DECEMBER 2024 NEWS
Featured topic: presidential appointments
On Science-Based Medicine,
David Gorski posted:
“Suggested questions for Donald Trump’s health nominees during confirmation hearings.”
“Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is NOT a 'vaccine skeptic.' He is antivax. Period.” Message to reporters and editors: “Stop calling RFK Jr. a ‘vaccine skeptic’ and call him what he is: an antivaxxer and all-around medical conspiracy theorist and denier of well-supported science.”
“Gaslighting RFK Jr.’s role in the deadly Samoan measles outbreak.” “One of many shameful incidents in the life of antivax activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was his promotion of anti-MMR fear mongering during a measles epidemic in Samoa. Now that he could become HHS Secretary, his apologists are frantically trying to gaslight you.”
Jonathan Howard posted:
“Questions for senators to ask Drs. Marty Makary and Jay Bhattacharya.”
“Dr. Vinay Prasad ‘“Sabotaging RFK Jr’s confirmation will increase vaccine hesitancy’ & ‘Doctors criticizing RFK Jr. paved the way for his ascendancy’.” “Doctors who gushed over RFK Jr. made their bed, and they’ll lie in it.”
“Trusting RFK Jr. to research vaccines is like trusting a hungry python to babysit a kitten.” “If RFK Jr. ‘researches’ vaccines, he will certainly ‘discover’ they cause autism. It’s possible that this ‘research’ will be used as justification to revoke authorization for vaccines. That’s always been the endgame.”
“Dr. Joseph Marine: ‘MAHA is more than RFK and has little to do with vaccines’.” “If pro-RFK Jr. propaganda wins the day, I am confident we will soon find out a tough truth - MAHA is all about RFK and has everything to do with vaccines.”
“Dr. Marty Makary. What are you going to do if RFK Jr. demands that you revoke approval for vaccines?”
Steven Novella posted:
“Questions about pandemic preparedness.”
“RFK Jr on obesity.” “RFK Jr has a flawed process, and all of his conclusions are tainted by these flaws. He does not seem to understand how science works, the nature of risk-vs-benefit in medicine, nor the difference between hazard and risk. He also tends to look at all health issues through the same ideological lens – it’s always about toxins in the environment, toxins in our food, and toxins in our medicines. Because actual experts don’t agree with his nonsense, he then concludes that they are the problem (not him) and therefore they are part of a dark conspiracy…The goal is to reduce the overall caloric content of processed food, and that would require some thoughtful and evidence-based regulation – but these are things we are unlikely to get from RFK Jr.”
Edzard Ernst posted:
“Donald Trump might try to ‘outlaw’ some vaccinations in the U.S.” “Now that he did win the election, Trump suggested that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his pick to run Health and Human Services, will investigate supposed links between autism and childhood vaccines, a discredited connection that has eroded trust in the lifesaving inoculations.”
“Kash Patel, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, is also a snake-oil salesman.” “Patel has been flogging a range of very odd products aimed at the MAGA crowd, making hundreds of thousands of dollars from Trump-aligned businesses. In particular, Patel promoted pills that claim to reverse the effects of the Covid-19 vaccine. Marketed under the trademark ‘Nocovidium,’ the pills from a company called ‘Warrior Essentials’ contain a range of ‘natural’ ingredients none of which has been shown to do anything significant in relation to Covid-19 or vaccines…”
December 1 – Teddy Rosenbluth and Emily Anthes wrote “Long a ‘crown jewel’ of government, N.I.H. is now a target.” “The agency long benefited from broad bipartisan support. But Republican criticism has intensified, and new choices for top health posts hope to upend the organization.”
December 3 - RFK Jr. Watch has been added to the Quackwatch site.
December 5 – Susanne Rust reported “Mark McAfee, the California raw milk producer who has been at the center of several bird-flu-related product recalls, says a transition team for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has encouraged him to apply for a position at the Food and Drug Administration.”
December 7 – Luke Winkie wrote “I took the test RFK Jr. is using to determine who should work at his health department.”
December 8 – Sheryl Gay Stolberg wrote “Trump suggests Kennedy will examine debunked link between vaccines and autism.”
December 9 – Teddy Rosenbluth wrote “Nobel laureates urge Senate to turn down Kennedy’s nomination.” “Elevating Mr. Kennedy to secretary of H.H.S. ‘would put the public’s health in jeopardy, more than 75 laureates wrote.”
