Author Clarissa K. Wittenberg & Society for Women’s Health Research
This blog was inspired by the good news that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has doubled its research budget for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME / CFS). However, it was shocking to see that the increase was from $7.6 million last year to $15 million this year. This is a very small research budget given that hundreds of thousands, even as high as 2.5 million men, women, and children suffer from this syndrome. Several studies use different criteria for diagnosis making for a wide variance in prevalence. The economic cost of ME / CFS is estimated at $17 to $24 billion annually [1]. NIH is the nation’s premiere biomedical research agency and as such, whatever budget is allotted, its influence adds credibility to the importance of studying ME / CFS.
