CONFERENCE  PROGRAMME

Management, Treatments and the Latest Advances in Research into ME/CFS

Home Registration Programme  Venue Conference Flyer Sponsor a Professional Pre-Conference Presentation Past Conferences


The ME/CFS Conference aims to educate and provide current information to healthcare professionals (GPs, paediatricians, nurses etc.), researchers and patient groups/patients and to educate the media and politicians who are involved in establishing news or debate regarding healthcare.

Following the successful IiME International ME/CFS conference in London in May 2008 which dealt with Sub Grouping and Treatments of ME/CFS we now look at the subjects of -

  • the ME Clinic

  • diagnosis of ME/CFS

  • treatments for ME/CFS

  • epidemics of ME/CFS

  • news from the latest biomedical research into ME/CFS

We will include management and treatment of severe ME/CFS - which many consider to be the area where research will uncover treatments and cures for the various sub groups of this illness.

The series of lectures will focus on treatments, care and medical information and research and will provide a broad range of valuable information for all.

The conference will provide a chance to hear the latest news on ME/CFS from the most prominent speakers within the ME community - in ME Awareness Month 2009.

Return to top of page

Conference Agenda

Details of lectures (note these may change).

Start Presenter Presentation
07.45

Registration & Media interviews

08.55 IiME Welcome to the Conference
09.00

Professor Jonathan Brostoff  MA DM DSc(Med) FRCP FRCPath FIBiol

Conference Chairman

09:05

Mrs Annette Whittemore

Key Note Speech

09:35

Professor Garth Nicolson PhD

Similar Infections Found in ME/CFS and Neurodegenerative and Neurobehavioral Diseases

10:25

Professor Harald Nyland MD, PhD

Epidemics & ME: Lessons from the Giardia epidemic in Norway

10.55 Break

11:15

Dr. Jonathan Kerr MD, PhD   

Severely-affected Sub Groups of ME/CFS

11:45

Dr. Barbara Baumgarten MD

Services for correct diagnosis and Management/Treatment of ME

12:15

Discussion

The ME Clinic

12.30 Lunch

13:25

Professor Kenny de Meirleir MD, PhD

Research on Extremely Debilitated M.E. Patients Reveals the True Nature of the Disorder

14:10

Dr. Dan Peterson MD

Treatment Regimes for the Most Severe Cases
14:55 Professor Basant Puri Neuro-Imaging of ME Patients
15.10 Coffee/tea Break

15:30

Dr John Chia MD

Diagnosis and Treatment of chronic enterovirus infection associated with ME/CFS

16:15

Dr. Judy Mikovits MD

Research and Diagnosis of difficult and complex medical cases of ME

17:00

Professor Jonathan Brostoff  + Presenters

Plenary Session

17.30 Adjourn

Return to top of page

Conference Speakers

Invest in ME are pleased to announce the following presenters at the conference -

Annette Whittemore

Founder and President of the Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuroimmune Diseases, Reno, Nevada, USA.  The Institute will be built on the medical campus of the University of Nevada. Its mission is to serve those with complex neuro-immune diseases such as ME/CFS, viral induced central nervous system dysfunction and fibromyalgia.

Annette Whittemore graduated in Elementary and Special Education at the University of Nevada and taught children with neuro-cognitive deficits, such as those found in autism, ADD, and learning disabilities. As the director of the current operations at the Institute Annette supports the basic and clinical research program, and actively recruits physicians and other support personnel for the Institute.

Dr. Barbara Baumgarten

Head of the recently opened ME-centre at Ullevål University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.

Dr Baumgarten has seen ME patients in her private practice since 1997 and has had responsibility for specialised medical services for ME patients. Dr Baumgarten is a board member of the Oslo branch of the Norwegian Medical Association. The ME Centre in Oslo is unique in that patients have been closely involved in its formation.

Dr. Jonathan Kerr Sir Joseph Hotung Senior Lecturer in Inflammation, St George's University of London. Dr. Kerr is now the principal investigator in a programme of research in ME/CFS. This involves development of a diagnostic test using mass spectrometry, analysis of human and viral gene expression in the white blood cells, and clinical trials of immunomodulatory drugs. He has recently published research identifying distinct subtypes in patients with ME/CFS.
Professor Kenny De Meirleir

Director of the Human Performance Laboratory and Fatigue Clinic, The Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Belgium.

Co author of the  book 'Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Biological Approach' and his published works cover many aspects of ME/CFS. Current research involves the gut and ME/CFS. He has seen over 12000 ME/CFS patients and we are hoping of exciting new research findings to be presented at the conference.

