Category: Clinical Trials

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...

Does convalescent plasma work against COVID-19? Who knows?
Last night, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19, even though there are no randomized clinical trials demonstrating efficacy and safety. Does this plasma work? Who knows? But that didn't stop the FDA from issuing the EUA, almost certainly as a result of intense political pressure from the Trump Administration.

Dexamethasone and Hydroxychloroquine: Why Randomized Controlled Trials Matter
What does the best evidence tell us about hydroxychloroquine and dexamethasone?

HCQTrial.com: Astroturf and disinformation about hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19 on steroids
Late last week, a "study" published on HCQTrial.com by an anonymous source claiming to be a group of PhD scientists went viral. It claimed that countries that used hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 had a 79% lower fatality rate than those who didn't. It was horrible science and quickly debunked on Twitter by several epidemiologists. That didn't stop it from going viral. Disinformation...

Vitamin D supplements do not reduce the risk of depression
A newly-published randomized controlled trial finds vitamin D supplementation has no effect on depression. This adds to the long list of medical conditions for which vitamin D supplementation has turned out to be ineffective.

Hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19: Evidence can’t seem to kill it
Despite the accumulating negative evidence showing that hydroxychloroquine doesn't work against COVID-19, activists continue to promote it as a way out of the pandemic. This week, the AAPS and a Yale epidemiologist joined the fray with embarrassingly bad arguments.

Another Broken Meditation Study
Another study shows meditation does not work, but the authors manage to conclude that it does.