Michael Sharpe skewered by @JohntheJack on Twitter

People that made a joke out of the illness in the eyes of the public by portraying patients as essentially imagining an illness and not pushing themselves enough complain about unfair criticism and reputational damage.

 

He's actually paid to research this trash.

 

https://twitter.com/user/status/1008417214108758017

https://twitter.com/user/status/1008417484804943873

 

https://twitter.com/user/status/1008419147200462848

https://twitter.com/user/status/1008410263203139584

 

The other one has bells on.

 

https://twitter.com/user/status/1008411137162010624


And @TiredSam already found this gem and mentioned it in this thread but it's so good that I wanted to post the original.
https://twitter.com/user/status/1008407283133485056

 

Actually, David's investigations weren't being funded by the patient community when he wrote his analysis of the PACE trial - so, yet again, we have an example of a PACE trial author misinterpreting facts to fit his version of reality.

 

Guidelines on Tiredness/CF cite PACE, and those guidelines are the basis of such actions, as is the entire dogma "it's primarily psychiatric" (which means there are many psychiatrists who will say in their assessment reports it's psychological, that the mother/father/whoever worsens the symptoms and that only CBT/GET/antidepressants work, and if you don't agree it's forced on you or your children; a judge will follow what psychiatric "experts" say).

 

https://twitter.com/user/status/1008417484804943873

https://twitter.com/user/status/1008420594465923072

 

I think he does understand, but he's just so used to people falling into line he's struggling to accept that people won't just agree with him to prop up the establishment.

It's increasingly obvious he is unable, or unwilling to see, or acknowledge any viewpoint that differs from his own.

 

I honestly think MS is incapable of acknowledging the flaws in the trial. It’s all embedded in his brain with big ‘ticks’ and now he can’t actually engage in any critical reflection or his head might explode. He feels persecuted and victimized and that is now his default position.

 

I don't think he can. His whole speciality of liaison psychiatry?psychosomatic medicine is built on theories that do not take on board the fact that human nature brings bias into experiments. He shows a complete misunderstanding of human nature in his comments about David, his responses to Godwin and of course his attitude to patients over the years. But even someone who does not understand human nature should appreciate that we have double blind trials because the alternative, as in PACE, does not give meaningful results.

If he understood any of this he would not be making such a fool of himself in public. Nobody of importance who believes him is listening. Simon Wessely has quietly sneaked out.

 

Oh my goodness, it's Christmas again!

 

He makes it sound like a crime.

Yes I noticed that. He's probably sitting in a corner somewhere working out how he can turn having dropped MS well and truly in it to his advantage.

 

Ehm... You, Sir, were paid to _produce_ this trash - so....?

 

This ^100

 

Wessely re-engaged this evening,
https://twitter.com/user/status/1007507321658978304

https://twitter.com/user/status/1008407774890463233

I can't help thinking that "it didn't make much difference" because of the poor nature of the underlying model, and the quality of the methodology.

Edit: spelling

 

I am wondering whether he formally minimized his involvement to protect himself, while letting others do the dirty work of carrying out a clinical trial that he knew was flawed and biased. He is credited as having advised them on clinical trial design.

 

I thought those early trials were 'you're too kind Michael, they were not really even trials, just treating some patients.'