Category: Clinical Trials
Appendicitis: Surgical vs. Medical Treatment
Surgery or antibiotics for appendicitis? This new study can help with the decision.
When Doctors Refuse to Believe Evidence
Paul Offit's new book covers the evidence for many surgeries, medications, and screening tests that have been proven ineffective and harmful yet are still being used by doctors who refuse to follow the science.
Jumping the Gun: Antibody Drugs for Covid-19
Why did the US government promise to buy a product that had failed testing?
Aroma Acupoint Therapy
"Aroma acupoint therapy" demonstrates how the combination of several nonsensical ideas involving essential oils and acupuncture produces, unsurprisingly, yet another nonsensical CAM treatment.
Dubious stem cell trials for autism and the darker side of quackademic medicine
Despite a lack of evidence, Duke University is all-in on stem cells for autism, thanks to a billionaire benefactor and a highly dodgy for-profit Panama stem cell clinic. How did this come to be and what will be the outcome? Whatever the answers to these questions, it is clear that arrangements like the one between Duke University and The Stem Cell Institute...
Ian Harris on “Surgery, the Ultimate Placebo”
Ian Harris explains that more than half of commonly performed surgical operations may be placebos. Adequate studies using a blinded control group are essential.
The Evidence for Hydrogen Water
Alex Tarnava sells Drink HRW Rejuvenation tablets. The evidence for the health benefits of drinking hydrogen water is not convincing.
Science-based medical lessons from President Trump’s case of COVID-19 (thus far)
We learned early Friday morning that President Trump has COVID-19. As the story evolved, it was hard not to take a look at potential science-based lessons in medicine that this story provides.
Turmeric for osteoarthritis: Promising but modest effects
A new trial of turmeric (curcumin) for osteoarthritis suggest it may have medicinal effects.
In the age of the COVID-19 pandemic, can we trust the CDC and FDA any more?
Since the COVID-19 pandemic reached the US, increasing concern has been expressed about the politicization of the CDC and FDA due to pressure from the Trump administration to downplay the severity of the pandemic and push out treatments and a vaccine as fast as possible, potentially at the expense of safety. This has led me to a disturbing question: Can I trust...