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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Naturopathy Quackery

Patients lose when they chose naturopaths over real doctors

Recently, I came across a news story describing two cancer patients treated by naturopaths in New Zealand. Both died, one almost certainly unnecessarily, the other after enduring more suffering than she likely had to. These tragic cases and others reminded me of why it is so appalling that so many physicians are “integrating” naturopathy into “integrative medicine.” In reality, they are integrating quackery into medicine.

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Medicine

What’s scarier than dubious stem cell clinics? A naturopathic stem cell clinic!

After nearly 13 years of blogging, I thought I’d seen it all. Then former naturopath Britt Hermes let me know that there is a naturopath in Utah offering stem cell treatments. My face is raw from the double facepalming.

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Medicine Politics Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

No, vaccines do not cause sudden infant death syndrome, a Vaccine Court decision notwithstanding

There was a rumbling in the antivaccine underground a week ago about a recent ruling by the Vaccine Court compensating parents of a child who died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). In a confused and scientifically highly flawed decision, the Special Master Thomas Gowen didn’t rule that vaccines cause SIDS, but did rule that they contributed to SIDS in this one case. Soon, the message will be that vaccines cause SIDS. They don’t. The Vaccine Court screwed up.

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Antivaccine nonsense Clinical trials Medicine

More Gardasil fear mongering: A “critical review” of HPV vaccination that lacks critical thinking

Antivaxers fear and detest vaccines, but one of the types of vaccines they fear and detest the most is the HPV vaccine, such as Gardasil and Cervarix, which have been blamed for everything from sudden death to premature ovarian failure to autoimmune diseases. A couple of Mexican “researchers” from a cardiology institute try again with a “critical review” of HPV vaccine safety that lacks anything resembling critical thinking.

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Naturopathy Quackery

The death of Jade Erick from intravenous curcumin: Mystery solved

In March, it was widely reported that a young woman named Jade Erick had died suddenly of a hypersensitivity reaction while undergoing an infusion of intravenous curcumin ordered by a naturopath named Kim Kelly to treat her eczema. The FDA investigated and found egregious problems with the injectable curcumin used. This tragic incident serves to demonstrate how dangerous a combination naturopaths and dubious compounding pharmacies can be.