MEA initial reaction to latest PACE Trial results on recovery | 31 January 2013 by Tony Britton on January 31, 2013 Initial reaction from Dr Charles Shepherd, Medical Adviser, The ME Association: It is really quite bizarre to find that there is absolutely no data whatsoever in this paper on what most people would regard as three objective markers of recovery: 1 a return [or ability to return] to full time meaningful employment or education 2 no longer claiming any DWP sickness or disability benefits 3 an estimation of how far someone can walk Just as surprising is the absence of any discussion on the use of benefits as a marker of recovery along with the very unsatisfactory reasoning given in the paper (on page 6) for not using employment status or an objective measure of activity levels: