Our News Articles

Release date: 16 March 2022 The impact of the long term effects of COVID-19 are becoming better understood. It’s estimated that up to 30 per cent of people who get infected with COVID show symptoms months later. ABC NewsRadio’s Cameron Green spoke to Dr Richard Schloeffel, Medical Director of Emerge Australia. He says there are

Media Release: 16 March 2022 One of Australia’s leading medical specialists on complex and chronic disorders today warned the lack of research and treatment information for the medical profession on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) can lead to inappropriate diagnosis and treatment of patients. Dr Richard Schloeffel OAM, the Medical Director of Emerge Australia, who

Media Release  Emerge Australia today revealed that approximately 75% of an estimated 250,000 Australians living with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) are women. Speaking on the eve of International Women’s Day, Anne Wilson, CEO of Emerge Australia said, myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS) is a complex and disabling neurological disease that affects many parts of the body, including

Emerge Australia is pleased to announce the appointment of our new Medical & Scientific Advisory Committee (MSAC).  The MSAC combines the knowledge of ME/CFS clinicians and researchers, as well as Emerge Australia staff, to pool the collective knowledge to set in motion objectives which will improve the outcomes for Australians impacted by ME/CFS.  Members of MSAC

Recently the Board of Emerge Australia unanimously voted to appoint Dr. Richard Schloeffel OAM to the position of Medical Director.  This is a significant appointment that will result in Dr. Schloeffel having oversight of direction regarding clinical programs and our work on ME/CFS Clinical Guidelines among other areas. Dr. Schloeffel will provide a link between

After an initial delay, it was announced on October 29th, that the new National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline (UK) for ME/CFS have finally been published.  The new guidelines represent a significant shift in the medical treatment of ME/CFS in the UK. In particular acknowledging that exercise programs can make ME/CFS worse and that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is not a curative

During National Carers Week, Emerge Australia would like to acknowledge and thank all those who extend care and support to the 250,000 Australians impacted by ME/CFS. Nationally, 2.65 million Australians provide care for others, making you part of a large community. The theme for this year’s celebration is Millions of Reasons to Care. Most people who provide care don’t see themselves as carers, they instead see themselves as parents, partners,

7 October 2021 An important part of improving outcomes for people living with ME/CFS is educating healthcare professionals about the condition and what they can to do help. Last week, our Nurse Educator Kate Herbert delivered a “Back to Basics” presentation to nurses and social workers at Echuca Regional Health for their recent professional development day.   Only two of the participants who responded to the pre-presentation survey had received any formal training about ME/CFS. So, Kate covered the basics including both outdated and

Did you know that carers make up nearly 11% of Australia’s population? Meaning that there are approximately 2.65 million carers across Australia. Carers and family members of those living with ME/CFS can benefit from joining our online peer support groups, to connect with others who undertake caring roles for their loved ones.   As part of

Emerge Australia is very disappointed to learn that the UK’s National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has announced that it has paused the publication of its new ME/CFS clinical guidelines, which had been due to be released on August 18. This is a devastating development for ME/CFS patients around the world, especially those in the UK who have waited years for these new guidelines.   The draft of the new guidelines, released late last

Funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council Deakin University and Barwon Health, the CHROMIC study aims to improve the understanding of the disorder as well as to look for new treatments for ME/CFS. To take part in the study, only one appointment is required of the participants. This appointment includes the collection of

Recruitment has commenced for the ANCHOR Study. This landmark ME/CFS research is funded by the Medical Research Future Fund to investigate the quality of life, social, educational and economic impacts of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) on people living with the condition and their carers. This project is a collaboration of researchers from the University

In May, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a draft of its evidence review on the diagnosis and treatment of ME/CFS for public comment. This review has been in development since 2018, and was to be the CDC’s first step in the development of new US clinical guidelines for ME/CFS. Emerge

Ricky Buchanan worked with Emerge to write this in 2021 and was too ill to update or add to it in 2022, as her severe ME/CFS has worsened since 2021 What is Severe ME day?  Severe ME Day is recognised globally as a day to acknowledge the strength and spirit of the estimated 25% of

We would like to introduce to you the ME/CFS Pacing App created by our generous contributor, Mathew Blake. The app is designed to help people with mild to moderate ME/CFS better manage their daily energy use and adjust their pacing habits as needed. The app is not designed to manage all symptoms that ME/CFS can

Information about COVID-19 vaccination is rapidly changing. This can be confusing, especially when each state may have different eligibility criteria. That’s why we have created a hub to help the ME/CFS community find the information appropriate for each state and territory, all in one spot. The links provided below lead directly to both Federal and

By Jason Murphy Meet Mike Musker.  A former mental health nurse who took the path less traveled. Musker is now a scientist with some excellent research underway.  He works with the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, and his research – including one major project near completion and another about to start – is

Emerge Australia is pleased to announce that Anne Wilson has joined the team as our new Chief Executive Officer, having commenced on 15 June, 2021.  Anne is an experienced Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director with a diverse track record of restructuring, repositioning and growing organisations to meet stakeholder needs while attracting investment for financial

ME/CFS Awareness Week has wrapped up and we can not thank you enough for supporting it with donations and fundraisers, participating in event activities and interacting with our Awareness Week posts on social media. Every little bit counts and thanks to the community, this year’s ME/CFS Awareness Week saw 64,943 people interact with the campaign

17-23 May 2021 A community built and bettered by volunteers Emerge Australia was created by volunteers 40 years ago. Today, volunteers continue to devote considerable time and energy to help provide the high-quality services and programs we are so proud to offer the ME/CFS community. This National Volunteer Week we hope you will join us

April 2021 Emerge Australia is delighted to announce that the first Australian ME/CFS patient registry is now officially open! We have partnered with Solve M.E. in this landmark undertaking, which will help create the largest possible dataset and harness the power of big data to understand ME/CFS.  The You+ME Registry, an initiative of Solve M.E., is an

By Jason Murphy Smart people – people who keep an eye on ME/CFS research in Australia – are excited. A new paper by researchers from Latrobe University and Monash Health came out in February this year, with further research on the very tantalising evidence that people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome have an energy production

The CEO of Emerge Australia, Dr Heidi Nicholl, has today announced her resignation after more than 3 years in the role.  In acknowledging her exceptional contribution and performance as CEO, Emerge Australia Board Chair, Mark Clisby, highlighted Dr Nicholl’s untiring advocacy and drive for improving all aspects of the ME/CFS environment – research, public and

By Jason Murphy 2021 is an exciting time for ME/CFS science in Australia. Money is flowing. That means in time, research results will also flow. Australian labs are gearing up to do the work to deliver insights into the cause of ME/CFS and, most importantly, possible treatments.  Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)

March 8 is International Women’s Day (IWD). This year we encouraged all our followers on social media to comment with their own experiences of the myths that we’re ‘choosing to challenge’ and to share our post to mark the day. Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is often considered a “women’s disease” because an estimated 75%

20 November 2020 Last week, the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published its long-awaited draft of the new ME/CFS clinical guidelines. The process of developing these guidelines began in 2017 and the guidelines committee has been thorough in its work, undertaking public consultation and completing an extensive evidence review (more than