Alexandra Heumber

Alexandra Heumber is a patient advocate based in Geneva, Switzerland and the current Executive Director of the International Alliance for M.E (IAFME).

Heumber has long standing experience in public health issues including access to treatment, human rights, research and development, and pharmaceutical policy. She previously worked for Médecins Sans Frontières (known in English as Doctors Without Borders) and is a former Head of Policy for the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative. Heumber played a leading role in advocacy for the adoption of a resolution on the neglected inflammatory disease Mycetoma by the World Health Assembly (WHA).

As Executive Director of IAFME, Heumber hopes to raise awareness of ME at the highest political level, stating that "It is an ethical and public health scandal that M.E. has not been addressed more seriously at the highest level, and patients' voices are not being heard."

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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.

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.