Trial By Error

Tag: The Lancet

  • My Questions for Lancet Editor Richard Horton

    In January, I posted a list of the questions I still wanted to ask the PACE authors, who have repeatedly refused my requests to interview them about their ethically and methodologically challenged study. Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet, has similarly declined to talk with me, ignoring my e-mails seeking comment for the initial investigation,…

  • Once Again, Lancet Stumbles on PACE

    Last February, Virology Blog posted an open letter to The Lancet and its editor, Dr. Richard Horton, describing the indefensible flaws of the PACE trial of treatments for ME/CFS, the disease otherwise known as chronic fatigue syndrome (link to letter). Forty-two well-regarded scientists, academics and clinicians put their names to the letter, which declared flatly…

  • A request for data from the PACE trial

    Mr. Paul Smallcombe Records & Information Compliance Manager Queen Mary University of London Mile End Road London E1 4NS Dear Mr Smallcombe: The PACE study of treatments for ME/CFS has been the source of much controversy since the first results were published in The Lancet in 2011. Patients have repeatedly raised objections to the study’s methodology and…

  • PACE Team’s Work for Insurance Companies Is “Not Related” to PACE. Really?

    In my initial story on Virology Blog, I charged the PACE investigators with violating the Declaration of Helsinki, developed in the 1950s by the World Medical Association to protect human research subjects. The declaration mandates that scientists disclose “institutional affiliations” and “any possible conflicts of interest” to prospective trial participants as part of the process…

  • An open letter to Dr. Richard Horton and The Lancet

    Dr. Richard Horton The Lancet 125 London Wall London, EC2Y 5AS, UK Dear Dr. Horton: In February, 2011, The Lancet published an article called “Comparison of adaptive pacing therapy, cognitive behaviour therapy, graded exercise therapy, and specialist medical care for chronic fatigue syndrome (PACE): a randomized trial.” The article reported that two “rehabilitative” approaches, cognitive behavior therapy…