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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

The Chicago Tribune’s cheerleader for quackery on the infiltration of woo into academic medicine

Regular readers of this blog know that I have been becoming increasingly disturbed by what I see as the infiltration of non-evidenced-based “alternative” medicine into academic medical centers. Indeed, about a month ago, I went so far as to count the number of medical schools that offer some form of “complementary and alternative medicine” (CAM) […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

Ineffective alternative medicine is not always harmless

Due to a death in the family, I have to go back into the vaults of the old blog for some more reposts. Regular blogging should resume in a day or two. This particular post first appeared on February 1, 2006. Here’s something I wish there was more of, the criminal prosecution of quacks when […]

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Bioethics Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

Another young life claimed by a misguided faith in alternative medicine

A number of readers have mailed me links to this story, and, yes, it is right up my alley. In reading it, I fear that it’s a vision of the future for two young cancer patients who are very unlikely to survive their cancers because their parents eschewed evidence-based medicine in favor of woo, Starchild […]

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Bioethics Cancer Clinical trials Medicine Politics

Dichloroacetate and The DCA Site: A low bar for “success” (part 2)

Be careful what you ask for; you just might get it. I say this in light of a commenter, who decided to show up in one of my old posts to claim “positive results” from dichloroacetate (DCA), the small molecule experimental cancer drug that has shown promising activity in rat models of cancer but has […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

Missionaries of woo (a.k.a. “Woo Without Borders”)

I had come across a rather amusing mea culpa by GruntDoc in which, while discussing an amazingly inappropriate notice regarding guidelines for emergency room chiropractic reimbursement, he admits to having in the past referred our best and bravest to chiropractors. I can understand why he did it, given the circumstances he described. However, what bothered […]