The American Academy of Pediatrics has an Integrative Medicine Problem
The American Academy of Pediatrics is usually a trustworthy source of high quality information for patients, caregivers, and pediatric medical providers. But when it comes to so-called integrative medicine, they have a massive biased blind spot. In this post, I discuss a recently updated clinical report from their Section on Integrative Medicine.
Australia ends insurance subsidies for naturopathy, homeopathy, and more
The Australian government has eliminated the insurance subsidy for 17 alternative health practices due to a lack of evidence for efficacy. This is a win for medicine and Australian taxpayers.
Is Mindfulness Meditation Science-Based?
Existing research has not yet clearly defined what mindfulness is and what effect it has. The hype clearly has gone beyond the science, and more rigorous research is needed to determine what specific effects there are, if any.
Chiropractor Disregards the Loss of His License, Continues to Treat Patients with Cervical Dysplasia with Escharotics
A chiropractor who bills himself as a chiropractic gynecologist has continued to practice after his license was permanently revoked. Among his many questionable practices, Nick LeRoy is treating cervical dysplasia with escharotics, a potentially dangerous replacement for conventional treatments to prevent cancer.
Integrative medicine advocates react to criticisms of the Samuelis’ $200 million gift to UC-Irvine
Last month, Susan and Henry Samueli donated $200 million to the University of California, Irvine to promote integrative medicine. We were pleasantly surprised by the unflattering coverage in the press of the gift. We were unpleasantly unsurprised by the reaction of integrative medicine advocates to the criticism.
Don’t drink your bath water – Epsom salts, liver damage, and naturopaths
What's the harm of naturopathy? How about Epsom salt-induced liver damage?
Repealing Legislative Alchemy
We need to repeal federal and state laws that allow quackery and pseudoscience in healthcare.
Zombie Science
Retractions of scientific studies do not always mean that the studies die a deserved death. Sometimes they live on as zombie studies, continuing to be cited by other researchers and having an effect on the scientific discussion. We can fix this.
Preying on the Vulnerable: Electrodiagnostics, Bach Flower Remedies, and Sound Therapy for Autism, ADHD, and Learning Problems
Karyne Jeanne Richardson offers a ridiculous program of electrodiagnosis, flower remedies, and fractal sound to treat autism and other disorders. There are science-based autism programs that work; it is unfortunate when parents subject their autistic children to onerous, expensive, time-consuming, useless treatments based on pseudoscientific claims and false promises.
The Pathological Optimist: More hagiography than documentary about Andrew Wakefield
The Pathological Optimist is a recently released documentary by Miranda Bailey about Andrew Wakefield that I got a chance to see. In interviews and in the film's promotional materials, Bailey takes great pains to emphasize that she "doesn't take a side" about Wakefield. Unfortunately, her film demonstrates that, when it comes to pseudoscience, "not taking a side" is taking a side, and...
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