Trial By Error, Continued: The CMRC Affirms Full Support for Libelous Esther
By David Tuller, DrPH
For the last couple of weeks, I have been hammering the CFS/ME Research Collaborative to take a position on the actions of its deputy chair, Libelous Esther—better known as Dr. Esther Crawley. As I reported in several previous posts, Dr. Crawley falsely accused me of writing “libelous blogs” and Dr. Racaniello of posting them. To keep members of the CMRC board in the loop, I have sent them e-mails with links to these posts. In these e-mails, I have tried to be direct and pointed, but reasonably polite. I have mostly succeeded, although the recipients might have their own perspective.
At first, t...
Source: virology blog - May 15, 2017 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Commentary Information CFS/ME Research Collaborative chronic fatigue syndrome CMRC libel libelous mecfs myalgic encephalomyelitis PACE Source Type: blogs
Trial By Error, Continued: CMRC to Virology Blog: “F**k Off!”
by David Tuller, DrPH
Well, not in those words, of course. It was all very polite. But that was the message.
Here’s what happened. On Monday, I posted an open letter to the members of the board of the CFS/ME Research Collaborative. The letter involved the false accusation of libel that the CMRC’s deputy chair, Esther Crawley, disseminated against me at a conference of renal experts two weeks ago. Because the accusation involved a blog post I wrote for Virology Blog, the accusation of libel also extended to Dr. Racaniello, who hosts this site.
I sent a link to the open letter to Stephen Holgate, the CMRC’s chair, and ...
Source: virology blog - May 10, 2017 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Commentary Information CFS/ME Research Collaborative chronic fatigue syndrome CMRC libel mecfs myalgic encephalomyelitis PACE trial Source Type: blogs
Trial By Error, Continued: An Open Letter to the Board of the CFS/ME Research Collaborative
by David Tuller, DrPH
To Members of the Board of the CMRC:
Not long ago, at the annual conference of the British Renal Society, your deputy chair disseminated the false accusation that I had libeled her. As a corollary to that, she also disseminated the false accusation that Dr. Racaniello, the Columbia University microbiologist who hosts Virology Blog, had libeled her by publishing my work. I provided Dr. Crawley with a reasonable opportunity to offer either an explanation, evidence to support her serious charge, or an apology. Dr. Crawley has done none of these things.
I interpret that as Dr. Crawley’s admission that t...
Source: virology blog - May 8, 2017 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Commentary Information British Renal Society chronic fatigue syndrome libel mecfs myalgic encephalomyelitis PACE trial vexatious Source Type: blogs
Trial By Error, Continued: My Libelous Blogging on Virology Blog
by David Tuller
During a recent talk at the annual conference of the British Renal Society, pediatrician and staunch PACE proponent Esther Crawley accused me of libeling her. I wasn’t at her presentation, but her slides were captured and tweeted. Dr. Crawley’s lecture recounted her heroic struggle against the dark forces of anti-science—presumably, those pesky ME/CFS advocates who challenge her work. One slide included a mention of “libellous blogs,” along with a screen shot of one of my Virology Blog posts. Hm.
This libelous Virology Blog post—“Trial By Error, Continued: The New FITNET Trial for Kids”̵...
Source: virology blog - May 3, 2017 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Commentary Definitions British Renal Society chronic fatigue syndrome Esther Crawley libel mecfs myalgic encephalomyelitis PACE Source Type: blogs
Intestinal dysbiosis in ME/CFS patients
The microbes that live on and in us provide a host of functions that are essential for our health. Changes in the composition of these microbial communities correlate with a variety of disease states. Results of a new study (link) reveal altered populations of intestinal bacteria and metabolic disturbances in ME/CFS patients.
The study subjects were 50 patients with ME/CFS from four sites across the US (meeting 1994 CDC Fukuda and 2003 Canadian consensus criteria) and 50 healthy controls. Some of the ME/CFS patients (21/50) reported a diagnosis of inflammatory bowel syndrome, absent in all the controls. Whether IBS leads ...
