Sunday Conversations - June 23, 2023
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- Last Updated: 28 June 2024 28 June 2024
“Improving Pain Care Through Education and Policy”
Sunday, June 23, 2024, 4 p.m. Eastern Time

Cindy Steinberg
Jackie Orent-Nathan

Michele Matthews
In this edition of Sunday Conversations, we continued our series on comorbidities with a focus on pain. A panel of three presenters from the Massachusetts Pain Initiative (MassPI) presente on the work their organization does to improve the lives of people suffering from pain through knowledge, education, and policy reform. Cindy Steinberg discussed her role in past and current legislative actions, both locally and nationally. Jackie Orent-Nathan talked about pain neuroscience and about solutions that use neuroplasticity to influence the reorganization of neural networks. Michele Matthews focused on medications and provided the "Ins and Outs of Medications for Pain and Symptom Management".
2024-05 May Newsletter
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- Last Updated: 09 May 2024 09 May 2024
May 2024
In this month's newsletter:
- Membership Fee Increase
- May Events
- Sunday Conversations
- Young Adult Support Group - Spring Session
- Special Event - Boston Waterfront 5K
- Advocacy Updates
- ME/CFS Awareness Day
- Well Deserved Congratulations!
- ABLE Account
- Newsworthy Events and Links
Sunday Conversations - May 19, 2024
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- Last Updated: 03 June 2024 03 June 2024
"Are You M.A.D.? An axis awry of Mast cell activation disease, Autonomic neuropathy, and Disorders of connective tissue"
Sunday, May 19, 2024, 4 p.m. Eastern Time

Dr. Anne Maitland
A growing body of evidence is linking heritable disorders of connective tissue, such as Ehlers Danlos Variants, with dysautonomia and mast cell dysfunction, which lead to chronic fatigue, brain fog, irritable bowel symptoms and pain syndromes. Dr. Maitland presented a brief review of the diagnosis and relationships of this clinical triad, MCAD, Autonomic dysfunction, and Disorders of connective tissue or hEDS. A better understanding of these relationships should lead to multi-disciplinary clinical therapies to help right this trio of modern day epidemics.
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Notice about names
The Massachusetts ME/CFS & FM Association would like to clarify the use of the various acronyms for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Chronic Fatigue & Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) on this site. When we generate our own articles on the illness, we will refer to it as ME/CFS, the term now generally used in the United States. When we are reporting on someone else’s report, we will use the term they use. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other federal agencies, including the CDC, are currently using ME/CFS.
Massachusetts ME/CFS & FM Association changed its name in July, 2018, to reflect this consensus.