Tag: MRI
False balance in an NBC news story on whole body MRI scans
Over the weekend, NBC News aired a story on whole body MRI scans. Although it did include the usual cautions about false positives and the harm they cause, the caution was diluted by the story's focus a rare case of a woman who had a brain tumor detected. Overall, it was false balance that reminded me of vaccine/autism stories 20 years ago.
The return of marketing hype for “whole body scans”…now with AI!
Two decades ago, I cut my skeptical teeth countering advertising for whole body scans by companies making extravagant promises for their products. This particular medical fad faded for a while, but now it's back with a vengeance...with AI! Looking at these products, what I see is basically the quackery that is functional medicine on steroids and powered by AI.
Myocarditis and how to think about it… like a cardiologist
In response to the dumpster-diving VAERS study published earlier this month, pediatric cardiologist and guest blogger Dr. Frank Han adds context by explaining how cardiologists think about and diagnose myocarditis.
Studying Chiropractic with Imaging: Another Dead Salmon?
Researchers in Japan have done a study evaluating the effects of chiropractic treatment using MRI and PET scans. It was published in the 2009 report of the Cyclotron and Radioisotope Center (CYRIC) of Tokohu University. Their rationale for doing the study Ray Hyman‘s categorical imperative is “Do not try to explain something until you are sure there is something to be explained.”...
“Finally…The Low Back Pain Solution”: A Chiropractor Makes Questionable Claims
The ads in my local newspaper are a never-ending source of questionable health claims, most often from diet supplement manufacturers and chiropractors. There’s no single spokesman like Dr. Oz, but as a group they remind me of Oz’s unending series of weight loss miracles, each one the perfect solution until the next one comes along. The proliferation of chiropractic ads is bad...