Cochrane

Cochrane (previously called the Cochrane Collaboration) is an independent, non-profit organization run by volunteers around the world which conducts systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials of health-care interventions and diagnostic tests, which it publishes in The Cochrane Library.

Chronic fatigue syndrome
Cochrane lists chronic fatigue syndrome under its "neurology" and "mental health" categories and its chronic fatigue syndrome reviews are produced by its "Mental Disorders Group". It has published some reviews assessing treatments for chronic fatigue syndrome:


 * 2016, Exercise therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome (Lillebeth Larun, Kjetil G. Brurberg, Jan Odgaard-Jensen, Jonathan R Price)
 * 2014, Exercise therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome (individual patient data) (Lillebeth Larun, Jan Odgaard-Jensen, Kjetil G. Brurberg, Trudie Chalder, Marianne Dybwad, Rona Moss-Morris, Michael Sharpe, Karen Wallman, Alison Wearden, Peter White, Paul P Glasziou)
 * 2008, Cognitive behaviour therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome in adults (Jonathan R Price, Edward Mitchell, Elizabeth Tidy, Vivien Hunot)

Criticism & Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest
Professor James Coyne has criticized Cochrane's work assessing exercise as a treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome, asking it "to consider the implications of having authors conduct a systematic review with the Cochrane collaboration brand attached who have ties to an industry which would benefit from particular conclusions. These same conclusions would personally enrich some of the authors professionally and personally", referring to the involvement of Trudie Chalder, Rona Moss-Morris, Michael Sharpe, Alison Wearden and Peter White who are also authors of the PACE trial.

Prof Coyne also wrote an open letter to Cochrane in March 2016 regarding the upcoming Cochrane review and conflicts of interests.

In March 2016, the 2014 Cochrane Intervention Protocol was modified to include previously undisclosed conflicts of interest for Peter White: "PDW has undertaken consultancy work for a re-insurance firm. He has also undertaken voluntary consultancy for the Departments of Health, Work and Pensions and is a member of the Independent Medical Experts Group, a non-Governmental organisation which advises the Ministry of Defence regarding their Armed Forces Compensation Fund."

It was admitted in the information tribunal of April 2016 on page 31 that "Professor Chalder states that disclosure to the Cochrane review does not count as disclosure to independent scientists as all three of the PACE principal investigators sat on the review panel".

On 14 April 2017 Prof James Coyne submitted a very early request for the data to Cochrane along with an open letter.

One of the authors of the Cochrane review Kjell Gundro Brurberg misrepresented the conflicts of interest of himself and his reviewers regarding the PACE trial  after being given a number of opportunities to do so  for an article he was invited to publish in the Journal of Health Psychology in what has been described as "scientific misconduct".

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Learn more

 * Wikipedia - Cochrane (organisation)
 * 2016, My response to an invitation to improve the Cochrane Collaboration by challenging its policies (James Coyne)
 * 2016, Cochrane and conflict of interest