home.social

#cochrane — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #cochrane, aggregated by home.social.

  1. Calgary physician urges safe behaviour on scooters, e-bikes to relieve stressed emergency rooms

    A physician Thursday pleaded with Calgarians to avoid risky behaviour to take the pressure off stressed emergency departments.…
    #Canada #Calgary #Cochrane #emergencydepartments #emergencyphysician #headinjuries #traumainjuries
    europesays.com/canada/132506/

  2. Outbreak: #COVID-19

    Facility: Villa Minto
    Facility Type: LTC Home
    Unit/Floor/Area: Facility Wide
    Location: #Cochrane #Ontario
    Facility Tracking Hash: #NEPH0010

    Date: 2026-02-22

    Public Health Unit: Northeastern Public Health
    PHU Tracking Hash: #OnObNEPH

    Click or follow tracking hashtags to see data for individual facilities or a specific public health unit.

  3. Outbreak: #COVID-19

    Facility: Villa Minto
    Facility Type: LTC Home
    Unit/Floor/Area: Facility Wide
    Location: #Cochrane #Ontario
    Facility Tracking Hash: #NEPH0010

    Date: 2026-02-22

    Public Health Unit: Northeastern Public Health
    PHU Tracking Hash: #OnObNEPH

    Click or follow tracking hashtags to see data for individual facilities or a specific public health unit.

  4. Revisión Cochrane (22 ensayos, 1.995 adultos): el ayuno intermitente no muestra ventajas claras frente a la restricción calórica para perder peso y puede causar efectos adversos. aidoo.news/noticia/WN3PYx

    #AyunoIntermitente #Cochrane #EvidenciaCientífica #Obesidad #PérdidaDePeso

  5. Fragwürdige #Masken-Reviews: "Verschiedene Vorgehensweisen der Gutachter – wie der vollständige Ausschluss von Beobachtungsstudien (...) und die Erstellung von Metaanalysen, die Studien mit unterschiedlichem Design kombinierten oder Studien mit einem kritischen Verzerrungsrisiko einbezogen – trugen dazu bei, wichtige Aspekte der Heterogenität zu verschleiern, was zu nichtssagenden und wenig hilfreichen zusammenfassenden Aussagen führte."
    cambridge.org/core/journals/re
    #Pandemieaufarbeitung #Cochrane

  6. Fragwürdige #Masken-Reviews: "Verschiedene Vorgehensweisen der Gutachter – wie der vollständige Ausschluss von Beobachtungsstudien (...) und die Erstellung von Metaanalysen, die Studien mit unterschiedlichem Design kombinierten oder Studien mit einem kritischen Verzerrungsrisiko einbezogen – trugen dazu bei, wichtige Aspekte der Heterogenität zu verschleiern, was zu nichtssagenden und wenig hilfreichen zusammenfassenden Aussagen führte."
    cambridge.org/core/journals/re
    #Pandemieaufarbeitung #Cochrane

  7. [2]
    Promenez-vous avec StreetView, et voyez notamment cet hôtel qui existe depuis... toujours, et qu'on voit dans tous les livres de photos sur la Patagonie :
    maps.app.goo.gl/cH72TDGmiY48Ho

    #Cochrane #CarreteraAustral #ChileChico

  8. [1]
    Il faut bien repartir de ce lieu enchanteur et de ces passerelles en bois (quoi que c'est super en été par beau temps... mais il pleut énormément sur l'année).
    Étape rapide à #Cochrane, petite ville de bord de route, la route étant quand même la #CarreteraAustral !*
    Puis #ChileChico, petite ville de Patagonie chilienne également très connue, c'est effectivement très sympa de s'y promener.

    * anecdote ?

  9. Outbreak: #Influenza A (not subtype)
    Facility: Lady Minto Hospital
    Facility Type: Hospital (Acute Care)
    Unit/Floor/Area: Facility Wide
    Location: #Cochrane #Ontario
    Date: 2025-12-18

    Public Health Unit: Porcupine Health Unit
    Facility Tracking Hash: #NEPH0020 (formerly #POHU0001)
    PHU Tracking Hash: #OnObNEPH (formerly #OnObPOHU)

    Click or follow tracking hashtags to see data for individual facilities or a specific public health unit.

