Alison Bested

Source:ehicanada.com

Alison Christine Bested, MD, FRCP(C), a Haematological Pathologist, is the Chair of Integrative Medicine at Nova Southeastern University in the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Clinical Director of the Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine Clinic and the Director of Student Research, Nova Southeastern University, Miami, Florida, United States. Former positions include working at the Environmental Health Clinic, Sunnybrook & Women’s College Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the Complex Chronic Disease Program at BC Women’s Hospital clinic, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Dr. Bested's medical specialty practice has been dedicated to patients with complex chronic medical conditions including: myalgic cncephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) and persistent Lyme disease. She is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. She is works in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada.

Dr. Bested was chosen by Health Canada to participate on the Expert Medical Consensus Panel that wrote the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Clinical Working Case Definition, Diagnostic and Treatment Protocols. This consensus definition was published in the Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in 2003. In the literature this is known as the Canadian Consensus Definition of ME/CFS and is used worldwide by clinicians and researchers.

Writing committees and boards

• 2003, one of the authors of the 2003 Canadian Consensus Criteria (CCC) for myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), published as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome:Clinical Working Case Definition,Diagnostic and Treatment Protocols

• 2016, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Make the Diagnosis, a step-by-step process for physicians in order to make a diagnosis of ME/CFS successfully and to rule out other diseases

• 2017-2018, served on the Baseline/Covariate Working Group of the ME/CFS Common Data Element (CDE) project sponsored by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This working group reviewed data collection instruments widely used by investigators in the ME/CFS field, and either recommended their use unchanged or (more often) proposed some modifications.

Advocacy work

Dr Alison Bested scholarship fund

A scholarship was founded in Dr Bested's name to honor her dedication to ME/CFS, FM and MCS patients. Canadian Students enrolled in the Environmental Medicine elective at University of Toronto are eligible.

Open Letter to The Lancet

Dr. Bested participated in a campaign by ME specialists to have the PACE trial reviewed by an independent panel. In response to The Lancet's publication of the controversial PACE trial in 2011, three open letters to the editor of The Lancet urged the editor, Richard Horton, to commission a fully independent review of the PACE trial. In 2016, Dr. Bested, along with 41 colleagues in the ME/CFS field, signed the second letter, and in 2018, Dr. Bested, along with over 100 colleagues signed a third letter.

• 10 February 2016, An open letter to The Lancet, again - Virology blog
• 9 July 2018, Trial By Error: Yet Another Appeal to The Lancet, With More On Board

Editorial

• Aug 2019, Editorial: Advances in ME/CFS Research and Clinical Care - (Partial text)

Notable studies in ME/CFS

• 2001, Chronic fatigue syndrome: neurological findings may be related to blood-brain barrier permeability (Abstract)
• 2003, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Clinical Working Case Definition, Diagnostic and Treatment Protocols (Full Text)
• 2009, A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study of a probiotic in emotional symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome - (Full Text)
• 2015, Review of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: an evidence-based approach to diagnosis and management by clinicians - (Abstract)
• 2018, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Insights & Advances in Care
• 2019, Understanding Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and the Emerging Osteopathic Approach: A Narrative Review - (Abstract)
• Aug 2019, Editorial: Advances in ME/CFS Research and Clinical Care - (Full text)

Talks and interviews

• 2011, "Tools to Stop Crashing, Start Pacing and Planning Your Health" - Allison Bested, MD at the 10th International IACFSME Conference, Patient Agenda
• 2016, 12th International IACFS/ME Biennial Clinical and Research Conference, Emerging Science and Clinical Care, Review of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and Multiple Chemical Sensitivities/Environmental Sensitivities: Office Assessment and Management
• 2016, "An Update on ME/CFS" presented at Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine Research Seminar Series
• Oct 2016, Toronto M E October 2016 Protest: Message of Hope
• 3-5 May 2018, ME/CFS Canadian Collaborative Team Conference - Speech titles: Review of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for Clinicians and Pathophysiological Mechanisms in ME/CFS

Books

• 2002, The Fibromyalgia Cookbook: More Than 120 Easy and Delicious Recipes, ISBN-10: 1581822707
• 2008, Hope and Help for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia, ASIN: B00V1D68LU
• 2013, The Complete Fibromyalgia Health Diet Guide and Cookbook, ISBN-10: 0778804534

Online presence

• Pubmed
• Faculty page University of British Columbia

chronic disease a disease or condition that usually lasts for 3 months or longer and may get worse over time. Chronic diseases are long-term (typically incurable and requiring long-term management) but are not necessarily severe.

See myalgic encephalomyelitis.

See chronic fatigue syndrome.

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.

See Canadian consensus criteria.

Canadian Consensus Criteria (CCC) - A set of diagnostic criteria used to diagnose ME/CFS, developed by a group of practicing ME/CFS clinicians in 2003. The CCC is often considered to be the most complex criteria, but possibly the most accurate, with the lowest number of patients meeting the criteria. Led to the development of the International Consensus Criteria (ICC) in 2011.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a U.S. government agency dedicated to epidemiology and public health. It operates under the auspices of the Department of Health and Human Services.

See Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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.

double blinded trial A clinical trial is double blinded if neither the participants nor the researchers know which treatment group they are allocated to until after the results are interpreted. This reduces bias. (Learn more: www.nottingham.ac.uk)

See National Institutes of Health.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) - A set of biomedical research institutes operated by the U.S. government, under the auspices of the Department of Health and Human Services.