Consumer Reports’ recent articles on low back pain address anecdotal customer satisfaction rather than scientific evidence of effectiveness. A correspondent e-mailed me, saying: “I received my latest issue of Consumer Reports with great interest because the cover story is about back pain. However after reading the article I walked away disappointed. How this well respected publication printed
There are many myths about the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. Some of them are pretty funny. In the SBM comments section, someone recently posted this gem: “That ‘Spanish flu’ pandemic was actually caused by a typhus vaccine. They called it Spanish flu so the vaccine didn’t get blamed.” Other commenters quickly pointed out that time travel
The anti-vaccine movement is full of conspiracy theorists who deny the evidence for the effectiveness of vaccines, call vaccines “poisons,” think doctors and manufacturers (in collusion with the government) only promote vaccines to boost their incomes, and blame vaccines for all manner of adverse events. These vaccine denialists must not be confused with vaccine skeptics,
A study of On Guard, a mixture of essential oils, showed that it reduced the infectivity of influenza virus in dog kidney cells in the lab; but that’s irrelevant to the question of whether the product has any clinical effect in humans. Essential oils smell good, but the claims of health benefits are exaggerated. I
Our ability to develop new drugs is fast outstripping our ability to pay for them; some are exorbitantly expensive and not very effective. Funds are limited, and as a society we need to have a serious discussion about how they are to be allocated. How much is it reasonable to pay for a drug? If
In a recent article in The New York Times, pediatrician Aaron Carroll asks us to rethink our biases against chiropractors when it comes to treating bad backs. He points out that lower back pain is a common problem that usually resolves over time, and that interventions that focus on relief of symptoms and allow the
Several previous studies showed chondroitin was ineffective for knee osteoarthritis, but a new study says it is as effective as celecoxib. There are reasons to be skeptical. The dietary supplements chondroitin and glucosamine, separately or in combination, have been widely used to treat the pain of osteoarthritis of the knee. But do they work? When
Confessions of a Quack is fiction, but it provides real insights into the thinking processes and motivations of quacks, alternative medicine providers, and their patients. He told her the butterbur had flushed out her triple heater meridian, spilling into Pingala Nadi, flooding her Agnya chakra and setting off a Herxheimer-like reaction. In the SBM comments section, someone (thanks,
An acupuncturist complains about Wikipedia, saying it is under the control of self-styled skeptics who bias the content and bully anyone who disagrees. She only demonstrates her own bias; Wikipedia had good reason to ban her from editing. Acupuncturist Mel Hopper Koppelman published an article titled “WikiTweaks: The Encyclopedia that Anyone (Who is a Skeptic)
Multilevel distributors of the dietary supplement Protandim think that evidence from scientific studies supports their claims for their product. The FDA disagrees. The FDA identifies mislabeling and false claims On April 17, 2017, the FDA sent a warning letter to the LifeVantage Corporation advising them that their product Protandim NRF2 Synergizer was misbranded and violated regulations.
