Teunke Arvo
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teunkearvo.bsky.social
Teunke Arvo
@teunkearvo.bsky.social
200 followers 420 following 150 posts
Independent historical researcher (involuntarily self-taught), writing at a frustratingly slow 🐌 pace due to severe chronic illness.
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teunkearvo.bsky.social
This is exemplary of what the psychosomatic movement is currently trying to pull, to continue with their claims (in this case on fibro being primarily a matter of perception) based on supposedly “biological” proof.

(See also the “effort preference” stunt pulled by Walitt er al on ME.). 4/x
November 15, 2025 at 9:20 AM
teunkearvo.bsky.social
1st obvious clue, the current bps buzzword “transdiagnostic”. (Transl: Apply this psychosomatic theory to all these conditions.)

And then it goes on to emphasise that fibro is a problem of perception and emotional issues that lead to symptoms, not an actual immunological issue at its core.

3x
November 15, 2025 at 9:11 AM
teunkearvo.bsky.social
It’s maddening. I have a hard time with the “progressive insight” take when ignoring ME’s biomedical basis was deliberate and guys like Wilkie were already describing the basis of current study finds in the 70s.
(I understand it politically, but it’s just not true.)
Muscular fatigability Abnormal muscular fatigability is the dominant clinical feature of the disease. It has been suggested by Dr David Wilkie that this phenomenon might result from damage to mitochondria. Parish (1974) also considered that 'there is a prolonged metabolic disorder in many patients which may be affecting cellular energy systems and antibody production' Dr Wilkie advocated a series of biochemical investigations that might provide a useful source of information and Dr Alan Rundle of St Lawrence's ….. …Hospital, Caterham, has kindly examined bloodz from seven patients with unequivocal 'epidemic neuromyasthenia'. He has estimated the serums levels in units per litre of creatinine phosphokinase, lactic dehydrogenase, glutamic oxalo-acetic trans. aminase, glutamic pyruvate transaminase and gamma glutamyl transpeptidase. All seven patients produced pathologically high levels of lactic dehydrogenase and glutamic oxalo-acetic transaminase. The full details of these studies will be reported later as they clearly indicate metabolic disturbance. …something different from the Royal Free disease. I had not thought of that before. I now talk about abnormal muscular fatigability rather than paresis and that is a point of which we certainly have differed from the original Royal Free cases. DR D. WILKIE (London): Dr Ramsay presented me with data on raised serum levels of pyruvate and lactate in patients. This suggested to me that perhaps the mitochondrion was affected and that energy metabolism might be worth looking at. In this respect one can think of the hypoglycaemia that has been mentioned. This should correspond to high levels of free fatty acids like ….[continued in next photo] palmitate and ketone bodies - ß-hydroxybutyrate, for example. Investigations of this kind I think would be very worth-while and would give us a better indication of the underlying biochemical problems. Phenylketonuria is a simple metabolic disorder where phenyl pyruvic acid cannot be metabolized and this produces a whole syndrome of effects not the least of which is mental defciency. So, trying to put a finger on some underlying biochemical lesion would seem to be a worth-while effort in the particular case of Royal Free disease. I have looked at lymphocytes from one of Dr Ramsay's patients. I prepared these cells for the oxygen electrode and measured directly oxygen consumption. Oxygen uptake rate was very low. Also, these cells seemed to be particularly susceptible to specific mitochondrial in- hibitors such as chlorimipramine. I think it might also be worth-while if we could get the biopsies of muscle and look at the mitochondrial ultra- structure because usually one can correlate structural aberrations with dysfunction. Investigation of mitochondria is rather difficult and long term. We are faced with the problem of defining what is normal and that is one of the main problems. None the less, there are quite a number of clear parameters that can be studied. I think most would agree that, when we hear of muscle fatigability, we immediately think of this tremendous requirement in energy metabolism, a characteristic of mitochondria.
November 5, 2025 at 11:26 AM
teunkearvo.bsky.social
Solidarity with Americans protesting today.

