Richard Simpson

Richard Simpson and his wife Pia Simpson are parents of two daughters living with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). Together they work at the UK charity, Invest in ME. The organization concentrates on three key areas in order to raise funding for biomedical research - education, publicizing and lobbying. Every year since 2006, the Simpsons' have arranged the Invest in ME International ME Conference which attracts world renowned presenters.

Awards

In 2013 Norwegian ME Association presented awards to Richard and Pia Simpson, and to Professor Malcolm Hooper for “untiring and exceptional contribution to the ME cause”.

ME/CFS Common Data Element (CDE) Project

Simpson, representing European ME Alliance, serves on the Baseline/Covariate Working Group, the Post-Exertional Malaise Working Group, and the Neurologic/Cognitive/CNS Imaging Working Group of the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Common Data Element (CDE) Project sponsored by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

See also

• Invest in ME International ME Conference

biomedical research basic medical research on organisms, such as humans or other living things, that helps increase medical knowledge. (Learn more: me-pedia.org)

See myalgic encephalomyelitis.

See chronic fatigue syndrome.

cognition Thought processes, including attention, reasoning, and memory.

central nervous system (CNS) - One of the two parts of the human nervous system, the other part being the peripheral nervous system. The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord, while the peripheral nervous system consists of nerves that travel from the central nervous system into the various organs and tissues of the body.

myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.) - A disease often marked by neurological symptoms, but fatigue is sometimes a symptom as well. Some diagnostic criteria distinguish it from chronic fatigue syndrome, while other diagnostic criteria consider it to be a synonym for chronic fatigue syndrome. A defining characteristic of ME is post-exertional malaise (PEM), or post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion (PENE), which is a notable exacerbation of symptoms brought on by small exertions. PEM can last for days or weeks. Symptoms can include cognitive impairments, muscle pain (myalgia), trouble remaining upright (orthostatic intolerance), sleep abnormalities, and gastro-intestinal impairments, among others. An estimated 25% of those suffering from ME are housebound or bedbound. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies ME as a neurological disease.

See National Institutes of Health.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) - A set of biomedical research institutes operated by the U.S. government, under the auspices of the Department of Health and Human Services.