After months of hard work from #MEAction, #MEAction Network UK, and many others including advocates, government officials, lawyers, and PACE experts, a group of concerned global citizens have crafted a petition to the UK government to stop graded exercise therapy trials in ME/CFS. If this petition reaches 10,000 signatures from UK citizens, its content will
Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) has released the PACE data to a patient who requested it under the Freedom of Information Act, as ordered by a recent tribunal, on the last possible day to lodge an appeal against the court’s order. The move follows the publication three days previously of an open letter from
The Lancet has rejected a letter criticising the PACE trial that it invited from a large group of scientists. This decision was made after its editor discussed the matter with the study’s authors. Professor Vincent Racaniello, who led the letter, described the behaviour of Dr. Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet, as “unprofessional”. Racaniello, with
The name of Australian patient Alem Matthees has become familiar in the last few days since a tribunal ruled that Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) must release to him the anonymised raw data from the PACE trial. Matthees requested in March 2014 under the Freedom of Information Act. The decision is widely regarded as
By Mary Dimmock and Jennie Spotila This is a cross-post originally published in Jennie Spotila’s blog, Occupy ME. In response to requests by U.S. patient organizations and advocates, the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has issued an Addendum to its 2014 ME/CFS evidence review. This Addendum downgrades the conclusions on the effectiveness
A tribunal panel has ordered Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) to release anonymised data from the PACE trial to Mr. Alem Matthees, a patient who requested it. The ruling has important implications for CFS patients both in the UK and worldwide. The David-vs-Goliath outcome represents the first successful attempt to begin to counter the
Science writer Julie Rehmeyer presented a critique of the PACE trial to North America’s largest gathering of statisticians in Chicago earlier this week. Her talk was titled, “Bad Statistics, Bad Reporting, Bad Impact on Patients: The Story of the PACE trial”. Rehmeyer explained to the 200-strong audience some of the problems with the trial, including
Dr. David Tuller has provided an overview and update of his work criticizing the PACE trial in a podcast interview with Professor Vincent Racaniello on This Week in Virology (TWiV). Dr. Tuller, of University of California, Berkeley, published a series of damning critiques of the study on Professor Racaniello’s Virology Blog, starting with a lengthy article
Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) have revealed that they spent £250,000 on legal fees in the recent tribunal concerning the release of anonymised data from the PACE trial. Their statement was made in response to a query made under the Freedom of Information Act by Mr. John Peters. QMUL paid £160,000 to Mills &
What is Chasing Competent Care? Hope 4 ME & Fibro Northern Ireland have organized Chasing Competent Care as part of a campaign to improve medical care for the thousands of ME and fibromyalgia patients in Northern Ireland. The conference will be tomorrow, Monday, June 6 at 6 PM at the Stormont Hotel, 587 Upper Newtownards
