hite:
http://www.hhs.gov/advcomcfs/meetings/minutes/cfsac052709min.html
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
Dr. Reeves: Of course it is not. One of the very first things that I
highlighted out of the stakeholder meeting is that communication has
not been optimal. Peter White, the psychiatrist that we work with at
Emory, does not look upon CFS as a psychiatric illness. What they are
extremely interested in at Emory are the neurologic and brain pathways
that mediate this. That is one of the things that Peter White really
added to the peer review-he is an expert on autonomic nervous system
function. The fact that certain investigators have a reputation in a
certain component of the community for thinking that CFS is all in the
patient's head is a result of the CDC's problems with communication.
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
Dr. Reeves:
The collaboration with Peter White is largely because Peter White came
to us when the national health service in the UK was trying to design
its program and formulate recommendations about what the health
service in the UK should do. We've consulted with them as far as our
ideas and our expertise, and we collaborate with Dr. White on the PACE
trial. He's an unusually intelligent individual-you've read some of
his comments on some of our articles-whom we enjoy sparring with. He
is an expert on autonomic nervous system function and he's highly
instrumental in all of the hurdles, both with patients with the
government and with physicians, in trying to put together, given the
current state of knowledge, a national program.
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
So not once but twice Peter White is described as expert on autonomic
nervous system function.
I find this a very strange thing for Dr Bill Reeves to say.
Apart from any studies Peter White did as part of analysing of the
data from the CDC two-day studies which were done as part of a team
(there were various other teams), where is the evidence that Peter
White is an expert on autonomic nervous system function esp. in a way
that is relevant to ME/CFS? Every doctor knows a little about the
autonomic nervous system and if one follows the ME/CFS literature, one
will read some studies in the field but that does not qualify one as
an expert.
--------
Margaret Williams summarised a small section of a BBC Radio Programme
from 2007 which gives some of Prof. White's views:
--------
When asked by the interviewer about the Canadian Guidelines, Professor
Peter White said he did not like them: =93The problem is, and the reason
why I don=92t use them, is they=92re very complicated to use and would
require me to actually do tests on my patients that I don=92t think I
ethically should be doing on my patients, and I don=92t find them
useful, and if Guidelines aren=92t useful, then we don=92t use them=94.
The interviewer (Peter White), addressing Professor Peter White: =93You
mentioned tests that you don=92t think it=92s right for you to do, such
as?=94
Professor Peter White: =93Such as the tilt table test - I would have to
exclude a condition called POTS (where the blood pressure falls on
standing up). I don=92t think that=92s justified=94.
The interviewer (Peter White): =93So you think they=92re unethical because
they=92re too demanding?=94
Professor Peter White: =93Yes=94.
-------
Peter White writes lots of papers on CFS. But why did Bill Reeves
describe him as an expert on the autonomic nervous system?
If Peter White is reading this, maybe he could tell us whether he
would describe himself as an expert on the autonomic nervous system
(and if he believes this, perhaps he could tell us why such a
description might be appropriate for him).
Tom Kindlon
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