MARCH 2023 NEWS
Featured topic: coronavirus
On Science-Based Medicine,
Mark Crislip posted:
“Part of a complete breakfast.” “Infection control. When one adheres to compliance it is effective. Like masks…”
David Gorski posted:
“Ivermectin booster Dr. Tess Lawrie goes all-in for homeopathy for COVID and long COVID.” “Tess Lawrie has been promoting ivermectin for COVID-19 for two and a half years. Of late, she has becoming more of a general multipurpose quack, promoting ivermectin to treat cancer. Now she’s promoting homeopathy for COVID and long COVID while a Research Fellow at St. Mary’s University Twickenham. What does this tell us about medicine?”
“The Cochrane mask fiasco: How the evidence-based medicine paradigm can produce misleading results.” “Last week, the Cochrane Collaborative was forced to walk back the conclusions of a review by Tom Jefferson et al that had been spun in the media as proving that ‘masks don’t work.’ Tom Jefferson himself has been problematic about vaccines for a long time, but the rot goes deeper. What is it about the evidence-based medicine paradigm that results in misleading conclusions?”
Jonathan Howard posted:
“The smoke alarm fallacy.” “The fact that we did a decent job of protecting children at the start of the pandemic was used to claim that children didn’t need protection at all… I am confident that had we done nothing to protect them, many more children would have suffered and died from COVID. They also would have helped spread the virus to millions of others, including their teachers and loved ones, none of whom were vaccinated at the time. Anyone who fantasizes things would have been just peachy should be taken as seriously as Homer Simpson. It is not even debatable.”
“Silent silenced doctors.” “However, it occurred to me that one group of doctors has been silenced this pandemic. We no longer hear from them at all, and few of us know their names. They are defined by their absence and so we are unaware they are missing. These are doctors - and nurses, pharmacists, and all vital healthcare workers - who died from COVID. It takes effort to notice them…What would they say about the authors of the Great Barrington Declaration - who weren’t there on the front lines with them - who now feel too much was done to stop the virus at the start of the pandemic? What would they think about doctors who spread blatant misinformation, always minimizing the risks of COVID? How would they feel about doctors who advised young people not to ‘live in fear from coronavirus’ and mocked those who did? How would they feel about doctors who discouraged vaccination while fetishizing ‘natural immunity.’ How would they feel about doctors who treated rare vaccine side effects as a fate worse than death?”
“Medical 'conservatives' are medical radicals.” “Any doctor who pushes for the repeated mass infection of unvaccinated babies and toddlers with a novel, mutating virus, when an effective vaccine is available, is a medical radical.”
Steven Novella posted:
“COVID lab leak theory rises again.” “FBI Director supports the lab leak hypothesis, but there is no new evidence, and scientists still favor the spillover hypothesis…It is not surprising that an investigative body would favor investigative evidence, while scientific bodies favor scientific evidence. Also, while the science is completely transparent, the FBI chief can only refer to classified information.”
On Respectful Insolence, “Orac” posted:
“Alan Lash recycles an old prepandemic antivax trope.” “Everything old is new yet again, as Brownstone Institute’s Alan Lash recycles old antivax tropes about doctors supposedly being in the thrall of big pharma and therefore untrustworthy.”
“’Can colleges mandate Ozempic?’ Clever or clueless analogy? You be the judge!” “Dr. Vinay Prasad compares college booster mandates to mandating Ozempic in obese students. How are these things different from each other? Let me count the ways…What he has shown is the absurd lengths he will go to demonize vaccines in the name of attacking boosters in young men.”
“The GOP was the antivax party before Ron DeSantis, but now he’s turbocharged its resistance.” “As bad as I feared that it might get, I must admit that I had never predicted that antivax views would become a litmus test for politicians of a major political party at the national level. Yet that it what has happened.”
“The Brownstone Institute fear mongers about mRNA vaccines.” “Alan Lash is fear mongering about mRNA vaccines in general, once again putting the lie to the Brownstone Institute’s denials of being antivax.”
