People with ME/CFS are being harmed by inaccurate clinical advice resulting from a flawed Cochrane Review
The following petition has been posted on behalf of the committee of the international Science for ME forum
You can Sign it here
Over 10.600 people did before
Anybody from anywhere can sign
Cochrane is an international organisation that publishes reviews of research evidence for treatments of diseases; it has a lot of influence over clinical guidelines used around the world. Four years ago, in October 2019, Cochrane published ‘Exercise therapy for CFS’, supporting the use of exercise therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome (more correctly known as ME/CFS).
Cochrane’s editor-in-chief admitted the review was not fit for purpose on publication, but it continues to be hosted in the Cochrane Library and cited in scientific journals and clinical guidelines. This is despite government organisations such as the UK’s NICE (NG206: 1.11.14) and the USA’s CDC having found, following unbiased evaluations, that there is no evidence that exercise therapy is effective for ME/CFS. This is also despite virtually all ME/CFS patient organisations rejecting exercise therapy as a valid treatment of the disease and many people with ME/CFS reporting becoming much sicker after graded exercise therapy.
The requests
The committee and members of the international Science for ME forum have written to Cochrane requesting:
1. The immediate withdrawal or retraction of the 2019 Cochrane review ‘Exercise therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome’ by Larun et al. and all earlier versions
AND
2. An immediate restart of regular monthly updates on the new review process, with clearly stated timelines for completion of the review to publication within one year from now
OR
Abandonment of the new review process
The letter has been posted here:
S4ME: 2023 Open Letter to Cochrane – request for action on the ME/CFS Exercise Therapy Review
Please sign this petition to call on Cochrane for action
Two updates
First an apology: as due to the absence of one of the editors of the ME Global Chronicle during the month of December we were extremely pressed to produce the December 2023 issue within a very short time, we did not inquire about the status of the Petition to Cochrane.
That’s why we owe you two updates: one from November 12, 2023 and a very recent one from March 21st. You can find them here.
Meanwhile keep on signing and sharing please.
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