December 12 – Melinda Moyer wrote “The benefits and risks of fluoride, explained.” “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said he wants to curb water fluoridation nationwide. Here’s what the science shows.” “While ending widespread water fluoridation could have broad effects on our oral health nationwide, he [Dr. Scott Tomar] said, it is likely to be most damaging to the health of low-income Americans.”
December 13 - Christina Jewett and Sheryl Gay Stolberg reported “Kennedy’s lawyer has asked the F.D.A. to revoke approval of the polio vaccine.” “Aaron Siri, who specializes in vaccine lawsuits, has been at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s side reviewing candidates for top jobs at the Department of Health and Human Services.” In response to the story, “Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader and a survivor of polio, issued a pointed statement in support of the polio vaccine…’Efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed — they’re dangerous,’ said Mr. McConnell.”
December 15 – Lena Sun and others published “Trump's CDC pick wouldn’t let go of false theory that vaccines cause autism. Dave Weldon’s long record of promoting the disproven link between vaccines and autism raises concerns among some public health experts about his ability to run the CDC.”
December 17 – Hannah Recht wrote “Which states mandate fluoride in drinking water.” “RFK Jr. wants fluoride out of water but about a dozen states require it. Here’s what the federal government can do.”
December 17 – William London posted “Dr. David Weldon is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad choice for CDC director.” “Unlike previous CDC directors, Weldon does not appear to have an educational background focused on public health or a record of scholarly publications on public health matters…I found no evidence that Weldon has experience leading public health or scientific agencies of any kind. His most significant leadership experience appears to be in promoting beliefs of the Christian religious Right.”
December 17 - Christina Jewett and Sheryl Gay Stolberg wrote “What Kennedy has said about the polio vaccine in recent years.” “President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for health secretary has suggested that the polio vaccine cost more lives than it saved and that the vaccine did not wipe out the disease in the U.S.”
December 18 – Jonathan Jarry published “Kennedy’s anti-science crusade does not belong in the White House.” “Kennedy, an environmental lawyer who neither went to medical school nor earned a degree in science, has repeatedly promoted clear, sometimes absurd misinformation on important scientific topics…To give this unqualified conspiracy theorist the key to the American health apparatus would be to sabotage medicine and public health for the foreseeable future.”
December 18 – Kevin Dietsch reported “As health secretary, RFK Jr. could hold enormous influence over childhood vaccines.” “The secretary can appoint members to a CDC advisory panel that makes recommendations about vaccinations.”
December 19 – Natalia Pasternak wrote “RFK Jr., the ecumenical denier, embraces anti-science from the right and the left.” “It is interesting to note that RFK Jr. does not have a favorite pseudoscience. He embraces them all.”
Featured topic: homeopathy
On Science-Based Medicine, Scott Gavura posted:
“Homeopathy: magical thinking, not medicine.” “Given the lack of efficacy however, every dollar spent on homeopathy – particularly by insurance programs – is a waste of resources, in that it could otherwise be put to more effective use — for plausible treatments, or anything else, for that matter.”
Edzard Ernst posted:
“There is no reliable evidence to show that homeopathy is effective for ADHD.” “And what is wrong with this ‘systematic review’? Everything! It has almost none of the qualities that render a paper a systematic review. Foremost, it does not account for the quality of the primary studies – the most reliable show no effect!”
“The current state of the quality of homeopathic clinical research.” “The panel essentially concluded that homeopathic research could be substantially improved. Considering its highly biased composition, this is remarkable. It means that, in fact, HOMEOPATHIC RESEARCH IS DISMAL.”
“Report of the French Working Group on Veterinary Homeopathy.” “So, the next time someone claims ‘homeopathy has been proven to work in animals,’ let’s show them what the experts think of this notion.”
“A new 'comprehensive review' of homeopathy.” “Two crucial things are missing here: An adequate description of which articles were included and which were discarded. A look at the reference list discloses that only articles in favour of homeopathy were considered. A description of the critical evaluation performed of the included evidence. A look at the text shows that no critical evaluation took place. Thus this paper turns out to be not a ‘comprehensive review’ but a ‘comprehensive white-wash’ of homeopathy.”
December 16 – Timothy Caulfield wrote “Danielle Smith's bizarre bid to legitimize homeopathy - Alberta’s war on evidence-based medicine.” “To be clear, giving even low-level consideration to homeopathy reveals a shocking amount of tolerance for pseudoscience.”
