International ME/CFS Research Conference, 11-12 May 2023 at Charité Berlin, supported by ME/CFS Research Foundation

UPDATE 24 May 2023: Presentations of the ME/CFS Conference now available online (in English)

Charité Fatigue Center in Berlin will host its second international research conference on 11-12 May 2023. 

Headlined“ME/CFS Conference 2023 – Understand, Diagnose, Treat”, the event will bring together leading scientists, clinicians and international experts to share and discuss the latest evidence and findings on ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). The agenda includes updates on state of the art diagnostics as well as recent insights into the pathomechanisms of ME/CFS, from neurological, immunological, vascular and virological perspectives. The two day conference will also include expert contributions on the topics of biomedical treatments of underlying disease mechanisms, drawing on latest findings from ongoing research and clinical trials. Amid the emerging understanding of ME/CFS as a possible chronic outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection, presentations will also cover Post-COVID Syndrome (PCS).

The conference is intended for scientists, clinicians and interdisciplinary experts in the fields of medicine or biology, engaged in the research and treatment of ME/CFS and post-acute infectious syndromes, including PCS. The event will be held in English. Registered participants may attend the hybrid event online / via live stream.

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While this ME/CFS research conference addresses the scientific and medical community, there will be a separate "ME/CFS Symposium" in the afternoon of 12 May 2023, the "International ME/CFS Awareness Day". The symposium is held under the patronage of Prof. Dr. Karl Lauterbach, Federal Minister of Health in Germany. Leading experts from various clinics will present current projects dealing with medical care, research and therapy development for ME/CFS. The ME/CFS symposium organised by the Charité Fatigue Center is aimed at those affected, relatives and the general public. It will be held in German and can be followed via live stream. Further information here..

The ME/CFS Research Foundation finances and supports both events. Our goals are to encourage leading researchers to share, network and collaborate (International ME/CFS Conference) and, complementarily, to inform patients, caretakers, and the public about ongoing research initiatives and progress in a separate, focused format (ME/CFS Symposium). You may support our initiatives and projects, including these events, with a CONTRIBUTION HERE and by spreading the word about our activities within your network. Your support is greatly appreciated – THANK YOU!

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UPDATE 28.04.2023: the final programme of the conference is now available:

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UPDATE 24 May 2023: the recording of the ME/CFS conference presentations has been published (in English)::

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Registered participants may join the conference online via live-stream. All presentations and discussions at the conference will be held in English. We aim to make presentations available digitally to registered participants after the conference (pending presenters' agreement to share their content).

Submission of abstracts for research poster presentations (limit one A4 page) is possible until 6 April 2023 via e-mail: martina.seifert@charite.de
Notifications about abstract acceptance will be sent by 28 April 2023. Poster presentations will be held on-site at Charité Berlin during the conference. Three poster prizes will be awarded by the Lost Voices Foundation.

Participation at the conference is free of charge. CME points for this event have been requested at the Ärztekammer Berlin.

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Selection of speakers:

• Uta Behrends, Technical University of Munich, Germany
• Andreas Goebel, University of Liverpool, UK
• Bettina Hohberger, University of Erlangen–Nuremberg, Germany
• Leonard Jason, DePaul University, Chicago, USA
• Anthony Komaroff, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
• Eliana Lacerda, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK
• Luis Nacul, British Columbia Women’s Hospital, Vancouver, Canada
• Bhupesh Prusty, University of Würzburg, Germany
• Peter Rowe, Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, USA
• Carmen Scheibenbogen, Charité, Berlin, Germany 
• Nuno Sepúlveda, Warsaw University of Technology, Poland
• Yehuda Shoenfeld, Sheba University, Tel Aviv, Israel
• Francisco Westermeier, FH Joanneum University of Applied Sciences, Graz, Austria
• (for a list of all speakers, please see the programme, above)

Agenda topics:

• UNDERSTANDING: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) as part of the Post-COVID Syndrome Spectrum – Endothelial Dysfunction and Biomarker – Post-Exertional Malaise (PEM) – Epidemiology – Immune Signature – Autoantibodies – EBV Mimicry – Mitochondrial Dysfunction & Herpesviruses 
• DIAGNOSIS: State of the Art – Autonomic Dysfunction – Breathing and Muscular Dysfunction – Brain Fog & Neurocognitive Assessment – Sleep Disturbance – Hypermobility 
• TREATMENT: State of the Art – Multiprofessional Inpatient Treatment – Treating Orthostatic Intolerance – Medical Care Situation & Stigma – Psychological Support – B and Plasma Cell Targeting – Immunoadsorption – Neuromodulation – Late breaking

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ME/CFS Conference – Organisation::

• Carmen Scheibenbogen, Director, Charité Fatigue Center (CFC), Institute of Medical Immunology, Charité Berlin
• Uta Behrends, Director, MRI Chronic Fatigue Center for Young People (MCFC), Children‘s Hospital, MRI Technical University of Munich, Munich

The “ME/CFS Conference 2023 – Understand, Diagnose, Treat” is supported by:

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How can you support the work of the ME/CFS Research Foundation?

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). To do this, we need extensive support from private donors - patients, relatives, families, friends, associations, schools, networks, companies, initiatives, event organisers and all supporters. And if you can't support us directly, maybe you can share our story and motivate others to help. Because only together is such a feat possible.

We fully translate donations and other support into scientifically excellent research, networking and ultimately visible successes, i.e. better ME/CFS diagnostics and therapies. We are happy to work together with other organisations and initiatives - please contact us!