Democracy. Community. Empathy.

And #NoKings
Illustration in style of the Barack Obama “Hope” poster, picturing the Portland frog, his familiar blue scarf here in the colours of the United States flag,with the word “Hop” in green letters at the bottom.
October 18, 2025 at 11:56 AM
teunkearvo.bsky.social
Remins me of this one, which is definite a mood:

“Literally every group text I’m on is like “is it perimenopause or is it facism” and I just feel like my generation is really having a ✨moment✨”
Social media message by “hannahgaykeao” which says: “Literally every group text I’m on is like “is it perimenopause or is is [sic] facism” and I just feel like my generation is really having a ✨moment✨”
October 18, 2025 at 10:21 AM
teunkearvo.bsky.social
c) inducing symptoms and then MRI-ing the patients in order to “prove” that they are a matter of perception has been exactly what Walitt has been doing since the 00s. Right before he was hired he was preparing for ME to be assessed that way after “evoked fatigue.”

www.s4me.info/threads/bria...
Portion of the reply with highlighted text: “As the purpose of the experiment was to induce and observe the natural trajectory of PEM…..”
October 17, 2025 at 4:46 PM
teunkearvo.bsky.social
Disingenious.

a) they sidetracked PEM out of the study’s core

b) that focus group was led - and the PEM “tool” developed- by someone with no PEM experience, but a career in surveying the use and recommendation of alternative/complimentary practises for n medicine www.s4me.info/threads/bria...
Highlighted portion of the reply which says: “To design this portion of the study, we undertook a series of focus groups to develop a new qualitative interview tool to characterize PEM and to understand recovery trajectories.”
October 17, 2025 at 4:22 PM
teunkearvo.bsky.social
A text in a colourful circle of drawn trees and flowers: “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. - Jane Goodall.”
October 1, 2025 at 7:02 PM
teunkearvo.bsky.social
Goede draad. Sidenote:

www.theguardian.com/society/arti...
Engelse tekst uit het gedeelde artikel: “The tests covered reaction times, attention, ability to relate to visual information, and anticipation of when something might happen, and were designed to mimic mental processes during sports. There was no group difference in reaction times and accuracy between the male and female participants, but the women who regularly menstruated were found to have performed better during their period compared with any other phase of their menstrual cycle, displaying faster reaction times and making fewer errors. This is despite the participants reporting feeling worse during their period, and believing this to have negatively affected their performances.”
August 17, 2025 at 12:05 PM
teunkearvo.bsky.social
Nog maar een paar weken ervoor (februari 2020):

