Medical guidelines on the diagnosis and management of ME and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) are being challenged through a judicial review. The case against the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is generating considerable interest among the 250,000 people in the UK who have ME, as some patients hope the legal proceedings will lead to the withdrawal of the guideline. However, the charity “Action for ME” said that it supports the NICE guidance.
“We are concerned by the emphasis on graded exercise therapy (GET) and cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), as our latest health survey showed 34% of patients who had received GET in the past three years felt worse after treatment. The randomised controlled trials which are cited by NICE are given too much emphasis in view of their limitations.
“Nevertheless, we believe that there are other aspects of the NICE guideline which could bring considerable benefits, as long as there is adequate funding for its implementation, especially in terms of training healthcare professionals to understand ME/CFS better.”
He added that more scientific research is needed into the disease mechanisms of ME.
