Category: Politics and Regulation
Donald Trump versus the FDA: Is the standard of evidence for drug approval actually too low rather than too high?
All of the candidates being considered by President Trump for FDA Commissioner believe that the FDA is too strict in its standards for approving new drugs. In a commentary in Nature last week, two bioethicists argued that, at least in terms of preclinical data, the standard of evidence is actually too low. Which is correct?
Board Disciplinary Actions. What Naturopaths Really Do Not Want You To Know
Disciplinary actions against ND's in Oregon by the Board. How to find them and what they are.
Battles over non-medical exemptions to vaccination festering in state legislatures
Bills to eliminate, as well as to add, non-medical exemptions to school vaccination requirements are pending in state legislatures. Some bills make harder to claim an exemption. Others discourage vaccination by requiring “misinformed consent" and weakening public health officials' ability to act.
Flame Retardants Have Ignited a Flaming Controversy
Flame retardants are controversial: proponents say they reduce fire damage and save lives; critics say they don't work, are poisoning our environment, and should be banned.
Donald Trump and Peter Thiel vs. the FDA: Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Donald Trump's three most likely picks for FDA Commissioner all favor loosening drug approval standards. Two are cronies of Peter Thiel, of which one believes that the FDA shouldn't require evidence of efficacy, only safety, and the other believes that a "Yelp for drugs" would do a better job than the FDA. The third candidate is a bona fide, honest-to-goodness pharma shill....
Oh no, not again! Massachusetts Legislature passes naturopathic licensing bill
The Massachusetts legislature passed a licensing bill giving naturopaths the right to use bogus lab tests to diagnose fake diseases and treat patients with useless remedies like homeopathy and herbs. It's up to Gov. Baker to stop this.
Chiropractic Internist: A “specialty” to avoid
The "chiropractic internist" is the creation of an industry association which promotes chiropractors as "primary care physicians." After 300 hours of instruction in a hotel conference room, they claim they can treat "anything that a medical doctor can."
In the tradition of Chairman Mao, traditional Chinese medicine gets a new boost by the Chinese government
Despite a lack of evidence for its efficacy and safety, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has made major inroads into US medical centers, both academic and community. I've told the story of how Chairman Mao Zedong created the myth of TCM and promoted it to credulous Westerners to facilitate the "integration" of TCM and "Western medicine." Over the holiday break, I learned that...
Fake treatments for real diseases: A review of allergy and asthma advertisements by naturopaths, chiropractors, homeopaths and acupuncturists
A majority of Canadian chiropractic, naturopathic, homeopathic and acupuncture clinics claim that they can diagnose or treat allergies, sensitivities and asthma.
Florida revokes medical license of “Lyme literate” doctor
Florida finally revoked the medical license of “Lyme literate” doctor John Lentz, who honed his diagnostic skills and treatments in ILADS seminars and treated “chronic Lyme” for almost a decade. Why does the system allow this?