Minnesota ME/CFS Alliance

Help us support the 17,000+ missing in Minnesota with ME/CFS through the education of current physicians and future doctors locally. Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), commonly known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) or ME/CFS, is a devastating multi-system disease that causes dysfunction of the neurological, immune, endocrine and energy metabolism systems.

It often follows an infection and leaves 75% of those affected unable to work and 25% home-bound or bedridden. An estimated 15-30 million people worldwide have ME.

All people with ME experience a substantial loss of physical or cognitive functioning, but there is a  spectrum of severity. The typical ME patient scores more poorly on quality of life surveys than those with multiple sclerosis, stroke, diabetes, renal failure, lung disease, heart failure, and various cancers. Onset can be either sudden or gradual, and the intensity or frequency of specific symptoms can wax and wane. 

Prevalence

An estimated 15-30 million people around the world are suffering from ME; at least 1,000,000 Americans, 250,000 British people, 100,000 Australians, and 560,000 Canadians have ME. An estimated 75-85% of them are women and 80-90% of them are undiagnosed.