NIH have gotten Myra McClure, Dentists and Psychs to go to Work on You!

NIH’s “CFS” Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1 CFSH80) membership must be changed!

I am writing because of yet more malfeasance by NIH in response to the epidemic of the severe neuro-immune disease ME (aka “CFS”).

I am very distressed to see the makeup of the new “CFS” Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1 CFSH80) grant review committee at NIH. I have two strong objections on which action must be taken:

(1) The many psychologists and dentists on the panel are not sufficiently educated/ qualified in virology or molecular biology (or biomedical CFS research in general) to be evaluating grant proposals on XMRV or related topics outside of their respective fields.

(2) Myra McClure is a (a) biased (b) british citizen

2 (a) (i): Prof. McClure has claimed her studies prove facts which were not shown in the science when commenting to the press to disparage WPI.

2 (a) (ii): She is also a collaborator of well-known anti- ME science charlatan Simon Wessely:

BBC on-line:
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8441491.stm

“Professor Myra McClure, one of the Imperial College London investigators, said: “We are confident that our results show there is no link between XMRV and chronic fatigue syndrome, at least in the UK.” She said they had used extremely sensitive DNA testing methods, called polymerase chain reaction, to look for the virus.
“If it had been there, we would have found it.”
‘Disappointing’
Co-author Professor Simon Wessely said the findings did not invalidate all previous research, some of which has shown that CFS can be triggered by other infectious agents, such as Epstein Barr Virus.”

Independent Newspaper:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/sc…e-1859003.html

“One scientist involved in the latest research also criticised the previous study, which was published in the peer-reviewed journal Science, saying it was premature and that the journal should have waited until there was stronger, corroborating evidence of such a link.”When you’ve got such a stunning result you want to be absolutely clear that you are 1,000 per cent right and there are things in that [previous study] I would not have done. I would have waited. I would have stalled a little,” said Professor Myra McClure”

2 (a) (iii): Prof. McClure has publicly stated that she has no interest in research in the area of ME (‘CFS’).

“Nothing on God’s Earth could persuade me to do more research on CFS.”

Source: sciencemag.org/content/329/5987/18.summary

2 (a) (iv): Prof. McClure, in her only study on “CFS” (December 2009) used the patently invalid “Sharpe 1991” definition of “CFS” (ME) which fraudulently defines “CFS” (ME) as mere Idiopathic Chronic Fatigue (ie chronic fatigue caused by no known medical condition) and not properly as the discrete neuro-immune disease recognized by WHO since 1968. She thus studied random tired people and lied and said she studied people with “CFS” (ME).

2 (b): McClure is not a United States Citizen. Why should a United Kingdom resident be deciding which applicants receive research grants in the United States? In addition to questions of legality which arise from this, there are further questions of expense, since Prof. McClure’s travel expenses will, of necessity, be higher than those of a United States resident. Especially in a recession, we should be cutting costs (where appropriate) and stimulating American science and the work of American scientists.

Therefore, I DEMAND:
(1) the committee remove some of the dentists and psychologists who do not have expertise in ME (‘CFS’). Prof. Friedberg should not be removed since he has a great amount of experience with ME. They should be replaced by qualified biomedical researchers who have significant experience with ME (‘CFS’).

(2) Prof. McClure be removed from this committee and that a qualified retrovirologist who is a resident of the United States be appointed instead.

Please respond to this letter with your planned actions on the “CFS” SEP. Thank you!

Sincerely,