Other topics
On Science-Based Medicine,
Scott Gavura:
Wrote “Pycnogenol – does maritime pine bark extract live up to the hype?” “’More research is required’ is a common statement, but it’s applicable here. While there are some promising hints of medicinal effects, there’s no compelling research to suggest that Pycnogenol can replace medicine or delay its need…So when it comes to Pycnogenol, I wouldn’t recommend it as a daily or routine supplement, but I wouldn’t dismiss it if someone wanted to use it for one of the more evidence-backed reasons for use.”
David Gorski:
Asked “Are NIH study sections a waste of time?” “Since the nomination of Dr. Jay Bhattacharya for NIH Director, I’ve been seeing a suggestion from certain contrarian doctors for a ‘randomized trial’ of study sections vs. a ‘modified lottery’ to determine which grant applications are funded by the NIH. Just what the heck is Dr. Vinay Prasad talking about?”
Edzard Ernst:
Discussed an update of his own review of spinal manipulation for migraine (Posadzki et al. Syst Rev. 2024 Nov 29;13(1):296 Paper). “We concluded that the effectiveness of SMT [spinal manipulation therapy] for the treatment of migraines remains unproven. Future, larger, more rigorous, and independently conducted studies might reduce the existing uncertainties. The only people who might be surprised by these conclusions are chiropractors who continue to advertise and use SMT to treat migraines.”
Wrote “Treatment of plantar warts using hypnosis?...No!” “Warts are viral infections. They can persist for months and years and disappear suddenly without apparent reason. What the authors of this case report observed is exactly this phenomenon of spontaneous recovery. There is no sound evidence that hypnotherapy or any similar treatment will speed up the disappearance of warts.”
Posted “Reiki in companion animals?” “Needless to say that the rest of the chapter is packed with some of the worst proctophasia and pseudo-science I have ever come across. The fact is that Reiki is nonsense, and nonsense should not be used to treat either humans or animals.”
Wrote “A ‘revolutionary pill’ against COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] or a dangerous fraud?” “COPD currently has no known cure, so any product claiming to cure it is simply a scam…Products claiming to cure COPD are deceptive and potentially dangerous, as they may contain harmful ingredients or interact with medications in unpredictable ways.”
Posted “Best practices for chiropractic management of patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain: pseudo-science at its most ridiculous.” “This paper is, in my view, chiropractic pseudo-science at its most ridiculous! All it really does is it tries to legitimise all sorts of therapies as part of the chiropractic toolbox.”
Wrote “Bioresonance as an ‘Innovative Method of Bioquantum Medicine’ – some ‘Christmas Cheer’ for all my readers.” “For those who do not know much about bioresonance, let me just confirm that is pure nonsense.”
Reported on a Dutch study finding “Over 40% of cancer patients use so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) while receiving anticancer treatment.” “The authors of the above investigation state that the most frequently reason for using SCAM was the hope for an improvement in the immune system. But – as pointed out many times on this blog – SCAM cannot not do that. Yes, it is often advertised for this purpose, but such claims are bogus. No SCAM improves the natural history of any cancer and many SCAMs have the potential do make it worse.”
On McGill Office for Science and Society, Jonathan Jarry:
Posted “The Telepathy Tapes prove we all want to believe.” “Take-home message: A new podcast called The Telepathy Tapes claims that some nonverbal autistic children are actually telepaths who can read minds, speak to each other, and acquire knowledge ahead of what the rest of humanity knows. Video evidence shows that, in the tests conducted of their mind-reading abilities, the results can easily be explained by the mother knowing what the answer is and either consciously or subconsciously cueing her child. The podcast takes a credulous stance on research into psi phenomena, failing to mention important studies with clearly negative results and failing to give voice to skeptics familiar with psi testing.”
Wrote “The ShamWow fallacy or how placebos were redefined.” “When the studied treatment performs no better than a placebo, it is now said to be working through the placebo effect.”
December – Raffoul and others published “Diet pills and deception: A content analysis of weight-loss, muscle-building, and cleanse and detox supplements videos on TikTok” (Eat Behav. 2024 Dec;55:101911 Paper). “The vast majority of videos (97 %) did not provide any scientific evidence to support health- and appearance-related claims. The most popular videos promoting dieting-related supplements on TikTok overwhelmingly make unsubstantiated health claims, posing substantial risks for social media users who are vulnerable to their usage and associated health risks, including engagement in disordered eating.”
