JULY 2022 NEWS
Featured topic: coronavirus
On Science-Based Medicine,
David Gorski posted:
“Novavax: It’s the vaccine that scares antivaxxers, not moth DNA or any ingredient in any vaccine.” “The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine was recently granted emergency use approval by the FDA. Company executives and some public health officials have expressed hope that this recombinant protein-based vaccine will be more palatable to the vaccine-hesitant than existing vaccines using new (and therefore scarier) mRNA and adenovirus platforms. The reaction to the use of moth cells to produce the Novavax vaccine shows that It’s the vaccine, not any platform or ingredient.”
Jonathan Howard posted:
“What’s the opposite of a vaccine selfie?” “What term should be used for doctors who use their social media clout to influence others to skip an important vaccine dose?”
“An impossible, unethical study of dubious value that’s not meant to be taken seriously.” “A million-child RCT[randomized controlled trial] is nothing more than a rhetorical device that plays on their readers’ emotions and signals, ‘this vaccine isn’t necessary, and it hasn’t really been tested’.”
“Yet another silly reason doctors give for leaving babies vulnerable to COVID: cherry-picking.” “By cherry-picking only the studies that advance their agenda, contrarian doctors who don’t care for sick children can misinform parents and further their goal of having unvaccinated children contract COVID.”
“I don’t think vaccine side effects are worse than death. Am I off my rocker?” “Contrarian doctors frame data in a misleading way to trick you into thinking vaccine side-effects are worse than death.”
“'Natural immunity' stans forget babies will always be vulnerable to COVID.” “Children are still getting hospitalized with COVID, no matter how many times contrarian doctors mindlessly repeat the mantra ‘natural immunity’.”
“Minimizing COVID via postmodernism.” “An exploration of how, under the guise of “reason”, doctors, desperate to be different no matter the evidence, have embraced the position that there are no aspects of reality that are objective and that feelings matter more than facts.”
Steven Novella posted:
“New studies on the origin of COVID-19.” “New evidence strongly supports the conclusion that SARS-CoV-2 emerged from the wet markets of Wuhan, killing the lab-leak hypothesis.
On Respectful Insolence, “Orac” posted:
“Norman Fenton: ‘It’s not p-hacking if you don’t use p-values’.” “Defending an awful paper on COVID-19 vaccine adverse events, Prof. Norman Fenton claims that it can’t be p-hacking if you don’t use p-values.” The paper discussed is by Joseph Fraiman, Peter Doshi, and others. Jonathan Howard also discussed the paper on Science-Based Medicine (“Apples, oranges, and how not to analyze a vaccine RCT”). “The evidence is overwhelming that COVID vaccines are very safe and they keep people alive and out of the hospital. Only someone who starts with the conclusion that vaccines don’t work and then works backwards to find the evidence could claim otherwise.”
“Paul Thomas and the antivax legal assault on state medical boards.” “The Oregon Medical Board restricted and disciplined antivax pediatrician Paul Thomas. He’s striking back with a $35 million frivolous lawsuit. Is this the wave of the future as state medical boards try to protect the public from antivax doctors?”
“Richard Jaffe brings the antivax legal assault on state medical boards to California.” “Cancer quack Stanislaw Burzynski’s former lawyer Richard Jaffe is suing the Medical Board of California for disciplining Dr. Douglas Mackenzie for spreading COVID-19 misinformation.”
“AAPS joins the legal thuggery against medical standards.” “The crank fake medical professional society Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) filed a lawsuit this week against medical specialty boards seeking to rein in COVID-19 misinformation.”
“Thacker parrots an old antivax trope: ‘Vaccines are magic!’” “Paul Thacker proclaims, ‘Vaccines are magic!’ and likens them to religion that you can’t criticize.”
“John Ioannidis and Vinay Prasad team up to lecture social media about 'obsessive criticism'.” “So what we have here are two investigators with huge axes to grind. One of them has a history of delighting in attacking pharma, colleagues, and others on social media but doesn’t like it when he becomes the target. The other—or so I suspect—has never faced significant criticism that he couldn’t answer or control and hence labels it ‘obsessive criticism.’ Both are calling for more investigation into a problem in which neither of them have any relevant high-level topic-specific methodological expertise. They also do so while simultaneously comparing what is going on to authoritarian attacks on science and ‘cancel culture’ to denigrate real concerns. Basically, they don’t like being on the receiving end of criticism and are gaslighting their history…” Jonathan Howard also discussed the issue on Science-Based Medicine.
