The Times Letters to the Editor, 31 August, 2018.
Fatigue Syndrome*
Sir,
Professor Fiona Watt (letter, Aug 27), the executive chairwoman of the Medical Research Council, defends the much-criticised Pace trial that continues to dominate medical treatment for patients with ME/chronic fatigue syndrome.
She is confusing well-founded constructive criticism from clinicians, researchers and people with ME/CFS about the Pace trial with hostility to the research community.
- The Times: Call for review of ‘flawed’ ME research in Lancet letter | 21 August 2018
- BMJ: Pressure grows on Lancet to review “flawed” PACE trial | 24 August 2018
We all want to see good-quality research that will improve our understanding of the underlying cause of ME/CFS along with robust clinical trials that will objectively assess the safety and efficacy of potential treatments.
However, in my experience the Pace trial did not do this. Consequently the 250,000 people with this devastating chronic illness continue to have inappropriate management of their condition and suffer the inevitable consequences.
Neil Riley, Chairman, ME Association.
*Please note the ME Association is not responsible for the title used in The Times. This is usually an editorial decision and beyond our control unfortunately.
The ME Association
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