Dr. John Chia Dr Chia is an infectious disease specialist practicing in Torrance, California, USA and has published research recently (Chronic fatigue syndrome  associated with chronic enterovirus infection of the stomach) on the role of enteroviruses in the aetiolgy of ME/CFS – an area which has been implicated as one of the causes by a number of studies. There are more than 70 different types of enteroviruses that can affect the central nervous system, heart and muscles, all of which is consistent with the symptoms of ME/CFS.  By analyzing samples of stomach tissue from 165 patients with CFS, Dr. Chia's team discovered that 82% of these individuals had high levels of enteroviruses in their digestive systems. Dr Chia's research may result in the development of antiviral drugs to treat the debilitating symptoms of ME/CFS.
Professor Garth Nicolson

President, Chief Scientific Officer and a Research Professor at the Institute for Molecular Medicine, Laguna Beach, California, USA. Conjoint Professor, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Newcastle, Australia. Professor of Integrative Medicine, Capital University of Integrative Medicine, Washington DC.

Professor Nicolson has published over 550 papers, three of them current content citation classics, and his recent publications include: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients subsequently diagnosed with Lyme Disease Borrelia burgdorferi: evidence for Mycoplasma species co-infections; Chronic infections in neurodegenerative and neurobehavioral diseases; New emerging infections: Their development, testing and resulting disease.

Professor Harald Nyland

Department of Neurology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.

Professor Nyland has seen several thousand ME patients, among them many severely ill. His recent research involves an ME/CFS Epidemic Following a Giardia lamblia Infection in Bergen. Professor Nyland was knighted in 2007 for his services of over 30 years for MS patients in Norway.

Professor Jonathan Brostoff

(conference chair)

Jonathan Brostoff is Senior Research Fellow and Professor Emeritus of Allergy and Environmental Health at Kings College, London. He was the Foundation Professor of Allergy and Environmental Health and Director of the Centre for Allergy Research at University College London. Whilst at University College Hospital he was Physician in charge of the Allergy Clinic.

He is recognized as a leading international authority on food allergy and intolerance. Professor Brostoff was involved in one of the few, and much-quoted Spect scan studies of ME patients [Brainstem perfusion is impaired in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. Costa DC, Tannock C and Brostoff J. Quarterly Journal of Medicine 1995:88:767 773]
 
Dr. Daniel Peterson

Dr Dan Peterson is Medical Director, Whittemore Peterson Institute, Reno, Nevada, USA.

With over 25 years of medical practice, Dr Daniel L. Peterson has become a sought-after internist for diagnosing difficult and complex medical cases. When several patients in Incline Village became ill with symptoms that resembled persistent mononucleosis, Daniel Peterson was one of the first physicians to recognize an outbreak of what is known as ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). He became a pioneering physician and researcher in understanding the biological characteristics and methods for diagnosing, managing and treating ME/CFS. He has also performed major studies of Ampligen as a treatment for ME/CFS, and studying the possible role of human herpes virus 6 (HHV-6) in CFS patients. 

Dr. Judy Mikovits Dr. Mikovits obtained her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from George Washington University. She is Research Director at the Whittemore Peterson Nevada CFS centre for Neuro-Immune disorders and has co-authored over 40 peer reviewed publications that address fundamental issues of viral pathogenesis, hematopoiesis and cytokine biology.
Professor Basant Puri Professor and Consultant, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College School of Medicine

Basant Puri is a Consultant and Professor at Hammersmith Hospital in London. He is also head of the Lipid Neuroscience Group at Imperial College and is the author of over 130 peer-reviewed medical and scientific papers and over 30 books.

Return to top of page

Conference Format
The conference consists of lectures followed by a short question/answer session. At the end of the day a plenary session will allow more questions to be posed to the panel of experts.

Return to top of page

CPD Accreditation

Maximum 6 points CPD accreditation has been given to the conference by the Royal College of Physicians.

This is available for those purchasing the professional category tickets (including sponsored professionals).

Return to top of page

Register
By clicking the buttons at the top of the page you will be able to branch to the specific area of interest regarding the conference. There are both downloadable and online registration forms and details of the presenters.

Please note - this conference is a TICKET-ONLY event.
Tickets must be purchased and received before the event.

Return to top of page

 

 
ME Invest in ME myalgic encephalomyelitis ME Invest in ME events myalgic encephalomyelitis ME Invest in ME myalgic encephalomyelitis ME Invest in ME myalgic encephalomyelitis ME Invest in ME myalgic encephalomyelitis Invest in ME newsletter ME Invest in ME myalgic encephalomyelitis ME-bay,ME Invest in ME myalgic encephalomyelitis