Month: July 2009
Minimally Conscious vs Persistent Vegetative State
A new study suggests that it may not be uncommon for patients who are in a minimally conscious state to be misdiagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state. The study underscores the necessity of using standardized and objective diagnostic criteria in diagnosing coma. However, it also leaves some important questions unanswered. As background it is essential to understand a bit about...
Is Tylenol Safe?
Tylenol (acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol outside the US) has been in the news recently. Most of the stories I’ve seen have been accurate, but I’ve run across a couple of people who misunderstood what they read. I thought I’d try to put the record straight. An FDA advisory panel has recommended reducing the maximum allowed single dose from 1000 mg to...
DSHEA: a travesty of a mockery of a sham
The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) is a terrible piece of legislation that protects supplement manufacturers rather than patients. Congress should be ashamed.
Are one in three breast cancers really overdiagnosed and overtreated?
Screening for disease is a real pain. I was reminded of this by the publication of a study in BMJ the very day of the Science-Based Medicine Conference a week and a half ago. Unfortunately, between The Amaz!ng Meeting and other activities, I was too busy to give this study the attention it deserved last Monday. Given the media coverage of the...
The Marshall Protocol
Revised 7/23/09 to correct an error. While there are many taxonomies of alternative medicines, one thing almost all alternative therapies have in common is they are originally the de novo discovery of one lone individual. Working outside of the mainstream, they are the gadflies who see farther because those around them are midgets. Hanneman conceives of homeopathy, the treatment of all disease....
Woosceptibility: A Brief Interview With James Randi
James Randi, perhaps better known as “The Amazing Randi” has spent most of his life performing magic shows. In 1996 he created the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) designed to expose the fraudulent claims made by psychics, faith healers, and snake oil salesmen. The ultimate goal of the JREF is to create a new generation of critical thinkers – people who will...
Report from the SBM Conference
On July 9th we held our first Science Based Medicine conference in Las Vegas. The event was definitely a success – we filled our room to capacity (150 attendees) and almost everyone stayed until the end. It also appeared that most attendees were actually awake, a rarity for a full-day medical conference. The Q&A session at the end was lively and interesting....
“Lifestyle nutritionists”…Mitchell and Webb strike again
Mitchell and Webb take a shot at lifestyle nutritionists. It's hilarious.
Birth Day
So many of the posts on this blog are critical and deal with examples of poor science or other problems. I’d like to offer a breath of fresh air in the form of a book by Mark Sloan, MD: Birth Day: A Pediatrician Explores the Science, the History, and the Wonder of Childbirth. It is a very positive book. Sloan has attended...
The clinician-scientist: Wearing two hats
About a week ago, Tim Kreider wrote an excellent post about the differences between medical school training and scientific training. As the only other denizen of Science-Based Medicine who has experienced both worlds, that of a PhD and that of an MD, and as the one who two decades further along the path than Tim (give or take a couple of years),...