Confessions of a Quackbuster

This blog deals with healthcare consumer protection, and is therefore about quackery, healthfraud, chiropractic, and other forms of so-Called "Alternative" Medicine (sCAM).

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Baptist ponders adding focus on alternative care

Baptist ponders adding focus on alternative care

By Mark Tosczak
The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area
Updated: 8:00 p.m. ET July 24, 2005

Can cranberry juice cure a child's urinary tract infection? Does the spice turmeric lower the risk of cancer? Can massage be used to treat incontinence?

A few years ago, many doctors might have dismissed these questions as quackery or merely old wives' tales. Now, these topics and others like them are becoming the subject of serious science at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

In fact, there's so much research, teaching and clinical activity going on in what's known as complementary and alternative medicine, or CAM, at Wake Forest Baptist that administrators are considering creating a new center to house the work, and a new Ph.D. program to train young researchers in the field.

Complementary and alternative medicine -- sometimes called integrative or holistic medicine -- encompasses a broad range of therapies that have one thing in common: They're not a part of medicine as it's traditionally been taught and practiced in the United States.

The category includes chiropractic treatment, herbal and nutritional supplements, acupuncture and more exotic therapies such as those that claim to heal by manipulating energy fields. They are a set of therapies that have long been kept at arms-length, and even dismissed, by doctors oriented toward scientifically proven treatments.

But in the last 12 months, about $25.7 million worth of grants for CAM research has been awarded to Wake Forest Baptist researchers, according to the medical center's Office of Research.

National trend

A report released earlier this year by the Institute of Medicine, an influential national nonprofit that makes recommendations about health care and medical research, calls for more scientific evaluation of CAM.

"The main thrust of that report was to emphasize the need to study all of these (therapies) to document the effectiveness of all of them so that people can be accurately informed about what works and what doesn't and also the risk," said Dr. Stuart Bondurant, executive dean of the medical school at Georgetown University and the chairman of the committee that wrote the report. "Some of the other interventions, whether they have risk or not is just unknown."

Bondurant, a Winston-Salem native and dean of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine for 16 years, said that most Americans -- almost 75 percent according to a 2004 government report -- have used CAM therapies at some point.

Federal funding for research on CAM therapies has increased more than 60-fold in the last 14 years, from $2 million in 1992 to $123.1 million in fiscal 2005.

Even if science discovers that many alternative therapies don't work, health care professionals still need to know about them if their patients are using them -- because so many are.

In fact, educating health care practitioners about non-Western health care techniques is one of the goals of researchers at Wake Forest Baptist.

Thomas Arcury, an anthropologist who's worked in Wake Forest Baptist's Department of Family and Community Medicine for six years, has helped put together a network of alternative-medicine practitioners in the area -- acupuncturists, massage therapists, healing-touch practitioners and others -- to work with Wake Forest Baptist faculty members.

The idea is to get the two groups of practitioners, who sometimes may be treating the same patients, to talk to each other, establishing communication and trust.

"These are all people who are very concerned about patients," Arcury said.

He also interviews people, especially minority groups and people who live in rural areas, on how they care for themselves, how they get information on health care and what they believe about it.

Such research, he said, can be valuable for doctors who may not, for instance, realize that a patient has been using the folk remedy of a couple of drops of kerosene on a sugar cube to treat a cold.

"If we're trying to improve health care and trying to improve how people take better care of their health, we have to understand how they decide to use this health stuff," Arcury said. "If we want to do health education, if we want to do patient education, we need to know what models people carry around in their head."

Controversial still

Nonetheless, Arcury said the increasing attention to complementary and alternative medicine has sparked debate inside the medical center.

"This is an area of some controversy," he said. "There's many different sides to this."

But those differences, he added, are ultimately good.

"It's not that people are in knock-down, drag-out (fights)," he said. "I think it's healthy for there to be discussion."

About three months ago, Wake Forest Baptist's top research administrator, Associate Dean for Research Sally Shumaker, formed a committee to begin to catalogue the medical center's CAM work and to encourage more collaboration between researchers.

Besides Shumaker, other notable members of the committee include:

a.. Dr. Kathi Kemper, a pediatrician who specializes in holistic medicine and who was the founder and chairwoman of the just-created American Academy of Pediatrics' Provisional Section for Complementary, Holistic and Integrative Medicine.

b.. Floyd H. "Ski" Chilton, who runs a government-funded $7.5 million research center that combines the efforts of Wake Forest Baptist and Harvard University researchers to study whether certain substances in plants might be used to combat atherosclerosis (the build up of fatty deposits in blood vessels) and asthma.

c.. Gordon A. Melson, dean of Wake Forest University's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, who was brought in as part of the discussions on creating a new Ph.D. program.

