Update of the ME/CFS Research Register: Norway and Iceland

The ME/CFS Research Register now includes an overview of the research landscape in Norway and Iceland. In addition to ME/CFS research in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands, the Register now covers research projects, scientific publications, and events from six European countries in total.

The Register aims to provide a systematic overview of the international ME/CFS research landscape, making this emerging field more transparent to different stakeholders. It includes research projects and networks, working groups (research groups or so-called “labs”), people, as well as scientific publications and events related to ME/CFS research. With the launch of the Register in February 2024 , a comprehensive view on past and ongoing ME/CFS research in Germany and Austria has been provided for the first time. A detailed reporting on the previously available data can be found in our corresponding ME/CFS Research Update: Germany & Austria and ME/CFS Research Update: Netherlands & Switzerland .

ME/CFS research in Norway and Iceland

With the current expansion, ME/CFS research in Norway, featuring some of the world’s leading pioneers in the field of treatment trials on ME/CFS, as well as Iceland has been added to the data repository. This new content features research projects, publications, and event items, as well as the people, working groups, and organisations connected to them.

While there is past and ongoing ME/CFS research in Norway, ME/CFS research as well as care in Iceland has only recently been reemerging, namely with the initiation of the new Akureyri Clinic. Noteworthy, however, literature provides historic accounts of ME/CFS epidemics in the country (or what has then been described as “Icelandic Disease”), ranging as far back as the 1940s. These outdated publications, however, are not reflected in the Register. For Iceland, the register so far only covers a presentation by Dr Fridbjörn Sigurdsson at the International ME/CFS Conference 2025 , which took place in Berlin on 12-13 May. New research projects, publications and data stemming from the country will be added to the Register, once available.

The Register lists a total of eight research projects in Norway, with three of these projects still ongoing at the time of this reporting. projects cover basic, clinical, as well as epidemiological research, with a central focus of ME/CFS research in Norway resting on the implementation of clinical trials on treatment development.

Research areas at the centre of projects implemented in Norway range from dysfunction of the immune, nutritional and metabolic, as well as digestive systems, but also cover genetic risk factors, mental health and general aspects like patient care.

The Register currently includes seven working groups that are involved in ME/CFS research in Norway. They are based at universities or university clinics in Oslo, Bergen, Tromsø, and Tønsberg.

ME/CFS research in Norway over the past ten years is well reflected in a range of scientific articles that have been published. 41 journal contributions by authors based in the country are included in the Register, as of today. Of these, 13 publications are classified as clinical research, with the remaining articles covering basic, epidemiological and secondary research in about equal shares. Among the dominant areas of research published on by scientists and medical professionals in Norway is immune system dysfunction, including the role of autoimmunity.

Disclaimer: publications listed in the Register only include those, which have been made available since the year 2010 and reflect the international consensus-based understanding of the disease’s etiology and pathogenesis. The same applies to all research projects included in the Register, wherein only ME/CFS research reflecting the current state of evidence is included (as opposed to (historically) deviating classifications of ME/CFS, e.g. as a psychosomatic disease).

Noteworthy, the Register also lists a conference recently conducted in Norway , which was organised with the support of the Norwegian ME Association (“Norges ME-forening"), featuring talks by a number of national and international experts.

Summary and outlook

In the European context, Norway has historically been one of the leading countries in the field of ME/CFS research, championing the implementation of clinical trials on innovative treatment approaches. This has resulted in a steady output of scientific literature by leading experts in the country over the past ten years, totalling 41 journal articles.

The same experts, namely the ME/CFS research group led by Østein Fluge and Olav Mella at Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, but also others, continue to implement clinical trials on treatment development. With half of all eight ongoing or recently concluded research projects in the country being clinical trials, three of which phase II trials, ME/CFS research in Norway is expected to continue to provide important insights on how potential treatments of ME/CFS could like, focussing especially on immune system dysfunction as a potential therapeutic target.

The Register’s editorial team will continue to add new data (i.e. research projects, publications, and event items) from Norway and Iceland to the data base throughout. With the international ME/CFS research landscape developing dynamically, the ME/CFS Research Register will continuously reflect the latest additions and updates for research in six European countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, Norway, and Iceland). Our scientific editorial team is working on adding more countries to the Register. We hope that this will help to increase the visibility and transparency of ME/CFS research internationally.

The ME/CFS Research Foundation would like to thank the Norwegian ME Association (“Norges ME-forening") (external link) for their valuable input during the review process.

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There is still a long way to go before diagnosis, care and treatment of ME/CFS patients will one day become a medical and social standard. We at the ME/CFS Research Foundation are focussing on biomedical research, which we see as the key element in solving these problems (more on this in our research funding strategy and in our half year report summer 2025, which summarises our activities). To do this, we need extensive support from private donors – those affected, relatives, families, friends, associations, schools, networks, companies, initiatives, event organisers and all supporters. And if you are not able to provide direct support, you can share our story and motivate others to help. Because only together can such a feat be achieved.

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