This is the sixth of our new series of periodic calls for #MEAction co-founders Jen Brea and Beth Mazur to meet other activists “face to face.” It’s an opportunity to ask big picture questions about the platform, brainstorm strategy, and offer suggestions for future directions. We’d love this call to especially focus on connecting with
It’s been an amazing year in ME advocacy. In countries all around the world, patients are rising up with a new energy (if that’s the right word!) of creativity and collaboration. There is a growing sense that we are living in a moment that is bigger than any one advocate or organization. That we are at the
Medline Plus, NIH’s web site for patients, just published an article from health news distributor Healthday, based on the recent, discredited U.K. PACE study. The new article states that “cognitive behavioral therapy and graded exercise therapy are among the best available treatments for extended relief” of ME/CFS. Fortunately, if you want to file a complaint about this article, it’s super easy.
Australia: Write to the North Sydney by-election candidates about ME.
Announcing #MEAction groups We are thrilled to formally announce a new feature we’ve had running in the background these last few months: #MEAction groups. As many of you know, Beth and I have been deeply inspired by the legacy of ACT UP and its grassroots ethos. Decisions were made democratically but decisively in large group meetings,
#MEAction has just launched a major new petition to get the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to throw its considerable weight behind calls to The Lancet to have the notorious PACE trial independently re-analysed. The petition also asks the HHS to take immediate steps to protect ME/CFS patients both in the US
Background The Ministry of Health (MoH) is seeking feedback on its update to the New Zealand Heath Strategy. Let’s ensure the ME/CFS community is heard – express your views on the forum now! https://futuredirection.health.govt.nz/join-the-discussion/people-powered/are-there-health-services-geared-your-needs-and-lifestyle What you can do The MoH is asking: “are there health services geared towards your needs and lifestyle?”. This is a
Call for HHS to Investigate PACE Recently, journalist David Tuller, DrPH, published an investigative report outlining serious concerns with the conduct, analyses, and results of U.K.’s £5 million PACE trial for chronic fatigue syndrome. PACE investigated the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and graded exercise therapy (GET) Since then, other researchers and journalists have
I have been looking at this tantalizing survey by the Autism Research Institute for a few years now. It aggregates 27,000 parents’ reports on the effects of pharmaceutical and alternative interventions on autistic children. It’s not a clinical trial or a substitute for doctors’ advice. It uses subjective, self-reported measures (which we all know are problematic). It’s
The Gottfries clinic is the leading ME/CFS and fibromyalgia clinic in Sweden. It both treats patients and conducts biomedical research, yet the health authorities there are planning to withdraw their support in favor for a “bio-psycho-social” approach to treatment. Politicians in Gothenburg, Sweden have now decided not to renew the contract with the clinic when
