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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine

Tai chi for fibromyalgia in the NEJM: A triumph of the Trojan horse

I tell ya, I go away for a few days and something always seems to happen that I’d be all over if I were at home and blogging normally. Either something major happens in the anti-vaccine movement or there’s a new study being touted by woos or womthing else big happens. In the old days, […]

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Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine

Tara Parker-Pope and the New York Times Well Blog: Acupuncture woo takes over

What the hell is going on with The New York Times‘ health reporting? I’ve had my share of disagreements with the way that the NYT has covered various health issues over the years that I’ve been blogging, but I don’t recall ever having seen it embrace pseudoscience. I can recall being a bit miffed at […]

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Medicine

Some excellent questions for medical reporters

Having taken note of my little missive yesterday about New York Times health reporter Tara Parker-Pope and her utter credulity towards the woo that is acupuncture, Dr. R. W. makes an observation: A number of years ago I ran across Science Education in Preparation for the Ministry. The premise of the document, written by pathologist […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Medicine Quackery

When homeopaths fight back

I love it when my fans notice me. After all, of what use is my having taken so many hours over so many years laying down on a nearly daily basis if my words don’t have an impact? Surely I couldn’t be so egotistical that I’d do it anyway even if my readership was what […]

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Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Surgery

The ethics of clinical trials for terminally ill cancer patients

After chilling out for part of the weekend, yesterday I became so engrossed in writing my part of a training grant for my postdoc that, before I knew it, it was way too late to provide you with the Insolence you crave. Oh, well. Tomorrow for sure. In the meantime, I’ll post a couple of […]