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Posts

May 13, 2013

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8:43 PM | Poison for pain, the homeopathic way
At my local mega-grocery store last weekend, I happened to stroll down the aisle dedicated to homeopathic treatments.  I saw shelf after shelf of brightly colored packages, all claiming health benefits.  Most of these "medicines" were not cheap. Amazing.  To an average shopper, all of these products look like real medicine.  The packaging is similar, the claims are similar, and it's all on display at a respectable grocery store.  The difference, though, is that none […]
Genomics, Evolution, and Pseudoscience
Evolution | Medicine

May 07, 2013

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8:20 PM | No such thing as ‘Allopathy’
Over at FreethoughtBlogs, an uncharacteristic petit faux pas in the prolifically excellent ‘A Million Gods‘ motivates me into publicly scratching an irritation. The first time I think I heard/read the term ‘allopathy’ was in the context of something discussing homeopathy. And it seemed quite reasonable to me at the time: homeopathy = ‘like cures like’; ‘allopathy’ = err, something other cures it; or it cures something other. Until I got wise on who coined this term, and why? One […]
The Mawk Moth Profligacies
Religion and Atheism | Social Science

May 03, 2013

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11:46 AM | Yet further comment…
(I know at least one reader will be interested in this, thus making it a topic theme worth continuing…) I have of late been banging my head at the ongoing frustration borne of repeat attempts to post comment on a pretty questionable, seemingly homeopathy-lauding paper published in a scientific medical journal. Yesterday, my eye was caught by something over at the BioMed Central blog, whence appeared an interesting post, entitled ‘Can open peer review work? Biology Direct suggests it […]
The Mawk Moth Profligacies
General Science

April 29, 2013

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7:54 PM | Naturopathic distraction
This morning I saw a press release that said “Treatment by naturopathic doctors shows reduction in cardiovascular risk factors” based on a Canadian study. The skeptical bells went off in my head as I read it: this sure seems like a study designed to legitimize naturopathy by focusing on non-controversial practices. To add, 10 of 14 of the authors are from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine. The full text is freely available here. As a short summary of the study, Canada […]
nutsci.org
Nutrition | Health

April 25, 2013

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11:00 AM | What’s in your supplement?
When you pick up a bottle of supplements, should you trust what the label says?  While there is the perception that supplements are effective and inherently safe, there are good reasons to be skeptical. Few supplements are backed by good evidence that show they work as claimed. The risks of supplements are often not well [...]

Harel Z., Harel S., Wald R., Mamdani M. & Bell C.M. (2013). The Frequency and Characteristics of Dietary Supplement Recalls in the United States., JAMA internal medicine, PMID:

Science-Based Medicine
Health | Medicine
Citation

April 24, 2013

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7:29 PM | Another comment on BMC Cancer, WDDTY and homeopathy
Well, I don’t know what bugs are at play in the BMC Cancer system. Almost three weeks since submitting the latest re-worked version of my comment (which I append below so it may be read by somebody), not only has it not appeared under the paper in question, but the continued lack of response (excepting one message informing me that – again – my query has been forwarded to the Editorial team) to my interim e-mails to the relevant provided... Read more
The Mawk Moth Profligacies
Religion and Atheism | Social Science

April 21, 2013

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12:46 AM | A skeptical look at supplement regulation in Australia
A hilarious and scathing examination of the regulatory system for “complementary” medicine in Australia. Filed under: articles Tagged: cam, skepticism
Science-Based Pharmacy
Health | Medicine

April 19, 2013

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6:00 PM | CAM does not provide definite survival benefit for cancer sufferers
Dr. Ernst takes a look at a new study that shows complementary and alternative medicine does not help you live longer. Cancer patients who use alternative medicine die sooner | Edzard Ernst. In a recently published study, Korean researchers evaluated whether CAM-use influenced the survival and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of terminal cancer patients. From July 2005 to October 2006, they prospectively studied a cohort study of 481 cancer patients. During a follow-up of 163.8 […]
Doubtful News
Science Communication

