Results for: Reiki
Alternative medicine and antivax: Two crappy tastes that taste crappy together—particularly when among physicians
A recent study reaffirms the high degree of correlation among physicians between antivax views and an embrace of quackery. This is an old finding that needs to be documented periodically and shows why the acceptance of non-science-based treatments by physicians endangers vaccination efforts.
Quoth quacks, “The medical consensus has changed before, making my quackery science!”
Brave maverick doctors (i.e., quacks) have long tried to portray themselves as "innovators" challenging an ossified medical consensus for the good of patients. This tradition continues among COVID-19 quacks, in particular the Frontline COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance and its founders.
Evidence-based medicine vs. basic science in medical school
Last week Dr. Vinay Prasad wrote a Substack arguing that medical students should learn the principles of evidence-based medicine before basic science.This is a recipe for amplifying the main flaw in EBM that science-based medicine was meant to correct, and Dr. Prasad's arguments would have been right at home on an integrative medicine blog. [Note ADDENDUM.]
The Cochrane mask fiasco: How the evidence-based medicine paradigm can produce misleading results
Last week, the Cochrane Collaborative was forced to walk back the conclusions of a review by Tom Jefferson et al that had been spun in the media as proving that "masks don't work." Tom Jefferson himself has been problematic about vaccines for a long time, but the rot goes deeper. What is it about the evidence-based medicine paradigm that results in misleading...
Ivermectin booster Dr. Tess Lawrie goes all-in for homeopathy for COVID and long COVID
Tess Lawrie has been promoting ivermectin for COVID-19 for two and a half years. Of late, she has becoming more of a general multipurpose quack, promoting ivermectin to treat cancer. Now she's promoting homeopathy for COVID and long COVID while a Research Fellow at St. Mary's University Twickenham. What does this tell us about medicine?
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.
The ABIM vs. medical misinformation: Better late than never?
Last week, the New England Journal of Medicine published an editorial by the President of ABIM discussing how the board certification can be taken away from diplomates who spread medical misinformation. Is this too little, too late?
Columbia University finally cuts ties with America’s Quack Dr. Oz
Decades after Dr. Oz pioneered "integrating" quackery into medicine and after many years of promoting diet scams and quackery on a nationally syndicated daily television show, Columbia University appears finally to have had enough and has quietly downgraded his status. What took so long?
BOO: Or how “magic dirt” became a MLM miracle cure scam for COVID-19
"BOO" stands for Black Oxygen Organics, a "cure" for COVID-19 that got the attention of regulators last week. Basically, it's dirt billed by its believers as "magic dirt" that sells for $110 a bag (plus shipping) through a multilevel marketing sales model. What can this latest COVID cure tell us about the relationship between alternative medicine and COVID-19 denial?
“Imbalanced Energy Field” is not a valid diagnosis and therapeutic touch is pseudoscience, so why can’t nurses just give it up?
“Imbalanced Energy Field” is not a valid diagnosis and therapeutic touch is pseudoscience. It's past time nursing gave up both.