Mark Vink

Mark Vink, MD, is a General Practitioner and insurance doctor in The Netherlands. He lives with severe ME/CFS triggered by pneumonia and prolonged by Graded Exercise Therapy (GET). As a result of his adverse experience with GET, he has been a vocal critic of the PACE trial. One piece written about the PACE trial garnished him a nomination for the 2016 John Maddox Prize, an international award for an individual who promotes sound science despite difficulty or hostility in doing so.

While bedridden, he carried out a biomedical study on himself, collecting blood with finger prick lancets and pediatric sized tubes. By measuring creatine kinase, inorganic phosphate and lactic acid before and after trivial exercise (i.e., walking the 5 to 6 yards from his bed to the toilet and back), he showed that his aerobic energy production and lactic acid excretion were both impeded.

An open letter to Psychological Medicine about “recovery” and the PACE trial

Dr. Vink was one of the signatories of an open letter to Psychological Medicine about “recovery” and the PACE trial dated March 13, 2017 urging Psychological Medicine to retract a paper claiming recovery for ME/CFS patients by using Graded Exercise Therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy.

Notable studies

• 2017 - PACE trial authors continue to ignore their own null effect (OPEN ACCESS/FULL TEXT)
• 2017 - Assessment of Individual PACE Trial Data: in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Cognitive Behavioral and Graded Exercise Therapy are Ineffective, Do Not Lead to Actual Recovery and Negative Outcomes may be Higher than Reported (OPEN ACCESS/FULL TEXT)
• 2016 - The PACE Trial Invalidates the Use of Cognitive Behavioral and Graded Exercise Therapy in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Review (OPEN ACCESS/FULL TEXT)
• 2015 - The Aerobic Energy Production and the Lactic Acid Excretion are both Impeded in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (OPEN ACCESS/FULL TEXT)

Online presence

• ResearchGate
• Twitter

Learn more

• Sep 25, 2015 - "How Walking to Bathroom Can Be Harder Than Running a Marathon: A Doctor’s ME/CFS Case Study" by Cort Johnson in Health Rising

See also

• PACE trial
• An open letter to Psychological Medicine about “recovery” and the PACE trial

graded exercise therapy (GET) - A gradual increase in exercise or activity, according to a pre-defined plan. Focuses on overcoming the patient's alleged unhelpful illness beliefs that exertion can exacerbate symptoms, rather than on reversing physical deconditioning. Considered controversial, and possibly harmful, in the treatment or management of ME. One of the treatment arms of the controversial PACE trial.

creatine (CR) - A natural substance that turns into creatine phosphate in the body, which helps make ATP. ATP provides the energy for muscles Often taken as a supplement to improve sports performance. (Learn more: www.webmd.com)

PACE trial A controversial study which claimed that CBT and GET were effective in treating "CFS/ME", despite the fact that its own data did not support this conclusion. Its results and methodology were widely disputed by patients, scientists, and the peer-reviewed scientific literature.

PACE trial A controversial study which claimed that CBT and GET were effective in treating "CFS/ME", despite the fact that its own data did not support this conclusion. Its results and methodology were widely disputed by patients, scientists, and the peer-reviewed scientific literature.

myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.) - A disease often marked by neurological symptoms, but fatigue is sometimes a symptom as well. Some diagnostic criteria distinguish it from chronic fatigue syndrome, while other diagnostic criteria consider it to be a synonym for chronic fatigue syndrome. A defining characteristic of ME is post-exertional malaise (PEM), or post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion (PENE), which is a notable exacerbation of symptoms brought on by small exertions. PEM can last for days or weeks. Symptoms can include cognitive impairments, muscle pain (myalgia), trouble remaining upright (orthostatic intolerance), sleep abnormalities, and gastro-intestinal impairments, among others. An estimated 25% of those suffering from ME are housebound or bedbound. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies ME as a neurological disease.

cognition Thought processes, including attention, reasoning, and memory.

graded exercise therapy (GET) - A gradual increase in exercise or activity, according to a pre-defined plan. Focuses on overcoming the patient's alleged unhelpful illness beliefs that exertion can exacerbate symptoms, rather than on reversing physical deconditioning. Considered controversial, and possibly harmful, in the treatment or management of ME. One of the treatment arms of the controversial PACE trial.