Results for: publication bias
Hopelessly Devoted to Woo: TLC and Forbes Bring Us Yet Another Celebrity Healer
Endorsed by journalists and studied by academic medicine, bogus celebrity energy healer Charlie Goldsmith now has his own television program. In other words, it's just another day at Science-Based Medicine.
The American Chiropractic Association Answers Crislip’s Call, Joins the Choosing Wisely Campaign
The Choosing Wisely campaign has invited the largest chiropractic organization in the United States to publish a list of interventions to avoid. The results, while not entirely without merit, consist of redundant or unnecessary recommendations. And there is a glaring absence of recommendations to avoid any of the blatant pseudoscience commonly practiced by chiropractors.
Torturing mice, data, and figures in the name of antivaccine pseudoscience
In September, antivaccine "researchers" Christopher Shaw and Lucija Tomljenovic published a study claiming to link aluminum adjuvants in vaccines to neuroinflammation and autism. Naturally, the antivaccine movement pointed to it as slam dunk evidence that vaccines cause autism. It's not. In fact, not only is it bad science, but it might well be fraudulent.
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.
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...
Yet Another Miscellany of Medical Malarkey
Acupuncture for menstrual cramps, chiropractic for the prevention of domestic terrorism, and more in this miscellany of medical malarkey. Or would you prefer hodgepodge of healthcare hokum?
Rigvir strikes back, or: A conversation with a Rigvir flack
My skeptical analysis of Rigvir, a "Virotherapy" from Latvia being promoted by alternative medicine clinics as a cancer cure, caught the attention of the International Virotherapy Center (IVC). The result was a long and very telling e-mail exchange between its Assistant of Business Development and myself. I post it because the arguments used in the discussion are very telling about where the...
Homeopathy Embarrassing to Integrative Medicine
Homeopathy is the most embarrassing form of alternative medicine, and the easiest to refute. There has been long series of skeptical wins around the world over the past year - including University of California, Irvine's decision to scrub its mention from the homepage of its latest integrative medicine center. Hopefully, if we can keep up the pressure the trend will continue!
Rigvir: Another unproven and dubious cancer therapy to be avoided
Recently, the Hope4Cancer Institute, a quack clinic in Mexico, has added a treatment known as Rigvir to its coffee enemas and other offerings. But what is Rigvir? It turns out that it's an import from Latvia with a mysterious history. Proponents claim that it is an oncolytic virus that targets cancer specifically and leaves normal cells alone. Unfortunately, there is a profound...
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.