundreds of millions of people have long-term conditions as a result of an infection. Researchers are working out how to help them.

03/09/2026

https://www.dailywire.com/news/hundreds-of-millions-trapped-in-post-viral-nightmare-as-scientists-race-for-cure

Hundreds of millions of people worldwide are living with brutal, long-term conditions caused by past infections while scientists are nearing answers that could finally offer relief.An estimated 400 million people suffer from long COVID, chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), or similar conditions. For d...

03/09/2026

"The findings suggest that chronic fatigue syndrome (also known as ME), long COVID, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis (MS) may be driven by common underlying mechanisms.
This is despite the conditions being triggered by different events—from viral infections to psychological trauma or autoimmune responses."

A shared biological mechanism that helps explain chronic exhaustion in conditions including long COVID and PTSD has been identified by researchers at the University of East Anglia and Oxford BioDynamics. The paper, published in the Journal of Translational Medicine, reveals striking biological simil...