Scientists appalled as journal withdraws chronic fatigue study that prescribed exercise, after patient-activist complaints
The research was criticised by activists who believed it diminished the nature of their condition, but researchers say the decision to pull the study is an unscientific capitulation
A respected science journal is to withdraw a much-cited review of evidence on an illness known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) amid fierce criticism and pressure from activists and patients.
The decision, described by the scientists involved as “disproportionate and poorly justified”, is being seen as a victory for activists in a research field plagued by uncertainty and dispute over whether CFS, also known as myalgic encephalopathy (ME), has physical and psychological elements.
The study, which concluded that exercise helped CFS patients, prompted outrage from some activists who saw this as diminishing their condition.
Emails seen by Reuters show editors at the influential Cochrane Review journal asking researchers who conducted the analysis, which was published in April 2017, to agree to it being temporarily withdrawn.
They also ask the review’s authors to agree to a statement saying their analysis requires “further work in response to feedback and complaints”.
Published on the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane’s evaluations are considered a gold standard in scientific literature and known internationally as dispassionate analyses of the best evidence on a given subject.