  10. Outbreak: #Influenza A (not subtype)
    Facility: Lady Minto Hospital
    Facility Type: Hospital (Acute Care)
    Unit/Floor/Area: Facility Wide
    Location: #Cochrane #Ontario
    Date: 2025-12-18

    Public Health Unit: Porcupine Health Unit
    Facility Tracking Hash: #NEPH0020 (formerly #POHU0001)
    PHU Tracking Hash: #OnObNEPH (formerly #OnObPOHU)

    Click or follow tracking hashtags to see data for individual facilities or a specific public health unit.

  11. A very accessible fossil! This bivalve (right) and gastropod shell impression (left) were found in Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park, just outside of Cochrane, AB.

    These were found in a sandstone boulder from the Paskapoo Formation, dating from the early Palaeocene (right after the extinction of most of the dinosaurs).

    #fossilfriday #palaeontology #paleontology #bivalve #gastropod #cochrane #ab

  12. Here's our new podcast...

    About the movie Star Trek First Contact.

    Join us as we take our fresh look at the movie, including at least one thing we've NEVER heard any other fans talk about.

    #StarTrek #FirstContact #Picard #Cochrane #Borg #AllStarTrek

    creators.spotify.com/pod/profi

  13. Here's our new podcast...

    About the movie Star Trek First Contact.

    Join us as we take our fresh look at the movie, including at least one thing we've NEVER heard any other fans talk about.

    #StarTrek #FirstContact #Picard #Cochrane #Borg #AllStarTrek

    creators.spotify.com/pod/profi

  14. Bei #Cochrane findet sich nach wie vor ein veralteter Review, in dem die potentiell schädliche Grades Exercise Therapie (GET) für #MECFS positiv bewertet wird.

    Mehr darüber erfährt man zB bei @hildabast absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2025/

    Die Betroffeneninitiative Science For ME versucht, Cochrane mit dieser Petition dazu zu bringen, den eigenen Ansprüchen gerecht zu werden:
    chng.it/vGDNVJBBtb

  15. Bei #Cochrane findet sich nach wie vor ein veralteter Review, in dem die potentiell schädliche Grades Exercise Therapie (GET) für #MECFS positiv bewertet wird.

    Mehr darüber erfährt man zB bei @hildabast absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2025/

    Die Betroffeneninitiative Science For ME versucht, Cochrane mit dieser Petition dazu zu bringen, den eigenen Ansprüchen gerecht zu werden:
    chng.it/vGDNVJBBtb

  16. "Six Months Later: What Their Response on ME/CFS Tells Us About the Cochrane Collaboration"

    absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2025/

    "Six months ago … I recounted the tale of the Cochrane Collaboration’s controversial exit from updating its review on exercise and ME/CFS.

    They did this by publishing an editorial note on the review, walking back their previous statement on it being out-of-date; re-issuing the review as a new version despite there being no change to the review …"

    @mecfs

    #MEcfs #Cochrane #UK

  17. "Six Months Later: What Their Response on ME/CFS Tells Us About the Cochrane Collaboration"

    absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2025/

    "Six months ago … I recounted the tale of the Cochrane Collaboration’s controversial exit from updating its review on exercise and ME/CFS.

    They did this by publishing an editorial note on the review, walking back their previous statement on it being out-of-date; re-issuing the review as a new version despite there being no change to the review …"

    @mecfs

    #MEcfs #Cochrane #UK

  18. CW: Cochrane Reviews, state of play

    Important post from @hildabast about Cochrane Reviews.

    Historically these have been among the most reliable sources of info about medical stuff, but that can't be said at the moment. Caution required.

    absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2025/

    #Cochrane #CochraneReviews #MECFS #medicine

  19. CW: Cochrane Reviews, state of play

    Important post from @hildabast about Cochrane Reviews.

