Featured topic: coronavirus
On Science-Based Medicine,
Jann Bellamy posted:
“COVID vaccine manufacturers should explore legal action against anti-vaxxers spreading disinformation.”
David Gorski posted:
“The COVID-19 'vaccine holocaust': the latest antivaccine messaging.” “Whenever large numbers are involved, it becomes all too easy to fear monger by pointing to numbers that appear large but, when compared to the baseline rate, are actually not that large at all. That is the entire basis of the latest antivaccine propaganda trope pointing to the seemingly huge number of deaths reported to the VAERS [Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System] database.”
“How antimaskers weaponize techniques of scientific analysis to attack mask mandates.” “There’s a new paper out analyzing how antimask activists weaponize the tools of data visualization and scientific argumentation to produce convincing antimask propaganda. Antimaskers are claiming that it shows that they are more ‘scientific’ than those supporting the consensus viewpoint with respect to COVID-19 and masks. What it really shows is that they are good at weaponizing the tools of data visualization and scientific arguments to come to the conclusions that they want to come to.”
“The ‘deadly’ coronavirus spike protein (according to antivaxxers).” “Antivaxxers are citing three papers to support their claim that spike protein produced by COVID-19 vaccines is dangerous. Unsurprisingly and as usual, they’re misinterpreting the studies and misrepresenting their significance. COVID-19 vaccines are, in fact, very safe.” (see also post by “Orac” below on one of the three papers)
“The origin of SARS-CoV-2, revisited.” “What, if anything, has changed? Is there new evidence? Spoiler alert: The answer to both questions is no. The ‘lab leak’ hypothesis is fast becoming a conspiracy theory.”
Jonathan Howard posted:
“Should COVID-19 vaccines be administered to children under an emergency use authorization?” “Recently, Wesley Pegden, Vinay Prasad, and Stefan Baral argued in The BMJ that ‘COVID-19 vaccines for children should not get emergency use authorization.’ Their argument is lacking, and they left out a number of relevant facts.”
Steven Novella posted:
“The causes of vaccine hesitancy.”
“COVID morbidity.” “The emerging burden of long COVID is significant, and needs to be considered when evaluating the risk vs benefit of pandemic measures.”
On Respectful Insolence, “Orac” posted:
“About that Salk Institute paper on the ‘deadly’ COVID-19 spike protein.” “Antivaxxers have been working overtime lately to claim that the spike protein used as the antigen in COVID-19 vaccines is deadly, and they’ll cite any old tenuous evidence based on a misunderstood (by them) study to do it…Any study of the spike protein’s role in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 should include in the study itself and in any press releases a strong disclaimer emphasizing how the results of the study do not say anything about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, for the sorts of reasons I have listed above.” Steven Novella also discussed the issue on Science-Based Medicine. See also David Gorski’s post above, considering this and two other papers.
“The Centner Academy: A private school run by wealthy COVID-19 conspiracy theorists.”
“Are any of the COVID-19 vaccines self-spreading, self-propagating, transmissible vaccines?” “The adenovirus vectors used are called ‘replication deficient’ for a reason. They can’t replicate and don’t spread.”
“About Eric Clapton's adverse reaction to AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.”
“Why is Peter Doshi still an editor at The BMJ? (RFK Jr. and COVID-19 vaccine edition).” “BMJ senior editor Peter Doshi has been casting doubt on vaccine safety and efficacy since 2009. Now he’s ‘just asking questions’ about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in a BMJ article reprinted verbatim by antivaxxer Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.”
“Legal thuggery: A favored technique by disinformation merchants to silence critics.” “What do Didier Raoult, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Portuguese quacks have in common? They’re using legal thuggery to silence criticism.” The victim of the Portuguese legal attacks also posted his story on Edzard Ernst.
“Mike Adams is forced to walk back his violent rhetoric about executing those promoting COVID-19 vaccination.”
Edzard Ernst posted:
“Adjunctive homeopathic treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. A case study of homeopathic delusion.”
May 13 – Crockford wrote “The ‘health freedom movement’ enters the Covid era by disseminating medical disinformation” for Religion Dispatches.
May 13 – Smith and Reiss wrote “Inside one network cashing in on vaccine disinformation” for Associated Press. “The Bollingers are part of an ecosystem of for-profit companies, nonprofit groups, YouTube channels and other social media accounts that stoke fear and distrust of COVID-19 vaccines, resorting to what medical experts say is often misleading and false information. An investigation by The Associated Press has found that the couple work closely with others prominent in the anti-vaccine movement - including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his Children’s Health Defense - to drive sales through affiliate marketing relationships.”
Other topics
Best of the blogs, May – on Science-Based Medicine,
Jann Bellamy:
Wrote “Supreme Court rules that FTC cannot seek restitution on behalf of consumers.” “The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that the FTC lacks the authority to seek consumer refunds and other monetary relief from scammers. Without a fix from Congress, the ability of the FTC, and perhaps other agencies, to redress financial injuries caused by quacks and other frauds is greatly diminished.”
Scott Gavura:
Posted “Can GMOs [genetically modified organisms] cause gastrointestinal sensitivity and inflammation?” “Despite statements made by manufacturers of GMO-free products, there is no credible evidence to substantiate claims that GMO foods increase the risk of bowel hypersensitivity and inflammation of the intestines. Over 1,300 regulatory assessments of GMO crops from around the world have concluded that GMO crops are as safe as their conventional counterparts. Consumers may have different reasons for not wanting to purchase GMO-free foods, but fears about the potential for negative effects of GMOs on the gastrointestinal tract are unfounded.”
Harriet Hall:
Wrote “A blood test for fibromyalgia?” “The FM/a test is advertised as a definitive test to diagnose fibromyalgia. It isn’t definitive. It is expensive. It has not been shown to change patient outcomes.”
