Category Archives: General

A key focus of this blog is to promote a science-based perspective for veterinary medicine. I believe that relying more on science and less on habit, tradition, intuition, and personal experience will lead to better care for our patients. While … Continue reading →

Here’s a paper that’s been getting a lot of press lately and which illustrates some common problems with scientific studies which turn up often in the domain of alternative medicine, although that is not the subject of this study. Hart … Continue reading →

The nature of science is fundamentally critical. Science works best when it shows us what is not true. This is largely a function of the fact that most of the biases and cognitive quirks that lead us astray when trying … Continue reading →

One of the most attractive features of alternative therapies is that they offer hope. CAM treatments, by definition, are almost never validated by the usual scientific research evidence used to test mainstream medical therapies. If they were, they would no … Continue reading →

Last spring I wrote an article about a Dr. Al Plechner, who claims to have discovered a glandular imbalance, which he has named Plechner Syndrome and which he claims is responsible for a wide range of health problems. Dr. Plechner’s … Continue reading →

Naturopathy is a pleasant-sounding term for an approach to health and disease that is quite different from that of science-based medicine. It is an example of an alternative philosophy that has great appeal for from a certain perspective but which, … Continue reading →

I recently received an email promoting one of the strangest therapies I’ve looked into while writing this blog—leeches. 10 FACTS HOW LEECHES HELP DOGS! 1.         Leeches a new wave in alternative animal medicine? No way! Over 3000 years ago leeches … Continue reading →

I have previously reviewed a number of common alternative therapies for arthritis. The evidence concerning veterinary use specifically is often limited, but for common therapies, like glucosamine and acupuncture, there is often extensive research data in humans. While extrapolation from … Continue reading →

Most proponents of so-called complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are ordinary, reasonable people, even when promoting beliefs that may be dubious or even thoroughly incredible. However, occasionally I run across one of those individuals with not only a bizarre understanding … Continue reading →