NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2012 NEWS

November – A prospective study involving nearly 75,000 Chinese women, followed for 11 years, found that tea intake (mostly green tea) appeared to reduce the risk of cancers of the digestive system (Nechuta et al. (2012) Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 96, 1056-1063 Paper).

November 4 – Results from the Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT) were announced at the conference of the American Heart Association, provoking considerable discussion of this controversial treatment (see news stories from AP, Reuters, and MedPage Today). The trial, following more than 1700 heart attack patients for an average of 4 years, found slightly fewer (26%) had complications than those receiving placebo (30%); however, there was no difference in quality of life. The findings have been critically reviewed by K. Atwood in the Science-Based Medicine blog, and by D. Gorski in Science-Based Medicine and (writing as “Orac”) in the Respectful Insolence Blog (March 12, 2013, April 10, 2013). Some of the points raised were:

  • The composite endpoint barely achieved a statistically significant effect, and none of its individual components did so.

    • The difference in the primary endpoint was significant only in the diabetic subgroup.

  • A large number of patients discontinued the treatment.

  • Even if they were real, the effects are far smaller than claimed by practitioners of chelation therapy.

  • The study had a misleading consent form, which should preclude its publication.

  • Many of the study sites were not academic centers, but rather clinics promoting “highly dubious therapies.” “…blinding of the study groups to local investigators was likely to have been faulty.”

  • Chelation therapy is scientifically implausible and not supported by preclinical evidence; the trial was only carried out for political reasons.

November 7 – As noted in our October 18 item, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning letter to Stanislaw Burzynski for his “antineoplastons” cancer treatment. A Respectful Insolence column by “Orac” discusses other problems with the Burzynski therapy: “…I think the FDA is actually being too easy on him.”

November 14 – A large study of older men concluded that “daily multivitamin supplementation modestly but significantly reduced the risk of total cancer” (Gaziano et al., JAMA 308, 1871-1880 (2012) Paper). More than 14,000 physicians were followed for an average of 11 years. An editorial by Bach and Lewis (pp. 1916-1917)First page preview expressed reservations about the study. Many other similar studies found no such effect. Also, “the biological plausibility of the study hypothesis” is questionable.

November 28 - Health Canada (the national public health agency of Canada) issued an Information Update “advising Canadians and health care practitioners that no thermography (thermal imaging) machines have been approved to screen for breast cancer...Health Canada is not aware of any clinical evidence that thermography can be used effectively as a screening technique for the early detection of breast cancer. As such, it may present a potential risk to women relying on the results” News story.

November 29 – A study by Chuang and others found that exposure to essential oils, as used in aromatherapy, could help in relaxation (as measured by reduced blood pressure and heart rate), but only if used for an hour or less (Eur. J. Prev. Cardiol. Abstract). Longer exposures produced increases in blood pressure and heart rate, suggesting that these could be harmful to spa workers News story.

December – Although it is commonly assumed that homeopathic remedies are harmless because they are so dilute, a survey of published reports found over 1000 cases of adverse effects (Posadzki et al. (2012) Int. J. Clin. Pract. 66, 1178-1188 Paper). Some homeopathic remedies are not highly dilute, and contain measurable amounts of the starting material. These can cause allergic reactions or toxicity. The authors note that heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, and mercury are frequently used in homeopathy. Johnson offered a rebuttal to this article (J. Altern. Complement. Med. 20. 67-68 (2014) First page). He pointed out that for most of the assessed cases in the review, there was too little information to determine whether the products were indeed homeopathic. Other clearly toxic remedies are not part of mainstream homeopathic practice. Several other critical letters, as well as a response by Posadzki and Ernst, were published in the April, 2013 issue of Int. J. Clin. Pract.

December – A review of acupuncture for rheumatic diseases found that “Many of the latest trials assessing the benefits of acupuncture in rheumatic diseases found that acupuncture was not better than sham acupuncture, implying that the analgesic effects observed are related to a strong placebo response” (Amezaga Urruela and Suarez-Almazor (2012) Curr. Rheumatol. Rep. 14, 589-597 Abstract).

December – Scahill provided a review of resveratrol (J. Prim. Health Care 4, 345 (2012) Paper (pdf file)). The Summary Message was: “Although animal data may appear to be promising, the literature in humans reports that the collective evidence is not sufficiently strong to justify a recommendation for the administration of resveratrol to humans, beyond the dose available from dietary sources.”

December – A study by Cheatham and others (Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 96, 1465-1472 (2012) Paper) found that supplements of phosphatidylcholine to pregnant women “did not enhance their infants’ brain function.”

December – Yang and Mousa reviewed the use of red yeast rice for dyslipidemia (elevated lipids or cholesterol) (Complement. Ther. Med. 20, 466-474 (2012) Abstract). “Studies reviewed show that RYR significantly lowered LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol,” with efficacy equal to statins. However, the authors cautioned that physicians should not use RYR in place of statins. Also, there is concern over the quality of commercially available products, with some containing toxic ingredients.

December – A review of clinical trials, in China, of treatment of infertility with Chinese herbal medicine found an increase in fertility rates (Tan et al. (2012) J. Altern. Complement. Med. 18, 1087-1100 Abstract). They noted that “owing to the low quality of the studies investigated, more randomized controlled trials are needed before evidence-based recommendation…can be provided.”

December 28 – The 2012 Slim Chance Awards, recognizing the worst fad diets and weight loss gimmicks of the year, were announced by the Healthy Weight Network. They were:

  • Worst Claim – Dr. Oz for promoting raspberry ketone, which had not been supported by any human studies.

  • Worst Product – Quick Trim, which allegedly cleans and “detoxifies” the body, but which has “potentially hazardous” ingredients.

  • Worst Gimmick – Ab Circle Pro, an exercise device whose marketers had to settle with the FDA over unsupported claims.

  • Most Outrageous – advertisements for acai berry and colon cleanse products; promoters had to settle with the FTC.

December 31 – Salzberg wrote an Article on Cancer Treatment Centers of America. Noting that the centers offer acupuncture, acupressure, chiropractic, naturopathy, homeopathy, and mind-body medicine, he notes: “None of the treatments in this list has any scientific support showing that they provide a benefit to cancer patients. Some of them carry a real risk of harm…”