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https://in.reuters.com/article/us-h...-6IPxd50aldNH_tjG6S41Ox18m9B6mJcsNo152s3lTGUE
Warning! The article itself is disgraceful..........
Warning! The article itself is disgraceful..........
Exclusive: Science journal to withdraw chronic fatigue review amid patient activist complaints
Kate Kelland
8 MIN READ
LONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - A respected science journal is to withdraw a much-cited review of evidence on an illness known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) amid fierce criticism and pressure from activists and patients.
The decision, described by the scientists involved as “disproportionate and poorly justified”, is being seen as a victory for activists in a research field plagued by uncertainty and dispute over whether CFS, also known as myalgic encephalopathy (ME), has physical and psychological elements.
Emails seen by Reuters show editors at the influential Cochrane Review journal asking researchers who conducted the analysis, which was published in April 2017, to agree to it being temporarily withdrawn.
Blakemore said this was a sign of Cochrane’s editors sidelining evidence under pressure from CFS/ME campaigners who insist their illness is a physical disease and not a psychological disorder.
On the decision to move CFS/ME work out of the Cochrane’s mental disorders section, Tovey confirmed to Reuters that this was made in response to feedback from CFS/ME patients and campaigners.
CFS/ME is a “complex” disorder and categorizing it in the mental health section “clearly causes some offense”, he said.