www.dutchnews.nl/2020/02/merk...
German chancellor Angela Merkel described Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte as displaying ‘childish behaviour’ at last week’s failed EU meeting to draw up a new budget for the 27-member organisation, the Volkskrant reported on Tuesday. The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Austria have formed a four-country block, dubbed the ‘frugal four‘ which is insisting the budget remains at 1% of GDP, despite Britain’s departure. Both the European Commission and parliament say the budget must go up in percentage terms. Merkel was not the only leader to be irritated by Rutte’s refusal to budge during the negotiations, the paper said. EU president Charles Michel also described Rutte’s refusal to compromise as ‘arrogance’, while Spanish leader Pedro Sanchez is quoted as saying: ‘does Rutte realise that I represent more people than his frugal four put together?’
April 15, 2025 at 9:59 AM
teunkearvo.bsky.social
Het gaat bijv. om de punten toegankelijkheid van nieuwbouw en veiligheid via vluchtroutes en compartimentering in zorgwoningen in de Bbl sectie (sectie 3); punt 3 en 4 van het afwegingskader zijn m.i. in dit licht echt evil: belang woningbouw boven mensenrechten gemarginaliseerde NLers.
3.) De adviesgroep vestigt nadrukkelijk de aandacht op wat zij 'het drama van goede bedoelingen' noemt. Alle overheidsregelingen die voortvarende en betaalbare woningbouw(planning) in de weg kunnen staan, dienen altijd een bepaald maatschappelijk doel. Een afzonderlijke regeling betekent doorgaans geen imposante remmende factor. Maar de voortdurende stapeling en verfijning van al die voorschriften, normen en regelingen werken per saldo, in de totaliteit, wel aanzienlijk vertragend, kostenverhogend en blokkerend. Overigens niet alleen voor de woningbouw. Vandaar dat de adviesgroep een breed spectrum van voorschriften, eisen en normen op de korrel nemen, groot en klein. 4.) Als de adviesgroep een voorstel tot wijziging van een regeling doet, impliceert dat meestal een afweging van dat bepaalde andere belang met dat van woningbouw. Die afweging maakt de adviesgroep bewust en zorgvuldig, waarbij voor woningbouw een hogere, maar geen absolute prioriteit geldt. Die belangenafwegingafweging is onvervreemdbaar politiek-bestuurlijk van aard; dus daar hoort die besluitvorming thuis. 5.) Bijna alle activiteiten waarvoor regels gelden hebben een groter of kleiner effect op de gezondheid. en veiligheid. Ook deze belangen zijn niet absoluut en betrekt de adviesgroep in de belangenafweging. De adviesgroep hanteert als randvoorwaarden dat de voorstellen tenminste moeten resulteren in voldoende kwaliteit van de leefomgeving.
April 10, 2025 at 11:31 AM
teunkearvo.bsky.social
Wel een goed interview met de Volkskrant overigens.

www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/v...
Screenshot van kranteninterview met de Volkskrant. (Ik kan helaas niet de tekst toevoegen.)
March 25, 2025 at 3:36 PM
teunkearvo.bsky.social
De opmerking van Roozen-Vlachos maakt me behoorlijk pissig.

Mijn SA zaak leek enorm op die in Frankrijk, en ik hèb het gemeld, in detail; de inspectie (IGZ) hield zich vervolgens totaal niet aan de eigen procedure en deed niks, ik mocht het zelf uitzoeken.
#IGJ #SAZorg

nos.nl/l/2561047
Volgens IGJ-inspecteur Selini Roozen-Vlachos zijn veel slachtoffers terughoudend met het melden. "We moeten de drempels verlagen, zodat mensen zich vrij voelen om met hun verhaal naar buiten te komen." Tekst van toenmalige folder “Het mag niet, het mag nooit” 2004-2014. (OCR-gegenereerd.) Meldingsprocedure. De inspectie heeft een vaste procedure voor de behandeling van meldingen. - Meldingen over incidenten en niet-professioneel functionerende beroepsbeoefenaren moeten schriftelijk aan de inspectie worden doorgegeven. - De inspectie kan naar aanleiding van een melding een voor- onderzoek instellen. Dit gebeurt als de gemelde situatie een ernstige bedreiging vormt voor de veiligheid of volksgezondheid. Of als een onderzoek in het belang is van verantwoorde gezond- heidszorg. - Bij melding van seksuele intimidatie zal de inspectie nagaan of sprake kan zijn van een strafbaar feit. Als dat het geval is, bepaalt de inspectie in overleg met de melder hoe en door wie aangifte gedaan wordt bij de politie. Daarnaast wordt besproken of het slachtoffer een klacht indient bij de klachtencommissie of de zaak voorlegt aan de civiele rechter. De inspectie en het slachtoffer hebben ook de mogelijkheid de over- treder voor de tuchtrechter te dagen. - Melders die daar behoefte aan hebben, verwijst de inspectie door naar instanties voor adequate hulp en bijstand.
March 25, 2025 at 2:59 PM
teunkearvo.bsky.social
Today they gave more attention to her book; it now includes Lyme disease as well. As someone with life-altering damage and chronic illness from long-time missed tickborne infections, this is both enraging and devastating.
Title and opening blurb of Mark Honigsbaum’s review of a bad book by Suzanne O’Sullivan under a photo of some medical equipment. Observer book of the week Review The Age of Diagnosis by Suzanne O’Sullivan review – are we really getting sicker? A neurologist discusses the dangers of overdiagnosing conditions from Lyme disease to ADHD in an era where technology meets pathology.
March 9, 2025 at 4:35 PM
teunkearvo.bsky.social
Thank you so much!

