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The "compromise" is to simply lump all studies that don't meet basic quality criteria into a "low quality evidence" basket. If all studies fall into this group, then the study must simply conclude all the evidence is of low quality. (The basic quality criteria would require studies to use...

Isn't that kind of arbitrary? I mean any highly specific criteria is going to need sufficient scientific justification and I cannot think of any reasonable justification for excluding a study with 450 participants, instead requiring 500+

If the "pivotal" study was actually excluded because it was of low quality, eg unblinded comparison groups, did not use objective outcome measures and the primary outcome measures had never been tested for relevance to patients (by asking them!), then I'd suggest that the review was correct in...

I believe you are referring to the "original antigenic sin" hypothesis? https://www.jimmunol.org/content/202/2/335

September? Why even bother at all!?!

I wonder if this can be used to estimate disease burden weightings?

CD4+ T-cells are supposed to have some degree of cross reactivity with the viral proteins, even without prior exposure, otherwise the adaptive immune system would never work correctly! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naive_T_cell But on the point I was making, the claim that there could be...

Further on the topic of "asymptomatic", The Chinese authorities claim they have tested 9.9 million people in Wuhan!!! They claim 300 positive results, however they tried (and failed) to culture live virus from 106 of these samples to see if they were genuine. They also collected 3,343...

I was never a coffee drinker before I was ill, but I've always found it to be counter productive. It counters drowsiness, but it can make it harder to concentrate, so what is the point?

Continuing on with what Michiel mentioned, the full quote: Mhmm... Which means the "symptom amplification" hypothesis (that attentional bias or hypervigilance actually increases somatosensory signals or "heightened perceived threat and vulnerability") has no basis and it is simply...

JB Handley is also a vaccines-cause-autism guy.

That is a modelling study with far too many questionable assumptions. As such, it is important not to confuse pre-symptomatic and individuals who are deliberately not reporting symptoms (there is a strong incentive to do so if you wish to disembark!) with being asymptomatic. Likewise, PCR...

Yes, participation biases, a desire to please the investigators, and the fact that this is not an unheard of explanation can lead to an exaggeration of questionnaire reports.

There isn't reasonable evidence that there are any "asymptomatic" cases at all. I suggest such assumptions based on poor test specificity. There can be pre-symptomatic cases if tested right before the patient realises they are developing symptoms. Similarly, survey questions can be limited (eg...

Brain scanning, 19th century style! https://www.npr.org/2014/08/17/340906546/the-machine-that-tried-to-scan-the-brain-in-1882 Also notably, Angelo Mosso wrote a textbook on fatigue (La fatica) in 1891, the ideas of which have been repeatedly (re)"discovered" over the decades since.

Exactly. If cognitive and/or behavioural therapies actually led to remission, we'd all be in remission by now! It boggles the mind that anyone could think that LP could be any more effective than generalised CBT. Stoic, is that a nice way of saying laid-back and lazy? :p

Nothing new here. Lloyd claiming that CFS/ME can be a positive dianosis and extensive testing should be ruled out. He states the fatigue is not genuine weakness. He says that besides the fever, the symptoms of CFS are like that of an infection that never resolves and that occurring after an...

I must admit I first thought theDurdle Door cliff thing was a joke about people being lemmings...

Indeed. Seems strange that we can't find any more info about what they are actually doing.

Wow, how did all the crap about "moderate" make it through to the final publication, given all that discussion?