As one of your voting constituents, I ask that you support increased research on chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome(CFIDS), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome(CFS)and myalgic encephalomyelitis(ME).  Over 800,000 American men, women, and children of all races and socioeconomic classes have CFIDS.  CFIDS is a terribly debilitating and serious illness, with symptoms including incapacitating fatigue (experienced as profound exhaustion and extremely poor stamina), muscle and joint pain, information processing and concentration problems, and numerous other symptoms.  Persons with CFIDS function at a substantially lower level of activity than they were capable of before becoming ill.

    Although there have been many advances in the understanding of CFIDS, it remains a complex and difficult disease to diagnose and treat.  Improved understanding is severely hampered by inadequate funding for the critical research needed to better define its impact and identify more effective treatments to ultimately find the cause, treatment and a cure.  In a recent survey fielded to more than 8,100 medical professionals and researchers from a variety of disciplines, 77% felt that the amount of professional education about CFIDS is not adequate and 87% indicated a need for more funding for CFIDS research.

    Therefore, I urge you to support legislation which will increase the amount and quality of research on CFIDS by our national public health agencies.  For more information, please contact the Massachusetts CFIDS/FM Association at 617-471-5559 or visit their website at www.masscfids.org.  Please help us increase awareness of CFIDS by recognizing May 12 as International CFIDS Awareness Day.  Thank you for your consideration of these important matters.

    Sincerely,
 

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