May 25th, 2010 by Davis Liu, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research
Tags: Alcohol In Moderation, Bone Density Testing, Calcium, Carotid Ultrasound, Controlling Blood Pressure, Controlling Cholesterol, Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry, DXA, Family Medicine, General Medicine, Hip Fracture, Insurance Claims, Insurance Coverage, Internal Medicine, Life Line Screening, Low-Sodium Diet, Medicare, National Stroke Association, Not Covered By Insurance, Osteoporosis, PAD, Peripheral Artery Disease, Preventive Health, Preventive Health Services, Preventive Healthcare, Preventive Medicine, Preventive Screening, Primary Care, Quitting Smoking, Regular Exercise, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, Unnecessary Medical Tests, Unnecessary Testing, USPSTF, Vascular Disease, Vitamin D
12 Comments »
A patient brought in a flyer for Life Line Screening, where for $129 an individual can have their carotid (neck) and peripheral (leg) arteries screened for blockage, their abdominal aorta screened for aneurysm (swelling), and be tested for osteoporosis. The advertisement claims that “we can help you avoid a stroke,” and their logo notes “Life Line Screening: The Power of Prevention.”
Are these tests worth your money? Short answer: No.
Although the flyer correctly indicates that 80 percent of stokes can be prevented, the National Stroke Assocation does not recommend ultrasound as a screening test. Preventing stroke includes quitting smoking, knowing your blood pressure and cholesterol numbers, drinking alcohol in moderation (if already doing so), exercising regularly, and eating a low-sodium diet. Their is no mention of an ultrasound test. Why? Because there is NO evidence that it helps save lives in individuals who are healthy and have no symptoms (except for the following situations). Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Saving Money and Surviving the Healthcare Crisis*
May 6th, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research, True Stories
Tags: Amazing, Bad Science, Belief, Beyond Expectation, Consumer-Provider Relationship, Contradictions, Crazy, Doctor-Patient Connection, Evidence-Based, Faith Healers, Health and Medicine, Immeasurable, Irrational, Magical, Medical Research, Miracles, Miraculous, Patient-Doctor Relationship, Perception, Proven Theories, Science Based Medicine, Science-Based Evidence, Scientific, Scientific Facts, Scientific Studies, Technology
No Comments »
I was recently listening to an audiobook about diet, written and read by a “famous” doctor who gets people healthy through dietary changes.
Since my podcast pushes me a little into the mainstream (more than this blog does), I thought it would be good to hear what the “average” person is reading about health. Plus, I am not exactly the most compliant patient when it comes to diet, so I thought I could possibly get something out of it personally.
I did my best to listen with an open mind, ignoring what I thought were gimmicks and trying to glean the valuable information from what this doctor was saying.
I had to stop, however, before finishing the book. It wasn’t the content so much that gave me cause to feel the desire to smash my iPod, it was the hype. The author was constantly using words like “amazing,” “magical,” and “miraculous.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
May 6th, 2010 by David H. Gorski, M.D., Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research, True Stories
Tags: AACR, American Association for Cancer Research, American Society for Clinical Oncology, Anoikis, Apoptosis, ASCO, Barrett's Esophagus, CAM, Carcinoma, Cell Biology, Cell Death, Chemotherapy, Chronic Inflammation, Complicated, Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, Cure for Cancer, Douglas Adams, Dr. Allan Balmain, Dr. Joan Brugge, Dr. Lisa Coussens, Dr. Sean Morrison, Eradication of Cancer, Evidence-Based, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, Genetic Network, Genetics, GERD, Harvard Medical School, Hulda Clark, Malignant, Medical Quackery, Metabolic Derangements, Metabolism, Metastasize, NECSS, Nicholas Gonzalez, Northeast Conference of Science and Skepticism, Oncogenes, Pancreatic Cancer, President Richard Nixon, Quackademic Medicine, Robert O. Young, Science Based Medicine, stem cells, TCGA, The Cancer Genome Atlas, The Complexity of Cancer, Tumor Angiogenesis, Tumor Cell Anchorage, Tumor Suppressor Genes, UCSF, University of Michigan, Unscientific Medicine, War On Cancer, Warburg Effect
No Comments »
[Recently] I participated in a panel discussion at the Northeast Conference of Science and Skepticism (NECSS) with John Snyder, Kimball Atwood, and Steve Novella, who also reported on the conference. What I mentioned to some of the attendees is that I had managed to combine NECSS with a yearly ritual that I seldom miss, namely the yearly meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) meeting.
There are two huge cancer meetings every year — AACR and the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO). AACR is the meeting dedicated to basic and translational research. ASCO, as the word “clinical” in its name implies, is devoted mainly to clinical research.
Personally, being a translational researcher myself and a surgeon, I tend to prefer the AACR meeting over ASCO, not because ASCO isn’t valuable, but mainly because ASCO tends to be devoted mostly to medical oncology and chemotherapy, which are not what I do as a surgeon. Each meeting draws between 10,000 to 15,000 or even more clinicians and researchers dedicated to the eradication of cancer. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
April 17th, 2010 by David H. Gorski, M.D., Ph.D. in Announcements, Better Health Network, Health Policy, Medblogger Shout Outs, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research
Tags: Academic Medical Centers, CAM, Canada, Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, Diet and Exercise, Dietary Studies, Homeopathy, Medical Academia, Medical Schools, Medical Students, Meditation, NCCAM, NECSS, Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism, Quackademic Medicine, Reiki, SBM, Science Based Medicine, Yoga
No Comments »
One advantage of having a blog is that I can sometimes tap into the knowledge of my readers to help me out.
As many readers know, a few of the SBM bloggers (myself included) will be appearing at the Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism (NECSS) today (Saturday, April 17). Since the topic of our panel discussion is going to be the infiltration of quackademic medicine into medical academia, I thought that now would be a very good time for me to update my list of medical schools and academic medical centers in the U.S. and Canada that have embraced (or at least decided to tolerate) quackademic medicine in their midst. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
April 11th, 2010 by Harriet Hall, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research, True Stories
Tags: 5-HTP, Dream Water, DSHEA, Fall Asleep, FDA, GABA, General Medicine, Insomnia, Melatonin, Natural Ingredients, Natural Medicines, Natural Remedies, Naturopathy, Perfect Blend, Primary Care, Proprietary, Quality of Sleep, Relaxation, Secret Formula, Sleep Deprived, Sleep Medicine, Sleep Remedy, Tryptophan
No Comments »
A new product, Dream Water, is designed to help one relax, fall asleep and improve the quality of sleep using the “perfect blend” of all-natural ingredients melatonin, GABA and 5-HTP (tryptophan).
A single-dose 2.5-ounce bottle retails for $2.99. They also offer a more dilute formulation in an 8-ounce bottle. They suggest drinking half a bottle, keeping it at your bedside, and drinking more if you wake up during the night.
What dosage will you get from half a bottle? From a whole bottle? There’s no way to know. They offer a money-back guarantee, free shipping, free samples, and lots of testimonials. But they refuse to disclose how much of what is in their product. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
