A pseudo-prize for pseudo-research into pseudo-medicine

An announcement (it’s in German, I’m afraid) proudly declaring that ‘homeopathy fulfils the criteria of evidence-based medicine‘ caught my attention.

Here is the story:
In 2016, Dr. Melanie Wölk, did a ‘Master of Science’* at the ‘Donau University in Krems, Austria investigating the question whether homeopathy follows the rules of evidence-based medicine (EBM). She arrived […]

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Another dodgy meta-analysis published in a dodgy journal (except ‘Acupuncture in Medicine’ is from the BMJ-group)

The plethora of dodgy meta-analyses in alternative medicine has been the subject of a recent post – so this one is a mere update of a regular lament.

This new meta-analysis was to evaluate evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH). (Call me pedantic, but I prefer meta-analyses […]

Read the rest here: Another dodgy meta-analysis published in a dodgy journal (except ‘Acupuncture in Medicine’ is from the BMJ-group)

How turn a negative trial into a positive one? Simple, just cheat!

Sipjeondaebo-tang is an East Asian herbal supplement containing Angelica root (Angelicae Gigantis Radix), the rhizome of Cnidium officinale Makino (Cnidii Rhizoma), Radix Paeoniae, Rehmannia glutinosa root (Rehmanniae Radix Preparata), Ginseng root (Ginseng Radix Alba), Atractylodes lancea root (Atractylodis Rhizoma Alba), the dried sclerotia of Poria cocos (Poria cocos Sclerotium), Licorice root (Glycyrrhizae Radix), Astragalus root […]

Read the rest here: How turn a negative trial into a positive one? Simple, just cheat!

This RCT of a Chinese herbal mixture makes a mockery of science and medical ethics

Difficulties breastfeeding?

Some say that Chinese herbal medicine offers a solution.

This Chinese multi-centre RCT included 588 mothers considering breastfeeding. The intervention group received the Chinese herbal mixture Zengru Gao, while the control group received no therapy. The primary outcomes were the percentages of fully and partially breastfeeding mothers, and a secondary outcome was baby’s […]

Read the rest here: This RCT of a Chinese herbal mixture makes a mockery of science and medical ethics

Acupuncture: poor research leading false-positive conclusions. In my view, this is scientific misconduct

The aim of this three-armed, parallel, randomized exploratory study was to determine, if two types of acupuncture (auricular acupuncture [AA] and traditional Chinese acupuncture [TCA]) were feasible and more effective than usual care (UC) alone for TBI–related headache. The subjects were previously deployed Service members (18–69 years old) with mild-to-moderate TBI and headaches. The interventions explored […]

Read the rest here: Acupuncture: poor research leading false-positive conclusions. In my view, this is scientific misconduct

The horrific Schuessler Salt experiments during the Third Reich

Sorry, but something I stated in my last post was not entirely correct! I wrote that “I could not find a single study on Schuessler Salts“. Yet, I do know of a ‘study’ of Schuessler Salts after all; I hesitate to write about it because it is an exceedingly ugly story that goes back to […]
Read the rest here: The horrific Schuessler Salt experiments during the Third Reich

New acupuncture study smells of scientific misconduct

A new acupuncture study puzzles me a great deal. It is a “randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial” evaluating acupuncture for cancer-related fatigue (CRF) in lung cancer patients. Twenty-eight patients presenting with CRF were randomly assigned to active acupuncture or placebo acupuncture groups to receive acupoint stimulation at LI-4, Ren-6, St-36, KI-3, and Sp-6 twice weekly […]

Read the rest here: New acupuncture study smells of scientific misconduct

Aromatherapy: an efficient therapy for anxiety/depression? It’s time to stop such nonsensical pseudoresearch

This randomized controlled trial was aimed to investigate the effect of aromatherapy massage on anxiety, depression, and physiologic parameters in older patients with acute coronary syndrome. It was conducted on 90 older women with acute coronary syndrome. The participants were randomly assigned into the intervention and control groups. The intervention group received reflexology with lavender […]

Read the rest here: Aromatherapy: an efficient therapy for anxiety/depression? It’s time to stop such nonsensical pseudoresearch

Homeopathy for schizoaffective disorder (Is this the most stupid paper this year?)

According to its authors, the objective of this paper was “to demonstrate the need for using both alternative and conventional treatments to improve clinical outcomes in the treatment of schizoaffective disorder”. 

Instead of doing anything remotely like this, the authors present two case histories:

• a 23-y-old female (case 1) 
• and a 34-y-old female (case 2). […]

Read the rest here: Homeopathy for schizoaffective disorder (Is this the most stupid paper this year?)

Acupuncture-promotion masquarading as research

The goal of this study was to assess clinical outcomes observed among adult patients who received acupuncture treatments at a United States Air Force medical center. 

This retrospective chart review was performed at the Nellis Family Medicine Residency in the Mike O’Callaghan Military Medical Center at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, NV. The […]

Read the rest here: Acupuncture-promotion masquarading as research

Chiropractic = method of choice to treat influenza? (Or chiros too daft for words?)

I recently came across this article; essentially it claims that, in 1918, chiropractic proved itself to be the method of choice for treating the flu!

Unbelievable?

Here is a short quote from it:

Chiropractors got fantastic results from influenza patients while those under medical care died like flies all around. Statistics reflect a most amazing […]

Read the rest here: Chiropractic = method of choice to treat influenza? (Or chiros too daft for words?)