December 3 – The FDA has added two products containing toxic yellow oleander to its Safety Alert form earlier in the year. “ “The agency is reminding consumers to avoid these products because they contain toxic yellow oleander and can cause neurologic, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular adverse health effects that may be severe, or even fatal…FDA analysis has determined that certain products labeled as tejocote (Crataegus mexicana) root or Brazil seed are adulterated…”
December 4 – Alice Callahan asked “Could dark chocolate reduce your risk of diabetes?” “A new study suggests that it might. We asked experts if that’s too good to be true.”
December 12 – Truth in Advertising published “Prevagen scrubs memory-improvement claims following court order.” “Not only has Quincy wiped all memory-improvement claims from product packaging and the Prevagen website, which now promotes the supplement for ‘brain support,’ the claims that had been at the center of the supplement’s marketing for years no longer appear in Amazon listings or in TV ads.”
December 17 – Eduardo Cuevas reported on the retraction of the infamous study by Raoult of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19. “The French Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics said the paper constituted a clear example of scientific misconduct, which was marked by manipulation and bias to ‘falsely present’ the drug as effective against COVID-19. ‘This controversial study was the cornerstone of a global scandal,’ the society said in a Tuesday statement. ‘The promotion of the results led to the abusive prescription of hydroxychloroquine to millions of patients, leading to unwarranted risks to millions of people and potentially thousands of avoidable deaths. The promotion of the study also lead to the proliferation of useless studies, to the detriment of research on effective treatments’."
December 17 – Sabrina Malhi wrote “Panel warns against vitamin D, calcium use to prevent falls in older adults.” “A panel of independent health experts recommended Tuesday against older adults using vitamin D and calcium supplements to prevent falls and fractures, citing inadequate evidence to support their effectiveness…While vitamin D and calcium are important for bone health and muscle function,” the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force “said the supplements do little to reduce falls or fractures, and they may increase the risk of kidney stones…Patients whose medical providers have suggested implementing supplements as part of their clinical regimen are recommended to continue with that guidance.”
December 18 – Brendan Borrell published “He built a wellness empire while adventuring with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.” “Dr. Mark Hyman, a ‘functional medicine’ proponent and longtime friend of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is finding powerful allies in his bid to treat disease with blood tests and supplements.”
December 19 – Nick Tiller wrote “The Mount Rushmore of wellness bullsh*t.” Clark Stanley, Deepak Chopra, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are featured.
December 26 – Quadir and others reported “Tianeptine exposures reported to United States poison centers, 2015–2023” J Med Toxicol. 2024 Dec 26. Epub ahead of print Abstract). “Tianeptine is an atypical tricyclic antidepressant not approved for medical use in the US but is found in dietary supplements…There were 892 single-substance tianeptine exposures reported to US poison centers from 2015 to 2023, and the rate of exposures increased 1,400% from 2015 to 2023..Most exposures were associated with moderate (51.5%) or major (12.0%) effects, and 40.1% required medical admission, including 22.9% to a critical care unit.”
December 26 - Mauro Proença wrote “Supplements and influencers, a dangerous combination.”
December 31 – Josh Bloom wrote “Quacks & hacks fraud of the day: foot detox bath.” Brown color in the bath is not from toxic substances removed from the body, but rather from oxidation of iron promoted by the electric current.
December 31 - Soumya Karlamangla wrote “For those who don’t trust tap, there’s 'raw water'.” “Untreated water enthusiasts swear by natural springs. Their movement has parallels with raw milk drinkers and vaccine skeptics…The trend, however, alarms health experts, who say that spring water devotees are taking unnecessary risks. The country’s robust water treatment system, they emphasize, eliminates potentially deadly bacteria and parasites, and removes toxins that can cause cancer or harm children’s brain development…raw water can also be tainted with pesticides from nearby farms, contain arsenic that naturally occurs in soil, and harbor bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella that can make people extremely sick.”
Additions to previous month
November 26 – Nick Tiller wrote “Are saunas good for you? Yes, but…” Results indicating benefits have been published, but most come from a single research group. Benefits might require long exposure times; most people might do better by exercising instead.
November 27 – O’Brien and others (J Med Internet Res 2024;26:e56651 Paper) found that “Wellness influencers showed higher rates of vaccine opposition compared with other accounts that participated in health discourse before the pandemic.”