Thread by @Dan_Wyke

@guardian As an antidote to Andrew Anthony's unwelcome opinion piece rehashing Prof Sharpe's vindictive fabrications about ME/ME patients, your readers may like to read some actual evidence-based biomedical research about the illness. 1/
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/… #pwME #MEcfs

@guardian This longer paper delves into more recent biomedical research, giving readers an insight into the biological basis of ME/CFS - and making Prof Sharpe's unsubstantiated hypothesis about the illness sound rather silly. 2/ #pwME #MEcfs #MyalgicE
mdpi.com/2075-4418/9/3/…

@guardian And this research summary from @MEActNet reviews the most current and important research into ME/CFS of the past 10 years. NB Prof Sharpe's research - notably the flawed and widely discredited PACE Trial - aren't included. 3/ #pwME #MEcfs
meaction.net/2019/06/12/mea…

@guardian For most people with MEcfs, Prof Sharpe's exit from the field of research can't come quickly enough. Unfortunately his status still gives him easy access to major media outlets through which he spreads calumny about defenceless patients with a multi-system illness. 4/

@guardian Genuine MEcfs experts have noted that some of their patients suffer from PTSD as a result of the disbelief/mistreatment they encounter at the hands of GPs. Prof Sharpe's lies about people with MEcfs and his false assertions about the illness add to their distress. 5/

@guardian could serve journalism better by not printing the disproven claims of an embittered psychiatrist + by reporting instead this story about a scientist devising a 'blood-based test that successfully identified participants in a study with CFS'. 6/ pnas.org/content/116/21…

@guardian Thankfully @Independent picked up this story about world renowned scientist Ron Davis - whose son is severely ill with MEcfs - developing a diagnostic tool for the complex, chronic illness. Prof Sharpe simply ignores such developments. 7/ independent.co.uk/news/health/ch…

@guardian 8/

Science thrives on the free exchange of ideas. True or false?

@guardian For your future reference: ME primer for journalists 9/ #pwME #MyalgicE #MEcfs
me-pedia.org/wiki/Primer_fo…

@guardian Journalists attempting to write about a complex disease like MEcfs would be well-advised to first read @julierehmeyer's excellent piece on the disastrous PACE Trial (which Prof Sharpe co-authored). 10/ #pwME #MyalgicE #MEcfs
statnews.com/2016/09/21/chr…

@guardian A more thorough reanalysis and evaluation of the PACE Trial can be found here. 11/ #pwME #MyalgicE #MEcfs #MedEd
bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11…

@guardian MEcfs patient surveys consistently demonstrate that PACE-/NICE-recommended treatments - graded exercise therapy (GET) and CBT - are harmful and ineffective. 12/ #pwME #MyalgicE #MEcfs #MedEd
meaction.net/2019/04/03/get…

@guardian In Jan this year 40 cross-party MPs debated MEcfs in Parliament + passed a motion calling for, among other things: 1. an end to GET; 2.more funding for biomedical research + 3.better medical training for GPs. Read the full transcript here. 13/
hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2019-0…

@guardian Prof Sharpe seems to disapprove of elected representatives helping vulnerable constituents. In June 2018 MPs met again in Westminster to discuss the problematic PACE Trial + lack of support for people with MEcfs. 14/
meassociation.org.uk/2018/06/mps-de…

@guardian Speaking then, CM said: “Some ppl consider ME to be a psychological condition despite the fact pwME are not allowed to be blood/organ donors. Unfortunately, those who hold such beliefs often are in influential positions + have a blinkered view of the condition." 15/

@guardian CM continued: “I wonder what they [Sharpe et al] have to fear from proper biomedical research into ME. If such research showed they were correct, their views would be vindicated..." 16/

@guardian "... However if it threw up new information that had an impact on ME treatment and care, as medical professionals they should surely support that.” Apparently not. 17/

@guardian In an earlier Westminster debate, CM - a science teacher by training - said the PACE Trial might be "the biggest medical scandal of the 21st century". In an act reeking of white male privilege, Prof Sharpe wrote to her saying her behaviour was "unbecoming of an MP". 18/

*CM: I am of course referring to MP @CMonaghanSNP.

@guardian As @StenHelmfrid notes: "Prof Sharpe claims he's the victim of an anti-science campaign that tries to silence him. He has actually been robustly criticized by other scientists for the flaws of the #PACEtrial, and is now orchestrating a media campaign to save face." 19/

@guardian It is regrettable that Andrew Anthony + his editor (@iansample?) have been hoodwinked into assisting Prof Sharpe’s desperate attempts to salvage his reputation + enabling him to pursue his personal vendetta against a seriously ill and neglected patient community. 20/

@guardian The fact of the matter is Prof Sharpe does not like criticism of the PACE Trial and he ignores the mounting evidence of biological abnormalities present in people with MEcfs. 21/

@guardian Previous allegations made by PACE authors of threating behaviour by so-called 'activists' have officially been ruled unfounded, and amounted to no more than one researcher being 'heckled' at a seminar.😱 22/

@guardian Thankfully people with MEcfs aren't completely alone in countering Prof Sharpe's harmful media appearances. Here patient group @mepfuk responds to a similar piece in @PsychToday, attempting to portray informed patients as sinister 'activists'.23/ themepatientfoundation.org/2019/07/23/mep…

@guardian And in March this year @MEActNet responded to another totally biased Reuters article in which Prof Sharpe smeared MEcfs sufferers in his usual callous fashion. 24/
meaction.net/2019/03/14/fig…

@guardian In that response, @MEActNet drew attention to the "100+ scientists who have called for an investigation and retraction of the PACE trial study based on its numerous methodological flaws." 25/
thetimes.co.uk/article/call-f…

@guardian Ending this thread with one of my favourite photos: leading MEcfs scientists/researchers *and* patients collaborating at The ME/CFS International Research Symposium in Australia earlier this year.

P. S. Prof Sharpe was not invited. 26/

mecfsconference.org.au