David Tuller: Trial By Error: More Thoughts on the Interferon Study

[Kalliope]

More Thoughts on the Interferon Study

I was surprised recently when the UK press made a big splash about what was, in the end, a modest study from a team led by Carmine Pariante, a professor of psychiatry at Kings College London. I was less surprised when I realized that the Science Media Centre was involved in disseminating the news. The coverage generated by the SMC’s efforts largely paralleled the overblown claims made by the study authors themselves in linking this paper about hepatitis C patients to possible biological mechanisms underlying what they call “chronic fatigue syndrome.”

 

[Peter T]

A useful piece, thank you @dave30th .

It is interesting to look at the SMC back catalogue of press releases and briefings in relation to ME over the last few years. Until their excessive lauding of this Kings' interferon study last month their output was almost entirely devoted to extoling and/or defending the output of a narrow group of British researchers fixatedly devoted to behavioural intervention in what they refer to as CFS, defined by the discredited Oxford criteria.

Whatever their motivation, the SMC has certainly failed to give either balanced or objective information on ME, so I welcome your plans to look at their flawed attempts to control the British and international media's understanding of ME. They are most certainly part of the failure by the British establishment to address the appallingly bad science perpetrated this group of researchers that has resulted in real harm being inflicted on both adults and children with ME.

 

[Trish]

Thank you @dave30th, another good article.

I look forward to your study of the SMC and who influences it's approach to 'science'. With ME, I think we know the answer - Simon Wessely.

I agree with your point about Pariante's study being a minor study that may not have any relevance to ME.

Like pain, fatigue is a symptom not a syndrome and can have many different biological causes. Just because some post interferon patients develop ongoing fatigue doesn't mean it's the same as the fatigue in ME/CFS. I thought this study of post cancer treatment fatigue compared with CFS was relevant to this because it suggests different biological mechanisms in those cases.

 

[Sly Saint]

@dave30th

see:
https://www.s4me.info/threads/persi...-2018-pariante-et-al.7050/page-22#post-133109

"“In conclusion, findings from this study support the hypothesis that abnormal immune mechanisms are important in CFS, but only early in the course of the illness, around the time of the trigger, rather than when the syndrome is established,” the authors conclude."

which still seems to go with the 'hit and run' theory; ie illness perpetuated by ? 'unhelpful illness beliefs and deconditioning'.

But, of course it's still all a bit irrelevant for the reasons mentioned by you and many others.

 

[dave30th]

"“In conclusion, findings from this study support the hypothesis that abnormal immune mechanisms are important in CFS, but only early in the course of the illness, around the time of the trigger, rather than when the syndrome is established,” the authors conclude."

Yeah, that could suggest that they want to use it to promote GET/CBT. It's just unclear what their intention is.

 

[Amw66]

@dave30th

see:
https://www.s4me.info/threads/persi...-2018-pariante-et-al.7050/page-22#post-133109

"“In conclusion, findings from this study support the hypothesis that abnormal immune mechanisms are important in CFS, but only early in the course of the illness, around the time of the trigger, rather than when the syndrome is established,” the authors conclude."

which still seems to go with the 'hit and run' theory; ie illness perpetuated by ? 'unhelpful illness beliefs and deconditioning'.

But, of course it's still all a bit irrelevant for the reasons mentioned by you and many others.

How can it support a hypothesis for CFS when the study was on Hep C patients ?

 

[Amw66]

Yeah, that could suggest that they want to use it to promote GET/CBT. It's just unclear what their intention is.

IAPT ...££££

 

[Andy]

How can it support a hypothesis for CFS when the study was on Hep C patients ?

Magic psych thinking can come to any conclusion from any evidence (or lack of), you just need to think positively!