Category: Clinical Trials
Update on Testosterone Supplementation
Testosterone supplementation is a legitimate treatment for properly-diagnosed androgen deficiency, but it is being overprescribed by doctors who make exaggerated claims for it. New evidence clarifies its modest benefits and worrisome risks.
The Texas Medical Board lets Stanislaw Burzynski off lightly: A cautionary tale of the failure of regulating medicine
After three years and countless twists and turns, the final decision by the Texas Medical Board on the sanctions to be imposed on Houston cancer quack Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski were announced on Friday. Sadly, they were not enough. The Burzynski saga should serve as a cautionary tale that the regulation of physicians and medicine is too lax, not too strict.
Corrigendum. The week in review for 03/05/2017
Canada's Bad Science Wants You. Penguins get acupuncture, tiger cubs get chiropractic. Homeopathic lead for lead toxicity. I'm an idiot. And more
Influenza Vaccine and Health Care Workers. More than one way to skin a literature
There are many ways to apply the medical literature. For me it starts with the premise that health care workers may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
Corrigendum. The Week in Review for 02/19/2017
More poorly done acupuncture studies. Burzynski eats just desserts. Italians like homeopathy. New Jersey is going after Oregon. And more
Corrigendum. The week in review for 02/12/2017
The week in review. Chiropractic and stroke. Integrative Medical doctors don’t trust vaccines. Death from medical marijuana. Shilajit: compost or mulch oozing from Himalayan rocks. India goes full Tuskeegee with AIDS. And more!
Re-thinking Antioxidant Supplementation for Macular Degeneration
After the AREDS trial, people with moderate to severe age-related macular degeneration were advised to take dietary supplements to slow the progression of the disease. But some experts say the trial actually showed supplements don't work, and might even make some patients worse.
Donald Trump versus the FDA: Is the standard of evidence for drug approval actually too low rather than too high?
All of the candidates being considered by President Trump for FDA Commissioner believe that the FDA is too strict in its standards for approving new drugs. In a commentary in Nature last week, two bioethicists argued that, at least in terms of preclinical data, the standard of evidence is actually too low. Which is correct?
Corrigendum. The week in SBM for 1.22.2017
Not every article and study that pops up my feeds in the world of pseudo-medicine is worthy of a complete blog post. But they need to be noticed and commented upon: Liver toxicity from herbs. Popped lungs from acupuncture. Chiropractic does not help scoliosis. Yoga is just exercise. There are eight kinds of wind: Great Feathery Wind, Scheming Wind, Hard Wind, Great...
Spinal Manipulation for Back and Neck Pain: Does It Work? Annotated.
Spinal Manipulation for Back and Neck Pain: Does It Work? You would think it does if you read the article but not if you actually read the literature.