April 05, 2013

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3:08 PM | BMC Cancer, WDDTY and homeopathy: ‘new’ comment
It took (me) a month to get a comment posted on a paper on BMC Cancer’s site. My abbreviated version (which appeared five days after re-submitting it) has now sat there for three weeks alongside Kausik’s, both seemingly being roundly ignored. As is my query concerning the full text of my original blog post. What to do? Does it matter? Well, actually, as a QuackRag deems that the paper in question constitutes subject(ive) matter for (re-)citation, then yes, I think... Read more
The Mawk Moth Profligacies
Religion and Atheism | Social Science

March 29, 2013

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3:41 AM | What a suvey of placebo use really tells us
One of the key concepts essential to science-based medicine is the placebo: What it is, what it isn’t, and how it complicates our evaluation of the scientific evidence. One my earliest lessons after I started following the Science-Based Medicine blog was that I didn’t understand placebos well enough to even describe them correctly. Importantly, there [...]

Howick J., Bishop F.L., Heneghan C., Wolstenholme J., Stevens S., Hobbs F.D.R., Lewith G. & Manchikanti L. (2013). Placebo Use in the United Kingdom: Results from a National Survey of Primary Care Practitioners, PLoS ONE, 8 (3) e58247. DOI:

Science-Based Pharmacy
Health | Medicine
Citation

March 15, 2013

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11:30 AM | Everything in this journal is wrong
Moxibustion at work. In real science, we agonize over every detail.  When we publish a paper, we strive to get everything just right.  We qualify our findings, always allowing for the possibility that we might have missed something. Oh, to be freed of the constraints of reality.  But fiction, alas, doesn't work in the real world.  Fantasy medicine is, well, a fantasy.  Or is it?  Let's enter the world of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Imagine a […]
Genomics, Evolution, and Pseudoscience
Evolution | Medicine

March 13, 2013

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12:23 AM | Further comment on ‘Comment on protracted moderation of a comment: BMC Cancer, WDDTY and homeopathy’
Feb 21st (twenty days ago): I posted here a critical review of a paper purporting to research the effects of homeopathy on cancer patients, prompted by its citation in QuackRag What Doctors Don’t Tell You. Concurrently, I attempted to post question/comment on the paper – with a link to my blog piece – via facility for the purpose at BMC Cancer. Feb 28th (thirteen days ago): I followed-up on the non-appearance of my comment at BMC Cancer. The paper, my... Read more
The Mawk Moth Profligacies
General Science

February 28, 2013

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7:50 PM | Comment on protracted moderation of a comment: BMC Cancer, ‘WDDTY’ and homeopathy
Concomitant with airing my recent take on QuackRag WDDTY's clumsy referencing, I proceeded (after previous attempt to contact the corresponding author via the e-mail address provided for the purpose proved fruitless) to post the following as a Reader comment on the cited paper at BMC Cancer: 'Without homeopathic remedies, is care 'homeopathic'? I came across this reference in an article entitled 'Homeopathy is more than placebo' in the latest issue of the magazine 'What Doctor's Don't Tell […]
The Mawk Moth Profligacies
Religion and Atheism | Social Science

February 21, 2013

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3:41 PM | ‘What Doctors Don’t Tell You’ cites paper that demonstrates there is no such thing as homeopathy
Back in that supermarket a few days ago, I again found myself driven to taking a thumb through the latest edition of QuackRag What Doctor’s Don’t Tell You, whose unscrupulously permissive advertising policy is being systematically exposed by The Nightingale Collaboration. Though I didn’t buy the rancid rubbish, I alighted on a small piece entitled ‘Homeopathy is more than placebo’, from which I noted the reference cited as voucher for that statement. From BMC Cancer, no less. I’ll […]

Rostock, M., Naumann, J., Guethlin, C., Guenther, L., Bartsch, H. & Walach, H. (2011). Classical homeopathy in the treatment of cancer patients - a prospective observational study of two independent cohorts, BMC Cancer, 11 (1) 19. DOI:

