OFFER-Sponsored Fibromyalgia Conference

“Advances in Understanding and Treating Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia,” a conference that took place on April 15-16 outside Salt Lake City, Utah, was designed for both patients and health-care providers.

A day-and-a-half continuing education program for health-care providers covered research updates, and the latest tools for diagnosis and treatment of these complex conditions. The health-care provider program was scheduled for all day on Friday, April 15, and the morning of Saturday, April 16.

Two pioneering researchers were keynote speakers at both programs:

CFS expert Dr. Nancy Klimas and FM expert Dr. I. Jon Russell. Dr. Klimas, of the University of Miami, is best known for her research into immune abnormalities in CFS. She is the new president of the American Association for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and was a co-author of the Consensus Panel Report on CFS. Dr. Russell, of the University of Texas, is editor of the Journal of Musculoskeletal Pain, and co-author of both The Fibromyalgia Help Book and the Fibromyalgia diagnostic criteria. Many other clinicians and researchers participated, including social worker Patricia Fennell, who will led a workshop on “Sex, Relationships and CFS/FMS.”

The conference was co-sponsored by the Utah Medical Association, the CFIDS Association of America, and the all-volunteer nonprofit Organization for Fatigue and Fibromyalgia Education and Research (OFFER). The event will be held on the Miller Campus of Salt Lake Community College, in Sandy, Utah (just south of Salt Lake City).

For more details about the conference, see the Additional Conference Information, or contact OFFER via e-mail or at 801-328-8080.