    Historically these have been among the most reliable sources of info about medical stuff, but that can't be said at the moment. Caution required.

    absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2025/

    #Cochrane #CochraneReviews #MECFS #medicine

  20. @hildabast Wow. 🔥🔥🔥
    Please keep the heat on!
    #Cochrane 👀

  21. ➡️ Potenzial von Open Science bei der Verringerung von Betrug und fragwürdigen Forschungspraktiken ⬅️ Das war das Thema unserer Kollegin @lspitzer.bsky.social beim 4. Cochrane Deutschland Symposium in Freiburg. @cochraned.bsky.social #openscience #Forschung #cochrane #ZPID #wissenwaswirkt

  22. Outbreak: #InfluenzaB (not subtyped) + #Parainfluenza Virus
    Facility: Villa Minto
    Facility Type: LTC Home
    Unit/Floor/Area: Facility Wide
    Location: #Cochrane #Ontario
    Date: 2025-05-05

    Public Health Unit: Northeastern Public Health
    Facility Tracking Hash: #NEPH0010 (formerly #POHU0002)
    PHU Tracking Hash: #OnObNEPH (formerly #OnObPOHU)

    Click or follow tracking hashtags to see data for individual facilities or a specific public health unit.

  23. A Letter to Cochrane’s Editor-in-Chief

    By David Tuller, DrPH

    This morning, I e-mailed the following letter to Dr Karla Soares-Weiser, Cochrane’s editor-in-chief, about the decision to abandon a planned update of a review of exercise therapy for ME/CFS. (I cc’d Toby Lasserson, Cochrane’s deputy editor-in-chief.) That decision was made public in an abrupt announcement dumped on the patient community right before the Christmas holidays. Cochrane appears to be oblivious to how its actions have harmed not only patients but its own reputation.

    The subject line of the e-mail: “Request for withdrawal of review of exercise therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome”

    **********

    Dear Dr Soares-Weiser—

    In 2019, Cochrane published amendments to a previously conducted systematic review that recommended exercise therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome. [1] Given that post-exertional malaise (PEM) is a core symptom of what is now generally called myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), recommendations to increase exercise can lead to serious relapses. [2]

    When these amendments were published, you acknowledged some of the review’s shortcomings, noting in a statement that it was “based on a research question and a set of methods from 2002, and reflects evidence from studies that applied definitions of ME/CFS from the 1990s.” [3] The earlier ME/CFS definitions used in those trials did not require the presence of PEM, raising uncertainty about whether the study samples truly represent the patient population. To address these issues, Cochrane proposed a comprehensive process to produce an updated review.

    In December, five years into this process, Cochrane blindsided the ME/CFS community with an abrupt announcement that it was abandoning the update project, citing “insufficient new research.” [4] The same month, Cochrane republished the old, amended version with a 2024 date, creating the false impression that the review itself had, in fact, been updated. [5]

    The argument about “insufficient new research” cannot be taken at face value. The promise to update the amended review had nothing to do with the presence or absence of new research. Cochrane committed to the update project because the organization’s leadership understood that the published review was inadequate for multiple reasons, among them that it contained limited information about potential harms. Despite having articulated such concerns in the past, Cochrane has now reaffirmed its support for this flawed document while revising nothing but the date of publication.

    The amended exercise therapy review continues to pose a risk to people with ME/CFS, including those with Long COVID who meet diagnostic criteria. [6] It should be withdrawn. Failing that, the review should be prominently tagged with an editorial note making clear that it is out-of-date and should not be used for clinical decision-making.

    Sincerely,

    Nicola Baker
    Physios for ME
    School of Allied Health Professions and Nursing
    University of Liverpool
    Liverpool, England, UK

    Lucinda Bateman
    Bateman Horne Center
    Salt Lake City, Utah, US

    Jonas Bergquist
    ME/CFS Collaborative Research Centre
    Biomedical Centre
    Uppsala University
    Uppsala, Sweden

    Hector Bonilla
    Post COVID-19 Syndrome (PACS) Clinic
    Division of Infectious Diseases
    Stanford Medicine
    Stanford, California, U.S.

    Robin Callender Smith
    Centre for Commercial Law Studies
    Queen Mary University of London
    London, England, UK

    Mario R. Capecchi
    Department of Human Genetics
    University of Utah School of Medicine
    Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.

    Joan Crawford
    Chronic Pain Management Service
    St Helens Hospital
    St Helens, England, U.K.

    Jennifer Curtin
    Real Time Health Monitoring
    San Francisco, California, U.S.

    Janet L. Dafoe
    Child Psychologist (private practice)
    Palo Alto, California, U.S.