Edzard Ernst posted:
“’No jabby-jabby for me! Praise GOD!’ But now this antivaxer has died of COVID-related pneumonia.”
March 3 – The Federal Trade Commission took action against doTERRA distributors for false COVID-19 health claims Press release. They made “claims that the company’s essential oils and dietary supplements could treat, prevent, or cure COVID-19.”
March 13 – Beth Mole wrote “The anti-health official - Florida surgeon general wrong on vaccines and bad at his job, CDC and FDA say.” “Ladapo has repeatedly peddled falsehoods about COVID-19 vaccines.” CDC and FDA sent a letter to Ladapo. The letter summarizes the latest evidence concerning the benefits and safety of the vaccines.
Other topics
Best of the blogs, March – on Science-Based Medicine,
David Gorski:
Posted “Autism prevalence increases to 1 in 38, and antivaxxers blame vaccines without using the word “vaccine.” “The CDC updated its estimates for the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders. Predictably, antivaxxers blame the increasing prevalence of ASDs reported, particularly in Black children, on ‘environmental factors,’ which is antivax code for, ‘Vaccines are to blame’… the increasing prevalence of a condition really means an increase in the number of people given a diagnosis associated with that condition, not necessarily a ‘true’ increase in the prevalence of the condition…None of this rules out an increase in the ‘true’ prevalence of autism over the last few decades, but the increasing consensus is that the evidence does rule out the sort of massive increase that antivaxxers claim and then blame on vaccines. What is most likely happening is that we’re getting better and better at finding and diagnosing autism, including milder cases, to the point where the apparent prevalence of autism (i.e, the number of diagnoses) is starting to converge on the ‘true’ biological prevalence of autism as it is defined today and that we might just be starting to see the sorts of differences in that ‘true’ prevalence attributable to race, gender, and ethnicity that we see for many medical conditions and diseases, no vaccines needed as a ‘root cause’ to explain.”
Sam Homola:
Posted “A Global Summit conclusion: no evidence of an effect of SMT [spinal manipulation therapy] for the management of non-musculoskeletal disorders.” “Although there is increasing opposition to chiropractic vertebral subluxation theory or the use of spinal manipulation as a method of restoring and maintaining health, there is no reason to believe that subluxation-based chiropractic care will disappear…It is important that consumers be informed about the pros and cons of chiropractic care so that they can recognize the signs and the jargon of subluxation-based chiropractors who propose to treat a variety of ailments by adjusting vertebral subluxations. A wall chart associating spinal nerves with diseased organs in the office of a chiropractor is reason enough to exit the office.”
Steven Novella:
Wrote “Peddling misinformation about diet and cancer.” Filipino doctor Farrah Agustin-Bunch is suing Australian critic Dr. Adam Smith for defamation. “Supplement sellers need to create the narrative that most health issues are cause [sic] by poor nutrition and that their special products are the best way to treat that – but the evidence is just not on their side. When called out on their misleading claims, it is common for them to go on the attack. They claim there is a conspiracy, scientists don’t actually know what they are talking about, they attack specific critics, they claim that they have some special knowledge, and when they can, they use legal thuggery.”
Edzard Ernst:
Posted “Inadequate regulation of Kratom supplements puts consumers at risk.” “Kratom is thus being promoted as a pain remedy that is safer than traditional opioids, an effective addiction withdrawal aid, and a pleasurable recreational tonic. But kratom is, in fact, a dangerous and unregulated drug that can be purchased on the Internet, a habit-forming substance that authorities say can result in opioid-like abuse and death…At least seven distinct episodes of kratom product contamination or adulteration are known…”
Wrote “Acupuncture reduces the risk of dementia – oh, really?” “…it is conceivable that the acupuncture group had acupuncture because they were generally more health-conscious. Living a relatively healthy life might reduce the dementia risk entirely unrelated to acupuncture. According to Occam’s razor, this explanation is miles more likely that the one about acupuncture.”
