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Category Archives: General
The AHVMA: Bought and Paid for by Big Supplement?
A common complaint about conventional, science-based medicine is that it is unduly influenced by commercial interests and agendas, especially the pharmaceutical industry or “Big Pharma.” There is no question that corporations who manufacture medicines, pet foods, and other products used … Continue reading
Posted in General, Law, Regulation, and Politics
25 Comments
Orientalism
One of the more subtle flaws in thinking that supports unproven alternative medical approaches is the notion best described by Edward Said in his book Orientalism. Though I don’t agree with Said’s post-modernist approach in general, I see great utility … Continue reading
Posted in General, Humor
8 Comments
Cognitive Dissonance In Action: Glucosamine No Matter What!
I’ve discussed cognitive dissonance previously. Briefly, it is the unpleasant feeling that comes from a conflict between beliefs, and its most typical manifestation is a powerful ability to rationalize away evidence that contradicts what we believe. Rather than experience the … Continue reading
Posted in General, Herbs and Supplements
9 Comments
Home Remedies: A Cautionary Tale
Harriett Hall, The SkepDoc from whom I cribbed my moniker, recently wrote on the science-Based Medicine blog about the new Mayo Clinic guide to home remedies, which sounds like a sensible guide to appropriate kinds of self-treatment for minor medical … Continue reading
Posted in General, Miscellaneous CAVM
6 Comments
Theory of Superstitious and Magical Beliefs
Lindeman M, Aarnio K. Superstitious, magical, and paranormal beliefs: An integrative model. Journal of Research in Personality 2007;41:731-44. I recently ran across this paper in the Journal of Research In Personality which had some interesting things to say about how … Continue reading
Posted in General
4 Comments
Consumer Reports–The Dangers of Supplements
There is an article in the upcoming issue of Consumer Reports discussing the sorry state of regulatory oversight for dietary supplements, herbs, and vitamins, and some of the concrete harm that has come to consumers as a result. It is … Continue reading
Posted in General
2 Comments
Special Challenges of Science-Based Veterinary Medicine
The following is a post I contributed to the Science-Based Medicine blog. On this site there have been several thoughtful posts (e.g. by Dr. Atwood and by Dr. Novella), and subsequently much heated commentary, on the distinction between Evidence-Based Medicine … Continue reading
Posted in General, Science-Based Veterinary Medicine
21 Comments
Vet Stem’s Stem Cell Therapy and Chemaphor’s Oximunol Join Forces
I recently ran across a press release which identified a business relationship I found interesting. Apparently, the Canadian company Chemaphor, maker of the nutritional supplement Oximunol which I have discussed in the past, has entered into a licensing arrangement with … Continue reading
Edzard Ernst on How to Spot Medical Nonsense
Edzard Ernst is well known as an “insider” in the world of alternative medicine who has come to see the need for rational, scientific analysis and evidence to justify inflicting any treatment of whatever provenance on patients. His book, with … Continue reading
Posted in General
13 Comments
Dr. Walt’s Warning Signs of Quackery
I ran across a series of posts from a physician which I think do a thorough job of identifying warning signs of unscientific, irrational or outright quack medical treatments. They’re not organized in a particularly systematic way, but they cover … Continue reading
Posted in General
15 Comments
