medicine
j7uy5 | June 12, 2006This post is not interesting to specialists, but
may be of some use to
others. I'm writing it mostly because the matter has been
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/12/AR2006061200722.html">reported
in the mainstream press, and I think some clarification is in order.
Wellbutrin XL has been approved by the US FDA, "for the
prevention of major depressive episodes in patients with a history of
seasonal affective disorder."
In this post, I go over some of the history of the product, and try to
explain why the new indication is important, or not. Continue…
purepedantry | June 12, 2006Focus on the Family, a conservative social organization located in Colorado Springs, CO, has decided to oppose the mandatory vaccination of young girls for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a virus linked to the formation of cervical cancer. Recently the FDA has approved a vaccine for two of the high risk (more likely to form cancer) subtypes that has proved very effective (over 90%) at preventing HPV infection in girls when administered before sexual activity.
Diane Carman of the Denver Post has this coverage:
HPV is a sexually transmitted disease that is the cause of more than 70 percent of…
oracknows | June 12, 2006When it rains it pours, eh?
While I happen to be on the topic of vaccines and autism again today, here's a surprising story:
Andrew Wakefield, the doctor behind the scare over a potential link between the MMR jab and autism in children, is to face four charges relating to unprofessional conduct at the General Medical Council, it is reported today.
Mr Wakefield, a surgeon who became a gut specialist, could be struck off the medical register and debarred from practising in the UK if the GMC finds him guilty of serious professional misconduct.
Following the publication of a research paper in the…
oracknows | June 12, 2006Regular readers of this blog may have noticed that it's been a while since I've written a substantive post on the fear mongering and bad science that are used by activists to support the claim that mercury in the thimerosal used as preservatives in vaccines is the cause of an "autism epidemic." The closest I've come is using Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s credulous reporting and conspiracy-mongering, in which he uncritically parroted the claims of the worst of the mercury militia and arguing that his recent article in Rolling Stone uses the same sort of dubious and fallacious techniques, showing…
j7uy5 | June 11, 2006UCSF has issued a
href="http://pub.ucsf.edu/newsservices/releases/200606091/">press
release describing their trial of a vaccine,
href="http://www.nabi.com/pipeline/pipeline.php?id=3" rel="tag">NicVAX®
(Nicotine Conjugate Vaccine) , for treatment of nicotine addiction.
The product is made by attaching a nicotine derivative to a
carrier protein. This is necessary because nicotine itself is
too small to elicit an immune response.
When injected, the vaccine causes the immune system to produce
antibodies that bind to nicotine. Once bound, the nicotine is
unable to cross the
href="…
oracknows | June 11, 2006A couple of days ago, I wrote about a megafestival of altie woo taking place in my favorite city. It just occurred to me right now: If I were in Chicago right at this very minute, I could be in Hulda Clark's workshop (which is starting right now) learning how to cure all cancers and cure all diseases by zapping people's parasites and telling them to get their amalgam fillings and any teeth with root canals removed.
I'm missing a chance right now to learn a new skill that would let me become the ultimate doctor! Why on earth am I still here on the East Coast?
Well, I guess there's always…
terrasig | June 10, 2006[A regular reader, SciMom at Doubleloop, thanked me for putting up this post on my old blog this past Wednesday. As I don't believe that any of my new SiBlings here covered the passing of this amazing scientist, I am reprinting it here for our new and more diverse audience.]
Cancer research and the cause of women in science and medicine lost a true leader and shining example last week with the passing of Dr Anita Roberts to gastric cancer. She was only 64.
From her Washington Post obituary:
Dr. Roberts, the 49th most-cited scientist in the world and the third most-cited female scientist,…
sb admin | June 9, 2006No surprise here: a highly-regarded climatologist declares that the Bush administration is "muzzling government scientists" and covering up the facts about global warming.
Warren Washington, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, said that Bush appointees are suppressing information about climate change, restricting journalists' access to federal scientists and rewriting agency news releases to stress global warming uncertainties.
"The news media is not getting the full story, especially from government scientists," Washington told about 160 people…
purepedantry | June 9, 2006Here is a interesting idea about how to treat pain without addicting people to pain killers.
There is some back story to this business that you should know before we discuss why this is a cool idea, though.
Opioid drugs -- like codeine, morphine, and heroine -- act in the nervous system by activating receptors in specific regions of the brain that result in pain relief. If you were wondering though why evolution would be so kind as to make natural receptors to get yourself high, they are there because there are actually natural compounds that act at these receptors and do some similar…
oracknows | June 9, 2006It's times like this that I really wish I were back in Chicago. Actually, it's times like any time that I wish I were back in Chicago, but this in particular brings out that feeling:
The Health Freedom Expo is invading Chicago beginning today.
