Horrifying suffering caused by treating pertussis “naturally”
Posted by Orac on November 4, 2015 
Naturopathy is a cornucopia packed to the brim with virtually every quackery known to humankind, be it homeopathy, much of traditional Chinese medicine, vitamin C for cancer, or basically any other pseudoscientific or prescientific treatment for disease that you can imagine. I feel obligated to start most of my posts about naturopathy with a statement…
Russell Simmons: The latest celebrity antivaccinationist?
Posted by Orac on November 3, 2015 
I hadn’t planned on writing about this again today. (How many times have I started a post with that phrase? I forget, but a lot. Sadly, developments frequently make me change my plans about blogging.) Here’s what made me change my plans It was a pair of Facebook posts on hip-hop and fashion mogul Russell…
Ben Swann on the “#CDCtruth” rally: Regurgitating antivaccine talking points
Posted by Orac on November 2, 2015 
Before yesterday, I had never heard of Ben Swann. Apparently he is the new anchor for the early evening news broadcast of the local Atlanta CBS affiliate, having joined the station in June. Apparently he is also prone to antivaccine conspiracy theories, which is a very bad thing to be prone to as a reporter…
A 50 minute infomercial for traditional Chinese medicine disguised as a radio show, courtesy of Colin McEnroe
Posted by Orac on October 30, 2015 
When I wrote about YouYou Tu, the Chinese scientist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her successful identification, isolation, purification, and validation of Artemisinin, an antimalarial medication that was quite effective. It was also derived from an herbal remedy used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which has led a fair number…
In which Orac co-authors a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine
Posted by Orac on October 29, 2015 
Unfortunately, this happens to be a day when I didn’t really have much time to blog, as I had to go to an evening meeting last night related to my work. Fortunately, this corresponds with a most excellent day, a first in my life. Basically, I’m coauthor on a Perspective article published in today’s New…
Cranks of a feather, part 3: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the antivaccine movement team up with the Nation of Islam to attack the CDC
Posted by Orac on October 28, 2015 
No doubt, regular readers are probably somewhat surprised that I didn’t discuss the antivaccine rally scheduled to be held in Atlanta last weekend that I wrote about last week. As you might recall, this rally consisted of two crappy tastes that taste crappy together, namely Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the antivaccine movement together with…
The “myth” of basic science?
Posted by Orac on October 27, 2015 
I’m a clinician, but I’m actually also a translational scientist. It’s not uncommon for those of us in medicine involved in some combination of basic and clinical research to argue about exactly what that means. The idea is translational science is supposed to be the process of “translating” basic science discoveries into the laboratory into…
Choosing Wisely three years on
Posted by Orac on October 26, 2015 
I like to point out from time to time that arguably the most striking difference between science-based medicine (and the evidence-based medicine from which we distinguish it) and alternative medicine, “complementary and alternative medicine” (CAM), or (as it’s called now) “integrative medicine” is a concerted effort to change practice for the better based on science…
Public service announcement: No, drinking your own urine will not cure breast cancer
Posted by Orac on October 23, 2015 
I consider posts like the one I’m writing now to be public service, an obligation. There are times when I don’t want to do them, when they become so sadly, depressingly repetitive in overall outline (and, unfortunately, likely outcome) that it takes an effort to begin. However, given that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month…
More antivaccine stylings from someone who is Dunning-Kruger personified
Posted by Orac on October 22, 2015 
I was measured, science-based, and reasonable in yesterday’s post about the new American Cancer Society guidelines for screening mammography (which is obviously why that post garnered so few comments, thus teaching me my lesson yet again0, but regular readers know that I can be quite obnoxious and sarcastic and there’s a reason why this blog…
Once more into the breach: The American Cancer Society publishes new mammography guidelines
Posted by Orac on October 21, 2015 
One of the things that feels the weirdest about having done the same job, having been in the same specialty, for a longer and longer time is that you frequently feel, as the late, great Yogi Berra would have put it, déjà vu all over again. This is particularly true in science and medicine, where…
Yet another antivaccine rally, yet another yawn
Posted by Orac on October 20, 2015 
If there’s one thing that’s amusing about the antivaccine movement, it’s the disconnect between its members’ perception of their own importance and the reality of it, which is that they tend to be a pretty pathetic, risible band. They post their blogs, full of the rage of Dunning-Kruger, thinking that they are putting forth the…
Antivaccinationists denying the cult of Andrew Wakefield and Jenny McCarthy
Posted by Orac on October 19, 2015 
