Chicago Tribune: Manipulation alleged in paper linking virus

http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/chi-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-paper-10032011,0,6792877.story

What I giant mess, the reputation of the whole institute is almost unrecoverable because of Mikovits actions. They should have looked into her claims well over a year ago when the red flags started showing up everywhere.

Trine Tsouderos, the Rita Skeeter of the ME/CFS world (Harry Potter fans will understand). Yellow journalism comes to the science page.

Granted, it's a mess, but Trine Tsouderos will paint it in the worst possible light. If Science decides that there was manipulation, that would be news, but this is little more than reporting rumor. "A copy of her PowerPoint presentation circulating among an email group..." Now, there's a reliable source.

Well, we knew it would get ugly, and that those who are usually not supportive of ME/CFS patients would be all over this, gloating, so it's not surprising.

Wake me when it's over.

Amazing how a research trial with MULTIPLE, SERIOUS discrepancies in methodology; in which dangerous claims are made about efficacy and safety; which patients and supporters are extremely concerned about; and in which the medical journal who published the trial publicly attacks those concerned with the discrepancies; and in which the medical journal's ombudsman, who has a known conflict of interest because he co-authors with one of the trial authors, does not even answer complainants: is ignored, while an allegedly incorrect image from a conference presentation is treated as serious misconduct, enough to report in a large newspaper, before the facts have even been established.

I'm talking of course about the PACE trial.

Can you explain more Esther? Because Trine Tsouderos's article looks like a cherry-picking, prejudicial, hyperbolic account of a possible non-event at the moment.

Now I've seen this, I find the "Trine's instincts were right" comment even MORE mystifying Esther! Some image has gone up on 'teh internets'?

We seem to be going down THIS path...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAFVALRWDyk

Esther,

Why don't you wait until you do understand things properly before commenting?

I agree with Esther that we have to keep an open mind here. You cannot keep supporting an institute or a scientist just because you like what they are saying. Something major happened here and you can be pretty sure that the issue is not whether Judy was willing to share cell linings with other scientist. There had to be a bigger reason for the WPI to let her go allegedly with the NIH grant. What does the WPI have left now? Things don't add up and the fact that there are inquiring minds is only natural..

What do you mean 'something major happened here'? This is all speculation and insinuation on your part.

What this community REALLY needs, urgently, are FACTS.

I'm working on FACTS, not emotional attachment to either the WPI or Mikovits.

But what if it's NOT authentic? You always encourage people not to believe everything on forums, etc. Why should people scrap that reasonable caution NOW?

Esther,

You are not appointed or elected here as a devils advocate and we don't need someone to do that. You are choosing to make these comments when you admit that you don't know the science.

By all means talk about your own feelings but please don't keep going on about things with your personal judgements disguised as facts - that you then say you don't know enough about when asked why.

That's not helping things and could easily end up in a newspaper column or being quoted by people who want to exploit the situation.

I'm keeping an open mind on things and being cautious, that doesn't mean I'm jumping at every shadow and taking media reports as fact.

I gree that what we need are real facts but unless you were an ant on the lab in WPI and heard all the conversations going on behind closed doors, there is no way of knowing yet what really happened.
Until that time comes, I'm leaving an open mind and not making any rash decisions.

Esther, you need to make that clear in each posting as what you write could be picked up by Trine or someone and appear in the press.

Please before it is too late, when you type what you feel make it clear it is a feeling and not a fact.

If you make a prouncement on Western blots and how you think they should look make it clear who you are quoting or why a simple patient would have any idea what the noise should look like (as an example). If you don't have the exprience you must be reading it somewhere and posting it here "as fact" when it is a quote.

At the moment you appear to be prepared to argue one side only and as a simple patient with limited understanding one would ask why.