The ME Association has spoken out robustly and campaigned against the Specialist Medical Intervention and Lightning Evaluation (SMILE) trial since first learning of the launch of its pilot in 2010.
The research, which has involved children and teenagers aged 12-18 from a specialist paediatric ME/CFS service, has investigated the use of the Lightning Process in their treatment. Its findings are due to be released to the media tomorrow (Wednesday, 20 September).
The Lightning Process is a commercial treatment programme which has been promoted as a cure for ME and CFS. A combination of neurolinguistic programming and osteopathy, its exponents claim it can cure the condition in three days.
ME/CFS is not a mental health condition and the ME Association believes that using children and young people with ME/CFS in trials of this nature is unethical and potentially damaging to their health.
Dr Charles Shepherd, medical adviser for the ME Association, said:
“The Lightning Process is not a treatment that we endorse or recommend for people with ME/CFS.
“Patient evidence, gathered from our members over many years, indicates that some people who have gone through LP are – initially – able to improve their physical and mental activity levels. However, this is followed by a relapse or significant worsening of symptoms.
“Others who have gone through the LP programme, report that they have spent huge amounts of money with no obvious benefit.
“It may well be that there are some people with a general fatigue state resulting from stress, emotional or psychological problems who could benefit from a ‘mind over matter’ retraining approach such as this. Such fatigue states are a separate entity and not to be confused with ME/CFS.”
He added:
“There has been a growth in biomedical research globally into M.E. in the past decade. This over-simplistic and largely psychological model of ME/CFS causation that is being put forward to patients is totally out of step with emerging scientific evidence as to its cause.
“We will be looking at the release of the SMILE trial results very closely indeed.”
The ME Association has referred a number of LP practitioners to the Advertising Standards Authority and to Trading Standards in relation to their unproven therapeutic claims – and several of these claims have been upheld.
We will report more on the outcome of the SMILE Trial as it becomes known tomorrow, and will aim to produce a detailed review of the study as soon as the research is published.
Please get in touch
Are you the parent of a child who has gone through the Lightning Process? Are you over 16 but went through it as a young person? We are looking for case studies to go out with a media statement tomorrow.
If you would be willing to talk to a reporter, please contact, Sarah Staples, our media relations manager, email staplessarah@hotmail.com with details of your treatment and a contact telephone number.
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