"We could be a top-ranked school in this area," Kemper said.

No decisions yet

In fact, Kemper, Shumaker and Chilton all believe that Wake Forest Baptist could distinguish itself among academic medical centers nationally by having a center focused on complementary and alternative medicine.

Kemper herself has been a force in promoting CAM work. She put together an alliance of people from the state's medical schools -- Wake Forest Baptist, Duke University Medical Center, UNC Health Care and East Carolina University's Brody School of Medicine -- to discuss common concerns.

Despite the activity at Wake Forest Baptist, there are still plenty of questions that remain about its CAM efforts. For instance, it's not clear yet how much it would cost to start up a center for complementary and alternative medicine that would be similar to the research centers the school already has in fields such as cancer, epilepsy and aging.

Also unclear is where funding for an additional research center, or a new Ph.D. program, would come from.

Shumaker said planning has just started on both those ideas and that formal proposals haven't been drafted yet. The final decisions would rest in the hands of senior university and medical center administrators and, for the Ph.D. program, the university faculty.

Launching a center or a Ph.D. program could take as long as a year, she said.

© 2005 Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area




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  • Internet Trial Questions Herbal Remedies for Anxiety and Insomnia

    Internet Trial Questions Herbal Remedies for Anxiety and Insomnia


    Description

    Two popular herbal remedies—kava, commonly used for anxiety, and valerian, used for insomnia—are no more effective than an inactive placebo, concludes a study.


    Newswise — Two popular herbal remedies—kava, commonly used for anxiety, and valerian, used for insomnia—are no more effective than an inactive placebo, concludes a study in the July issue of Medicine.

    Dr. Bradly P. Jacobs and colleagues of University of California-San Francisco performed an innovative Internet trial to evaluate the effectiveness of kava and valerian. Potential subjects who reported anxiety and insomnia were recruited through e-mail and websites. The final study included 391 participants from 45 states.

    By mail, one group of patients received kava plus an inactive valerian-placebo and one group received valerian plus kava-placebo; a third group received double placebos. After four weeks of treatment, subjects used a secure website to complete follow-up questionnaires.

    The herbal extracts were no more effective than placebo in reducing the symptoms they were intended to treat. Anxiety scores decreased by 25 percent for patients taking placebo, compared to about 21 percent with either kava or valerian.

    The effects on insomnia were also similar—in all three groups, insomnia scores and time to falling asleep decreased by about 50 percent. The results were comparable across patient subgroups, such as those with higher vs lower depression scores.

    Most side effects were comparable between groups, although patients taking valerian had a higher rate of diarrhea. The study was performed before recent safety warnings concerning liver damage related to kava. However, none of the patients taking kava reported any liver-related side effects.

    Anxiety and insomnia are common symptoms that often occur together. Kava and valerian are among the most popular herbal remedies, with annual sales of over $28 million in the United States alone. However, few scientific studies have been performed to evaluate their effectiveness.

    The new results question the true benefits of kava in reducing anxiety, or valerian in improving sleep for people with insomnia. Although many people trying these herbal remedies will feel better within a few weeks, the results appear no better than with inactive placebo treatment. Within the confines of a clinical trial environment in which people are highly motivated to seek relief from their medical condition, any improvements "may not be attributed to the biological effects of kava or valerian, and if attributable are no greater than the effect of placebo" Dr. Jacobs and colleagues conclude.

    The study is the first randomized, controlled clinical research trial to be conducted entirely over the Internet. The "direct-to-participant" method used for the study included measures to confirm that the participants were who they claimed to be and were not providing misleading information on outcomes. Internet studies may provide a valuable new approach to enrolling appropriate research subjects quickly, efficiently, and at lower cost than with traditional research designs.

    Medicine provides insight from leading scholars about the latest results in clinical investigation. Relevant to both hospital and office practice, the journal includes analytical reviews of Internal Medicine, Dermatology, Neurology, and Pediatrics topics. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins of Philadelphia, PA, and is available online at http://www.md-journal.com.










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  • Sunday, July 24, 2005

    Online, Eva Cassidy Trumps Elvis

    New York Times
    July 24, 2005

    Online, Eva Cassidy Trumps Elvis
    By JOEL TOPCIK

    When Amazon.com released its Musicians Hall of Fame this month, ranking the Top 25-selling CD's in the site's 10-year history, a few of the results might have been surprising - Enya at No. 8? - but all the names on the list were recognizable stars. Except one: No. 5, Eva Cassidy.

