We need your help
We are currently looking for healthy women and people with ME/CFS to take part in our study. Are you a healthy woman or do you have ME/CFS? And do you live within approximately 80 kilometres of Amsterdam UMC? If so, we warmly invite you to participate in our study. In the video below, Sanne explains […]
€7.5 Million European Grant for ME/CFS Research
An Important Step Towards Better Diagnosis and Treatment The European Union has awarded €7.5 million to DISCOVER-ME, a large international research consortium dedicated to ME/CFS. This funding marks an important milestone for ME/CFS research across Europe. DISCOVER-ME brings together more than twenty universities, research institutes, biobanks, companies, and patient organisations from Europe and Canada, including […]
New Blog: How Scientific Research Works in ME/CFS
When looking for information about ME/CFS, you will often come across references to scientific research. But how does scientific research actually work? And why is it important for researchers to follow a structured process? In the fourth blog in the series by the Communication and Implementation Working Group of the ZonMw ME/CFS Research Programme, Inge […]
New Blog on Diagnostic Criteria for ME/CFS
Research into ME/CFS often discusses diagnostic criteria. But what exactly are they? And why does it matter which criteria researchers use? In the third blog of the blog series by the Communication and Implementation Working Group of the ZonMw ME/CFS Research Programme, Inge van Putten and Sebastiaan Stam explain why diagnostic criteria are so important. […]
ME/CFS Conference in Berlin: Progress in Research
On 7–8 May 2026, the International ME/CFS Conference 2026 took place in Berlin. Researcher Peter van de Wetering attended on behalf of NMCB. Peter recently started his PhD project within NMCB, where he investigates whether MRI scans and other measurements can help improve our understanding of ME/CFS. His research focuses on identifying measurable signals in […]
Participants Needed for Research in Nijmegen: People Who Have Had Lyme Disease, Sepsis, or Q Fever
For a research study in Nijmegen, we are looking for people who have had Lyme disease, sepsis, or Q fever. We are seeking both individuals who have fully recovered and those who continue to experience long-term symptoms following these infections. For Q fever, we are specifically looking for people with persistent symptoms after Q fever, […]
Previous names for ME/CFS
Today, May 12, is World ME/CFS Awareness Day — a day dedicated to raising awareness for people living with ME/CFS: for the burden of carrying this illness, the impact it has on daily life, and the ongoing struggle for better diagnosis and treatment. Anyone looking back at the history of ME/CFS quickly notices something striking: […]
BLOG: What is Scientific Research and Why is it So Important in ME/CFS?
There are various biomedical studies underway on ME/CFS. For patients and their loved ones, this is hopeful, but the world of research can sometimes be difficult to follow. What exactly is scientific research? And why do we need it so badly? At its core, scientific research is a way to gradually build reliable knowledge. Researchers […]
Not All Heart Abnormalities in Post-COVID Are Due to Reduced Fitness
Many people with post-COVID experience persistent fatigue. For some of them, heart measurements show abnormalities. For a long time, it was believed that these changes were mainly the result of fitness loss due to lack of movement. This is referred to as cardiac deconditioning. A new publication in the British Journal of Sports Medicine explains […]
Home Visits Now Available in More Locations
Good news for people who want to participate in the NMCB research but find a hospital visit too strenuous. In addition to Utrecht, home visits are now also available in the Amsterdam and Nijmegen regions. A research nurse can visit at home to perform measurements and blood collection. What happens during the visit is always […]
Prize for research on orthostatic intolerance in ME and post-COVID
With his research on orthostatic intolerance in people with ME/CFS and post-COVID, VU student Stijn Wolters recently won a prize for the best scientific poster. He received this award during the annual symposium of Amsterdam Movement Sciences. In his category, twenty posters were judged. According to the jury, his poster stood out due to the […]
Video about research into ME/CFS and post-COVID in children
For most children, playing, going to school, or meeting up with friends is completely normal. For children with ME/CFS or post-COVID, this is often not the case. At the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital (WKZ), research is therefore being conducted into these conditions in children and adolescents. Children with ME/CFS or post-COVID often experience severe fatigue, pain, […]
