“New vaccine replaces statins?” Not So Fast!
News reports suggest new drugs may replace statins. PSCK9 inhibitors are useful, but only along with statins in high risk patients not controlled on statins alone, or for patients who can't tolerate statins. They're not about to replace statins.
Naturopaths are fake doctors cosplaying real doctors (even the ones running dubious stem cell clinics)
Naturopaths are fake doctors who, increasingly, are cosplaying real doctors. Not surprisingly, because naturopaths go where quacking takes them, they've started to open their very own dubious stem cell clinics, thus combining the worst of both worlds, their "natural" quackery with dubious unproven but "high tech" treatments being peddled by the worst of real doctors.
Neck Manipulation, Stroke, and the Vertebral Artery Stretch: Views, Opinions, and Options
Stroke reported as being associated with neck manipulation is rare when stroke numbers are tallied with the total number of neck manipulations performed, but the true incidence of this injury is not known and may be much greater than indicated by case reports. Advocating or providing neck manipulation without warning about the limitations and the danger of such treatment is irresponsible and...
Physician aid-in-dying laws spread amid legal challenges
Legalization of physician aid-in-dying is increasing in the U.S. but opponents are taking their opposition to the courts and Congress.
Panera Markets Food Fear
Panera Bread goes full Food Babe in their latest ad campaign, which fearmongers about a safe food preservative.
ZYTO: An Electrodermal Diagnostic Device Is Tested and Fails Miserably
ZYTO is a bogus, illegal electrodermal diagnostic device that claims to evaluate organ function and make dietary recommendations. Repeat testing produced results that were wildly inconsistent. The device produces noise, not meaningful information.
Naturopathy vs. patients: Patients lose
Over the weekend, there was a news story describing two cancer patients treated by naturopaths in New Zealand. Both died, one almost certainly unnecessarily, the other after enduring more suffering than she likely had to. These tragic cases and others reminded me of why it is so appalling that so many physicians are "integrating" naturopathy into "integrative medicine." In reality, they are...
Is the use of “Open-Label” Placebo Ethical in the Treatment of Children?
Is the use of "open-label" placebo ethical in pediatric medical care, or any care for that matter? A recent article in Pediatrics discussing this issue comes to a flawed conclusion based on a misunderstanding of placebo and of the literature on placebo without deception.
Statins beat supplements
Red yeast rice supplements have poor quality control and there's no clear evidence they do anything beneficial. So why take it?
The Promise of CRISPR
CRISPR is the latest rock-star medical technology that promises to revolutionize medicine. Let's take a look at the hype and the reality.