Posted “Craniosacral therapy is bogus but DOs are required to learn it.” “The standard textbook used in many schools of osteopathic medicine includes a lamentable chapter on cranial manipulation. It is clearly biased and fails to meet the minimal standards of science-based medicine. Craniosacral manipulation therapy is bogus, and it should no longer be taught to DOs or feature on their exams.”
Discussed “Okinawan Flat Belly Tonic,” “yet another scam weight loss product made up of a random grab-bag of vitamins, minerals, and powders.”
Clay Jones:
Posted “A new study reveals that naturopaths order a lot of unnecessary pediatric labs.”
John Solokas:
Posted Part 1 of a two-part series, “Artificial Sweeteners – A Free Lunch, or an Obesogenic Carcinogen? What 80+ Studies Say.”
Tomasz Witkowski and Maciej Zatonski:
Edzard Ernst:
Posted “Qigong is not effective for cancer palliation (even though the authors of this new study pretend otherwise).” “I am getting very tired of negative trials getting published as (almost) positive ones. The primary outcome measure of this study did not yield a positive result. The fact that some other endpoints suggested a positive might provide an impetus for further study but does not demonstrate Qigong to be effective.”
Wrote “Supplementation with selenium and coenzyme Q 10 may lower cardiovascular mortality.” “These results are interesting and potentially important…What is needed next, I think, are independent replications. Also of interest would be to determine whether the effects are due to the selenium, or the Q10, or both. And finally, one must caution consumers to not overdose on selenium which could have a host of negative effects on health.”
Discussed “'Medi-Taping', a breakthrough in the treatment of back pain? I’m afraid not!”
Reported on a review of “Adverse effects of mind body therapies in children.” “The authors concluded that MBIs [mind body interventions] are popularly used in children; however associated harms are often not reported and lack important information for meaningful assessment.”
Posted “Acupuncture for chronic neuropathic pain? No!” “As far as I can see, the review is of sound methodology, it minimizes bias, and its conclusions are therefore trustworthy. They suggest that acupuncture is not effective for neuropathic pain.”
Wrote “Eurythmy for chronic low back pain?” Eurythmy “is an exercise therapy that is part of anthroposophic medicine.” “The study compared three different exercise therapies. Its results imply that all three were roughly equal. Yet, we cannot tell whether they were equally effective or equally ineffective…I fear that more independent research would be needed to convince me of the value of eurythmy.”
Posted “Manual therapies for back pain: not better than a placebo.” Such therapies are used primarily by chiropractors and osteopaths. Ernst discussed a review by Lavazza et al. (BMJ Open. 2021 May 4;11(5):e045106 Paper). “This review confirms what we have discussed many times previously…, namely that the small positive effect of MT, or specifically spinal manipulation, is largely due to placebo. Considering this information, what is the best treatment for back pain sufferers? The answer seems obvious: it is a therapy that is as (in)effective as all the others but causes the least harm or expense. In other words, it is not chiropractic nor osteopathy but exercise.”
Posted “As soon as the chiropractor manipulated my neck, everything went black.” “The truth of the matter is this: Chiropractic neck manipulations are not supported by sound evidence of effectiveness for any condition. This means that even rare risks (if they are truly rare) would tilt the risk/benefit balance into the negative. The conclusion is, I think, to avoid neck manipulations at all costs.” In a related post, he discussed a new review showing that “Chiropractic manipulations are a risk factor for vertebral artery dissections” (Mitra A et al. Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2021 Apr 24;206:106665 Abstract). “This fact is further supported by a host of other investigations…My conclusions from the accumulated evidence are this: Spinal manipulations of the upper spine should not be routinely used for any condition. Patients who nevertheless insist on having them must be made aware of the risks and give informed consent.”
Wrote “Herb-drug interactions in patients taking anticancer drugs.”
Asked “Is cannabis an effective treatment for PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder]?” “This list [of treatments supposedly effective for PTSD] makes me wonder: are these treatments, including cannabis, truly promising, or is PTSD one of those conditions for which nearly every treatment works a little because of its placebo effect?”
May – In Skeptical Inquirer, Harriet Hall wrote “Does Public Water Fluoridation Make Children Less Intelligent?” (45(3):18-20). “The bottom line is that high doses of fluoride can be toxic, but the recommended concentration (0.7 mg/L) used in community water fluoridation is not harmful or toxic. Public water fluoridation is not going to decrease your children’s IQs.” Joe Nickell wrote “Aromatherapy: ‘Healing’ by the Scents of Smell” (45(3):43-4). “Its theories and practices—as have frequently been pointed out—fail to pass the smell test.”
May 4 – Mulcahy reported “One of the Biggest Healthcare Frauds Ever Is Still Ongoing: Cancer Genetic Testing Scams.”
May 16 – Stephen Barrett wrote “Dr. Joseph Mercola ordered to stop illegal claims” for Quackwatch. “In my opinion, the dangerousness of his advice, the fact that millions of people take him seriously, and his funding of organizations that promote unscientific practices and/or oppose proven public health measures make him the world’s most dangerous supplier of health misinformation.”
Addition to previous months
March – A review of ketone supplementation in sports (Valenzuela et al. Adv Nutr. 2021 Mar 31;12(2):305-315 Abstract) concluded that “evidence to date does not support a benefit of acute ketone supplementation on sports performance, cognition, or muscle recovery …and the evidence for chronic supplementation is sparse. In addition, acute intake of ketone supplements might be associated with gastrointestinal symptoms, and further research is warranted on the long-term safety of repeated use of ketone supplements. In summary, there is currently insufficient evidence to support the overall effectiveness of ketone supplements in sports.”