Hosted and organised by ME Research UK, and co-sponsored by the Irish ME Trust, the New Horizons 2008: International Conference on ME/CFS Biomedical Research took place on 6th May 2008 at the Wellcome Trust Conference Centre on the Genome Campus at Hinxton near Cambridge, UK, an outstanding custom-designed venue designed to attract the world’s leading scientists to debate issues at the forefront of new scientific discovery.
Read a summary of the day’s proceedings at this page.
[Dr Baron Hyde's] talk began by outlining myalgic encephalomyelitis which he described not as a syndrome but a disease process causing a diffuse measurable pathophysiological injury of the brain (CNS). He showed SPECT scans from his practice, and observed that they showed evidence of brain injuries. As regards the question of the triggers or causes of ME, he discussed epidemics, particularly the 1984–1992 Ontario ME epidemic period during which enterovirus seemed to have an important role, concluding that it would be scientifically inexcusable not to consider that the enterovirus group was responsible for the diffuse brain damage noted in acute onset ME patients. As regards ME patients across the board, Dr Hyde’s view is that the cause of the illness could be anything (virus, immunisation, physical trauma) that can cause a chronic diffuse injury of the CNS, hence the need for brain SPECT and brain PET imaging in evaluation.
