Informed consent in alternative medicine? | Edzard Ernst

Informed consent is a basic ethical principle and a precondition for any medical or surgical procedure (e. g. a therapeutic intervention or a diagnostic test). Essentially, there are 4 facets of informed consent: 

1. the patient must have decision-making capacity, 
2. the patient’s decision must be free from coercion or manipulation, 
3. all relevant information must be disclosed to the […]

Read on: Informed consent in alternative medicine?

Another cancer quack dies…of cancer. – Respectful Insolence

As a cancer surgeon and physician, I can’t stand Ty Bollinger. I’m sure that comes as a surprise to absolutely none of my regular readers, given what a massive cancer quack he is. Most recently, he has become known for a series of deeply dishonest videos about cancer, chemotherapy, and alternative treatments for cancer called The Truth About Cancer. If there’s one rule I’ve learned in skepticism, be it about quackery or any other outlandish claims, it’s that any time I see a book, movie, or article called “The Truth About…” chances are at least 95% that the content is not the truth about anything and is instead pure BS. Bollinger’s video series is no exception, as Harriet Hall discussed. I’d also like to point out that I now have a copy of the series and have watched part of the first episode. Let me just tell you, it’s even worse than Harriet tells...

Continue reading -> Another cancer quack dies…of cancer. – Respectful Insolence

The (lack of) ethics in alternative medicine | Edzard Ernst

Medical ethics are central to any type of healthcare – and this includes, of course, alternative medicine. The American Medical Association (AMA) have just published their newly revised code of ethics, AMA Principles of Medical Ethics. 

It has long been my impression that, in alternative medicine, ethics receive no or far too little attention. Some alternative […]Read on: The (lack of) ethics in alternative medicine

Homeopathy as a way of reducing antibiotic use in livestock ? | Edzard Ernst

The UK petition to ban homeopathy for animals has so far achieved well over 3 000 signatures. Remarkably, it also prompted a reaction from the Faculty of Homeopathy which I reproduce here in full:

Response to petition calling on the RCVS to ban homeopathy Homeopathy has a long history of being used successfully in veterinary practice for […]

Read on: Homeopathy as a way of reducing antibiotic use in livestock ?

The first traditional Chinese treatment granted a traditional herbal registration in the UK | Edzard Ernst

Yesterday, a press-release reached me announcing that a Chinese herbal medicine, ‘Phynova Joint and Muscle Relief Tablets’, containing the active ingredient Sigesbeckia, is now on sale in the UK for the first time in Boots The Chemist:

Sigesbeckia is the first traditional Chinese treatment granted a traditional herbal registration (THR) under the traditional herbal medicines product […]

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Deepak Chopra enters my ‘ALT MED HALL OF FAME’ | Edzard Ernst

Yes, I know, lately I have been neglecting my ‘ALT MED HALL OF FAME’. This is entirely my fault; there are so many candidates waiting to be admitted that, I have been hesitant as to who should be next. Today, I came across an article about Deepak Chopra and his latest book, Super Genes. It tells “how lifestyle shifts […]

Read on: Deepak Chopra enters my ‘ALT MED HALL OF FAME’

Random thoughts on politeness | Edzard Ernst

Politeness means showing consideration for others and observing accepted social rules. Those who know me personally would probably confirm that I am a fairly polite person. And I had always hoped that politeness might also become a feature of how all of us deal with each other on this blog. Sadly this has not proven […]

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A breakthrough in the field of homeopathy: organic + non-GMO remedies | Edzard Ernst

Nobody can doubt that, during the last 200 years, conventional medicine has made monumental progress. Homeopathy, however, has remained more or less like Hahnemann invented it. But now it seems as though homeopathy can celebrate an unprecedented step ahead. As so often in medicine, it originates from a commercial enterprise. Genexa is a US firm that produces […]

Read on: A breakthrough in the field of homeopathy: organic + non-GMO remedies

Tricks of the quackery trade (part 5) | Edzard Ernst

It would be easy to continue this series on ‘tricks of the trade’ for quite a while. But this might get boring, and I have therefore decided to call it a day. So here is the last instalment (feel free to post further tricks that you may know of [in the comments section below]): 

CRITICS DON’T UNDERSTAND […]
Read on: Tricks of the quackery trade (part 5)

The tricks of the quackery trade (part 4) | Edzard Ernst

This series of post is quite good fun – at least for me who is writing it. But I also hope that it is useful to those readers who are tempted to consult alternative practitioners. My intention is to stimulate people’s ability to think critically and to provide some sort of guide for patients which might help them in deciding which practitioners to avoid.

In this spirit, I now offer you the next instalment of three ‘tricks of the trade’ […]

Read on: The tricks of the quackery trade (part 4)

The tricks of the quackery trade (part 3) | Edzard Ernst

In part one and part two of this series of posts, we have discussed altogether six ‘tricks of the trade’:

• TREAT A NON-EXISTING CONDITION 
• MAINTENANCE TREATMENT 
• IT MUST GET WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER 
• THINK HOLISTICALLY 
• IT’S DUE TO THE POISONS YOUR DOCTOR GAVE YOU 
• A CURE TAKES A LONG TIME 

Now it is time to disclose three […]

Read on: The tricks of the quackery trade (part 3)

Autistic children are like chimps and dogs, don’t you know?

If you need any more proof of the kind of stupidity being thrown around by anti-vaccine loons, look no further than this video:


(Someone stored the whole video on Google Drive since these things tend to disappear.) In the video, Del Bigtree is sitting at a table with some anti-vaccine luminaries talking about autistic children. […]

Read more at: Autistic children are like chimps and dogs, don’t you know? by Reuben

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See also:
Respectful Insolence: Andrew Wakefield and Del Bigtree: Privileged white males harming African-Americans with antivaccine propaganda

The tricks of the quackery trade (part 2) | Edzard Ernst

In part one, we have dealt with three common tricks used by quacks to convince the public to consult them and to keep coming back for more. It has been pointed out to me that some of these tricks are used not just by alternative practitioners but also by real physicians. This is, of course, […]

Read on: The tricks of the quackery trade (part 2)

Common tricks of the quackery trade (part 1) | Edzard Ernst

We were recently informed that Americans spend more than US$ 30 billion per year on alternative medicine. This is a tidy sum by anyone’s standards and we may well ask:

 

Why do so many people opt for alternative medicine?

The enthusiasts claim, of course, that this is because alternative medicine is effective and safe. As there is precious little data to support […]Read on: Common tricks of the quackery trade (part 1)

The Kid lets his true colors show

We haven’t talked a lot about The Kid lately. This was partly because he’s not worth the time and partly because he hasn’t had a whole hell of a lot of interesting things to say. But something caught our attention the other day, something that may very well earn The Kid a nomination for this year’s Douchebag of The Year award. In a blog post titled “Neurodiversity Is Social Justice Cancer,” The Kid shows us his true colors. He managed to be racist, elitist, and ableist at the same time […]

Read more at: The Kid lets his true colors show by Reuben