charles shepherd
Senior Member
- Messages
- 2,239
MEA Review: Cytokine responses to exercise and activity in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome | 25 August 2017
Published in, Clinical and Experimental Immunology, 05 August, 2017.
Cytokine responses to exercise and activity in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome: Case control study
Authors: L.V. Clark, M. Buckland, G. Murphy, N. Taylor, V. Vleck, C. Mein, E. Wozniak, M. Smuk, P.D. White.
We recently published a comprehensive review of the large cytokine study from Prof. Jose Montoya and colleagues at Stanford. This review of Clark et al. relates to a much smaller UK study, that set out with very good intentions but encountered difficulties processing samples which some have said should have resulted in the paper not being published.
As Charlotte said in our previous review:
“Clark et al. recently carried out a study in the UK looking at cytokine levels before and after exertion. They concluded there to be no differences in expression and that cytokine levels in general (with the exception of our old friend TGF-β) to be no different to that of controls.
However, the Clark study has been criticised for its poor execution and scientific errors, such as dividing the samples into batches that were looked at years apart by different lab technicians! It would have been far more useful if this study had not been published, but had been repeated once the problems had been identified and corrected – enabling more accurate conclusions to be reached.”
Introducing Dr Barbara De Barros
In this review of the UK study, we would like to introduce Dr Barbara De Barros who is a doctor specialising in infectious disease, and who is researching the Zika virus with colleagues at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine where she developed an interest in ME/CFS and came into contact with Dr Luis Nacul who is head of the UK ME/CFS Biobank team, and with whom she is currently working on a dissertation.
“Back in Brazil I was working as a MD, had my private office, worked with the justice department with HIV/AIDS disability and in an emergency department. Nowadays, I want to get more involved with research, if I can stay a little longer in the UK.” She is currently working on another project for the ME Association – the details of which will be announced in due course – but has kindly made herself available for research reviews.
Unlike Charlotte, Barbara is of the opinion that the Clark et al. study should have been published, “I always think it is good to publish papers with negative results so other researchers can learn from them, avoiding repeating the same mistakes,” she said – see below.
Full blog here:
http://www.meassociation.org.uk/201...with-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-25-august-2017/
Dr Charles Shepherd
Hon Medical Adviser, MEA
Published in, Clinical and Experimental Immunology, 05 August, 2017.
Cytokine responses to exercise and activity in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome: Case control study
Authors: L.V. Clark, M. Buckland, G. Murphy, N. Taylor, V. Vleck, C. Mein, E. Wozniak, M. Smuk, P.D. White.
We recently published a comprehensive review of the large cytokine study from Prof. Jose Montoya and colleagues at Stanford. This review of Clark et al. relates to a much smaller UK study, that set out with very good intentions but encountered difficulties processing samples which some have said should have resulted in the paper not being published.
As Charlotte said in our previous review:
“Clark et al. recently carried out a study in the UK looking at cytokine levels before and after exertion. They concluded there to be no differences in expression and that cytokine levels in general (with the exception of our old friend TGF-β) to be no different to that of controls.
However, the Clark study has been criticised for its poor execution and scientific errors, such as dividing the samples into batches that were looked at years apart by different lab technicians! It would have been far more useful if this study had not been published, but had been repeated once the problems had been identified and corrected – enabling more accurate conclusions to be reached.”
Introducing Dr Barbara De Barros
In this review of the UK study, we would like to introduce Dr Barbara De Barros who is a doctor specialising in infectious disease, and who is researching the Zika virus with colleagues at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine where she developed an interest in ME/CFS and came into contact with Dr Luis Nacul who is head of the UK ME/CFS Biobank team, and with whom she is currently working on a dissertation.
“Back in Brazil I was working as a MD, had my private office, worked with the justice department with HIV/AIDS disability and in an emergency department. Nowadays, I want to get more involved with research, if I can stay a little longer in the UK.” She is currently working on another project for the ME Association – the details of which will be announced in due course – but has kindly made herself available for research reviews.
Unlike Charlotte, Barbara is of the opinion that the Clark et al. study should have been published, “I always think it is good to publish papers with negative results so other researchers can learn from them, avoiding repeating the same mistakes,” she said – see below.
Full blog here:
http://www.meassociation.org.uk/201...with-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-25-august-2017/
Dr Charles Shepherd
Hon Medical Adviser, MEA