Global ongoing and planned ME/CFS clinical trials

A recent review of ongoing and planned ME/CFS clinical trials authored by Michiel Tack and Evelien Van Den Brink has been published on the ME/CFS research review website by Simon McGrath. The review was originally posted on the mecfsskeptic blog.

The clinical trial registries commonly used by researchers were searched:  Clinicaltrials.gov, ISRCTN, ANZCTR, DRKS, EudraCT, and NTR. Additionally, major ME/CFS charity organisations were also searched. The WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ITCRP) was not available at the time due to increased traffic due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The search criteria were not fully described by the reviewers however their main interest was in randomised control trials (RCTs) that test treatment efficacy (Phase III). Phase I trials testing safety or open-label studies with no control group were not included. The thirty trials found were grouped as: drug trials; fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT); and Supplements, Chinese remedies, and behavioural interventions. All the search results from the search have been summarised by the authors in a google doc.

The reviewers expressed disappointment in the results of their search saying they were “rather bleak”. However, they see fundamental research investigating the underlying pathology of ME/CFS more likely to bring about change than clinical trials.

Fortunately, the recent announcement of the NHMRC awarded grants supporting biomedical research into ME/CFS offers hope in further understanding this debilitating illness. 

The discussed article can be accessed using the following link: https://mecfsresearchreview.me/2020/10/13/what-treatments-are-being-tested-ongoing-registered-or-planned-clinical-trials-for-me-cfs/