By David Tuller, DrPH On April 9th, Senator Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont who votes with the Democrats, unveiled an ambitious $10 billion “moonshot” proposal to fund research into Long Covid. The proposal has raised hopes among patients with the disease or cluster of diseases now being called ME/CFS—as well as concerns that … Trial By Error: Senator Bernie Sanders’ $10 Billion Long Covid “Moonshot” Proposal Read More ..read more

By David Tuller, DrPH Earlier this month, the European Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Alliance (EMEA) released a 235-page report on a survey of ME/CFS patients in Europe titled “Same disease, different approaches and experiences.”  The authors are Arild Angelsen, a board member of the Norwegian ME Association and a professor at the School of Economics and Business … Trial By Error: An Interview with the Authors of the European ME Alliance Survey of 11,000+ Patients Read More ..read more

By David Tuller, DrPH The University of Exeter is now recruiting for a study of “brain training” as a treatment for prolonged cognitive dysfunction after a bout of Covid-19. I found out about this via a post on X. The post highlighted a message that had been sent to an unidentified patient from their medical … Trial By Error: A New Study from Exeter on “Brain Training” for Treatment of Post-Covid Cognitive Problems Read More ..read more

By David Tuller, DrPH ME patients and advocates in England have been alarmed by a series of ongoing cases in which the families of severely ill young women have struggled to convince hospitals to fit them with feeding tubes before they starve to death. I covered a similar situation last year in a piece about … Trial By Error: In England, Conflicts Between Families and Hospitals Threaten the Lives of Young Women with ME Read More ..read more

By David Tuller, DrPH Last month, I sent a letter to Dr Abbasi, the editor-in-chief of The BMJ, about an egregious and arguably fraudulent claim in the REGAIN trial—an investigation of a Long Covid physical and mental health rehabilitation program. Several other experts co-signed the letter. The journal asked us to send in a rapid … Trial By Error: Another Letter Seeking Correction of Bogus “Clinically Effective” Claims from REGAIN Trial Read More ..read more

By David Tuller, DrPH The other day I posted a blog about yet another problematic Long Covid study published by a major journal. The study concluded that physical activity (PA) can “reduce” symptoms in young women with prolonged medical complaints after Covid-19, or what the authors call post-COVID condition (PCC). The problem: the study design … Trial By Error: My Letter to Scientific Reports about New Study of Physical Activity and Long Covid Read More ..read more

By David Tuller, DrPH I’ve recently spent some time lambasting a Long Covid study in The BMJ that claimed a rehab program addressing both physical and mental health was “clinically effective”—even though the primary outcome results fell below the recommended level for what would be considered “minimal clinically important difference” on the measure in question. … Trial By Error: Yet Another Long Covid Study with Bogus Claims Published by a Prestige Journal Read More ..read more

by Gertrud U. Rey Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder and the most common form of dementia. Although its exact cause is unclear, an increasing body of evidence suggests that an infection with herpes simplex virus (HSV) may contribute to onset of AD later in life. Both types of HSV (HSV-1 and HSV-2) infect … Does Herpes Simplex Virus cause Alzheimer’s Disease? Read More ..read more

By David Tuller, DrPH Two weeks ago, I sent a letter to The BMJ on behalf of myself and 12 colleagues seeking a correction in a study published last month. The study, called Clinical effectiveness of an online supervised group physical and mental health rehabilitation programme for adults with post-covid-19 condition (REGAIN study): multicentre randomised controlled trial,” claimed that the intervention … Trial By Error: My Letter to Lead REGAIN Trial Investigator Seeking Correction of Bogus Claims of Clinical Effectiveness Read More ..read more

Leave a Comment / By David Tuller / 24 March 2024 By David Tuller, DrPH Two weeks ago, I sent a letter to The BMJ on behalf of myself and 12 colleagues seeking a correction in a study published last month. The study, called Clinical effectiveness of an online supervised group physical and mental health rehabilitation programme for adults with post-covid-19 condition (REGAIN study): … Trial By Error: We Asked BMJ to Correct a Paper; BMJ Requested a Rapid Response; We Have Declined Read More ..read more