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By David Tuller, DrPH A British medical education company has recently disseminated a recruitment ad for a high-profile pediatric study of treatment for what it calls CFS/ME. The recruitment ad’s headline describes the intervention being investigated as effective, without caveat or reservation. (Full headline: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME): effective home treatment for teenagers) To back …

Trial By Error: FITNET-NHS Recruitment Ad Promotes “Recovery” Read More »

By David Tuller, DrPH Two years ago, the Mayo Clinic referred Lisa Alioto, a patient diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, to a three-day rehabilitation program–a mini-version of a multi-week program designed for those with a grab-bag of chronic pain and related conditions. These conditions, as listed on the Mayo website, include fibromyalgia, chronic back pain, …

Trial By Error: More Mayo, Please… Read More »

By David Tuller, DrPH Not long ago, Sir Simon scored an own goal by enticing a childhood buddy to enter the PACE debate. That buddy, attorney and social commentator Mike Godwin, soon pronounced the trial, which Sir Simon had called a thing of beauty–to be so profoundly flawed that it cannot be trusted. Sir Simon …

Trial By Error: The BPS Brigades Score Another Own Goal Read More »

By David Tuller, DrPH Last week I admonished the US Centers for Disease Control for including fuzzy language about exercise in its new package of information for healthcare providers. The way the Mayo Clinic deals with the illness it calls chronic fatigue syndrome is an excellent illustration of why it is so important for the …

Trial By Error: Mayo Still Champions GET Read More »

By David Tuller, DrPH Last summer, the US Centers for Disease Control removed graded exercise therapy and cognitive behavior therapy from its website as recommendations for treatment of the illness it was by then calling ME/CFS. Its stated explanation for the change–that readers had misunderstood the recommendations–was nonsense. Readers understood all too well what the …

Trial By Error: The CDC’s Update for Healthcare Providers Read More »

By David Tuller, DrPH Last week, I noticed that Nick Brown, the editor-in-chief of Archives of Disease in Childhood, had appended an “editor’s note” to the Lightning Process study on June 19th. The note is stunningly inadequate. Here it is: This study was published online in Archives of Disease in Childhood after peer review in …

Trial By Error: The Contentless “Editor’s Note” About the Lightning Process Trial Read More »