    Cassidy was an angelic-voiced but little-known singer whose death from cancer at 33, in 1996, inspired a phenomenal demand for her renditions of songbook standards, jazz and gospel, leading to six posthumous albums culled from unreleased recordings. She's not necessarily out of place on Amazon's list, which skews wildly toward white pop-rock (the only solo black artist is Ray Charles at No. 23) and hardly reflects album sales beyond Amazon. But ahead of Bob Dylan (No. 9), Bruce Springsteen (No. 12) and Elvis (No. 25)?

    The explanation probably lies in the rise of the Internet as a tastemaker, and the explosive growth of online commerce that Amazon itself pioneered. The independent Blix Street label began releasing Cassidy's recordings in 1998, the year Amazon added music to its inventory. A word-of-mouth campaign, fueled by chat rooms and fan sites, began to seep into the news media, and by December 2000 two Cassidy albums had pushed a top-selling Beatles compilation down to No. 3 at Amazon, with three other Cassidy albums at Nos. 4, 5 and 7. Just how many CD's she has sold on Amazon to reach No. 5 is unknown; the company does not release sales information other than comparative rankings. But thanks to Amazon consumers, Eva Cassidy is enjoying an unlikely, and lucrative, sort of immortality.

    *********************


    My Eva blog: Eva Cassidy: Legendary Singer

    Globules against bioterror

    Globules against bioterror

    Ask Wayne B. Jonas why the scientific foundation he directs is funding research into the effects of prayer, and the use of homeopathy to fight bioterrorism, and he offers a straightforward answer: Science is the way to determine whether they work.

    SANDRA G. BOODMAN
    Posted online: Sunday, July 24, 2005

    The scientific foundation Wayne B. Jonas directs is funding research into the effects of prayer, the use of homeopathy to fight bioterrorism and whether magnetic devices can heal orthopedic injuries.

    "We're trying to stimulate good-quality research,'' said Jonas, a former chief of the Office of Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health who directs the nonprofit Samueli Institute for Information Biology (SIIB) in Alexandria. "There is a good case for looking at these things scientifically, because we don't know a lot about them."

    But, the 51-year-old board-certified family physician and retired Army doctor adds, "it's difficult to walk the scientific fence" - dodging criticism from "the hard-core skeptics" who dismiss alternative medicine as quackery and the "hard-core advocates" who accept it uncritically.

    Jonas has headed the institute - named for its principal benefactor, California philanthropist Susan Samueli -since its inception in 2001. What began as a two-person foundation has grown into a research organization with four offices and a staff of 15. It has an annual budget of about $4 million provided by the Samueli family, and an additional $5 million in contracts from the Department of Defense (DOD) to study alternative treatments. Currently the institute is funding about 50 projects, awarding grants ranging from $20,000 to $250,000 to researchers in the United States, Europe and Asia.

    Among the DOD-related projects, which are a collaboration with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, the military medical school in Bethesda, where Jonas is a clinical professor, are several to determine whether the use of extremely diluted poisons, including cyanide and botulinum toxin, might protect soldiers from higher doses to which they could be exposed in biological warfare.

    "The work in this area is in its earliest stages but has some promising characteristics," said Iris R. Bell, director of research for the integrative medicine program at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. "The Samueli staff are open-minded scientists, they are not taking anything as dogma. They are asking the bigger questions, such as what are the assumptions of science? I would expect the work they do and the work they fund is going to be controversial."

    Critics of the institute say that while they support rigorous research into alternative medical treatments, Samueli is not doing it. "There is nothing of scientific value they're doing that I'm aware of," said Wallace Sampson, editor of the Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine and clinical professor emeritus of medicine at Stanford. "They're all ideologues trying to prove something that doesn't exist."

    Homeopathy, a treatment invented in the late 1700s, is predicated on the belief that "like cures like" and that illnesses can be treated by stimulating a healing response through the ingestion of highly diluted substances such as herbs, heavy metals or poison ivy, which would cause harm at larger doses. In most cases no single molecule of the substance remains.

    Sampson and other critics of Samueli's work also question use of terminology not found in science, such as "information biology", which Jonas defines as "the interaction of information with biological systems"; and "salutogenesis", which he says is the process of healing and the opposite of pathogenesis, the process of disease. Bruce Flamm, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, summed it up: "We have to keep an open mind, but not an open mind to nonsense."


