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Author Archives: skeptvet
Another Study Shows CAM Use Harms Cancer Patients
A recent study of cancer patients provides yet another addition to my list of examples of how complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) can do harm. Yun YH, Lee MK, Park SM, Kim YA, Lee WJ, Lee KS, Choi JS, Jung … Continue reading
Posted in General
4 Comments
Caregiver Placebo Effects: New Study Shows that Owners and Vets Often Believe an Ineffective Therapy is Working When it Isn’t
The placebo effect is a critically important, and much misunderstood phenomenon which can mislead us greatly when we are trying to decide if a medical therapy is or is not effective. While most people understand the placebo effect to mean … Continue reading
Posted in General, Science-Based Veterinary Medicine
12 Comments
HopeScience Vet’s EFAC for Periodontal Disease and Arthritis
My attention was recently drawn to another dietary supplement product with pretty dramatic claims, this time for treating both oral disease (gingivitis and periodontal disease) and joint disease (osteoarthritis). As usual, the company web site and promotional materials are unequivocal … Continue reading
Posted in Herbs and Supplements
24 Comments
Cranberry Products for Prevention of Urinary Tract Infections: An Update of the Evidence
I have written previously about the rationale and evidence concerning the use of cranberry products to prevent or treat urinary tract infections. In my summary, I concluded: There is weak theoretical justification for using cranberry products for urinary tract infections … Continue reading
Posted in Herbs and Supplements
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Storyteller’s Creed–How do you feel about this?
There’s a pretty good argument to be made that a lot of the differences between people’s opinions on controversial issues have more to do with differences in temperament and its influence on world view than with the facts or arguments … Continue reading
Posted in General
9 Comments
Zoopharmacognosy–Do Animals Self-Medicate?
Before becoming a veterinarian, I did a master’s degree in animal behavior, working primarily with chimpanzees. These are fascinating creatures, with many of the cognitive abilities of a young human child (and with a similar emotional temperament as well, which … Continue reading
Posted in General, Herbs and Supplements
11 Comments
The American Holistic Veterinary Medical Foundation: Science or Salesmanship?
One of the biggest problems with alternative veterinary medicine is the promotion of specific therapies or practices without reasonable scientific evidence that these are safe or effective. Sometimes, the evidence is actually clear that a specific approach is not effective, … Continue reading
Posted in General
9 Comments
The Problem with Systematic Reviews of Acupuncture in China
One of the highest levels of evidence in the system of evidence-based medicine is the systematic review. Unlike narrative reviews, in which an author selects those studies they consider relevant and then summarizes what they think the studies mean, which … Continue reading
Posted in Acupuncture
3 Comments
Magic Mushrooms–Can a mushroom-derived compound slow the progression of cancer in dogs?
There is a recent study out which looks at the potential for a chemical derived from mushrooms to slow the progression of one type of cancer in dogs. It has both strengths and weaknesses, and it is a nice example … Continue reading
Posted in Herbs and Supplements
7 Comments
Is Big Pharma Trying to Make CAM More Science-Based or Just Get a Piece of the Action?
There have been a number of mentions in the media lately of an initiative by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), one of the biggest of Big Pharma companies, setting up a division in China to study Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Here’s one report … Continue reading