Source: virology blog - April 28, 2017 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Commentary Information chronic fatigue syndrome dysbiosis fecal bacteria fecal microbiome mecfs metabolome myalgic encephalomyelitis Source Type: blogs
Persistent fatigue syndrome linked to imbalanced microbiome
Scientists at the Center to get Infection and Immunity (CII) on Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health have discovered abnormal degrees of specific gut bacteria related to persistent fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis, or ME/CFS, in patients with and without concurrent irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS. Findings are published in the log Microbiome.
Related Posts:Bad relationships, fatigue are more significant compared to…Can changes in the brain affect your microbiome?5 fast facts about norovirusBrand new frontiers of fecal microbiota hair transplantBrand new study finds link between depr...
Source: My Irritable Bowel Syndrome Story - April 26, 2017 Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Ken Tags: IBS News Source Type: blogs
An open letter to Psychological Medicine, again!
In conclusion, noted Wilshire et al., “the claim that patients can recover as a result of CBT and GET is not justified by the data, and is highly misleading to clinicians and patients considering these treatments.”
In short, the PACE trial had null results for recovery, according to the protocol definition selected by the authors themselves. Besides the inflated recovery results reported in Psychological Medicine, the study suffered from a host of other problems, including the following:
*In a paradox, the revised recovery thresholds for physical function and fatigue–two of the four recovery measures–were so lax ...
Source: virology blog - March 23, 2017 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Commentary Information adaptive pacing therapy CFS chronic fatigue syndrome clinical trial cognitive behavior therapy Dave Tuller exercise graded exercise therapy mecfs myalgic encephalomyelitis outcome PACE trial recovery Source Type: blogs
An open letter to Psychological Medicine about “ recovery ” and the PACE trial
In conclusion, noted Wilshire et al., “the claim that patients can recover as a result of CBT and GET is not justified by the data, and is highly misleading to clinicians and patients considering these treatments.”
In short, the PACE trial had null results for recovery, according to the protocol definition selected by the authors themselves. Besides the inflated recovery results reported in Psychological Medicine, the study suffered from a host of other problems, including the following:
*In a paradox, the revised recovery thresholds for physical function and fatigue–two of the four recovery measures–were...
Source: virology blog - March 13, 2017 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Commentary Information adaptive pacing therapy CFS chronic fatigue syndrome clinical trial cognitive behavior therapy Dave Tuller exercise graded exercise therapy mecfs myalgic encephalomyelitis outcome PACE trial recovery Source Type: blogs
Snored to death: The symptoms and dangers of untreated sleep apnea
Sleep is a critically important component of human existence. On average, humans spend about 25%-35% of their lives sleeping. Sleep allows both the body and brain to rest and recover from the stress of daily life. As such, trouble sleeping can cause a range of health problems, and if left untreated dire consequences.
Longing for more sleep
There is a common misconception that there is an exact amount of sleep that the body requires. The necessary hours of sleep can vary, as some people can require as little as five hours or as much as nine hours to function optimally. In addition, too little or too much sleep can cause pro...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - February 13, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Paul G. Mathew, MD, FAAN, FAHS Tags: Health Prevention Sleep Source Type: blogs
Opioid Induced Hyperalgesia Prevented by Buprenorphine?
“Buprenorphine is a kappa receptor antagonist. For these reasons, buprenorphine might be unique in its ability to treat chronic pain and possibly OIH.”
The opioid crisis has been fueled by the use of opioids to treat chronic pain. Practice patterns have changed, but doctors are still criticized for their roles in the overuse of opioids. I’ve sat through community ‘heroin forums’ (sometimes on stage) as sheriffs, politicians, and ‘recovered addicts’ firmly pointed fingers at health professionals. I, meanwhile, kept my finger under the table, but had the thought that some of the people pointing ...