The Mawk Moth Profligacies
Religion and Atheism | Social Science
Citation

February 08, 2013

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11:58 AM | Junking ‘Junk Science?’
I've become aware of David Colquhoun's apology, posted on his DC's Improbable Science, to Chris Woollams, founder of CANCERactive. I am not up to speed with the detailed history of their dispute, a legal matter between them on which I am unable to comment. What I consider appropriate, however, is comment on some of the reaction to this: for example, the gloating, self-righteous opining at Junk Science?, whose editor, Sam Wilson '… openly detests the misleading or downright incorrect […]
The Mawk Moth Profligacies
Religion and Atheism | Social Science

January 24, 2013

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12:06 PM | Haled comment
Traipsing to a(nother branch of that) supermarket just before Christmas, I passed an independent bookshop in the throes of its closing down sale, as is the way of this world. Re-approaching later from the opposite direction, laden with some unnecessary extra victuals, I decided to enter and see if an interesting bargain might be had. I managed to check any temptation to more spending until, taking another scan along on the 'Health' shelves, I put my bags down and took... Read more
The Mawk Moth Profligacies
Religion and Atheism | Social Science

January 18, 2013

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4:45 PM | A few (unoriginal) words on evidence-based versus complementary and alternative medicine
(A variation on some accommodating words proffered elsewhere, though unlikely to make the cut...) . Science is disingenuously misrepresented by those whose agenda rely on contra-scientific promotional tactics, such as devotees of ‘Complementary and Alternative Medicine.’ Refutation necessitates an appreciation of the psychology underlying people’s needs and preferences. CAM appeals to our intuitive nature. We seek patterns and readily attribute cause and effect: post hoc ergo propter hoc […]
The Mawk Moth Profligacies
General Science

January 01, 2013

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9:36 PM | Ear candling? – don’t be an ass!
If you’ve ever publicly aired an opinion on Complementary and Alternative Medicine, its products, practices and practitioners, and (cough) philosophy, then, not uncoupled from the probability of encountering adherence to fallacious logic and the provoking of irrational wrath, you may well have met with the defensive protestation that you are being offensive. Like that is somehow relevant. But, this entrenching attitude goes, rather than criticise or question, you should perhaps instead […]
The Mawk Moth Profligacies
General Science

November 29, 2012

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2:30 AM | Journal of Clinical Oncology editorial: “Compelling” evidence acupuncture “may be” effective for cancer related fatigue
Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO) is a high impact journal (JIF > 16)  that advertises itself as a “must read” for oncologists. Some cutting edge RCTs evaluating chemo and hormonal therapies have appeared there. But a past blog post gave dramatic examples of pseudoscience and plain nonsense to be found in JCO concerning psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) [...]
Science-Based Medicine
Health | Medicine

October 10, 2012

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7:00 AM | One more example of the price of refusing science-based cancer therapy
Another year, another Breast Cancer Awareness Month. While most people who have either been touched by breast cancer or who have a professional interest in it, the significance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month is that it is a time, well, to increase awareness and to promote breast cancer research. There is another side to Breast…
Respectful Insolence
Medicine | Science Communication

August 31, 2012

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3:55 AM | CAM for cancer is no alternative
One of the themes I’ve emphasized in many posts on this blog is that every treatment decision requires an evaluation of risks and benefits. No treatment is without some sort of risk: Even a decision to decline treatment has its own risks. And when a treatment has no demonstrable benefits, the risks factor more significantly [...]

Verkooijen, H.M., Fioretta, G.M., Rapiti, E., Bonnefoi, H., Vlastos, G., Kurtz, J., Schaefer, P., Sappino, A.P., Schubert, H. & Bouchardy, C. (2005). Patients' Refusal of Surgery Strongly Impairs Breast Cancer Survival, Annals of Surgery, 242 (2) 280. DOI:

Chang, E.Y., Glissmeyer, M., Tonnes, S., Hudson, T. & Johnson, N. (2006). Outcomes of breast cancer in patients who use alternative therapies as primary treatment, The American Journal of Surgery, 192 (4) 473. DOI:

Han, E., Johnson, N., DelaMelena, T., Glissmeyer, M. & Steinbock, K. (2011). Alternative Therapy Used as Primary Treatment for Breast Cancer Negatively Impacts Outcomes, Annals of Surgical Oncology, 18 (4) 916. DOI:

