Results for: autism
How can we counter misinformation from “chemo truthers”?
Denial of the benefits of chemotherapy is very prevalent in "natural health" movements. This denial is based on fear mongering, pseudoscience, and conspiracy theories and thus shares many similarities with the antivaccine movement. How can the misinformation spread by "chemo truthers" be countered on social media?
Is defending science-based medicine worth it?
Pseudoscience, denialism, fake news, and disinformation about health are a bigger problem than ever, thanks to social media. As doctors and scientists join lay defenders of science on social media, will they be willing to pay the price in terms of harassment? Or will they decide it's not worth the hassle? And what about our fellow docs who think that it's beneath...
New Regenerative Medicine Center
Neil Riordan donated big bucks to a school of naturopathy for a Center for Regenerative Medicine named after him. Both Riordan and the treatments offered in his new center are questionable.
“Natural health” and the antivaccine movement: The case of Dr. Joseph Mercola
Dr. Joseph Mercola has been selling quackery for over two decades. It turns out that he also promotes antivaccine pseudoscience, as a new report from The Washington Post shows.
FDA warns public about exosome treatments
The FDA and Nebraska health authorities issued warnings after patients became seriously ill following treatment with exosomes, an unproven, potentially risky and, per the FDA, illegal product being promoted by dubious stem cell clinics.
Decision Against Spelling to Communicate – A Small Victory for Science
Spelling to Communicate is just another form a facilitated communication, an invalid technique that was disproved decades ago but refuses to die.
Anti-vaxxers try to kill Florida bill ending childhood vaccination religious exemption
Anti-vaxxers and their misinformation campaign may have killed Senate Bill 64, repealing Florida's religious exemption to childhood immunizations, which is being abused by parents. Sen. Laura Book, the bill's sponsor, remains undeterred, citing the high risk of disease outbreaks in Florida.
Would you pay $1 million to enroll in a phase 1 clinical trial of an “anti-aging” gene therapy?
Libella Gene Therapeutics, LLC made the news last week for announcing a "pay-to-play" trial of its telomerase-based anti-aging gene therapy. What was shocking about the announcement was not that it was a "pay-to-play" trial, given that such trials have become all too common, but rather the price of enrollment: $1 million. Worse, the trial is being conducted in Colombia; the therapy doesn't...
Dichotomous thinking and uncertainty in medicine and science
Medicine is by its very nature uncertain. Unfortunately, humans don't deal well with uncertainty, and our tendency towards dichotomous thinking leads us to think that if we're not absolutely certain about something we don't know anything.
FDA strengthens homeopathic drug enforcement (but falls short of actually enforcing the law)
The FDA may strengthen homeopathic drug regulation with its "risk-based" enforcement policy, but this still leaves illegal homeopathic remedies on the market and falls far short of actually enforcing the law.