Two of the great “icons”—if you can call them “great” given that they’re icons but hardly “great”—of the antivaccine movement are Andrew Wakefield and Jenny McCarthy. Over the last decade, they have arguably been the most influential people in the antivaccine movement. The reasons are simple. Let’s look at Jenny McCarthy first. In 2007, when…
From dietary supplements to the emergency room
Posted by Orac on October 16, 2015 
If there’s one thing I’ve been consistent about, it’s that, however ridiculous all the other woo I routinely discuss here is—homeopathy, reiki, reflexology, I’m talking to you and your friends—herbal medicine and supplements might have value because they might have a physiological effect that is beneficial in treating or preventing disease. Of course, if that’s…
In the pages of Nature, a full-throated defense of “integrating” quackery into medicine
Posted by Orac on October 15, 2015 
Oh, no, Nature. Not you. Not again. It wasn’t enough that you were busted shilling for traditional Chinese medicine with a big, glossy advertising supplement a few years ago. I thought you had learned your lesson after that, as you didn’t do it again. Maybe I was wrong. Granted, your offense this time is not…
Sarah Hershberger: “Cancer-free” and proof that natural healing works? Not so much…
Posted by Orac on October 14, 2015 
One of the more depressing topics that I regularly write about includes of analyses of news stories of children with cancer whose parents decided to stop science-based treatment (usually the chemotherapy) and use quackery instead. There are, of course, variations on this theme, but these stories take form that generally resembles this outline: A child…
Governor Jerry Brown protects patients by vetoing California’s right-to-try bill
Posted by Orac on October 13, 2015 
When last I discussed the cruel sham that is the tide of “right-to-try” laws that has been flowing through state legislatures to become law over the last year and a half. “Right-to-try” laws, as I pointed out when I first noted the earliest ones being promoted in Colorado, Louisiana, Arizona, and Missouri, referring to them…
The Nobel Prize versus traditional Chinese medicine
Posted by Orac on October 12, 2015 
Last week, in response to the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Chinese scientist Youyou Tu, who isolated Artemisinin and validated it as a useful treatment for malaria back in the 1970s, I pointed out that the discovery was a triumph of natural products pharmacology, not of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).…
Ben Carson’s alternative cancer cure testimonial for Mannatech
Posted by Orac on October 9, 2015 
Over the years, I’ve frequently made the points that the vast majority of physicians are not scientists and, in fact, that many of them suffer from a severe case of Dunning-Kruger when it comes to science. Even going back to the very early history of this blog, you can find examples, the most common of…
Another child with cancer endangered by alternative medicine
Posted by Orac on October 8, 2015 
Yesterday, I wrote about the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Youyou Tu, who, after screening 2,000 herbal treatments from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for anti-malaria activity, finally discovered Artemisinin. She isolated it from the plant in which it is found, using modern chemistry to isolate it, purify it, and later chemically…
The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discoverer of Artemisinin: A triumph of natural product pharmacology, not traditional Chinese medicine
Posted by Orac on October 7, 2015 
Earlier this week, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Youyou Tu for her discovery of the anti-malaria compound Artemisinin, as well as to William C. Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura for their discovery of a novel therapy for roundworm. Artemisinin, as some of you might know, is a compound derived from traditional…
Anger is an energy? Maybe, but it doesn’t help you evaluate vaccine science
Posted by Orac on October 5, 2015 
Anger is an energy, as a certain old punk sang back in the 1980s. It can even be a great motivator, such as when anger overtakes us for injustice or over crimes. Anger, however, is not a particularly good intellectual tool, nor does it help in analyzing science. Which reminds me: J.B. Handley is back.…
“Liquid biopsies” for cancer: not ready for prime time
Posted by Orac on October 2, 2015 
I’ve written many times about how the relationship between the early detection of cancer and decreased mortality from cancer is not nearly as straightforward as the average person—even the average doctor—thinks, the first time being in the very first year of this blog’s existence. Since then, the complexities and overpromising of various screening modalities designed…
The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health teams up with quacks
Posted by Orac on October 1, 2015 
Naturopathy is quackery. I like to start most, if not all, posts about naturopathy with that simple statement. The reasons are simple. First, it’s true. Second, most people—including doctors—are unaware of this simple fact. Finally, it irritates naturopaths and their fans. It also has the benefit of setting the tone I want to convey whenever…
Three dozen dead macaque monkeys later: Vaccines still don’t cause autism
Posted by Orac on September 30, 2015 
One of the limitations constraining those of us who do human subjects research is that ethical considerations often prevent us from designing our clinical trials in what would be, from a strictly scientific standpoint, in the most methodologically rigorous way. For example, we can’t intentionally infect human beings with known inocula of deadly bacteria in…
