September 9th’s publication of research by a team at the University of Dundee offers further indications that the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - ME has a pathology that now needs some serious resources to be made available for larger scale research.

The study, published in the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, found abnormalities in the white blood cells of children with ME/CFS, suggesting they had been fighting off infection.

Sussex ME/CFS Society chairman, Colin Barton says: “Coupled with recent research findings in the US that link ME to a number of viruses, this new study highlights yet again that substantially more research must be undertaken into the biological causes of ME/CFS.”

The research publication comes a week after the Department of Health decided to ban blood donation permanently from all prospective donors in the UK who report they have had ME from November 1st this year. The decision was made on the grounds of donor safety, as ME/CFS is a relapsing condition. It brings practice for ME/CFS into line with other relapsing conditions or neurological conditions of unknown origin.