    David Davies-Payne
    Department of Radiology
    Starship Children’s Hospital
    Auckland, New Zealand

    Ronald Davis
    Departments of Biochemistry and Genetics
    Stanford University School of Medicine
    Stanford, California, U,S.

    Rae Duncan
    Department of Cardiology
    Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals
    Newcastle upon Tyne, England, U.K.

    Jonathan Edwards
    Division of Medicine (emeritus)
    University College London
    London, England, U.K.

    Valerie Eliot Smith
    Centre for Commercial Law Studies
    Queen Mary University of London
    London, England, U.K.

    Andrew Ewing
    Department of Chemistry & Molecular Biology
    University of Gothenburg
    Gothenburg, Sweden

    Mark Faghy
    Biomedical and Clinical Exercise Science Research Theme
    University of Derby
    Derby, England, U.K.

    Keith Geraghty
    Centre for Primary Care and Health Services Research
    University of Manchester
    Manchester, England, U.K.

    Paul Guyre
    Department of Microbiology and Immunology
    Geisel School of Medicine
    Dartmouth
    Hanover, New Hampshire, U.S/

    Mady Hornig
    CORe Community, Inc.
    New York, NY, U.S.

    Brian Hughes
    Department of Psychology
    University of Galway
    Galway, Ireland

    Leonard Jason
    Center for Community Research
    DePaul University
    Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
     
    David Joffe
    Respiratory and Sleep Medicine
    Royal North Shore Hospital
    Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Binita Kane
    Biomedical and Clinical Exercise Science Research Theme
    University of Derby
    Derby, England, U.K.

    David Kaufman
    Center for Complex Diseases
    Seattle, Washington, U.S.

    Douglas Kell
    Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Systems Biology
    University of Liverpool
    Liverpool, England, U.K.

    Asad Khan
    Consultant in Respiratory & General Medicine (medically retired)
    Manchester, England, U.K.

    Steven Lubet
    Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
    Northwestern University
    Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

    Ben Marsh
    Consultant in Paediatric Neurodisability (medically retired)
    Exeter, England, U.K.

    Robert Naviaux
    Departments of Medicine, Pediatrics, and Pathology
    UC San Diego School of Medicine
    San Diego, California, U.S.

    Chris Ponting
    Institute of Genetics and Cancer
    University of Edinburgh
    Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K.

    Etheresia Pretorius
    Department of Physiological Sciences
    Stellenbosch University
    Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa
    Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Systems Biology
    University of Liverpool
    Liverpool, England, U.K.

    David Putrino
    Department of Rehabilitation Medicine
    Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
    New York, New York, U.S.

    Peter Rowe
    John Hopkins Children’s Center
    Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
    Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.

    Spela Salamon
    Long Covid Expert Advisory Group
    World Health Network
    Leoben, Austria
     
    Charles Shepherd
    ME Association
    Buckingham, England, U.K.

    Kristian Sommerfelt
    Department of Clinical Science (emeritus)
    University of Bergen
    Bergen, Norway

    Nigel Speight
    Consultant Paediatrician (semi-retired)
    Durham, England, UK

    Michael Stingl
    Neurology Department
    Votivpark Specialist Medical Center
    Vienna, Austria

    John Swartzberg
    Division of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology (emeritus)
    School of Public Health
    University of California, Berkeley
    Berkeley, California, U.S.

    Susan Taylor-Brown
    Department of Pediatrics
    University of Rochester Medical Center
    Rochester, New York, USA

    Karl Johan Tronstad
    Department of Biomedicine
    University of Bergen
    Bergen, Norway

    Mark Vink, MD
    Family and Insurance Physician
    Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    William Weir
    Consultant in Infectious Diseases (private practice)
    London, England, UK

    Rob Wust
    Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences
    Vrije Universiteit
    Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Wenzhong Xiao
    Ronald G. Tompkins ME/CFS Collaboration
    Harvard Medical School Affiliates
    Harvard Medical School
    Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

    David Tuller (corresponding author)
    Center for Global Public Health
    University of California, Berkeley
    Berkeley, California, U.S.

