Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (Hansard, 19 May 1992)

§ Mr. Paice
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will provide a list of current and planned research studies into the possible causes of myalgic encephalomyelitis; indicating for each study, the start and completion dates, the commissioned body, the level of financial support and the nature of each study.
100W

§ Dr. Mawhinney
Independently funded research is not notified to the Department of Health by any formal mechanism. As a result of attendance by officials at scientific meetings and visits to establishments where research is going on, we are aware of a wide range of research into possible causes of myalgic encephalomyelitis. This includes virological, endocrinological and neurotransmitter studies, studies of sleep disturbance and studies of immunological and muscle abnormalities.
The main agency through which the Government support biomedical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council. The MRC is funding a study at the Institute of Psychiatry. The MRC and the Department are always willing to consider sympathetically soundly based researched proposals in competition with other applications. We are not at present funding studies which are specifically considering possible causes of ME.

§ Mr. Paice
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research is being done about myalgic encephalomyelitis and its epidemiology in order to establish a consensus of medical opinion regarding the treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis sufferers.

§ Dr. Mawhinney
The Medical Research Council is funding a study at the Institute of Psychiatry, associated with the Maudsley hospital, which is attempting to find ways to help sufferers from chronic fatigue syndrome—myalgic encephalomyelitis—attending GPs' surgeries to cope with their condition and regain their health. The results of that study, together with those of earlier epidemiological studies, will form a basis for deciding whether further epidemiological studies are required and the nature of those studies. At present, management of ME is on a case-by-case basis, depending on the symptoms.