Posted “Chiropractic subluxation: the myth must be kept alive.” “…chiropractic subluxation is a myth and an invention by their chief charlatan. It is true that this fabrication is intimately linked to the identity of chiropractic. It is furthermore true that chiros feel unable to throw it overboard because they would lose their identity. What follows is simple: Chiropractic is a fraud.”
Wrote “Following the 'keto diet' could double your cardiovascular risk.” “Now, it has been reported that the ‘keto diet’ may be linked to higher levels of cholesterol and double the risk of cardiovascular events. In the study, researchers defined a low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) diet as 45% of total daily calories coming from fat and 25% coming from carbohydrates. The study, which has so far not been peer-reviewed, was presented Sunday at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session Together With the World Congress of Cardiology.”
Discussed “Ayahuasca: its risks and potential benefits.” “Harry Windsor said in an interview that it changed his life!...Ayahuasca is a hallucinogen brew traditionally used for ritual and therapeutic purposes in Northwestern Amazon. It is rich in the tryptamine hallucinogens dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which acts as a serotonin 5-HT2A agonist… ayahuasca can lead to serious side effects. They include vomiting, diarrhea, paranoia, and panic. Ayahuasca can also interact with many medications, including antidepressants, psychiatric medications, drugs used to control Parkinson’s disease, cough medicines, weight loss medications, and more. Those with a history of psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, should avoid ayahuasca because this could worsen their psychiatric symptoms. Additionally, taking ayahuasca can increase your heart rate and blood pressure, which may result in dangerous consequences for those who have a heart condition.”
Posted “The effect of acupuncture on myelosuppression and quality of life in women with breast cancer.” “My interpretation of these results is quite different from that of the authors…The improvement of the quality of life can easily be explained via a placebo effect; acupuncture itself has not necessarily any part in it. But what about the effect on the bone marrow? Might it too be due to a placebo response, or the additional attention? Probably not. Does that mean that this study proves a definite positive effect of acupuncture? No! Why not? Because firstly the study was far too small for allowing such a far-reaching conclusion, and secondly one would need independent confirmation before accepting such a far-reaching conclusion.”
Discussed the homeopathic remedy nux vomica. “But I doubt that nux vomica can help me with this or any other problem. Some might say that doubting is not good enough, evidence is needed! I agree but was unable to find sound evidence to show that homeopathic nux vomica was better than a placebo for any condition…On the contrary, I only found studies that suggested its ineffectiveness.”
Wrote “The survey mania in so-called alternative medicine prevents progress.” “I estimate that there are about 10 times more surveys in SCAM [so-called alternative medicine] than in any other field…enthusiasts tend to draw stereotypical conclusions, namely that we need more research and that we ought to consider the integration of SCAM into routine care. WHAT A WASTE OF TIME AND EFFORT! Who really needs to know how many epilepsy patients in Turkey use SCAM? Nobody!...if we truly need more research, why not get on with it? Why not finally forget about such useless surveys and do the science? Why not determine which SCAM works for what condition and at what risks? And, in case the findings turn out to be positive [but only then], let’s talk about integration into routine care.”
Posted “The ‘little extras’ that make ineffective treatments appear to be effective.” “Let me schematically summarise it as follows: A practitioner applies an ineffective SCAM to a patient. Because it is ineffective, it has little effect other than a small placebo response. The ineffective SCAM comes with a ‘little extra‘ which is unrelated to the SCAM. The ‘little extra‘ is effective. The end result is that the ineffective SCAM appears to be effective.”
Wrote “Homeopathy for post-stroke hemiparesis? Another negative trial of homeopathy.” “Considering the fact that homeopathy has become the holy cow of India which led to the phenomenon that almost no negative homeopathy trials are being reported by Indian researchers, this article is a happy surprise. Its authors clearly report that IHM had no effect on the primary outcome measure.”
Discussed a new trial of traditional Chinese medicine for menopausal symptoms. “Previous reviews have drawn conclusions that are far less positive…It seems therefore wise to take the conclusions of the new study with a pinch of salt. The intergroup difference observed in this trial may well be due to residual biases, multiple testing, or coincidence. And the reported intragroup differences are in complete accord with the fact that the employed therapies are mere placebos.”
