Month: August 2010

Kaiser Rejects Neck Manipulation

Despite quackademia, anti-vaccine propaganda, and other discouraging trends, the news is not all bad. A major HMO has taken a decisive action in support of science-based medicine.  Kaiser Permanente Mid Atlantic States and Mid-Atlantic Permanente Group recently announced the elimination of neck manipulation from their chiropractic coverage. The revised policy states, Given the paucity of data related to beneficial effects of chiropractic...

/ August 31, 2010

Avastin and metastatic breast cancer: When science-based medicine collides with FDA regulation

Not all drugs that prevent progression of cancer prolong the patient's survival. The case of Avastin and metastatic breast cancer reminds us of that simple, unfortunate fact once again.

/ August 30, 2010

A pox on your bank account: failure to vaccinate and its legal consequences

Here’s a question anti-vaxers may want to consider: Can the parents of an unvaccinated child be held liable if their child becomes infected with a vaccine-preventable disease which then spreads from their child to another child or children? Yes, they can. In fact, for over 125 years, courts in this country have recognized a cause of action for negligent transmission of an...

/ August 27, 2010

Reflexology. Insert Nancy Sinatra Reference Here.

Note:  I think the following post is perfect in terms of spelling and grammar.  It isn’t.  I am starting to think I have a language processing problem given the typo’s that seem to slip in to each post.  Be that as it may, there is a subset of readers who get their underoo’s in a twist at missing articles and apostrophes.  If...

/ August 27, 2010

Why bother?

It can be rather frustrating to refute the same old canards about alternative medicine.  There’s always been argument as to whether this is even useful.  Critics (some verging on “concern troll-ism”) argue that skeptics are convincing no one, others that we are too “dickish”. The first view is overly pessimistic (re: our impact), the second overly optimistic (re: the benign nature of...

/ August 26, 2010

Tai chi and fibromyalgia in the New England Journal of Medicine: An “alternative” frame succeeds

It never seems to fail. I go away for a few days, in this case to combine fun with pleasure and pleasure with fun by giving a talk to the Chicago Skeptics and at the same time meeting my brand new (well, by this time three weeks old) nephew for the first time, and something always happens. Before I get to what...

/ August 25, 2010

Peer Review and the Internet

Peer-review has been the cornerstone of quality control in academia, including science and medicine, for the past century. The process is slow and laborious, but a necessary filter in order to maintain a certain standard within the literature. Yet more and more scholars are recognizing the speed, immediacy, and openness of the internet as a tool for exchanging ideas and information, and...

/ August 25, 2010

Antioxidant Supplements for Macular Degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the major causes of visual impairment in the elderly: it affects central vision, impairing the ability to read and recognize faces while preserving some peripheral vision. It comes in two forms: wet and dry. Dry macular degeneration is by far more common, but wet macular degeneration, involving the proliferation of blood vessels, is more severe. ...

/ August 24, 2010

High Fructose Corn Syrup: Tasty Toxin or Slandered Sweetener?

The perils of fructose: High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has, over the past few decades, gradually displaced cane and beet sugar as the sweetener of choice for soft drinks, candy and prepared foods. In recent years, there have been a growing number claims that HFCS is a significant health risk to consumers, responsible for obesity, diabetes, heart disease and a wide variety of...

/ August 23, 2010

Does peer review need fixing?

One of the most important aspects of science is the publication of scientific results in peer-reviewed journals. This publication serves several purposes, the most important of which is to communicated experimental results to other scientists, allowing other scientists to replicate, build on, and in many cases find errors in the results. In the ideal situation, this communication results in the steady progress...

/ August 23, 2010