I *want* to add alt text (have the reminder turned on), but it makes posting even more challenging for me than it already is (chronic illness) and so it discourages it.

This is going to be very helpful!
A bunch of bananas with the text "THANKS A BUNCH!" above them.
February 17, 2025 at 2:25 PM
teunkearvo.bsky.social
A cartoon commenting on the common occurrence of unsolicited and ignorant advise to people with chronic illness. Two soldiers stand beside a battle field littered with their enemies. “One asks: “How do we know they’re actually dead or just pretending?” The other warrior shouts: “I have a chronic illness!” resulting in a response of “Try kale!”, “Yoga!” “Essential oils!” “Juice cleanse!”. The soldiers then finish off the enemies who revealed themselves this way.
December 1, 2024 at 2:53 PM
teunkearvo.bsky.social
By Slater I have his 1961 Maudsley lecture on hysteria, his 1965 paper (you have that), his 1965 paper on the follow up of hysteria and a 1982 book chapter (a response to Kendell; one of the topics I’m writing about is St.Louis hysteria/Briquet syndrome.)
A piece from a 1982 book chapter on hysteria by Eliot Slater. It criticises the doctors giving the diagnosis. My apologies that it’s not the text, I can’t get my OCR app to work. A piece from a 1982 book chapter on hysteria by Eliot Slater. It criticises the doctors giving the diagnosis. My apologies that it’s not the text, I can’t get my OCR app to work.
November 29, 2024 at 10:04 AM
teunkearvo.bsky.social
(Using the Kuut et al CBT paper is problematic for several reasons, one is that they left out actigraphy results, their only objective marker, which showed no difference.)

virology.ws/2023/07/11/t...
Text by David Tuller, commenting on the Kuut et al. paper: The lack of any mention of these data in the article suggested that the results for that measure were likely poor. In the authors’ response to the published comments, they acknowledged this to be the case. As they wrote: “Proposed alternative outcomes, like physical activity assessed with actigraphy or physical fitness are no[t] reliable markers of fatigue, and are also influenced by the perception of patients and subjectively experienced symptoms. Research showed that a substantial number of patients with severe fatigue do not have deviant physical activity levels. This was also found in our sample, i.e. 81% of participants had a fluctuating active activity pattern, and only 19% had a low active activity pattern. A reduction of fatigue will not necessarily lead to increased levels of objective physical activity or vice versa. Also, reduced fatigue levels do not necessarily concur with improved aerobic capacity. In our study there was no significant difference between the conditions in the increase in physical activity assessed with actigraphy.” For good measure, one of the co-authors, Dr Chantal Rovers, added another excuse in a Twitter thread: “You always have more data than fits within the word limit of medical journals. Primary and secondary outcome measures are included. The plan was to publish the other results in a separate article, as is very common.”
November 29, 2024 at 8:58 AM
teunkearvo.bsky.social
Participant report on the Long Covid symposium held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands on 19 October. (Google translated)

mecentraal-wordpress-com.translate.goog/2023/10/26/e...
October 26, 2023 at 8:17 AM
teunkearvo.bsky.social
Hello blueskyers!

I’m still setting up here. At the moment I’m less on social media/online because I’m currently more limited in my abilities and am focussing on getting my historical research into CBT, classifications and criteria processed into writing with the energytime that I have.
October 3, 2023 at 1:59 PM