Saquib, J., Parker, B.A., Natarajan, L., Madlensky, L., Saquib, N., Patterson, R.E., Newman, V.A. & Pierce, J.P. (2012). Prognosis following the use of complementary and alternative medicine in women diagnosed with breast cancer, Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 20 (5) 290. DOI:

Joseph K, Vrouwe S, Kamruzzaman A, Balbaid A, Fenton D, Berendt R, Yu E & Tai P (2012). Outcome analysis of breast cancer patients who declined evidence-based treatment., World journal of surgical oncology, 10 (1) 118. PMID:

Science-Based Pharmacy
Health | Medicine
1
Citation
Editor's Pick

August 30, 2012

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11:30 AM | Rejecting cancer treatment: What are the consequences?
One of the points I’ve tried to emphasize through my contributions to Science-Based Medicine is that every treatment decision requires an evaluation of risks and benefits. No treatment is without some sort of risk. And a decision to decline treatment has its own risks. One of the challenges that I confront regularly as a pharmacist [...]
Science-Based Medicine
Health | Medicine

August 09, 2012

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2:09 PM | CAM and the Language Problem
In graduate school I completed a literature review on the use of oppositional language in medicine. Ever the skeptic, I …Continue reading »
Science-Based Life
Science Communication | General Science

August 02, 2012

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2:09 PM | CAM and the Language Problem
In graduate school I completed a literature review on the use of oppositional language in medicine. Ever the skeptic, I …Continue reading »
Science-Based Life
Science Communication | General Science

April 30, 2012

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1:04 AM | What Did Deep DNA Sequencing of Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs) Really Reveal?
A recent study published in PLOS genetics[1] on a genetic audit of Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs) was widely covered in the news. The headlines are a bit confusing as they said different things. Some headlines say “Dangers of Chinese Medicine Brought to Light by DNA Studies“, others that Bear and Antelope DNA are Found in Traditional Chinese Medicine, and still others more [...]
Laika's MedLibLog
Library Science | Medicine

April 03, 2012

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9:29 PM | TCM and You: Cupping
I have noticed that Chinese massage seems to be becoming popular, and seemingly with it Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM1). At least browsing through two of the larger shopping centres in Hamilton (bring on the hick jokes) I saw massage centres offering these services. In particular cupping was advertised. But what exactly is cupping2? As with [...]
Skepticon
Science Communication

January 16, 2012

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9:45 AM | Have they found a miracle cure-all?
If someone suggests trying a medicine from the realm of complementary or alternative medicine and it sounds too good to be true offering to cure almost any ailment and illness, like some kind of panacea, then check this handy chart before you part with your hard-earned cash or put your life in the hands of [...]Have they found a miracle cure-all? is a post from: Sciencebase Science Blog
Sciencebase Science Blog
Chemistry | General Science
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12:27 AM | Most Natural Remedies Implausible & Unevidenced
The Christchurch Press this morning contained a story describing research done by Professor Shaun Holt and his colleagues Sarah Jefferies and Andrew Gilbey examining the (lack of) effectiveness of various natural remedies. Most of us will be familiar with various advertisements for deer velvet, propolis, magnetic therapies and lemon detox diets that appear on tv from time to time, [...]
Molecular Matters
Science Communication

December 28, 2011

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10:49 PM | "Water memory" - a myth that wouldn't die
Holy pseudoscience, Batman! Homeopathy websites (too many to list; I found the material for this post here) are all gleefully abuzz today with the following factoid - New Research From Aerospace Institute of the University of Stuttgart Scientifically Proves Water...
In Sciento Veritas
General Science
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10:49 PM | “Water memory” – a myth that wouldn’t die
Holy pseudoscience, Batman! Homeopathy websites (too many to list; I found the material for this post here) are all gleefully abuzz today** with the following factoid – New Research From Aerospace Institute of the University of Stuttgart Scientifically Proves Water Memory and Homeopathy. A simple experiment by researchers and professors at the prestigious Aerospace Institute of the University of Stuttgart in Germany is confirming Dr. Jacques Benveniste’s 1988 assertion that water […]
In Sciento Veritas
General Science
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