August 18th, 2010 by GarySchwitzer in Better Health Network, News, Opinion, Research
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This was one time when the headline was okay, but the story that followed had our heads spinning. “Study Says Brain Trauma Can Mimic Lou Gehrig’s Disease” is a story that was troubling on a number of fronts. It reported on a study which at the time had not yet been published suggesting that some “athletes and soldiers given a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis…might have been catalyzed by injuries only now becoming understood: concussions and other brain trauma.”
To be clear — and please don’t anyone miss or miscontrue this point — this is an important and fascinating area of research. But the story did not exhibit the best of health/medical/science journalism:
1. It was based on a study of 3 people. (The ALS Association says there are up to 30,000 people in the U.S. living with ALS.)
2. It stated, “Lou Gehrig might not have had Lou Gehrig’s disease.” (No evidence for this was provided. He also may not have been a great left-handed hitter. That may have been an optical illusion.)
3. It said this could “perhaps lead toward new pathways for a cure.” (After a suggestive finding in just three people?)
4. The story later says, “The finding’s relevance to Gehrig is less clear.” (Hedging already after a bold earlier statement in the story.)
5. But just a few paragraphs later, the story says, “The new finding…suggests that Gehrig might not have had (ALS).” (Head spinning yet?) Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog*
August 1st, 2010 by Steve Novella, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Research
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A new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition is reporting an association with eating meat and weight gain. This is a fairly robust epidemiological study, but at the same time is a good example of how such information is poorly reported in the media, leading to public confusion.
The data is taken from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition–Physical Activity, Nutrition, Alcohol, Cessation of Smoking, Eating Out of Home and Obesity (EPIC-PANACEA) project. This is a long-term epidemiological study involving hundreds of thousands of individuals, and is therefore a great source of data. We are likely to see many publications from from it. This one looked at the association of meat eating –- poultry, red meat, and processed meat -– with total weight. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
July 8th, 2010 by Steve Novella, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research
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Mark Hyman, a proponent of so-called “functional medicine” promoting himself over at the Huffington Post (an online news source that essentially allows dubious medical infomercials to pass as news) has posted a particularly egregious article on personalized medicine for dementia.
In the article Hyman distorts the modern practice of medicine, the current state of genetic science, and the very notion of “disease.” It is, as usual, a fine piece of medical propaganda sure to confuse many a reader. Hyman starts with some standard epidemiology of dementia –- it’s a common and growing disorder –- but then descends quickly into distortion and pseudoscience. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
March 27th, 2010 by Paul Auerbach, M.D. in Better Health Network, News, Opinion
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In a recent issue of Wilderness and Environmental Medicine (Volume 20, Number 2, 2009), Thomas Welch and colleagues have written an article entitled “Wilderness First Aid: Is There an Industry Standard?” The purpose of their inquiry was to determine if an “industry standard” exists for wilderness first aid training and certification of outdoor adventure and education leaders. To attempt to answer the question, they queried regulatory authorities, national organizations, and school/college groups with regard to their requirements for first aid training of their wilderness trek leaders.
They discovered that 10 or the 22 states with guide licensure programs required any first aid training as a condition of licensure, and none specified a specific course. Of the programs requiring such training, the requirements ranged from a 6-hour standard first aid course to more structured “wilderness first responder” (WFR or “woofer”) certification. Read more »
This post, “Backcountry” Injuries and Wilderness First Aid, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Paul Auerbach, M.D..
February 28th, 2010 by Richard Cooper, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
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An important article appeared in the NYT recently, describing a new paper by Peter Bach, which is in today’s NEJM. Peter’s paper (“A Map to Bad Policy“) debunks the Dartmouth Atlas and cautions against its use. As I said in the Wash Post in September, the Dartmouth Atlas is the ”Wrong Map for Health Care Reform.”
More damning even than Peter’s analysis was Elliott Fisher’s reply: “Dr. Fisher agreed that the current Atlas measures should not be used to set hospital payment rates, and that looking at the care of patients at the end of life provides only limited insight into the quality of care provided to those patients. He said he and his colleagues should not be held responsible for the misinterpretation of their data.” Really? It was someone else’s interpretation? OK, Elliott, you’re not responsible. Just stand in the corner. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at PHYSICIANS and HEALTH CARE REFORM Commentaries and Controversies*