Promotion masquarading as science: the example of chiropractic pseudo-research

Systematic reviews are aimed at summarising and critically evaluating the evidence on a specific research question. They are the highest level of evidence and are more reliable than anything else we have. Therefore, they represent a most useful tool for both clinicians and researchers. But there are, of course, exceptions. Take, for instance, this recent systematic review […]

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Shiatsu: fatally flawed research is an unethical waste of resources

Shiatsu is one of those alternative therapies where there is almost no research. Therefore, every new study is of interest, and I was delighted to find this new trial.

Italian researchers tested the efficacy and safety of combining shiatsu and amitriptyline to treat refractory primary headaches in a single-blind, randomized, pilot study. Subjects with a […]

Read the rest here: Shiatsu: fatally flawed research is an unethical waste of resources

If researchers commit scientific misconduct, acupuncture may appear effective

The aim of this pragmatic study was “to investigate the effectiveness of acupuncture in addition to routine care in patients with allergic asthma compared to treatment with routine care alone.” 

Patients with allergic asthma were included in a controlled trial and randomized to receive up to 15 acupuncture sessions over 3 months plus routine care, or to a control group receiving routine care alone. Patients who did not consent to randomization received acupuncture treatment for the first 3 months and were followed as a cohort […]

Read the rest here: If researchers commit scientific misconduct, acupuncture may appear effective

Tui Na for radiculopathy: another systematic review bordering on scientific misconduct

Tui Na is a massage technique that is based on the Taoist principles of TCM. It involves a range of manipulations usually performed by an operator’s finger, hand, elbow, knee, or foot applied to muscle or soft tissue at specific parts of the body. According to one website of TCM-proponents “Tui Na makes use of various hand techniques in combination with acupuncture and other manipulation techniques. To enhance the healing process, the practitioner may recommend the use of Chinese herbs. Many of the techniques used in this massage resemble that of a western massage like gliding, kneading, vibration, tapping, friction, pulling, rolling, pressing and shaking. In Tui Na massage, the muscles and tendons are massaged with the help of hands, and an acupressure technique is applied to directly affect the flow of Qi at different acupressure points of the body, thus facilitating the healing process. It removes the blockages and keeps the energy moving through the meridians as well as the muscles. A typical session of Tui Na massage may vary from thirty minutes to an hour. The session timings may vary depending on the patient’s needs and condition. The best part of the therapy is that it relaxes as well as energizes the person […]

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Emotional Freedom Techniques: More ‘alternative facts’ from ‘The Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine’

You may recall, we have dealt with the JCAM many times before; for instance here, here, here and here. Now they have come out with another remarkable paper. This study – no, the authors called it a ‘pilot study’ – was to compare the efficacy of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) with that of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in reducing adolescent anxiety. Sixty-three American high-ability students in grades 6–12, ages 10–18 years, who scored in the moderate to high ranges for anxiety on the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale-2 (RCMAS-2) were randomly assigned to one of three groups...

Read on: Emotional Freedom Techniques: More ‘alternative facts’ from ‘The Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine’

Homeopathy for the common cold: is this another case of scientific misconduct?

The common cold is one of the indications for which homeopathy is deemed to be effective… by homeopaths that is! Non-homeopaths are understandably critical about this claim, not least because there is no good evidence for it. But, hold on, there is a new study which might change all this.

This study was recently published in COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES IN MEDICINE which is supposed to be one of the better journals in this area. According to its authors, it was conducted “to determine if a homeopathic syrup was effective in treating cold symptoms in preschool children”...

Read on: Homeopathy for the common cold: is this another case of scientific misconduct?

The mainstreaming of quackery: the role of the ‘NCCIH’

The boom of alternative medicine in the US – and consequently in the rest of the developed world – is intimately connected with a NHI centre now called NCCIH (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health). It was founded in the early 1990s because some politicians were bent on promoting quackery. Initially the institution had modest funding but, after more political interference, it had ample cash to pursue all sorts of activities, including sponsoring research into alternative therapies at US universities. A most interesting video summarising the history of the NCCIH can be seen here...

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Homeopathy: yet another case of scientific misconduct?

This randomized, double-blind study evaluated the efficacy of a homeopathic treatment in preventing excessive weight gain during pregnancy in overweight or obese women who were suspected of having a common mental disorder. For the homeopathic group (n=62), 9 homeopathic remedies were pre-selected: (1) Pulsatilla nigricans, (2) Sepia succus, (3) Lycopodium clavatum, (4) sulphur, (5) Lachesis trigonocephalus, (6) Nux vomica, (7) Calcarea carbonica, (8) phosphorus; and (9) Conium maculatum. From those 9 drugs, one was prioritized for administration for each participant. After the first appointment, a re-selection or selection of a new, more appropriate drug occurred, using the list of preselected drugs. The dosage was 6 drops orally 2 ×/day, in the morning and at night, on 4 consecutive days each week, with an interval of 3 d between doses, up until the next appointment medical appointment. The control group (n=72) took placebos. Both groups also received a diet orientation....

Read on: Homeopathy: yet another case of scientific misconduct?

Interactions caused by dietary supplements ( a case of scientific misconduct?)

Dietary and herbal supplements (DHS) are currently popular. They are being promoted as being natural and therefore safe – an assumption that is clearly wrong: some DHS can contain toxic substances or they might cause interactions with drugs or other DHS.

This study explored whether adverse events were actually associated with such interactions and examined specific characteristics among inpatient DHS users prone to such adverse events. It was designed as a cross-sectional survey of 947 patients hospitalized in 12 departments of a tertiary academic medical centre in Haifa, Israel...

Read on: Interactions caused by dietary supplements ( a case of scientific misconduct?)