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@dave30th This isn't psychosocial research but a short letter to the editor could easily debunk their claims.

They didn't look at post-exertional malaise, the term doesn't appear once in the text. They didn't separate participants into ME only, FM only, or ME/CFS and FM. Why they're omitting PEM and still using the Fukuda criteria when the CDC has moved on to the IOM criteria is beyond my...

Truly the Wessely school -- throwing people with ME under the bus while passing off scientific criticism as personal abuse. She probably blocked everyone who uses #pwME, #MECFS, #MyalgicE etc.

Both. She's been blocking individual accounts, including ME patients who haven't interacted with her.

But strangely they do not mention risk of bias when they discuss the limitation of assessing RCTs at the review level: This is unfortunate. According to the article, the systematic reviews of RCTs for CBT that met the eligibility criteria were rated using AMSTAR 2 (tool, guidance). The...

@Hutan picked up important fallacies about testing. Though, on the point that the "Symptoms Clinic" wouldn't save the expense of tests done prior to patients' referrals, it actually might once it is set up. GPs could be asked to redirect their patients to this clinic after only one inconclusive...

The European resolution on ME/CFS emphasizes the need for biomedical research specifically (points 6 and 7) and asks that it be funded through Horizon Europe (point 17): Even though the resolution is non binding, it pushes Horizon Europe to prioritize grant applications for biomedical research...

The dose is important, yes. My impression is that even moderate people can tolerate a glass of wine if not a little more, so a higher dose of alcohol would be required. The equivalent of a strong liquor, possibly. I think that, as confounding factors, other components in alcoholic beverages can...

One question that has been bugging my mind is whether studying the lowered tolerance to alcohol that is commonly reported in ME would yield insights into the pathophysiology of the disease. In the few studies that asked ME patients about their tolerance to alcohol, 60% to 2/3 of them report...

This article seems to have worrying implications because, earlier this year, some ME/CFS research teams had to freeze fresh blood samples before their labs shut down due to the COVID19 pandemic (possibly still ongoing in some places). The Cornell ENID Center, who are studying immune dysfunction...

The dichotomy between objective and subjective outcome measures that Stokes & Wade attempt to set up here is a false one. Objective outcome measures do not necessarily favour physical function, they help validate or infirm patient-reported outcomes. Reducing the uncertainty around these...

The history of ME/CFS is rather well described. However, the article is very speculative and I am especially concerned with the claims that are made about the involvement of stress in ME/CFS (paragraphs 5.5.3, 5.5.5 & discussion). For example: Their argument about the involvement of the HPA...

MDPI has been criticized but they seem to be a decent publisher. Their selling point seems to be fast review. Here is an article that looks in-depth at their business scheme & content quality: https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2020/08/10/guest-post-mdpis-remarkable-growth/ As for their...

Watching from outside the UK, we are very happy that NICE is coming to reason (and not “came” until the release of the final guidelines) thanks to the immense work of ME advocates. But although this is a step forward, remember that most countries either officially recommend GET, or do not have...

When the authors uploaded their pre-print to medRxiv on July 30th, I sent the following mail to Dr Townsend: I received a reply within the next hour, in which Dr Townsend said he would "ensure that [the non-necessary inclusion of graded exercise] is clarified following peer review and prior to...

ME Action have written a letter with 19 questions ahead of the meeting: https://www.meaction.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/NIH-Telebriefing-Letter-11_3_20.pdf They encourage participants to raise the questions asked in the letter.

Dr Pierre Tattevin is the president of the French Society of Infectious Pathology (SPILF), which scientific journalists in France generally side with. For example, last year, Dr Tattevin was invited to talk at a panel run by a popular YouTube channel that promotes critical thinking and...

The front page of the memo reads: No need to read further: they still support the BPS model and its clinically uneffective practices, as the rest of the document confirms. Just a few days ago, talking about long COVID on Twitter, Simon Wessely was arguing that GET was never about pushing...

@Trish, as someone who commented positively on the NIH study in the original thread, I'd like to thank you deeply for explaining the differences between fatiguability and PEM in so much details. I have mild (mild-to-moderate?) ME with which I persistently experience fatiguability as you...

It's tough to see the leading European & UK figures of the #LongCovid advocacy movement conflate ME with chronic fatigue, out of all people. Especially when the ME community as a whole has been supportive of their work and has continuously -- since April -- been providing guidance on pacing...