    **********

    References

    1. Larun L, Brurberg KG, Odgaard-Jensen J, Price JR. Exercise therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2019, Issue 10. Art. No.: CD003200. Accessed February 18, 2025, at: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003200.pub8/full

    2. Myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy)/chronic fatigue syndrome: diagnosis and management. London: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021 Oct 29. Accessed February 18, 2025, at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng206/resources

    3. Cochrane. Publication of Cochrane Review: ‘Exercise therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome.’ Cochrane website. October 3, 2019. Accessed on February 18, 2025, at: https://www.cochrane.org/news/cfs

    4. Cochrane. Update on ‘Exercise therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome.’ Cochrane website. December 16, 2024. Accessed on February 18, 2025, at:  https://www.cochrane.org/news/update-exercise-therapy-chronic-fatigue-syndrome

    5. Larun L, Brurberg KG, Odgaard-Jensen J, Price JR. Exercise therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2024, Issue 12. Art. No.: CD003200. Accessed on February 18, 2025, at: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003200.pub9/full

    6. Vernon SD, Zheng T, Do H, et al. Incidence and Prevalence of Post-COVID-19 Myalgic Encephalomyelitis: A Report from the Observational RECOVER-Adult Study. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2025. Accessed on February 18, 2025, at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11606-024-09290-9

    **********

    Disclosure: My academic position at the University of California, Berkeley, is largely supported by donations to the university via the campus crowdfunding platform from people with ME/CFS, Long Covid, and related disorders.

    (View the original post at virology.ws)

    #cochrane

  24. 📢Recommendations for essential #medicines for #MultipleSclerosis in #low-resource settings have been published by an international, multi-disciplinary panel, supported by the MS International Federation (#MSIF).

    The process was supported by the #Cochrane #MS , who led the research work and McMaster University GRADE Centre, who took the methodological lead.

    ➡️ Read more about these new recommendations:

    MSIF: msif.org/news/2025/01/21/new-r

    An explainer I published last year: neurontosomething.wordpress.co

  25. My Article on the Cochrane Mess in The Sick Times

    By David Tuller, DrPH

    In November, 2023, journalists Betsy Ladyzhets and Miles Griffis launched The Sick Times, a publication whose tagline is “chronicling the Long Covid crisis.” Since then, the publication has diligently tracked the political and medical developments of this post-pandemic pandemic and has become a go-to source for intelligent reporting on the situation.

    I have previously posted interviews with Ladyzhets and Griffis about their plans, once shortly after they launched and most recently last month. Today, The Sick Times published a story of mine—the first I’ve written for them. The article concerns the current public relations crisis that Cochrane, a major U.K. charity, has recently created for itself. In December, the organization announced that it was abandoning a commitment to update a flawed 2019 review of exercise therapy for the illness it called chronic fatigue syndrome. Below, I have posted the top part of the story below. You can read the rest here.

    ********** 

    “Really pissed off”: Cochrane receives backlash from advocates and experts after abandoning ME/CFS review

    For decades, Cochrane — formerly called the Cochrane Collaboration — has been known internationally for its systematic reviews of medical treatments and interventions. Now the U.K.-based charity is under fire for its clumsy handling of a thorny issue: the status of a flawed 2019 review of exercise therapy for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).

    In recommending exercise as a treatment, the 2019 review angered many people with ME/CFS, who routinely experience relapses after excess activity — a phenomenon known as post-exertional malaise (PEM). (This story uses “ME/CFS” because those involved in the update have used the term and because it is currently the most commonly used term for what is believed to be a cluster of related illnesses.) 

    In December, Cochrane blindsided people with ME/CFS — as well as those with Long COVID, many of whom also experience PEM — by abruptly abandoning a commitment to develop an updated version of the 2019 review. In addition, Cochrane republished the old review with a 2024 date, creating the false impression that it had, in fact, been updated. 

    Many patients understandably viewed these actions as a betrayal of the promises Cochrane made when it published the 2019 version. At that time, Cochrane’s editor in chief, Dr. Karla Soares-Weiser, acknowledged in an editorial statement that the review was “based on a research question and a set of methods from 2002, and reflects evidence from studies that applied definitions of ME/CFS from the 1990s.” In other words, Cochrane committed to the update because its leadership was aware that the published review was inadequate for present purposes.