Exposition: Unbroken
M.E. portrayed by artists with M.E. From 29 April to 5 May, a unique exhibition will be held at the Treehouse on the NDSM Wharf in Amsterdam, featuring work by artists with M.E. and children with M.E., under the title “Unbroken.”The many tens of thousands of people living with M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) in the Netherlands […]
NMCB participants will soon receive a stool sample kit
Soon, all new participants in the Dutch ME/CFS Cohort and Biobank (NMCB) will receive a sample kit by post. Collecting stool samples will become a standard part of the NMCB study. Scientists will use these samples to investigate the role of viruses and the gut microbiome in ME/CFS. The gut microbiome is the collective term […]
NMCB research now also available in Nijmegen, including home visits
Until now, participants could only take part in the study at Amsterdam UMC. Participation is now also possible at Radboud UMC in Nijmegen. Home visits are also available for housebound and severely ill participants who are unable to travel to the hospital. In these cases, research nurses visit participants at home, where they carry out […]
Publication from NMCB research: When blood vessels fail to recover after a viral infection
NMCB researchers contribute to an international review on blood vessels in ME/CFS and post-COVID A review on the role of blood vessels in ME/CFS and post-COVID has been published in the scientific journal Cell Death & Disease. NMCB researchers Rob Wüst and Anouk Slaghekke contributed to this publication. In the review, researchers describe how a […]
Young people – Help with important research on ME/CFS and post-COVID
For the NMCB (Netherlands ME/CFS Cohort and Biobank Consortium), we are looking for children with ME/CFS and healthy children aged 8 to 18 years. This biomedical study, funded by ZonMw, aims to improve our understanding of ME/CFS and post-COVID in children. Who can participate? Why participate? There is still limited knowledge about how ME/CFS and […]
Parliament Chooses for a structural approach to PAIS and retains expertise centers
On February 4, the House of Representatives approved a series of motions regarding care and research into post-COVID and other post-acute infection syndromes (PAIS). In these motions, the House advocates for a multi-year approach to PAIS, the retention of post-COVID expertise centers, and better support for patients in terms of care, work, and income. The […]
Publication of NMCB Study: Immune Cells in Post-COVID Respond More Strongly to Viral Stimuli
Researchers from the NMCB have published an article in the international scientific journal Journal of Clinical Immunology about their research project Immunostratify on post-COVID. In the article, they describe new findings on how the immune system in post-COVID patients responds to viral stimuli. In this study, the researchers examined how the immune system of people […]
Interview with Jos Bosch, projectleader NMCB in “de Volkskrant”
In August, the weekend supplement of de Volkskrant featured an extensive interview with Jos Bosch, project leader of the NMCB. In this article, he discusses the importance of biomedical research into the causes of ME/CFS and the decisive role of patient organizations.Thanks to their many years of dedication, there is now a large, multi-year research […]
Help us with research on post-COVID and ME/CFS: Looking for healthy volunteers!
Are you healthy and between 18 and 65 years old? Your participation is essential for research into post-COVID and ME/CFS. Your participation makes a direct scientific difference. Why Participate?Without healthy participants, we cannot fully understand or treat these diseases. You are helping us gain more insight into these impactful conditions, thereby contributing to better care […]
ZonMw ME/CFS research grant call – deadline 24 september 2024
ZonMw currently has an open funding round for their ME/CFS research program. Applicants are invited to submit a project idea before 14:00 on Tuesday 24 September 2024. A detailed grant application can be submitted at a later date after the project idea has been approved.
ZonMw Post-COVID Research Grant Call – Deadline June 12
ZonMw is opening two new subsidy rounds in early 2024 for post-COVID research, with €6 million available per round and no maximum budget for individual applications. The first round focuses on biomedical research, addressing gaps identified in the Post-COVID Biomedical Research Knowledge Agenda. The second round targets clinical research priorities from the patient’s perspective. Don’t […]
World ME/CFS Day 2024 – The importance of ME/CFS education
How do we ensure that the disease can be diagnosed in time and the patient’s experiences are taken seriously? A first important step in this is more education among (future) practitioners of patients with ME/CFS.