Plenity – A New Weight Loss Pill
Plenity is a new weight loss pill designed to create a sense of fullness. It is backed by a single study where users had an average weight loss of 22 pounds. Not an effective way to achieve ideal weight, but may help some people when combined with diet and exercise.
The “12% efficacy” myth from the “Pfizer data dump”: The latest slasher stat about COVID-19 vaccines
Last week, a claim that Pfizer's own documents demonstrate that the efficacy of its COVID-19 vaccine was only 12% (not the 95% reported) went viral. This is a slasher stat, so-named because it is not new and, like the killers in slasher movie series, even when it appears to be dead it always appears in another installment of the misinformation franchise to...
Pediatric Hepatitis, A Medical Rorschach Test
Because they are from an old, established cause, pediatric deaths from COVID have receded into the background, overshadowed by pediatric hepatitis.
Supposedly Silenced Scientists and Dr. Rick Bright
Contrarian doctors don't want discussion and debate. That's why they ignore silenced scientists like Dr. Rick Bright.
Pain Reprocessing Therapy
In a trial of Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT), 2/3 of patients with chronic low back pain reported significant pain relief with psychotherapy that helped them reconceptualize the pain as nondangerous. Impressive if true, but flaws in research design make the study untrustworthy.
Columbia University finally cuts ties with America’s Quack Dr. Oz
Decades after Dr. Oz pioneered "integrating" quackery into medicine and after many years of promoting diet scams and quackery on a nationally syndicated daily television show, Columbia University appears finally to have had enough and has quietly downgraded his status. What took so long?
The CDC and WHO Have Reported an Unusual Cluster of Severe Pediatric Hepatitis Cases
An unusual cluster of severe liver disease in children is being reported around the world. The cause isn't entirely clear, but it may be an uncommon presentation of a common viral infection that isn't COVID-19.
The search for long COVID treatments
What are current treatments for long COVID, and are they effective?
Emotional Freedom Technique – Acupuncture for the Mind
Emotional Freedom Technique is based in pseudoscience and inadequate clinical research.
Sex and Racial Bias in Cardiac Care
Sex and racial biases in cardiac care partly reflect cognitive biases that can be corrected with education.