Life Extension: Science or Pipe Dream?

Can a pill keep you young? Many pills, potions, spells, and lifestyles have been promoted as cures for aging, but so far none have worked out.

/ July 13, 2010

Dr. Donald Berwick and “patient-centered” medicine: Letting the woo into the new health care law?

There’s been a bit of buzz in the health blogs over President Obama’s decision last week to use the mechanism of a recess appointment to be the director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Recess appointments, for those who may not be aware, allow a President to put a nominee in place when Congress is in recess in order...

/ July 12, 2010

Natural is not innocuous: the case of Angel’s Trumpet and tropane alkaloid intoxication

With this post, I’m happy to return to Science-Based Medicine on a regular basis, at least monthly and perhaps more depending upon how often commentary is required on natural products, whether they be herbal medicines or single-agent pharmaceuticals derived from natural sources. Next week, I’ll be attending the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Pharmacognosy being held jointly with the...

/ July 9, 2010

Sunscreen in a Pill?

I’ve previously described the consequences of acute and chronic sun exposure, and the rationale for topical sunscreen products. But wouldn’t it be easier to just take a pill that can boost our skin’s resistance to to the harmful effects of the sun? Is it possible to get all the benefits of sunscreen without the bother of creams, or even clothing?

/ July 8, 2010

Acupuncture and Modern Bloodletting

Last year Ben Kavoussi published an interesting article on SBM called “Astrology with Needles” in which he purported a historical connection between acupuncture and bloodletting. I had previously thought that bloodletting was a uniquely Western cultural invention – part of Galenic medicine involving the balancing of the four humors, one of which being blood. (In the West bloodletting faded away with the...

/ July 7, 2010

Shingles Vaccine (Zostavax) Confirmed Safe

Shingles (herpes zoster) is no fun. It usually begins with a couple of days of pain, then a painful rash breaks out and lasts a couple of weeks. The rash consists of blisters that eventually break open, crust over, and consolidate into an ugly plaque. It is localized to one side of the body and to a stripe of skin corresponding to...

/ July 6, 2010

Doctor’s Data Sues Quackwatch

A few weeks ago I posted an article about bogus diagnostic tests. I cited Doctor’s Data, Inc. (DDI), as “a company with a long history of dubious offerings.” I also wrote: You can’t help but have noticed that many of the links in this post are to articles on Quackwatch. That’s because the site is chock full of useful information about bogus tests,...

/ July 5, 2010

Homeopathy in the ICU?

Editor’s note: It’s still a holiday weekend in the United States. I had considered simply taking the day off altogether, particularly since I’m busily working on my talk for TAM8–which (holy crap!) is in a mere three days–but then I figured today’s a good time to resurrect a “classic” (if you will) post that I wrote a few years ago, dust it...

/ July 5, 2010

Not to worry! Chiropractic Board says stroke not a risk of cervical manipulation.

Back in January, the Connecticut Board of Chiropractic Examiners held a four-day hearing to decide whether chiropractors must, as a part of the informed consent process, (1)warn patients about the risk of cervical artery dissection and stroke following neck manipulation and (2) give patients a discharge summary listing the symptoms of stroke.1 On June 10th, the Board of issued a written opinion...

/ July 2, 2010

Acupuncture CME

Some Universities have more cachet than others. On the West coast it is Stanford that has the reputation as the best. There is Oxford, Yale, MIT, and maybe Whatsamatta U. I would wager that in most people’s mind the crème de la crème is Harvard. Harvard is where you find the best of the best. If Harvard is involved, a project gains...

/ July 2, 2010