Category: Clinical Trials

Acupuncture

ASCO endorses “integrative oncology” quackery for cancer pain

Last week, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Society for Integrative Oncology published guidelines for treating cancer pain. These guidelines endorsed quackery like reflexology and acupuncture. The infiltration of quackademic medicine continues apace in oncology.

/ November 21, 2022

The Beekeeper: Sentinel Chicken?

Bee venom. Will it help Andy's rheumatism? Doubtful

/ November 17, 2022

Medicare and Alternative Medicine

Medicare is paying for nonsense.

/ November 15, 2022

Aromatase inhibitors and acupuncture in breast cancer: Spinning a negative study, four years later

Four years ago, I wrote about an essentially negative study looking at whether acupuncture could alleviate joint pain caused by aromatase inhibitors, a common treatment for estrogen-sensitive breast cancer. The study's back, and it doesn't look any more positive.

/ November 14, 2022

Study – For Lowering Cholesterol, Statins Work, Supplements Don’t

A study comparing a statin drug and six common supplements to placebo shows that only the drug lowers bad cholesterol.

/ November 9, 2022
NRLM results

Some Sepsis Stuff

Sepsis interventions. Some don't work and some don't work.

/ October 20, 2022
Pfizer COVID vaccine

The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doesn’t prevent transmission: Antivax disinformation goes viral again

Last week, antivaxxers were all over social media after Tucker Carlson touted a "revelation" that the phase 3 clinical trial used to support licensure of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine didn't examine its ability to block transmission as meaning that its inability to block transmission had been "covered up". It wasn't, and antivaxxers are ignoring everything we've learned over the last two years...

/ October 17, 2022

FDA Approves Controversial ALS Drug – Relyvrio

A close look a the FDA approval of Relyvrio.

/ October 5, 2022

The Polypill Comes of Age

The polypill is effective for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. By combining drugs in a single pill, it improves convenience and compliance.

/ September 20, 2022

Does Vitamin D Prevent Autoimmune Disease?

A new study published in The BMJ suggests vitamin D might prevent autoimmune disease, but there are reasons to be cautious.

/ September 13, 2022