Trial By Error, by David Tuller
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Berkeley Crowdfunding Month, Coronavirus Edition
Well, it’s that time of year again, and it can’t be avoided–even in a pandemic. As many of you know, my ongoing investigation of bad research into ME, CFS, so-called “medically unexplained symptoms,” etc., conducted under the “Trial By Error” name on Virology Blog, is my project as a UC Berkeley public health academic researcher…
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My Visits with Alem Matthees (Reprise)
At this time two years ago, I was in Australia on a six-week work trip. As part of my tour, I visited Perth so I could meet and spent a little time with Alem Matthees. I also got to spend time with his lovely family–his mom Helen, his step-dad Jim, and his sister Mya, who…
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A Post About Lupus and MUS, Not COVID
This is another non-coronavirus post–my second in two days. Before we were interrupted, I had been looking more into so-called “medically unexplained symptoms,” or MUS. A recently published study with data on the length of time needed to obtain a diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus, commonly known as lupus, has highlighted some of the core problems…
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A Non-COVID Post about KCL’s Rejection of My FOI Request
In the days before coronavirus was everything, I was writing about a major study of cognitive behavior therapy for irritable bowel syndrome. The study tested telephone-delivered cognitive behavior therapy, web-based CBT against treatment-as-usual for IBS symptom severity and other more generic domains. Although the pre-COVID era feels like ancient history already, my last post on…
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Thoughts on Self-Isolation from Anil van der Zee
My sweet friend Anil van der Zee lives in Amsterdam–more accurately, he lives on his bed in an apartment somewhere in Amsterdam. Like too many, he’s had a lot of experience at self-isolating. Below is part of the blog he posted a few days ago. ********** The Distant Corona Connection Adjusting.We are in a crisis!…
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Some Coronavirus Advice from ME Association’s Dr Charles Shepherd
It’s a frightening time for everyone. As we know, people with underlying medical conditions are at greater risk from coronavirus. At the same time, many of these individuals long ago adopted some of the strategies everyone is now being asked to adopt. Certainly people with ME–or with what is referred to as CFS, CFS/ME, or…
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What Now?
Like many or most, I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing right now. I am “sheltering at home” in San Francisco, following the news, making way too many cups of coffee, chatting much more on the phone than usual, checking in with my 90-year-old mom in Manhattan, watching movies I’m not interested in…
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My Virtual Appearance in Sheffield
I was supposed to be in Bristol, England, last week at the CFS/ME Research Collaborative conference. The conference went on as scheduled, but I decided the weekend before that the situation was getting too dicey to leave home. I didn’t want to get swept up in lockdowns and international travel blockades and not be able…
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New Biopsychosocial Study of Fatigue in HIV Patients
And here’s yet another study from Professor Trudie Chalder and colleagues at King’s College London, this time tackling fatigue in people with HIV—an often debilitating problem. The study—“A Biopsychosocial Approach to HIV Fatigue: A Cross-Sectional and Prospective Analysis to Identify Key Modifiable Factors”—was published online last month by the journal Behavioral Medicine. The causes of…
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Simon McGrath on Leonard Jason’s Study of US Pediatric Prevalence
Leonard Jason, a professor of psychology at DePaul University in Chicago, is a recognized expert in research on the prevalence of and case definitions for the illness (or cluster of illnesses) variously referred to as myalgic encephalomyelitis, chronic fatigue syndrome, ME/CFS, CFS/ME and other names. I posted an interview with him on case definition a…
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Another Letter About Mahana; BerkeleyWellness on IBS Study
I have been trying to find out why Mahana Therapeutics, a San Francisco-based start-up, has chosen to disseminate misleading information about a web-based cognitive behavior therapy program for people with irritable bowel syndrome. Because Mahana’s co-founder and CEO, Rob Paull, has not responded to my letters, I have contacted some of those listed as science…
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An Australian Radio Interview with Melbourne’s Dr Mark Guthridge
When I was in Australia two years ago–wow, can’t believe it’s been that long!–I spent some time with Dr Mark Guthridge, an associate professor of biomedical science at Deakin University in Melbourne. Several years ago, after a bout of mononucleosis/glandular fever, he developed myalgic encephalomyelitis, which in Australia even patients and specialist doctors generally call…