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ME/CFS Article in "Last Word on Nothing"

slayadragon

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"Last Word on Nothing" is a blog read primarily by science journalists. Today and tomorrow, they are featuring a piece about ME/CFS (including current issues with the definition) by math/science reporter Julie Rehmeyer.

From what I have seen, established journalists (apparently influenced by Reeves and Wessely) have almost across the board an incredibly inaccurate understanding of ME/CFS, in many cases willing to argue strongly that it is psychological. And science journalists appear to care a lot about what their peers think. I thus hope that the sharing of accurate information in this venue will change a lot of perceptions and result in better media coverage in the future.

-Lisa

http://www.lastwordonnothing.com/20...ful-about-chronic-fatigue-syndrome/#more-7604
 

caledonia

Senior Member
This was the best part:

Klimas, my doctor (now at Nova University), was among those who signed the letter requesting that HHS cancel its contract with the Institute of Medicine. I asked her why she was concerned. “I’m afraid they’re about a year early,” she said. If HHS had waited, she explained, they could have developed a disease definition grounded in data, and that’s what will give a definition the heft needed to change attitudes. Just a year would be enough: Several large studies are now analyzing symptoms and proposed biological markers for ME/CFS in more than a thousand patients and controls, looking for the telltale ones that most effectively distinguish them, upon which a definition could be based. Furthermore, Klimas said, without that evidence, a skeptical committee might dismiss the results of the many small studies that are now most revealing — and could as a result develop a broad definition that would exacerbate the current confusion.

Edited to add: To clarify, this is from Part 2.
 
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Bob

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jimells

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If HHS had waited, she explained, they could have developed a disease definition grounded in data, and that’s what will give a definition the heft needed to change attitudes.

HHS is not a year early, because they are working to reinforce current attitudes. The hoopla around the IOM contract will drown out the data. This will be another victory for the propaganda machine.