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MECFS Alert - Llewellyn King's advice on funding

*GG*

senior member
Messages
6,389
Location
Concord, NH
Thanks, I wonder about really having the support of 1 million people, perhaps more or less?

So manyy people don't really seem to be into advocacy, even if they are not in horrible situation, hopefully I am wrong!

GG
 

ixchelkali

Senior Member
Messages
1,107
Location
Long Beach, CA
There's nothing wrong with Mr. King's suggestion, but it isn't as if we haven't done it before. Congress specifically earmarked funds for CFS research in their CDC allocations in the 1990's. The CDC simply spent the funds on other things and lied to congress in their reports. That's what led to the GAO audit of the CDC's spending on CFS which showed they had misappropriated $12 million. It also led to Bill Reeves being given whistle-blower status.

The question isn't simply one of allocating funds to the CDC and NIH for ME/CFS research, but what research they'll spend those funds on. We don't need more bogus psychobabble studies, we don't need prevelance studies that spend a million dollars a year for 4 years to enroll 8 patients, we don't need more studies using patients who are just depressed or tired, that only muddy the results. Unless and until the CDC and NIH are ready to do (or fund) serious biomedical research using well-defined patient cohorts, I don't see any reason to pour good money after bad.