Category: Traditional Chinese Medicine

Skeptics in the Pub. Cholera.

Prologue from the serialization of the novel Skeptics in the Pub: Cholera.

/ October 7, 2023
Traditional medicine

The World Health Organization promotes quackery yet again

The World Health Organization held the First WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit this weekend. Unfortunately, its claims of being "evidence-based" aside, the conference followed the WHO's usual pattern of serving as propaganda, not science. The summit was one-sided, organized by believers with the only speakers being believers, to promote a predetermined policy goal of promoting traditional medicine and justify "integrating" it with...

/ August 21, 2023
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

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
NRLM results

Some Sepsis Stuff

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

/ October 20, 2022
Acupuncture needles

Does Acupuncture Increase Red and White Blood Cells and T-Cells?

An article by a medical acupuncturist claims that acupuncture increases red and white blood cells and T-cells. The evidence is far from convincing.

/ January 25, 2022
NCCIH frameworks

NCCIH Strategic Plan 2021⁠–⁠2025: Meet the new plan, same as the old plan…?

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health recently released its latest 5 year strategic plan. It's basically the same as the last strategic plan, but with one new addition. It's not really a new addition, but it signals a resurrection of an old trope about "integrating" quackery with science-based medicine.

/ June 28, 2021
Homeopathy tablets

The risks associated with alternative medicine

In a new paper, the types and severity of harms from different types of alternative medicine are described.

/ June 24, 2021

Exploitation of Mammals for Traditional Remedies

A recent review hints at the extent to which endangered mammals are exploited for fake medicines.

/ December 9, 2020