Category: Politics and Regulation

Is Tylenol Safe?

Tylenol (acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol outside the US) has been in the news recently. Most of the stories I’ve seen have been accurate, but I’ve run across a couple of people who misunderstood what they read. I thought I’d try to put the record straight. An FDA advisory panel has recommended reducing the maximum allowed single dose from 1000 mg to...

/ July 21, 2009

DSHEA: a travesty of a mockery of a sham

The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) is a terrible piece of legislation that protects supplement manufacturers rather than patients. Congress should be ashamed.

/ July 20, 2009

NIH Awards $30 Million Research Dollars To Convicted Felons: Cliff’s Notes Version

In case you’re coming late to this discussion (or have ADD), I’ve summarized Dr. Kimball Atwood’s terrific analysis of the ongoing clinical trial (TACT trial) in which convicted felons were awarded $30 million by the NIH. *** In one of the most unethical clinical trial debacles of our time, the NIH approved a research study (called the TACT Trial – Trial to...

/ July 9, 2009

Human Subjects as Political Pawns

When it comes to “alternative medicine” trials, it seems that the NIH is willing to experiment on people in ways that would be unthinkable for real biomedical research. The federal Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) has posted a preliminary determination letter, dated May 27, 2009, addressing some of the charges we had made against the politics-driven NIH Trial to Assess Chelation...

/ July 1, 2009

Cancer research: Going for the bunt versus swinging for the fences

A couple of weeks ago, our resident skeptical medical student Tim Kreider wrote an excellent article about an op-ed in NEWSWEEK by science correspondent Sharon Begley, in which he pointed out many misconceptions she had regarding basic science versus translational research, journal impact factors, and how journals actually determine what they will publish. Basically, her thesis rested on little more than a...

/ June 29, 2009

Tactless About TACT: Critiques Without Substance Should Be Abandoned

In May 2008, the article “Why the NIH Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT) Should Be Abandoned” was published online in the Medscape Journal of Medicine. The authors included two of our own SBM bloggers, Kimball Atwood and Wallace Sampson, along with Elizabeth Woeckner and Robert Baratz. It showed that the existing evidence on treating heart disease with IV chelation did not...

/ June 23, 2009

Cranks, quacks, and peer review

Last week, I wrote one of my characteristically logorrheic meandering posts about what turns a scientist into a crank or a doctor into a quack. In a sort of continuation of this line of thinking, this week I’ll turn my attention to one of the other most common characteristics of a crank, be he scientific crank (i.e., a creationist), a quack, or...

/ June 22, 2009

Naturopathic Prescribing: The Dark Side Beckons

I am a terrible Oregon chauvinist.  I think there is no better place to live on the planet. Period.  Great natural beauty, not a lot of people, best beer ever and no pro football team. Oregon is both casual and tolerant.  It is safe to say that dressing up in the Pacific NW means tucking your t shirt into your jeans.  And...

/ June 19, 2009

Barriers To Adoption of Science-Based Medicine

I have a confession to make – it’s not easy keeping up with the other “Joneses” on this blog. My colleagues do a terrific job with thoroughly referenced analyses of key issues in medicine – and I sometimes struggle to think of topics that they haven’t already covered in more depth than I can. So today I asked my friends on Twitter...

/ June 18, 2009

FDA Zicam Warning

On June 16th the FDA issued a warning advising consumers not to use Zicam Nasal Gel or Nasal Swabs because of reports that it can damage the sense of smell, a condition called anosmia. This event highlights some problems with current regulations of health products. There have been 130 cases reported to the FDA of decreased sense of smell following the use...

/ June 17, 2009