Tag: medicine
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Labelling Homeopathic Products
Earlier this year the UK’s MHRA opened a consultation to help them decide how homeopathic products should be labelled when sold to the public. As expected, Ben Goldacre ā devoted critic of homeopathy, pseudoscience and general quackery ā suggested a label of his own and asked his readers for further suggestions. Some of the suggestions…
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Medicine, Specialism, and the Scientific Education
In the commencement speech he delivered to the graduates of Stanford’s School of Medicine earlier this year, Atul Gawande eloquently (as ever) examined the state of modern medicine (in the U.S. specifically, the world generally), the problem with specialism, and the problem of specialists trying to fit into a system not necessarily designed for it.…
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The Evidence For (and Against) Health Supplements: a Visualisation
After collating the results of over 1,500 studies and meta-studies (only “large, human, randomized placebo-controlled trials” were included), Information is Beautiful’s David McCandless collaborated with Andy Perkins to produce a comprehensive data visualisation mapping the the effectiveness (or not) of a wide range of health supplements (there’s a static image and interactive Flash version available).…
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The Anti-Vaccine Movement and the Rejection of Science
Already covered to death, it’s been on my bookmarks list since I read the following from Wired editor Mark Horowitz on it’s day of publication: Best/worst day. Story I am proudest of assigning and editing at Wired goes live today.Ā [ā¦]Ā But I also lose job. Bummer! That story is a fantastically well written and researched article…
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The Health Care Debate To Date
For the health care debate that has been raging in America of late, I have subscribed to the same philosophy as Ben Casnocha: I’ve decided I’m just going to read it about once it’s resolved. You can’t keep up with everything. Rather than lightly follow along and skim articles and pretend to be informed, I’m…
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All About Placebo
Wired has published what must be one of the most comprehensive articles looking at the phenomenon of the placebo effect. From its humble beginnings in WWII with anesthetist Henry Beecher to the placebo’s transition from being treated as a purely psychological trait to a physiological one; there’s some great material here. Two comprehensive analyses of…
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Children Exposed to ‘Dirt’, Healthier
From the ‘Science proves mum right’ and āObvious, but still needs to be statedā file comes the news that children who are exposed to bacteria, viruses, worms, and dirt have healthier immune systems. Public health measures like cleaning up contaminated water and food have saved the lives of countless children, but they “also eliminated exposure…
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Ideology Getting in the Way of Evidence-Based Medicine
Giving beta blockersĀ to a person in the early stages of a heart attack makes sense: the drugs reduce oxygen consumption by calming and slowing the heart; something that is ideal during a heart attack. However despite evidence showing that beta blockers may actually increase heart failure, the practice of administering them continues. AsĀ Dr. David Newman…
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Vitamins: A Pointless Expense?
Medical research is beginning to suggest that vitamins have questionable health benefits. One study found that vitamin C is ineffective for coldāprevention unless you’re exposed to extreme physical stress (read: ultramarathon runners and “soldiers during sub-Arctic winter exercises”). The New York Times looks at this trend, noting that in some cases, vitamins may do more…