    “I think patients are disappointed but not surprised, because they’re pretty used to being given the run-around by the authorities,” said Todd Davenport, a professor of physical therapy at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, and a member of the team appointed to write the updated review, including a new protocol.

    “The net result of all this is that Cochrane has flash-incinerated their credibility, or what was left of it,” Davenport said.

    The update project was already way behind schedule. Davenport and the rest of the writing team, which included patient representatives as well as researchers and Cochrane staff, had invested considerable time in drafting a new protocol. They submitted a final version to Cochrane in February 2023, after having received feedback on previous drafts. They heard nothing further until last month, when Cochrane sent out a curt message informing them that the project was disbanded.

    Davenport was particularly disappointed because of his past respect for Cochrane, which was founded in 1993 and named after Archie Cochrane, a Scottish physician and advocate for randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews. Working with thousands of volunteer experts around the world, the organization has produced many hundreds of systematic reviews. These reviews can be highly influential in clinical medicine, although in 2023 Cochrane received significant backlash over its inept handling of a controversial review of masks and viral illness. 

    “Ever since I was a student, Cochrane has been held up as this trustworthy, reliable source of information,” said Davenport.“If you had a clinical question, Cochrane was the place where you went to find an answer. This experience has really showed me the extent of the political games behind this supposedly objective process of trying to synthesize studies.”

    Mary Dimmock, a patient advocate and another member of the writing team, said she was “really pissed off” at Cochrane’s actions. “We put a lot of work into doing this in good faith, and they just pulled it with no consideration for the patients,” she said.

    **********

    Again, you can read the rest here.

    (View the original post at virology.ws)

    #cochrane #Dimmock

  26. From The Sick Times:

    “Really pissed off”: Cochrane receives backlash from advocates and experts after abandoning ME/CFS review

    thesicktimes.org/2025/02/04/re

    “I think patients are disappointed but not surprised, because they’re pretty used to being given the run-around by the authorities"

    @mecfs

    #MEcfs #LongCovid #Cochrane #Exercise #Research #PEM

  27. Professor Edwards’ Letter to BMJ on the Cochrane Mess

    By David Tuller, DrPH

    The Cochrane mess, which I wrote about the other day, is threatening to take on a life of its own. Perhaps Cochrane thinks the fuss over the big Christmas “fuck you” it delivered to members of the ME/CFS community will blow over quickly. That could happen, I suppose, but I suspect this issue will continue to bedevil Cochrane unless it takes responsibility for the harm it has inflicted on patients and then moves to fix the damage.

    To recap: In 2019, Cochrane published a sub-par review of exercise therapy for ME/CFS (or what it has called CFS). The review recommended exercise therapy, albeit with some qualifications. At the time, the organization acknowledged deficiencies in the review, which was based on a protocol written in the early 2000s. Cochrane promised a full-scale update, starting with a new protocol, and designated a writing team and an independent advisory group (IAG) of stakeholders. In mid-December, it curtly announced the project was dead and slapped a 2024 date on the old review.

    In late January, Hilda Bastian, the longtime Cochrane insider tapped to head the IAG, posted a scathing blog taking the organization to task. Two prominent publications—Retraction Watch and The BMJ—covered the brouhaha, ensuring that news of Cochrane’s problematic actions would break out beyond the narrow confines of the ME/CFS community. Given the renewed attention to the issue, an online petition calling for retraction of the 2019 review has now attracted more than 15,000 signers.

    Meanwhile, a German reporting cooperative, RiffReporter, published an account by journalist Martin Rücker that contained some new details about how and when the organization made the choice to abandon the project. According to Rücker, the decision, made at a Cochrane board gathering in September, was in part a reaction to the serious backlash the group received for its questionable handling of a 2023 review of whether masks were effective against viral illnesses. More information about how things went down will undoubtedly emerge as the situation continues to spin out of Cochrane’s control, which seems likely. In seeking to avoid more unwanted attention, the organization’s leaders seem to have created a new scandal for themselves.

    Jonathan Edwards, an emeritus professor of medicine at University College London and a longtime advocate for patients with ME/CFS, sent a letter to The BMJ in response to its article. So far, The BMJ has not published it, so I have posted it here.

