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Carl Bergstrom has debunked this article and condemned Stuart Ritchie for his “racist” interpretation in this Mastodon thread: https://fediscience.org/@ct_bergstrom/110357259338364341 Stuart Ritchie does seem biased:

Of note: “Of the 146 studies [out of 176] that reported where their funding came from, pharmaceutical companies funded 72 studies. The average study lasted 10 weeks.” “For every 1000 people taking standard-dose duloxetine, 435 will experience 50% pain relief compared with 287 who will...

BBC article on this review: 'Shocking' lack of evidence on antidepressants for chronic pain People with chronic pain are being given antidepressants with very little scientific proof the medication helps, a major review has found. In studies, with nearly 30,000 patients, there was "moderate"...

This certainly echoes with ZonMw’s granting 4.4M€ to Prof Rosmalen in the Netherlands. The same mistakes are made on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Norwegian GWAS included 2532 patients and did not identify any risk loci for ME/CFS. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159122000782 I recall that @Simon M and @Chris Ponting wrote a comment about the paper that underlined the need for much larger sample sizes (i.e...

A side note that may or may not be relevant: I find it interesting that the recent results on autoantibodies and peripheral stimulation in fibromyalgia have involved British authors (from King’s and QMUL, respectively) but none of them have been published in high profile British journals such as...

If two diametrically opposed sides (CFS is overmedicalized fatigue vs CFS is a real disease) share the same assessment and conclusions about the biopsychosocial model, surely this ought to mean that the critique is valid?

The BPS / CBT model of fatigue in chronic conditions certainly extends beyond MUS / PPS. For instance, Prof Rona Moss-Morris has received funding from the MS Society. Another example is the recent LIFT trial for rheumatoid conditions, funded by the charity Versus Arthritis (ex-Arthritis Research...

If hearsay is the standard by which Prof Kell rates clinical evidence, I’m afraid that there is reason to be doubtful about his research.

If the care that Gulf War veterans have received is anything to go by, not well.

Of note: “For studies proposed under this RFA, it is recommended that the investigators utilize the Canadian Consensus Criteria for ME/CFS as proposed by Carruther and colleagues in 2003 and revised by Jason and colleagues in 2010, and the case definition from the Institute of Medicine Report...

This article is a picture perfect example of why scientists and physicians, especially those working in public health, should be forced to take courses in humanities and social sciences. Chronically ill and disabled people are much more exposed to both interpersonal and societal violence than...

The elephant is the official animal of Thailand. However, there are no rhinos in Thailand anymore and Prince Charles is gone, so we know after all who the animal those people you mentioned were describing is.

Antidepressants and benzodiazepines, while they work differently on the brain, are two sides of the same coin when it comes to physical dependence. Some people can use a benzodiazepine continuously without developing withdrawal symptoms upon cessation but they do develop antidepressant...

I’m not sure how a trial of marijuana can be blinded because it is obviously psychoactive. I believe that the same problem occurred with the trials of ketamine for treatment-resistant depression. Another important consideration is that many strains of marijuana exist and each has different...

The conclusion seems sensible. It boils down to the question of finding a balance between an exertion test that elicits detectable biological changes but is untolerable, and, as in this study, a more tolerable test that does not elicit these changes. The issue is that the observed differences...

A nail in the coffin.

When discussing the claim that ME, CFS and SEID are distinct clinical entities based solely on their definitions / diagnostic criteria, I find it helpful to remember these two comments on one of Frank Twisk’s papers from @Trish and @Jonathan Edwards (bolding mine):

Some people can indeed take benzodiazepines for an extended period of time without developing (too much) tolerance or even without experiencing withdrawal symptoms upon cessation. Unfortunately, we do not know who is at risk and who isn’t because the biological basis of individual differences...

I strongly disagree on ethical grounds. Benzodiazepines can cause physical dependence within a matter of weeks, so even a short clinical trial of 4 weeks would put these already severe patients at risk of developing it and suffering from withdrawal symptoms upon discontinuation at the end of the...