Month: October 2015

The elusive “potential” of integrative medicine

  UPDATE: Dr. Katz has responded to this post in his usual venue, The Huffington Post. Alternative medicine was all about “potential” from the get go: In 1991, the Senate Appropriations Committee responsible for funding the National Institutes of Health (NIH) declared itself “not satisfied that the conventional medical community as symbolized at the NIH has fully explored the potential that exists in...

/ October 29, 2015

Whole Body Cryotherapy

Last week a Hawaiian woman living in Las Vegas, Chelsea Ake, was found dead in a cryotherapy chamber where she works. Apparently she was using the chamber unsupervised and accidentally locked herself in or passed out, and was found 10 hours later. Her death, of course, is tragic and we have nothing but sympathy for her and her family. The event, however,...

/ October 28, 2015

Immunity: More Than Just Antibodies and Vaccines

Since I graduated from medical school, new scientific developments in immunology have been occurring at a prodigious rate. I knew I could use a refresher course, and serendipity dropped one in my mailbox in the form of a review copy of the new book Immunity, by William E. Paul, MD, chief of the Laboratory of Immunology at the National Institute of Allergy...

/ October 27, 2015

Antivaccinationists and the Nation of Islam protest in front of the CDC, but don’t you dare call them “antivaccine”

Cranks of a feather quack together. Antivaccinationists team up with the Nation of Islam to protest vaccines at the CDC.

/ October 26, 2015

The Time a Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Got Manipulated by a Chiropractor

Katherine Ellison won a Pulitzer Prize in 1985, not for science journalism but for coverage of the monetary mayhem perpetrated by Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos on the people of the Philippines. I was nine at the time and have little recollection of the impact of her work, but I will assume that it was meaningful in light of the award. And she...

/ October 23, 2015

Naturopathy vs. Science: Diabetes Edition

Diabetes already requires care from multiple medical professionals, including physicians, nurses, dietitians, and pharmacists. Should naturopathy be included?

/ October 22, 2015

The American Cancer Society’s new mammography guidelines: Déjà vu all over again

One of the things that feels the weirdest about having done the same job, having been in the same specialty, for a longer and longer time is that you frequently feel, as the late, great Yogi Berra would have put it, déjà vu all over again. This is particularly true in science and medicine, where the same issues come up again and...

/ October 21, 2015

Are Placebos Getting Stronger?

A new study looked at clinical trials for neuropathic pain over the last 23 years and found that the response of subjects in the placebo group has been increasing over time, but only in the United States. The cause of this increase is unknown, and has provoked a fascinating discussion about the nature of placebos and their role in medical research. What...

/ October 21, 2015

Willow Curve Device for Pain: Strong Claims, Weak Evidence

Willow Curve is advertised as the “world’s first digital anti-inflammatory device”, “a laser smart device” designed to relieve joint pain with thermal and photonic energy. It contains over 150 bio-sensory and bio-therapeutic components that continuously monitor the body’s thermal and electrical response to the device, and computer chips use that information to tailor a digital prescription on the fly. That prescription consists...

/ October 20, 2015