Author Archives: skeptvet

Exercise in Puppies-Are there rules?

Posted on December 25, 2009 by skeptvet

There are many dogmatic opinions available from veterinarians, pet owners, breeders and others concerning a common question owners of new puppies have, How much exercise is ok for puppies? This is an especially pertinent question for owners of large breed … Continue reading →

Posted in Science-Based Veterinary Medicine | 27 Comments

Short and Sour–Politics & Fear Trump Evidence

Posted on December 18, 2009 by skeptvet

Much virtual ink has been spilled over the United Stated Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) breast cancer screening recommendations. Though I’ve written in general terms about the generally underappreciated complexity of screening tests and whether they are the unadulterated good … Continue reading →

Posted in Law, Regulation, and Politics | 1 Comment

No CAM Degrees in Israel

Posted on December 17, 2009 by skeptvet

I stumbled across an article in the Israeli newspaper Haaraetz indicating that Council for Higher Education, the national accrediting body for higher education, has declined to permit complementary and alternative medicine programs to offer academic degrees. According to the article: … Continue reading →

Posted in Law, Regulation, and Politics | Leave a comment

Why Incompatible CAM Theories Aren’t

Posted on December 16, 2009 by skeptvet

I am often struck by what I consider one of the great mysteries of CAM: how theories and approaches that are mutually inconsistent and incompatible are unified under the CAM umbrella without any apparent notice being taken of their mutually … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 1 Comment

Homeopathy in the ER

Posted on December 14, 2009 by skeptvet
Posted in Humor | Leave a comment

Who Says Skeptics Aren’t Fun?

Posted on December 13, 2009 by skeptvet

A 9-minute beat poem of rationalism and skepticism. Who says skeptics aren’t funny?! 🙂

Posted in Humor | 3 Comments

The End of Chiropractic? Of Course Not.

Posted on December 13, 2009 by skeptvet

At last, the definitive nail in the coffin of chiropractic? Hardly. A recent study in the journal Chiropractic and Osteopathy uses an epidemiological approach to examine the question of whether the founding “lesion” of the chiropractic philosophy, the vertebral subluxation, … Continue reading →

Posted in Chiropractic | 2 Comments

Benefits & Risks of Neutering–What does the science say?

Posted on December 6, 2009 by skeptvet

Many pet owners have questions about neutering their pet dogs and cats, and while there is much useful information available on the Internet, there is also much misinformation. I have composed a literature review looking at the benefits and risks … Continue reading →

Posted in Science-Based Veterinary Medicine | 3 Comments

Homeopathy Works for Arthritis–Or Maybe Not

Posted on November 27, 2009 by skeptvet

I recently ran across an article in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (eCAM) titled Evaluating Complementary Therapies for Canine Osteoarthritis–Part II: A homeopathic Combination Preparation (Zeel) (Hielm-Bjorkman, A et al 2009:6(4)465-471). According to the authors, “a homeopathic combination … Continue reading →

Posted in Homeopathy | 9 Comments

Internet Information — The Good, Bad, and Ugly

Posted on November 20, 2009 by skeptvet

As we all know, the Internet is a mixed blessing. It makes enormous amounts of information easily and cheaply available to billions of people. Unfortunately, not all information is created equal, and sometimes bad information is worse than none. Contrary … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 3 Comments