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Stem Cell Stroke Therapy
We have written quite a bit about fraudulent stem cell clinics. They have followed a typical pattern of overhyping new potential therapies, with some clinics going as far as selling fake stem cell treatments. Stem cells were a likely target – they sound extremely advanced, their potential is easy to understand, and you can use them to justify extreme claims of healing....
Tylenol and Autism
Earlier this year, HHS secretary RFK Jr. predicted that, “By September, we will know what has caused the autism epidemic and we’ll be able to eliminate those exposures.” Scientists have been researching autism for decades, including what factors are driving changes in diagnostic patterns. Promising such a major breakthrough in just six months is beyond ridiculous, and strongly implies that RFK Jr....
The Problem with Predatory Journals
The World Wide Web has proven to be a transformative communication technology (we are using it right now). At the same time there have been some rather negative unforeseen consequences. Significantly lowering the threshold for establishing a communications outlet has democratized content creation and allows users unprecedented access to information from around the world. But it has also lowered the threshold for...
First Pig Lung to Human Transplant
In the midst of all the controversy surrounding the science of healthcare, certain technologies continue to progress in the background, with the promise of transforming the practice of medicine. One of them is the development of genetically modified animals as a source for organ transplants. I most recently wrote about this earlier this year, specifically about an experiment to transplant a pig...
Health Narratives on Social Media
Engaging on social media about health issues can be daunting. I know this is not news, but it is important to understand what is happening phenomenologically. I also think it’s a microcosm of what’s happening to our society in general because of social media – we no longer have a shared fact-based reality as people increasingly live in different universes of information....
Lithium and Alzheimer’s Disease
This is an interesting story, which has been all over the news so worthy of covering here. Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the major cause of dementia in humans, is a very complex disease. We have been studying it for decades, revealing numerous clues as to what kicks it off, what causes it to progress, and how to potentially treat it. This has lead...
HHS To Cut Funding for Vaccine Research
I get it. I am as tired of writing about RFK Jr.’s dismantling of the evidence-based federal medical infrastructure as you are of reading about it. I have tried to focus on anything else, as you can see from my recent articles here. There is still a lot of bad medical science and misinformation out there that needs dealing with. But I...
Review Recommends High Dose Statins
The exact role of different types of dietary fat and the best approach to prevention in cardiovascular disease has been somewhat controversial. However, the level of controversy among experts is much less than that being generated in the public by outliers and contrarians. Since cardiovascular disease remains a major source of morbidity and mortality, it’s important for the public to be kept...
The Healthcare Costs of Fossil Fuels
While the debate continues about the true impact of burning fossil fuels on the climate and what the optimal policy response should be, we need to make sure we do not neglect another aspect of fossil fuel use – air pollution and the effect it has on our health. There is a growing body of research showing a significant negative impact with...
That Trump, RFK, Oz Presser
Yes, we have to talk about that press conference with Trump, RFK Jr and Dr. Oz., which some are characterizing as the absolutely worst firehose of medical misinformation coming from the White House in American history. I think that is fair. This was the presser we knew was coming, and many of us were dreading. It was worse than I anticipated. I wrote a...