Month: June 2018
Rise of the Miscellany of Medical Malarkey…Again
More deaths in the European measles outbreak. Experts call for a national registry of sleep-related deaths in infants. Raw milk puts several Tennessee children in the intensive care unit. Oh, and medicinal dog urine. It must be time for another miscellany of medical malarkey.
Vitamin D and the relationship to colon cancer
Colorectal cancer is common. A new study examines the relationship with vitamin D levels.
Polio Outbreak in Papua New Guinea
A recent case of polio on Papua New Guinea shows that we cannot rest until the eradication of polio is complete. Close is not good enough.
How We Believe
James Alcock's new book about belief is a masterpiece that explains how our minds work, how we form beliefs, and why they are so powerful. It amounts to a course in psychology and an owner's manual for the brain.
Clínica 0-19: False hope in Monterrey for DIPG patients (part 1)
Drs. Alberto Siller and Alberto Garcia run Clínica 0-19 in Monterrey, Mexico, which has become a magnet for patients with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a deadly brain cancer. Unfortunately, their treatment is an unproven combination of 11 chemotherapy drugs injected into an artery feeding the brainstem, plus an unknown and unproven "immunotherapy." Of course it all costs $300,000 or more for...
Certification in chiropractic techniques: legitimate care or tomfoolery?
Chiropractic vertebral subluxation theory breeds a variety of questionable diagnostic and treatment methods. Certification in use of a subluxation-based technique offers no assurance that the technique is effective or scientifically acceptable.
Prevagen goes P-hacking
Can post-hoc data-dredging produce competent and reliable scientific evidence for Prevagen's claims of memory improvement? The FTC and consumer groups say "no."
Is Gaming Addiction a Thing?
The WHO has added gaming disorder as an official ICD diagnosis, and the APA is considering adding gaming disorder to the DSM. What is gaming disorder and how should it be diagnosed?
H.O.P.E.: A Movie Promoting Veganism
H.O.P.E., a movie promoting veganism, is short on science and long on appeals to emotion.
ASCO endorses the integration of quackery into breast cancer care
In 2014, the Society for Integrative Oncology first published clinical guidelines for the care of breast cancer patients. Not surprisingly, SIO advocated "integrating" dubious therapies with oncology. Last week, the most influential oncology society, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), endorsed a 2017 update to the SIO guidelines, thus endorsing the "integration" of quackery with oncology and paving the way for...