“Jane Ruby: The Mike Adams of nursing and health economics.” “We met ‘Dr.’ Jane Ruby last week attacking Novavax, but she’s so much more antivaccine than just ranting about ‘moth DNA’ in Novavax.”
Edzard Ernst posted:
“Effectiveness of homeopathic Arsenicum album 30C in the prevention of COVID-19.” “The most likely explanation for the findings of this trial is therefore that the two groups differed in terms of one or more prognostic factors.”
Other topics
Best of the blogs, July – on Science-Based Medicine,
Mark Crislip:
Discussed an article on acupuncture in Time. “Time says acupuncture is entering the mainstream. Acupuncture has been trying to enter for decades. Still not close.”
Scott Gavura:
Posted “Melatonin poisonings in children are increasing.” “health professionals and consumers alike should be aware of the risks of melatonin toxicity and take steps to avoid accidental poisonings.”
Harriet Hall:
Wrote “Chiropractic neck manipulations in the news.”
Edzard Ernst:
Posted “Catastrophic injuries after chiropractic treatment.”
Wrote “Homeopathy for patients during oncological treatment? A new systematic review.” “The authors concluded that, for homeopathy, there is neither a scientifically based hypothesis of its mode of action nor conclusive evidence from clinical studies in cancer care. I predict that, if we wait another 15 years, we will have even more studies. I also predict that some of them will be less than reliable or even fake. Finally, I predict that the overall result will still be mixed and unconvincing. Why can I be so sure? 1. Because homeopathy lacks biological plausibility as a treatment of cancer (or any other condition). 2. Because highly diluted homeopathic remedies are pure placebos. 3. Because homeopathy has developed into a cult where one is no longer surprised to see studies emerging that are too good to be true.”
Posted “Herb-drug interactions put many cancer patients at risk.”
Wrote “Pediatric chiropractic seems to be on the rise.” “But chiros do more than just SMT [spinal manipulation therapy], I hear some say. Yes, they do! But they nevertheless manipulate virtually every patient, and the additional treatments they use are merely borrowed from other disciplines. So, why are the numbers increasing then? I suggest this as a main reason: chiropractors are systematically misleading the public about the value of their trade.” Clay Jones also discussed the paper on Science-Based Medicine. “While it is true that most chiropractic visits for older children likely involve problems like neck and back pain, virtually all infants and very young children do not. Infants in particular are often seen for complaints such as fussiness, reflux, feeding problems, sleep problems, or for a desire to boost a babies [sic] immune system. Toddlers and school aged children are also commonly seen for non-musculoskeletal complaints, such as bedwetting, ear infections, or concerns about overall health and development.”
Posted “‘WORST PAPER OF 2022 COMPETITION’ Entry No 5: ‘Chinese herbal medicine… improves the survival rate of patients with ischemic heart disease’.” “I find it difficult not to view this as a deliberate attempt of the authors, editors, and reviewers to mislead the public. Looking at the details of the study, it is easy to see that the two groups were different in a whole range of parameters that were measured. More importantly, they most likely differ in a range of variables that were not measured and had significant influence on IHD survival.”
Discussed “The over use of full-length spinal radiographs by chiropractors.”
Posted “Dietary supplements adulterated with approved and unapproved drugs.” A review by White (J Clin Pharmacol. 2022 Aug;62(8):928-934 Abstract) was discussed. “From 2007 through 2021, 1068 unique products were found to be adulterated with APIs [active pharmaceutical ingredients]. Sexual enhancement and weight loss dietary supplements are the most common products adulterated with APIs. Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors are commonly included in sexual enhancement dietary supplements and a single product can include up to 5 APIs.”
Wrote about crystal healing.
Posted “INSTRUCTIONS FOR CHILD ABUSE: Three best-selling books on homeopathy for kids.” “…children cannot give informed consent to the treatments they receive. Thus, consent is given for them by their parents or (I suspect often) not at all. This renders homeopathic treatment of children more problematic than that of fully competent adults. Homeopathy has not been shown to be effective for any pediatric condition…Treating sick children with homeopathy amounts to child abuse.”
Discussed hypnotherapy for third molar extraction. “The most interesting findings here are, in my view, that: Hypnotherapy is not as effective as many enthusiasts claim. Expectation influences the outcome of hypnotherapy.”
