Good science for ME CFS in Spain, please support it!

Congratulations to the group of
affected by ME / CFS

We made it!

Thanks to all donors of campaign

Finished our Verkami term,
we are happy to announce that we have greatlysucceeded in reaching the 29,000 euros needed to fund new research project IrsiCaixa "Characterization of regulatory T cells in patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome":

-In Verkami have raised 19,700 euros.



-In Account ASSSEM, including donations and membership fees, we have at this time the sum of8,021 euros.

-The College of Nursing has donated to Catalonia IrsiCaixa 2,000 euros for this project.

-ASSSEM, and moved a few months ago with all I had, ie 3,500 euros to account for this project.
In total there are: € 19,700 + € 8,021 + € 2,000 + € 3,500 = € 33,221

Of this gross amount, we must deduct the cost of this campaign, earrings quantify, including commission payments (Verkami, cards, PayPal) and shipping of the books offered in the rewards.

In the coming days, we will also contacting those who by their contribution showed their intention of joining ASSSEM.

Overrun, ASSSEM recover part of their membership fees to meet the expenses of the association if any and the rest will remain as fund for future research.

This fund also will donations that may be received on account ASSSEM from today onwards because they want to establish an ongoing collaborative research into CFS / ME and other illnesses associated with IrsiCaixa and other research centers today same.

We believe that change in the future of our diseases is the commitment of the group in power to lead the change and in the first person, with those affected generators opportunities and course changes.

Today thanks to the efforts of all concerned that we have become involved in this campaign, we have ensured that the prestigious IrsiCaixa team, coordinated by Julia White, can still work in the knowledge of our illness.


Fte: Medical Journal

The success of this campaign also gives us the opportunity to consolidate Spain is among the few countries of reference in immunological research of ME / CFS. This will allow the team of Julia White aspire to participate in future projects coordinated with other teams of international prestige, which we are beginning to take shape with the support of concerned organizations in other countries.

 

Succesful crowdfunding campaign to suport IrsiCaixa research on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

16/05/2014

• The Associació de Sanitaris al Servei de l’Encefalomielitis Miàlgica/Síndrome de Fatiga Crònica (ASSSEM) has raised more than 29.000 euros that will fund an IrsiCaixa research project on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (EM/CFS).
• Today, representatives of ASSSEM and IrsiCaixa, jointly funded by “la Caixa” Foundation and the Government of Catalonia, have gathered together to celebrate the end of the crowdfunding campaign and give details on the project execution.
• The objective of the study is to establish new tools for diagnosing, as well as better understanding the causes of ME/CFS and possible therapeutic directions.
• This project gives continuity to the study published last year by the same researchers, which proves that there are 8 molecular alterations in people with ME/CFS which seem to be related to a abnormal function of the immune system.

A crowdfunding campaign to suport IrsiCaixa research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) has achieved its objective. The Associació de Sanitaris al Servei de l’Encefalomielitis Miàlgica/Síndrome de Fatiga Crònica (ASSSEM), the organization leader of the campaign, has raised more than 29.000 euros needed to develop the project.


This amount has been raised thanks to the donations through the Verkami crowdfunding platform. During 40 days, this platform received the majority of the donations. As well, some individuals and organizations have gave direct donations to both ASSSEM and IrsiCaixa, who will keep on accepting donations to support this project (more information).


Today, representatives of ASSSEM and IrsiCaixa have gathered together to celebrate the end of the crowdfunding campaign and give details on the project execution. Bonaventura Clotet (in the centre of the picture), the director of IrsiCaixa, has greatly appreciated the support of ASSSEM to “impulse IrsiCaixa research and advance jointly in the field of the research into the relation of EM/CFS and the immune system”. José Luis Rivas (at the picture on the right), the president of ASSSEM, has highlighted the importance to join forces with an institut of international reference in the field of the research of the immune system such as IrsiCaixa. Julià Blanco (at the picture on the left), head of the IrsiCaixa team that will execute the project, has explained how essential is to understand the role of the immune system in the EM/CFS. “This is a good exemple of collaboration between researchers and the community, in difficult times to raise funds for research”.



Establishing new tools for diagnosing

“Characterization of the T regulating cells in patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome” is the name of the project . Its objective is to establish new tools for diagnosing, as well as understanding better the causes of ME/CFS and possible therapeutic directions. This project gives continuity to the study published last year by the same researchers which proves that there are 8 molecular alterations in people with ME/CFS which seem to be related to a faulty functioning of the immune system, in both T-cells and NK-cells, the cells responsible for coordinating immune response and destroying malignant cells, respectively.



The relationship between CFS and the immune system

Since the early 90s, one of the lines of research related to CFS has focused on studying how the disease is related to the weakening of the immune system. The importance of this line of research lies in the fact that the onset of CFS symptoms coincides with viral infections in many patients, and in a greater sensitivity to certain infections, all of which suggests an immune system dysfunction.


IrsiCaixa was interested in the relationship between CFS and different viral infections. The investigators focused on viral and immunological markers in CFS patients. As it was impossible to establish a reliable relationship with viral infections, and as there is no molecular diagnostic tool to characterisecharacterize CFS patients, they decided to analyseanalyze and compare more than 100 features of the immune system of CFS sufferers and healthy people.


"The relationship between CFS and the immune system is fundamental for progressing in the complete description of the clinical symptoms of people with CFS", said Julià Blanco, "but we also have to study the role of the neurological, cardiovascular and endocrine systems, which are also affected by the disease. These different aspects may have a common origin, which remains unknown", he concluded.



May 12th is the international ME/CFS & FM Awareness Day. In Spain, one out of one thousand people is affected by these syndromes.


More information about the Verkami crowdfunding campaign: Researching new tools for diagnosing Chronic Fatigue Syndrome



IrsiCaixa research on ME/CFS: 8 molecules are identified that could improve the diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome


http://www.irsicaixa.es/ca/node/16604


- See more at: http://www.irsicaixa.es/ca/node/16604#sthash.8Bcm5sJH.dpuf