    **********

    “Advocates of the intervention launched a full-on bid to try to stop the project. “

    Dear Editor,

    Your 27th January News article by Jacqui Wise (2025) gives a fair account of the disgraceful behaviour at Cochrane over the abandonment of the planned rewriting of the poor-quality Systematic Review on Exercise Therapy for ME/CFS. What it may not convey is why people within Cochrane and outside should be so deeply shocked. The international healthcare community needs to be aware of the implications of Hilda Bastian’s (2025) statement on her blog, Absolutely Maybe, given as the title of this letter (‘the project’ being the rewriting).

    It has been suggested that withdrawal of the review rewrite had to do with Covid-19. But lockdown did not interfere with searching online, or Zoom meetings. It has also been suggested that a rewrite was not indicated because there are no new data (there are). However, the need for a rewrite was not to handle new data, but to replace a review considered substandard by many, including a previous Cochrane Editor in Chief, David Tovey. As a past Cochrane Review author I am not persuaded finances and reorganisation justify abandoning the project on their own, especially when Cochrane’s integrity was seen to hinge on it. Bastian showed true loyalty to patients in trying to keep the project alive, despite her own personal tragedy. She was let down.

    I had sight of another version of this review, never published, which prompted writing to Iain Chalmers to express concern about conflicts of interests. Chalmers dismissed my concerns, but it is now clear they were well-founded. [Sir Iain Chalmers, a British health services researcher and physician, is a Cochrane co-founder.]

    This really is a shocking story. Whoever was responsible for the decision to block the project should be required to publicly explain their actions. Otherwise, Cochrane’s reputation is worthless.

    Yours faithfully,

    Jonathan Edwards
    Emeritus Professor of Medicine
    University College London

    References

    Bastian, H. (2025) Absolutely Maybe. https://absolutelymaybe.plos.org/20…cientific-society-and-community-values-clash/

    Wise J. (2025) Chronic fatigue Syndrome. BMJ News 27th January https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/388/bmj.r169.full.pdf169.full.pdf

    (View the original post at virology.ws)

    #BMJ #cochrane #JonathanEdwards

  28. Ein Update des #Cochrane-Reviews zur Bewegungstherapie bei #MECFS wird abgesagt – trotz jahrzehntelanger #Forschung und Kritik. Die Entscheidung sorgt für Spannungen und wirft Fragen zur Transparenz auf. Wie konnte es dazu kommen? @martinruecker riffreporter.de/de/wissen/mecf

  29. Wie entstehen eigentlich verlässliche #Gesundheitsinformationen?

    Dafür braucht es die Arbeit unabhängiger Wissenschaftler:innen. Doch manchmal gibt es in den Organisationen, in denen sie zusammenarbeiten, Konflikte. Einen solchen Konflikt macht gerade #Cochrane durch. Das Update eines Reviews zu #MECFS wurde unerwartet abgebrochen, die Gründe dafür bleiben unklar. Genau das ist Teil des Problems

    Ein Wissenschaftskrimi unseres Kollegen @martinruecker Leseempfehlung!
    (€) riffreporter.de/de/wissen/mecf

  30. We've seen what ⁨#EBM⁩ ⁨#EvidenceBasedMedicine⁩ produces;
    on #Masking with #TomJefferson⁩ assisted by #Cochrane,
    the decades of infectious respiratory disease research that poo-hooed #AirborneTransmission, and,
    the RWNJ #CassReport⁩ on care for transgender kids.

    Lots of bad stuff resulting from fetishising ⁨#RandomControlledTrials⁩ ⁨#RCTs⁩ as the only research that can be relied on.

    Will we hear from Trumpists that there's no RCTs that support action on #ClimateChange?

    #BadScience

  31. We've seen what ⁨#EBM⁩ ⁨#EvidenceBasedMedicine⁩ produces;
    on #Masking with #TomJefferson⁩ assisted by #Cochrane,
    the decades of infectious respiratory disease research that poo-hooed #AirborneTransmission, and,
    the RWNJ #CassReport⁩ on care for transgender kids.

    Lots of bad stuff resulting from fetishising ⁨#RandomControlledTrials⁩ ⁨#RCTs⁩ as the only research that can be relied on.

    Will we hear from Trumpists that there's no RCTs that support action on #ClimateChange?

    #BadScience