Of course, whenever you hear someone advocating "health freedom," it's a pretty good bet that it's an altie advocating quackery. After all, lacking data to support the efficacy of their favored treatments, alties often resort to the argument that attempts to suppress them are an attack on "health freedom." Of course, much of the time, what is being…
oracknows | June 8, 2006A slightly late plug, but big, brand new Tangled Bank is here. Enjoy the best science blogging of the last two weeks.
oracknows | June 8, 2006From The Examining Room, Dr. Charles, blog carnival afficianado and all around talented medblogger, comes the transcript of the 36th Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle. It begins with a question:
To readers who distrust science, knowledge found through experimentation, and the secular truths of reason in favor of simply believing - I ask you - why should affirming belief in something be a virtuous concept if it misleads? Why should demanding proof be soulless and cold if it keeps you from ignorance and victimization? And why do they always want your money?
I think I can answer that last…
oracknows | June 7, 2006I really have to turn off my Google Alerts for this topic. I'm going to pull out my hair if I don't.
As you may recall, I've been posting about two young victims of the siren call of quackery who will most likely pay with their lives for their trust in quacks. The first, Katie Wernecke, rejected conventional medicine in Texas several months ago and is now at an undisclosed location receiving "secret" treatments, her father claiming that he can't reveal what treatment she is receiving or the doctors will stop treating her. The second, Abraham Cherrix, has gotten permission to leave Virginia to…
oracknows | June 5, 2006Doctor Charles is waiting.
Yes, he's the host of the next edition of the Skeptics' Circle, scheduled to land on his blog, The Examining Room of Doctor Charles this Thursday, June 8. You only have two days until the deadline. Doctor Charles' contact information for submissions is here; general guidelines for submission are here.
Doctor Charles has been blogging quite a while, a couple of months longer than I have, and I've liked his blog since I first discovered it. Indeed, I've always rather envied his way of telling a story. If you want to see what I mean, check out this recent gem from him…
oracknows | June 4, 2006Last week, I wrote about two teens (Katie Wernecke and Abraham Cherrix) who, sadly, had been duped by the siren call of quackery and were, with the acquiescence of their parents, on the road to extinction. It figures that more information would become available over the weekend (after I had written my article) about both of them, first Abraham and now Katie:
Katie Wernecke, the cancer-afflicted girl at the center of a bitter state custody battle last year, is receiving secret treatment from an alternative practitioner at an undisclosed location.
"On a condition of receiving treatment, there…
oracknows | June 3, 2006Compared to the usual topics discussed during the week, I normally like to try to keep the weekend fare on the ol' blog relatively light and fluffy (mainly because traffic usually falls around 50% and I like to post my serious material on skepticism and science on days when I tend to have the most readers), but to me this can't wait until Monday. As you may recall, a couple of days ago, I wrote about Abraham Starchild Cherrix, a 15-year old who, with his father, has rejected conventional therapy for his Hodgkin's Lymphoma. It now looks as though he will get to go to Mexico:
ACCOMAC, Va. (AP…
oracknows | June 1, 2006About six months back, I wrote about Katie Wernecke, a 13-year-old girl diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma last year, whose parents fought with Texas courts to let them take her to Kansas to receive high dose vitamin C therapy rather than the chemotherapy and radiation therapy that she needed to have a chance of beating her cancer. Events have suggested to me that an update is in order. It turns out that Katie is still alive, although it is unclear how she is doing. Her family has apparently taken her to an undisclosed cancer treatment center out of state, where she is getting more altie "…
oracknows | May 31, 2006When I first saw this, I thought that it had to be a joke, but now I'm not so sure. I'm guessing you've all heard of ear candling, which can supposedly cure tinnitus, clean the ear canal of wax buildup, relieve vertigo, cure swimmer's ear, and provide a variety of other supposed health benefits?
Well, an orifice is an orifice, so are you ready for....ButtCandles� (I don't think that I am.)
According to the web page:
ButtCandles⢠are an exciting, and time honored, device for internal cleansing. We encourage you to peruse our site, read the referenced medical literature, and then make an…
oracknows | May 31, 2006Our Seed overlords demand a response:
Since they're funded by taxpayer dollars (through the NIH, NSF, and so on), should scientists have to justify their research agendas to the public, rather than just grant-making bodies?
Ooh, boy. That's a loaded question that depends a lot on how you interpret it.
My first reaction was similar to that of Razib, PZ, Dave, John, and GrrlScientist; i.e., no way, because the public doesn't have a clue what constitutes good scientific research. Ah, heck, my second reaction was the same, too, and it led me to ramble on way longer than the 300 words that our…
oracknows | May 30, 2006Grand Rounds, vol. 2, no. 36 has been posted at Kidney Notes. Go forth and check out the best medical blogging from the last week.
Geez, I was so busy last week on call that I forgot to submit an entry.
While we're at it, here's a belated plug for a special Memorial Day edition of RINO Sightings.