Source: Suboxone Talk Zone - February 5, 2017 Category: Addiction Authors: Jeffrey Junig MD PhD Tags: Acute Pain Buprenorphine Chronic pain Suboxone treatment buprenorphine treats chronic pain chronic pain treatment opioid induced hyperalgesia opioid pain relief pain vs. addiction Source Type: blogs
Trial By Error, Continued: The Dutch Studies (Again!), and an Esther Crawley Bonus
In this study, providing CBT in groups of four or eight patients worked significantly better than placing patients on a waiting list and providing them with absolutely nothing. Of course, no one could possibly take these findings to mean that group CBT specifically is an effective treatment—except they did.
When I’m reading this stuff I sometimes feel like I’m going out of my mind. Do I really have to pick through every one of these papers to point out flaws that a first-year epidemiology student could spot?
One big issue here is how these folks piggy-back one bad study on top of another to build what appears to be a...
Source: virology blog - December 2, 2016 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Commentary Information CBT/GET chronic fatigue syndrome cognitive behavior therapy Esther Crawley FITNET-NHS graded exercise therapy mecfs PACE Source Type: blogs
Trial By Error, Continued: A Follow-Up Post on FITNESS-NHS
By David Tuller, DrPH
David Tuller is academic coordinator of the concurrent masters degree program in public health and journalism at the University of California, Berkeley.
Last week’s post on FITNET-NHS and Esther Crawley stirred up a lot of interest. I guess people get upset when researchers cite shoddy “evidence” from poorly designed trials to justify foisting psychological treatments on kids with a physiological disease. I wanted to post some additional bits and pieces related to the issue.
*****
I sent Dr. Crawley a link to last week’s post, offering her an opportunity to send her response to Dr. Racaniello ...
Source: virology blog - November 28, 2016 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Commentary Information chronic fatigue syndrome clinical trial cognitive behavioral therapy FITNET-NHS graded exercise therapy mecfs PACE Source Type: blogs
Trial By Error, Continued: A Follow-Up Post on FITNET-NHS
By David Tuller, DrPH
David Tuller is academic coordinator of the concurrent masters degree program in public health and journalism at the University of California, Berkeley.
Last week’s post on FITNET-NHS and Esther Crawley stirred up a lot of interest. I guess people get upset when researchers cite shoddy “evidence” from poorly designed trials to justify foisting psychological treatments on kids with a physiological disease. I wanted to post some additional bits and pieces related to the issue.
*****
I sent Dr. Crawley a link to last week’s post, offering her an opportunity to send her response to Dr. Racaniello ...
Source: virology blog - November 28, 2016 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Commentary Information chronic fatigue syndrome clinical trial cognitive behavioral therapy FITNET-NHS graded exercise therapy mecfs PACE Source Type: blogs
Trial By Error, Continued: The New FITNET Trial for Kids
This reportorial conflict-of-interest was not disclosed in the BBC story itself.
(In fact, the Countess of Mar, a member of the House of Lords and a longtime advocate for ME/CFS patients, has filed a formal complaint with the BBC to protest its biased reporting on FITNET-NHS. In her complaint, she noted that “the BBC coverage was so hyperbolic and it afforded the FITNET trial so much publicity that it was clearly organised as a counter-punch to the anti-PACE evidence which is now gaining world-wide attention.”)
As a treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome, cognitive behavior therapy is grounded in an unproven hypothesis...
Source: virology blog - November 22, 2016 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Commentary Information CFS chronic fatigue syndrome FITNET-NHS Magenta study myalgic encephalomyocarditis PACE trial Source Type: blogs
Why Can't I Sleep?
So I am always in pursuit of the land of nod. The only way I seem to be able to sleep is to take a sleeping pill but that doesn ' t guarantee a full night ' s sleep. If I get so exhausted I can ' t watch tv I usually get a couple of hours of sleep. Sometimes I can even sleep all night. But I ' ll tell you my secret for sanity in the middle of the night. I pull out my tablet and play computer games until I can fall back to sleep.I am always looking for help with sleep. WebMD can always provide assistance with all things medical. They sent me an email the other day on theCauses of Fatigue and Seepiness and How to Fight Them....
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - September 25, 2016 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: lack of sleep Source Type: blogs