Posted “The disturbing reason why I no longer accept invitations by 3rd class SCAM journals to act as a peer-reviewer.” “The true reason is that research papers on so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) are now mostly published in one of the many 3rd class SCAM journals that have recently sprung up. There are so many of them that they, of course, struggle to get enough articles to fill their pages. In turn, this means that they are far too keen to publish anything regardless of its quality or validity. As a consequence, the quality of these articles and their authors are often dismal…When I do a review for a low-quality SCAM journal and find major defects in an article, my experience has been that the editor then decides to publish it nonetheless…Thus I decided that these journals are just as well off without my contributions.”
Wrote “Research activity in so-called alternative medicine (SCAM), 2020-2022.” “These data suggest the following: As before, the research activity in SCAM seems relatively low. Most numbers are pretty stable with a slight overall increase. The meager numbers for anthroposophic medicine, homeopathy, iridology, Kampo, and naturopathy are remarkable. In absolute terms, only acupuncture, dietary supplements, essential oil, herbal medicine, and TCM [traditional Chinese medicine] are impressive; by and large, these are areas where commercial interest and sponsors exist. The ‘big winners’ in terms of increase over time are acupuncture, supplements, essential oil, herbal medicine, and TCM; I suspect that much of this is due to the fast-growing (and repeatedly mentioned) influence that China is gaining in SCAM.”
Posted “ME/CFS [myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome]: Yes, the ‘Lightning Process’ is nonsense, but is there any other so-called alternative medicine worth trying?” “What does all that tell us? Disappointingly, it tells me that SCAM has preciously little to offer for ME/CFS patients. But what about the TCM [traditional Chinese medicine] treatments? Aren’t the above reviews quite positive TCM? Yes, they are but I nevertheless recommend taking them with a healthy pinch of salt. Why? Because we have seen many times before that, for a range of reasons, Chinese researchers of TCM draw false positive conclusions…And what is my advice to patients suffering from ME/CSF? I think the best I can offer is this: be very cautious about the many claims made by SCAM [so-called alternative medicine] enthusiasts; if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!”
March 6 – As noted in Consumer Health Digest, “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has created a Dietary Supplement Ingredient Directory with links to actions it took with regard to 27 ingredients used in products marketed as dietary supplements. The FDA plans to update the directory periodically to help manufacturers, retailers, and consumers stay informed about new developments and quickly locate information on the agency’s website.”
March 16 – David Gilbert wrote “Inside the private group where parents give ivermectin to kids with autism.” “Hundreds of parents have turned to this conspiracy network, and are recommending a drug to each other that experts have repeatedly said is designed only for large animals and is so concentrated that it can be toxic when ingested by humans. In the channel, parents even share stories about their children experiencing horrific side effects from the drug, including brain fog, severe headaches, nausea, muscle pain, and seizures—and are routinely dismissed by those running the channel, who claim it’s a normal part of the ‘healing’ process.” David Gorski also discussed the story on Science-Based Medicine. “It has echoes of autism quackery going back at least to the use of MMS (a kind of bleach) to ‘cure’ autism by eliminating ‘parasites’.”
March 16 – Ramadan Younes wrote “The doctors selling bogus treatments to people facing blindness.” Clinics treating retinitis pigmentosa (including one in Miami) are described.
March 20 – Esther Choo discussed Gwyneth Paltrow’s use of ozone therapy. “The health claims for ozone are tremendously broad, including that it fights infection and inflammation, improves the circulation and bolsters the immune system. Yet it is hard to find a published scientific study about the positive health uses of ozone that a) occurred in human subjects and b) isn’t from a predatory or defunct journal. Numerous recent articles have debunked the legitimacy of ozone as therapy.”
Addition to previous months
February – Laffin and others discussed reactions to their paper showing that supplements were ineffective in lowering cholesterol (see last item in FEBRUARY 2023 NEWS).