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In this Issue

• Fast Track Research Program Established for 2006
• From the Desk of K. Kimberly McCleary
• Last Chance to Order Seasonal Greeting Cards to Benefit CFS!
• ReCreation Health & Wholeness Announces Housing & Healing Support for People with CFIDS & Fibromyalgia
• NIH Process for Reviewing CFS Grants Under Fire
• Second kNOw MORE CFS Seminar Repeats Success
• The Science & Research of CFS:
  A Special Double-Issue of the CFIDS Chronicle
• Your Support Matters!
• CFIDS Association Donors Eligible for Katrina Tax Break
• International Conference on HHV-6 & 7
• Coping During the Holidays
• Protect Research Funding
• Bulletin Board Notices

Fast-track Research Program established for 2006
In early 2006, over $250,000 will be put to work supporting exciting CFS research exploring possible cause(s) of CFS, biomarkers, pathophysiology and treatment(s).

This “fast-track” research initiative, established by the Board of the CFIDS Association for 2006, is designed to accelerate the rate at which scientific knowledge makes a practical impact on the daily lives of people with CFS. Proposals will be reviewed by the Association’s Scientific Advisory Committee and funding decisions, based on the committee’s expert recommendations, will be made in late January 2006. We look forward to sharing news of research awards with you in the February 2006 issue of CFIDSLink.

From The Desk of K. Kimberly McCleary
The charitable sector is crucial to filling the holes that exist in our nation’s safety net. Thanks to support from people like you, the CFIDS Association is able to help fill some of the gaps that exist for people with CFIDS, those who care about them and those searching for the reason for their puzzling symptoms and decline in health and function. Read on at http://www.cfids.org/cfidslink/2005/dec-ftdo.asp

Last Chance to Order Seasonal Greeting Cards to Benefit CFS!
If you haven’t yet ordered your limited edition greeting cards, do so today! Orders received by Wednesday, December 14, will ship December 15, ensuring timely delivery.

Remember, your purchase of these beautiful cards -- created exclusively for the Association by a young person with CFS -- directly benefits efforts to advance CFS research, public policy, education and awareness. Don’t delay, visit http://www.cfids.org/cfidslink/2005/seasonal-cards.asp to learn more and to place your order. Thank you. Together we will bring an end to the pain, disability and suffering CFS causes.

ReCreation Health & Wholeness Announces Housing & Healing Support for People with CFIDS & Fibromyalgia
ReCreation Community Housing Association is developing a Health and Wholeness Housing Community to help meet the needs of people with CFIDS and Fibromyalgia (FM). They believe that living in a community of peers can dramatically enhance one's life and reduce the sense of isolation which so often plagues those disabled with CFIDS and FM. For more information about this project and how you can participate, please visit http://www.pwccohousing.org.   

Read the entire post written by Dr Judy Warringtonon the Co-Cure ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia Information and exchange forum archives at http://listserv.nodak.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0511a&L=co-cure&T=0&F=&S=&P=4667.

NIH Process for Reviewing CFS Grants Under Fire
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) accepts grant applications year-round, but conducts just three regular review sessions every year. The CFIDS Association of America has regularly voiced its concerns to NIH leadership about the credentials of panelists appointed to review CFS grants – few, if any, members of the panels constituted freshly every four months are expert in CFS. The most recent review took place on November 11, 2005 and the names of panelists can be viewed at http://www.csr.nih.gov/Roster_proto/meeting_roster.asp?stdate=11/11/2005&enddate=11/11/2005&grcode=01&srg=CFS&SRGDISPLAY=CFS&agsqnum=140263.

The Association and dozens of other advocates, including the International Association of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (formerly the American Association for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), again voiced concerns about the lack of CFS expertise on the panel. View the CFIDS Association’s most recent letter to NIH at http://www.cfids.org/cfidslink/2005/pinn-letter.pdf.

Second kNOw MORE CFS Seminar Repeats Success
Respected CFS experts Dr. Nancy Klimas and Dr. Peter Rowe presented to a full house at the CFIDS Association’s second kNOw MORE CFS Education & Empowerment seminar. The program was held in Charlotte, North Carolina on November 13. Read on at http://www.cfids.org/cfidslink/2005/wrap-up.asp.

The Science & Research of CFS: A Special Double-Issue of the CFIDS Chronicle
The Association is proud to announce the first-ever issue of the CFIDS Chronicle devoted entirely to research and scientific progress on this complex illness. The result of months of investigation and interviews, this expanded issue covers CFS research findings, profiles key investigators, includes input from international researchers and much more. So much, in fact, that it’s over twice the size of the standard Chronicle. And we’ll be distributing it broadly in an effort to get the word out on what we know, what’s new and where CFS research is headed. This one-of-a-kind issue hits the streets in early 2006. Keep watch here for your chance to reserve a copy for yourself.

Your Support Matters!
The CFIDS Association makes a difference, every day, in the lives of people with CFIDS and those who care about them by propelling progress in CFIDS awareness, policy, medical education and research.

Learn how you can make a difference today, and every day, by visiting. http://www.cfids.org/ecommerce/donations.asp.

CFIDS Association Donors Eligible for Katrina Tax Break
Considering making a year-end gift to help advance efforts to end CFS? Through a special tax provision contained in the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act (KETRA) of 2005, donors have the opportunity to deduct cash gifts (made between August 28 and December 31, 2005) up to 100 percent of their adjusted gross income. This unique one-time provision encourages giving not only to hurricane relief, but to other charitable organizations, like the CFIDS Association of America. For more visit http://www.cfids.org/cfidslink/2005/tax-break.asp.

International Conference on HHV-6 & 7
The HHV-6 Foundation will be hosting an international conference on HHV-6 & 7 in Barcelona, Spain, April 30 through May 3, 2006. The Foundation encourages attendance from researchers interested in the epidemiology, molecular biology, cell biology and immunology of HHV-6 infection as well as clinicians who study the role of beta herpesviruses in transplant patients or disorders including, febrile seizures, status epilepticus, epilepsy, MS, chronic fatigue syndrome and encephalitis. You can view the conference brochure at http://www.cfids.org/cfidslink/2005/conf-hhv6.pdf.

Drs. Steven Jacobson (NINDS, NIH, USA) and Koichi Yamanishi (National Institute of Biomedical Innovation, Japan) will chair the conference. Dr. Dharam Ablashi, co-discoverer of HHV-6 and Scientific Director of the HHV-6 Foundation, chairs the program committee. The CFIDS Association will be a sponsor of the three-day program. Scientists and clinicians interested in conference details or submitting an abstract for consideration should visit www.hhv-6conference.com.

Coping During the Holidays
You will find helpful holiday coping tips, strategies and ideas from the CFIDS Association and those who care about PWC’s at http://www.cfids.org/cfidslink/2005/holiday-tips.asp.

Protect Research Funding
The CFIDS Association is one of hundreds of health-related organizations working to increase federal funds for medical and public health research. Congress has proposed deep cuts to CDC and other agencies, and even NIH stands to lose ground in a funding bill that must be passed by December 17. Visit http://www.cfids.org/advocacy/2005/gac_12012005.asp to read more about how you can take part in the national effort.

Bulletin Board Notices
Visit http://www.cfids.org/community/bulletin-board.asp for up-to-date news and happenings within the CFIDS community.