Biomedical research

Biomedical research is basic medical research on organisms, such as humans or other living things, that helps increase medical knowledge.

The National Institutes of Health's Library of Medicine defines biomedical research as research "conducted to increase fundamental knowledge and understanding of the physical, chemical and functional mechanisms of human life processes and diseases." Other definitions include investigating biological processes and disease in both humans and animals.

Biomedical researchers
Given the breadth of the biomedical research field, this can involve a wide range of researchers and types of investigations. A given biomedical research team might include an array of specialists in different fields:
 * biomedical scientists
 * physicians (medical doctors)
 * biochemists
 * biologists
 * pharmacologists
 * nurses
 * veterinarians
 * lab technicians
 * scientists from the different life science fields including chemists and physicists.

Types of research
Biomedical research might conduct basic or applied research, lab research or clinical trials, and other kinds of investigations.

ME/CFS
Biomedical research funding for ME/CFS has been extremely limited, with a large proportion of funding coming directly from patients and the general public rather than from government health authorities or pharmaceutical companies.

Most research for ME/CFS has been for psychosomatic or psychosocial research, for example the UK's PACE trial cost £5 million and investigated only psychological and behavioral treatments for ME/CFS, with close to £1 million more spent unsuccessfully attempting to prevent the full release of the data collected.

Examples
Example of biomedical research for ME/CFS include:
 * finding widespread metabolite abnormalities
 * Brain studies finding neuroinflammation in ME/CFS
 * the creation of a test to simulate post-exertional malaise by using salt to test mitochondria responses to biochemical stress in a patient blood sample
 * multiple studies finding immune dysregulation including reduced natural killer cell function, and cytokine dysregulation elevated numbers of regulatory T cells and increased mast cell populations
 * ME/CFS Severely Ill, Big Data Study
 * NIH Post-Infectious ME/CFS Study

Clinical research
Clinical research differs from biomedical research in that it focuses on patients only, for example clinical trials of different medical treatments have found that some drugs reduce certain symptoms, such as pain, but no drugs tested have been able to directly address the core symptoms of ME/CFS.