Wrote “Wild Reiki and shamanic healing? No thanks!” “If you search for Reiki on Pubmed, you find a baffling array of papers many of which arrive at positive conclusions. If you then check out the primary studies, you realize that most of them are of extremely poor quality, published by members of the Reiki cult (often in 3rd class journals for the nursing professions). If you search for independent systematic reviews that adequately account for the quality of the primary studies, you discover that, in fact, the evidence does not support the notion that Reiki is effective for anything.”
Discussed “Honey-based products that pose a significant health risk.” The FDA has issued warning letters concerning the presence of drugs in the products, including drugs for erectile dysfunction Press release. These could produce dangerous interactions with other medications.
July – Harriet Hall wrote “Medical tests to avoid” for Skeptical Inquirer. Topics discussed include genetic testing, whole body CT screening, and ultrasound screening.
July – Also in Skeptical Inquirer, Lavarnway reviewed “The Menopause Manifesto,” by Jen Gunter.
July – Bartholomew wrote “60 Minutes Whips Up 'Havana Syndrome' Hysteria, Airs Sensational Segment on White House ‘Attacks’.” “For the past five years, the investigation of Havana Syndrome has been mired in politics. The time has come to listen to the voices of the intelligence community and put the episode to rest. After all this time, a weapon has yet to be identified. There is no smoking gun. There never was one. There is only smoke and mirrors generated by bad science and poor journalism.”
July 1 – Swenson wrote “Experts warn against using herbs as abortion alternative.” Pennyroyal, mugwort, wormwood, rue, black cohosh, blue cohosh, and parsley are discussed; all of these can be dangerous.
July 7 – Cohen and others wrote “Institutionalizing misinformation - The Dietary Supplement Listing Act of 2022” (N Engl J Med. 2022 Jul 7;387(1):3-5). The bill would require supplement manufacturers to provide certain information to the FDA, which would then post them on a searchable database. The authors foresee problems: “it would create the impression of reform while leaving the current lax regulatory framework largely untouched.” Since many products do not contain their stated ingredients and also contain contaminants, “One inevitable outcome of the bill would therefore be to compel the FDA to post inaccurate ingredient lists on its website.”
July 25 – As noted in Consumer Health Digest, “J. Michael Burke, D.C., who practiced chiropractic for than 40 years, is blogging about chiropractic’s shortcomings at Michael Burke's Back Issues. He has also written an article for Chirobase describing how subluxation-based chiropractic leads to unnecessary treatment in personal-injury cases” (Observations of a forensic chiropractor).
July 28 – An updated version of “The semantics of quackery,” by William Jarvis, has been posted on Quackwatch. “This article explains how doublespeak, weasel words, buzzwords, connotations of common terms, and other propaganda tricks are used to promote questionable health practices.”
Additions to previous months
May 26 – Tiller wrote “Ten health and wellness buzzwords every skeptic should know.” Terms discussed are superfood, immune boosting, GMO free, natural, chemical, recovery, energy, holistic, integrative, and toxins/detox. “The appearance of one (or more) of the above terms in a health claim does not mean you are necessarily dealing with a pseudoscience, but it should force deeper reflection on the claim because it may signal an emphasis on marketing rhetoric over science.”
June 28 – Jarry wrote “Harvard Psychiatrist Makes Inflated Claims About Food’s Power to Fight Mental Illness.” “Dr. Uma Naidoo, a Harvard psychiatrist, wrote a book called This Is Your Brain on Food in which she claims there are foods to consume and others to avoid in order to fight a variety of mental problems, like depression and schizophrenia. She frequently exaggerates the reliability of the studies she references, using small, preliminary studies of low quality to derive specific nutritional recommendations.”
June 29 – Vaneková and Rollinger discussed health claims for bilberries (Front Pharmacol. 2022 Jun 29;13:909914 (Paper). “Overall, the three most referenced indications, which are type 2 diabetes mellitus, vision disorders and circulatory diseases, all include contradictory results with no clear conclusion as to the benefits and recommended dosages. Moreover, the indications for vision disorders and diabetes originate from unproven or false claims that have been repeated in research since the 20th century without consistent fact-checking. Beneficial clinical results have been attested for the treatment of dyslipidemia and chronic inflammatory disorders when applied as dietary supplementation of fresh bilberries or as anthocyanin-rich bilberry fruit extracts. However, there is a general lack of double-blinded controlled research with larger sample sizes.”