Category: Clinical Trials

Aroma Acupoint Therapy

"Aroma acupoint therapy" demonstrates how the combination of several nonsensical ideas involving essential oils and acupuncture produces, unsurprisingly, yet another nonsensical CAM treatment.

/ November 5, 2020
Stem cells

Dubious stem cell trials for autism and the darker side of quackademic medicine

Despite a lack of evidence, Duke University is all-in on stem cells for autism, thanks to a billionaire benefactor and a highly dodgy for-profit Panama stem cell clinic. How did this come to be and what will be the outcome? Whatever the answers to these questions, it is clear that arrangements like the one between Duke University and The Stem Cell Institute...

/ November 2, 2020

Ian Harris on “Surgery, the Ultimate Placebo”

Ian Harris explains that more than half of commonly performed surgical operations may be placebos. Adequate studies using a blinded control group are essential.

/ October 27, 2020

The Evidence for Hydrogen Water

Alex Tarnava sells Drink HRW Rejuvenation tablets. The evidence for the health benefits of drinking hydrogen water is not convincing.

/ October 6, 2020
Donald Trump heading to Walter Reed Medical Center

Science-based medical lessons from President Trump’s case of COVID-19 (thus far)

We learned early Friday morning that President Trump has COVID-19. As the story evolved, it was hard not to take a look at potential science-based lessons in medicine that this story provides.

/ October 5, 2020

Turmeric for osteoarthritis: Promising but modest effects

A new trial of turmeric (curcumin) for osteoarthritis suggest it may have medicinal effects.

/ September 17, 2020
COVID-19 vs. FDA and CDC

In the age of the COVID-19 pandemic, can we trust the CDC and FDA any more?

Since the COVID-19 pandemic reached the US, increasing concern has been expressed about the politicization of the CDC and FDA due to pressure from the Trump administration to downplay the severity of the pandemic and push out treatments and a vaccine as fast as possible, potentially at the expense of safety. This has led me to a disturbing question: Can I trust...

/ September 14, 2020

Does convalescent plasma work against COVID-19? Who knows?

Last night, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19, even though there are no randomized clinical trials demonstrating efficacy and safety. Does this plasma work? Who knows? But that didn't stop the FDA from issuing the EUA, almost certainly as a result of intense political pressure from the Trump Administration.

/ August 24, 2020
Randomized Controlled Trial Schematic

Dexamethasone and Hydroxychloroquine: Why Randomized Controlled Trials Matter

What does the best evidence tell us about hydroxychloroquine and dexamethasone?

/ August 20, 2020

HCQTrial.com: Astroturf and disinformation about hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19 on steroids

Late last week, a "study" published on HCQTrial.com by an anonymous source claiming to be a group of PhD scientists went viral. It claimed that countries that used hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 had a 79% lower fatality rate than those who didn't. It was horrible science and quickly debunked on Twitter by several epidemiologists. That didn't stop it from going viral. Disinformation...

/ August 10, 2020