Results for: autism
Confronting homeopathy, naturopathy, homeopathy, and other quackademic medicine at my alma mater
Several years back, I was forced to confront quackery at my alma mater in the form of an anthroposophic medicine program at the University of Michigan. The situation has deteriorated since then, as now the Department of Family Medicine there is inviting homeopaths to give talks and teaching acupuncture as credulously as any acupuncturist. Will the disease metastasize to other departments in...
J.B. Handley versus vaccine science. Again. Not surprisingly, J.B. loses.
Our old friend anti antivaccine activist J. B. Handley invokes the "vaccines didn't save us" gambit. It doesn't go well for him.
Do Sunscreens Cause Cancer?
Elizabeth Plourde thinks sunscreens cause cancer rather than preventing it. She blames sunscreens for everything from coral reef die-offs to autism. Neither her evidence nor her reasoning stand up to scrutiny.
Reflex Integration Therapy
Various methods of reflex integration claim benefits for autism, ADHD, brain injuries, pain, and more. They are based on speculative ideas about retained primitive reflexes. They have not been scientifically tested.
The Null hypothesis: Gary Null attacks science-based medicine
Over the last couple of weeks, one of the old men of quackery, Gary Null, has decided (yet again) that he really, really doesn't like science-based medicine. That includes Steve Novella, Susan Gerbic, and...me. As is his usual habit, Null teamed up with his producer Richard Gale and wrote some seriously off-base screeds against Wikipedia, skeptics, and science-based medicine, basically the forces...
Homeopathy, rabid dogs, and naturopathic propaganda
Last week, a story of a bizarre homeopathic remedy used by a Canadian naturopath made the news. Today, American naturopaths are in Washington, DC lobbying for increased prescribing power, including for controlled substances. Lawmakers should be reminded of the quackery at the heart of naturopathy.
The Nation indulges in fear mongering about cell phones and cancer
An article published last week in the Nation likens wireless telephone companies to tobacco and fossil fuel episodes in their tactics of spreading fear, misinformation, and doubt regarding the science of cell phone radiation and health. To produce this narrative, the investigation's authors rely on unreliable sources and cherry pick scientific studies, ignoring the scientific consensus that cell phone radiation almost certainly...
Direct Primary Care Agreements and Chiropractors: A bad deal for patients
Chiropractors are not "primary care physicians" and shouldn't be allowed to pretend otherwise by entering into "direct primary care" agreements with their patients.
Dr. Joel Fuhrman Sells Useless Iodine Test
Joel Fuhrman is selling an overpriced iodine urine test that is not valid for testing individuals. Patients may be led to believe they are iodine deficient when they are not. Iodine supplements on the market vary widely including orthomolecular doses, and they make unsupported claims that mislead customers.
Texas: Ground zero for the politicization of school vaccine mandates
Vaccine policies and school vaccine mandates have traditionally been as close to a nonpartisan issue as there can be in the US. Unfortunately, in Texas antivaccine activists and conservative activists threaten to change that. The antivaccine group Texans for Vaccine Choice has formed an unholy alliance with antiregulation conservative activists to attack school vaccine mandates. Antivaxers all over the country are doing...