Month: March 2013
It’s a part of my paleo fantasy, it’s a part of my paleo dream
There are many fallacies that undergird alternative medicine, which evolved into “complementary and alternative medicine” (CAM), and for which the preferred term among its advocates is now “integrative medicine,” meant to imply the “best of both worlds.” If I had to pick one fallacy that rules above all among proponents of CAM/IM, it would have to be either the naturalistic fallacy (i.e.,...
Anti-inflammatory drugs: A closer look at the risks
If science-based medicine reflects the application of the best evidence, then we should expect practices to change when new data emerges. In the long run that’s generally true, and the progressive gains we’ve seen in the management of disease reflect this. But in the short run, change can be maddeningly slow, and there are many areas of medicine where we could be...
Burzynski: Cancer Is A Serious Business, Part 2: Like the first Burzynski movie, only more so?
Film producer Eric Merola seems to think that there is a conspiracy of skeptics (whom he calls The Skeptics) who are fanatically hell-bent on harassing his hero, Brave Maverick Doctor Stanislaw Burzynski. According to his latest film Burzynski: Cancer Is A Serious Business, Part 2 (henceforth referred to as Burzynski II, to distinguish it from part 1, to which I will refer...
Clinical Decision-Making: Part II
How do doctors make clinical decisions to arrive at a diagnosis? Part 2 of a 3-part series.
Smoking: The Good News and the Bad News
The principles we espouse on Science-Based Medicine are vitally important, but some of the subjects we address are not so important in the big scheme of things. Homeopathy and electrodermal diagnostic devices don’t actually harm very many people. For today’s post, I’m going to follow the Willie Sutton rule and go where the money is, so to speak. Smoking is the leading preventable...
Three myths about Stanislaw Burzynski and The Skeptics
As I finished last week’s post, I promised myself that I wouldn’t write about Stanislaw Burzynski again this week. After all, counting this post I will have done 13 posts so far in 2013, and, counting this one, four of them will have been about Burzynski, and three out of the last five posts (three out of four, really, if we eliminate...
Acupuncture and Allergic Rhinitis: Another Opportunity for Intellectual Sterility
You need to keep an open mind. A common suggestion offered to naysayers of nonsense. The usual retort concerns not letting one’s brain fall out. Evaluating SCAM’s is less about having an open mind and more about having standards, a conceptual framework that is used to interpret and analyze new information. One of the benefits of writing and reading topics covered by...
Legislative Alchemy: Acupuncture and Homeopathy 2013
Acupuncture, or more broadly, Oriental or Traditional Chinese Medicine, is a weird medley of philosophy, religion, superstition, magic, alchemy, astrology, feng shui, divination, sorcery, demonology and quackery. And via the particular form of magic known as legislative alchemy, acupuncture is a licensed health care profession in 44 states and the District of Columbia. A growing body of evidence demonstrates acupuncture is simply...
Time for a little blatant self-promotion
I thought I’d take advantage of my prerogative as managing editor of this blog to do a quick bit of blatant self-promotion. I will be in the Washington, DC area later this week, and while I’m there to attend the Society of Surgical Oncology Annual Cancer Symposium, I’ll also be taking advantage to do a little side trip to give a talk...
Clinical Decision Making: Part I
How do doctors make clinical decisions to arrive at a diagnosis? Part 1 of a 3-part series.