ICD-11: A triumph of the “integration” of quackery with real medicine
ICD-10 is an a standardized system of alphanumeric codes for diagnoses maintained by the World Health Organization used throughout the world for billing, epidemiology, research, and cataloging causes...
View ArticleAnother pebble in the quackademic integrative avalanche
We've documented the infiltration of quackery into academic medicine through the "integration" of mystical and prescientific treatment modalities into medicine. Here, we look at a pebble in the...
View ArticleBee Venom is Snake Oil
Bee venom acupuncture is a double-barrel pseudoscience that provides new example of an old problem - the use of poor quality preclinical research to justify the inclusion of nonsense in medicine.
View ArticleScience-based medicine versus other ways of knowing
It has been our position that science is the most effective means of determining medical treatments that work and whose benefits outweigh their risks. Those who promote pseudoscientific or...
View ArticleSo-Called Alternative Medicine
Edzard Ernst calls it "So-Called Alternative Medicine". This insider's view of SCAM is a new book from an prolific researcher and author.
View ArticleConfronting homeopathy, naturopathy, homeopathy, and other quackademic...
Several years back, I was forced to confront quackery at my alma mater in the form of an anthroposophic medicine program at the University of Michigan. The situation has deteriorated since then, as now...
View ArticleAcupuncture versus breast cancer treatment-induced joint pain: Spinning...
The investigators behind a recent clinical trial testing acupuncture to treat joint pain caused by aromatase inhibitors used to treat breast cancer are spinning it as a positive study. As is usually...
View ArticleWorld Health Organization Endorses Quackery
The World Health Organization fails its primary function by promoting traditional quackery.
View ArticleThe Integrative Oncology Scholars Program: Indoctrinating the next generation...
"Integrative oncology" involves "integrating" pseudoscience, mysticism, and quackery with science-based oncology and co-opting science-based lifestyle modalities as "alternative" in order to provide...
View ArticleWHO Promotes Unscientific TCM
The World Health Organization endorses quackery in the form of TCM.
View Article“Eliminating cancer” with Traditional Chinese Medicine and other...
State-approved continuing education courses pump a steady stream of fresh pseudoscience into acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine practice. Courses include claims of "eliminating cancer" and...
View ArticleAlternative Medicine Exploits Coronavirus Fears
Alternative medicine has been quick to capitalize on the public's fear of coronavirus. They offer an array of bogus treatments.
View ArticleNo, James Lyons-Weiler did not “break the coronavirus code”
Last week, a new conspiracy theory about the coronavirus outbreak by James Lyons-Weiler went viral (if you'll excuse the term) after antivax conspiracy theorist Del Bigtree interviewed him....
View ArticleTCM for COVID-19
Despite the many claims, there is no real evidence that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is effective for prevention or treatment of COVID-19
View ArticleChinese government recommends bear bile for COVID-19
The Chinese Government is relentlessly promoting TCM for COVID-19, including a remedy containing bear bile, which is cruelly extracted from the gall bladders of living wild or "farmed" bears.
View ArticleAn incomplete list of COVID-19 quackery
Possibly the only thing spreading faster than COVID-19 is the pseudoscience about COVID-19.
View ArticleAcupuncture and cupping for adult idiopathic scoliosis at the VA
A veteran's adult idiopathic scoliosis was treated at a VA health clinic with acupuncture and cupping in an attempt to correct his spinal curvature, an impossibility without surgery. The ideology of...
View ArticleExploitation of Mammals for Traditional Remedies
A recent review hints at the extent to which endangered mammals are exploited for fake medicines. The post Exploitation of Mammals for Traditional Remedies first appeared on Science-Based Medicine.
View ArticleThe risks associated with alternative medicine
In a new paper, the types and severity of harms from different types of alternative medicine are described. The post The risks associated with alternative medicine first appeared on Science-Based...
View ArticleNCCIH Strategic Plan 2021–2025: Meet the new plan, same as the old plan…?
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health recently released its latest 5 year strategic plan. It's basically the same as the last strategic plan, but with one new addition. It's not...
View ArticleDoes Acupuncture Increase Red and White Blood Cells and T-Cells?
An article by a medical acupuncturist claims that acupuncture increases red and white blood cells and T-cells. The evidence is far from convincing. The post Does Acupuncture Increase Red and White...
View ArticleSome Sepsis Stuff
Sepsis interventions. Some don't work and some don't work. The post Some Sepsis Stuff first appeared on Science-Based Medicine.
View ArticleAromatase inhibitors and acupuncture in breast cancer: Spinning a negative...
Four years ago, I wrote about an essentially negative study looking at whether acupuncture could alleviate joint pain caused by aromatase inhibitors, a common treatment for estrogen-sensitive breast...
View ArticleThe Beekeeper: Sentinel Chicken?
Bee venom. Will it help Andy's rheumatism? Doubtful The post The Beekeeper: Sentinel Chicken? first appeared on Science-Based Medicine.
View ArticleASCO endorses “integrative oncology” quackery for cancer pain
Last week, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Society for Integrative Oncology published guidelines for treating cancer pain. These guidelines endorsed quackery like reflexology and...
View ArticleThe World Health Organization promotes quackery yet again
The World Health Organization held the First WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit this weekend. Unfortunately, its claims of being "evidence-based" aside, the conference followed the WHO's usual...
View ArticleSkeptics in the Pub. Cholera.
Prologue from the serialization of the novel Skeptics in the Pub: Cholera. The post Skeptics in the Pub. Cholera. first appeared on Science-Based Medicine.
View ArticleBoosting. What To Do.
The immune system can't be "boosted." It is an inane concept used by those who promote unscientific approaches to medicine. The post Boosting. What To Do. first appeared on Science-Based Medicine.
View ArticleBest Hospital Eye Roll
Science: Figuring things out is better than making things up. A tee shirt I recently saw. Except… In a recent post Mayo Clinic Promotes Reiki, Steve seemed surprised that the Mayo was offering Reiki. I...
View ArticleTongue
TCPM Tongue diagnosis. Garbage in, garbage out. The post Tongue first appeared on Science-Based Medicine.
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