In defense of the PACE trial, Petrie and Weinman employ a series of misleading or fallacious argumentation techniques, including circularity, blaming the victim, bait and switch, non-sequitur, setting up a straw person, guilt by association, red herring, and the parade of horribles. These are described and explained.
ArmstrongCWMcGregorNRLewisDP. (2017) The association of fecal microbiota and fecal, blood serum and urine metabolites in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. Metabolomics13(1): 8.
FlugeØMellaOBrulandO. (2016) Metabolic profiling indicates impaired pyruvate dehydrogenase function in myalgic encephalopathy/chronic fatigue syndrome. JCI Insight1(21): 1–19.
9.
GeraghtyK (2016, January11) ‘PACE-Gate’: When Clinical Trial Evidence Meets Open Data Access. Journal of Health Psychology22(9): 1106–1112.
10.
HerberholzNCollinSMcCowatA. (2014) G160(P) case series of pervasive refusal syndrome presenting with chronic fatigue syndrome: Avoiding the pitfall of a wrong diagnosis. Archives of Disease in Childhood99(Suppl): A70.
Institute of Medicine (now Academy of Medicine) (2015) Beyond myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: Redefining an illness. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25695122
13.
JanseAWorm-SmeitinkMBussel-LagardeJ. (2015) Testing the efficacy of web-based cognitive behavioural therapy for adult patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CBIT): Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. BMC Neurology15: 137.
14.
MaxmenA (2017) Biological underpinnings of chronic fatigue syndrome begin to emerge. Nature543(7647): 602.
Nagy-SzakalDWilliamsBLMishraN. (2017) Fecal metagenomic profiles in subgroups of patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. Microbiome5(1): 44.
17.
NakatomiYMizunoKIshiiA. (2014) Neuroinflammation in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: An 11C-(R)-PK11195 PET study. Journal of Nuclear Medicine55(6): 945–950.
18.
NaviauxRNaviauxJLiK. (2016) Metabolic features of chronic fatigue syndrome. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences113(37): E5472–E5480.
19.
NguyenTJohnstonSClarkeL. (2016) Impaired calcium mobilization in natural killer cells from chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis patients is associated with transient receptor potential melastatin 3 ion channels. Clinical and Experimental Immunology187(2): 284–293.
20.
PetrieKWeinmanJ (2017) The PACE trial: It’s time to broaden perceptions and move on. Journal of Health Psychology22(9): 1198–1200.
WesselySChalderTHirschS (1996) Psychological symptoms, somatic symptoms, and psychiatric disorder in chronic fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome: A prospective study in the primary care setting. American Journal of Psychiatry153: 1050–1059.
23.
WesselySDavidAButlerS (1989) Management of chronic (post-viral) fatigue syndrome. Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners39(318): 26–29.
24.
WhitePGoldsmithKJohnsonA. (2013) Recovery from chronic fatigue syndrome after treatments given in the PACE trial. Psychological Medicine43(10): 2227–2235.
25.
WhitePDGoldsmithKAJohnsonAL. (2011) Comparison of adaptive pacing therapy, cognitive behaviour therapy, graded exercise therapy, and specialist medical care for chronic fatigue syndrome (PACE): A randomised trial. The Lancet377(9768): 823–836.
26.
WilshireCKindlonTMattheesA. (2016) Can patients with chronic fatigue syndrome really recover after graded exercise or cognitive behavioural therapy? A critical commentary and preliminary re-analysis of the PACE trial. Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior5(1): 43–56.