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    Karl Popper seminar - Rafe Champion

    For fans of Karl Popper and philosophy, here are some links to check out, provided by Rafe Champion:

    The Rathouse - Rafe Champion
    http://www.the-rathouse.com

    Critical Rationalism Study Page - Matt Diogardi
    http://www.geocities.com/criticalrationalist/


    The information at this links was put on line at a blog where Rafe Champion is a guest poster:

    Popper seminar:

    Part 1. The background to Popper's work on The Open Society and Its Enemies.
    http://badanalysis.com/catallaxy/index.php?p=661

    Part 2. The Architecture of The Open Society and its Enemies, Karl Popper's major 1945 work in the philosophy of politics.
    http://badanalysis.com/catallaxy/index.php?p=662

    Part 3. Background reading.
    http://badanalysis.com/catallaxy/index.php?p=666

    Part 4. Leadership and sovereignty
    http://badanalysis.com/catallaxy/index.php?p=667

    Part 5. The personal and institutional tasks of democracy.
    http://badanalysis.com/catallaxy/index.php?p=673

    Part 6. Violence and revolution.
    http://badanalysis.com/catallaxy/index.php?p=672

    Part 7. The danger of parliamentary sovereignty
    http://badanalysis.com/catallaxy/index.php?p=678

    Part 8. Plato's collectivist theory of Justice.
    http://badanalysis.com/catallaxy/?p=684


    Placed here with the kind permission of Rafe Champion.


    My own Karl Popper page:

    Karl Popper's Falsification Principle
    http://www.geocities.com/healthbase/falsification.html

    Saturday, July 23, 2005

    Greek Tragedy: Stephanie Klein's blog

    An interesting blog I found while searching for Danish Swedish Farmdogs.






    Greek Tragedy
    Stephanie Klein's blog


    This article in the New York Times is going to shoot her blog to the stars:


    Reader, I Dated Him

    By STEPHANIE ROSENBLOOM
    Published: July 24, 2005

    IT'S addictive," Meredith Balossini said. "There's compassion. There's want. There's misery."

    Ms. Balossini, 28, an executive secretary from Prospect Park, N.J., wasn't describing a hot summer beach read but a blog about the trysts, triumphs and heartaches of a young New York City woman named Stephanie Klein.

    Stephanie Klein's Web site is illustrated with photos of her, her friends, her dog and newspaper mentions of her publication deal.

    Since Jan. 20, 2004, Ms. Klein, a 29-year-old art director with freckles and long red curls like Botticelli's Venus, has been blogging about the intimate details of her life, from her affinity for rainy days and grilled cheese sandwiches to her sexual escapades, including one that involved a stranger and a can of Pam cooking spray.

    Today the blog has an international readership with fans who recognize Ms. Klein when they see her gallivanting around Manhattan and the Hamptons, and who find parallels to their own lives in her candid, freewheeling stories.

    According to Technorati, which ranks blogs based on "net attention," or the number of people who are linking to them, Ms. Klein's blog has a rank of 2,132, meaning that of the world's more than 13 million blogs, there are only 2,000 or so with more inbound links than hers.

    "That would put her in the top 1 percent of all bloggers," said David L. Sifry, the founder and chief executive officer of Technorati. (The top 100-ranked blogs tend to offer news and political commentary; single-subject or niche blogs like Ms. Klein's, even the most popular, are generally further down the list.)

    Ms. Klein's blog is a voyeur's playground, with many photos of Ms. Klein, her friends and the swanky places they go. But the allure is muted by accounts of Ms. Klein's childhood summers at fat camp, the husband she says cheated on her when she was pregnant, her subsequent abortion and her ongoing quest for love. Nothing, it seems, is too private not to share with readers.

    And that is exactly how they like it. While most of the millions of daily-life blogs have only a handful of regular readers, generally the author's friends, Ms. Klein's legions of followers seem as absorbed in her escapades as if she were a television character, the Carrie Bradshaw of New York bloggers.

    "I have to read it every day," Ms. Balossini said. "I have to know she's O.K. and that good things are happening for her. I want good things for her."

    Ms. Klein's celebrity has lately outgrown the Web, leading to a book and television deal. Her memoir, "Straight Up and Dirty," is to be published by ReganBooks, Judith Regan's HarperCollins imprint, in April 2006, and NBC is developing the book into a half-hour comedy series produced by Ms. Regan. Ms. Klein is also working on a second book about her fat-camp experiences. (Her trademark candor did not extend to the exact advance for her books, but she allowed that Publishers Marketplace, an industry publication, had described it as a "major deal," meaning $501,000 or more.)

    Her blog, called Greek Tragedy (www.stephanieklein.blogs.com), takes its name in part from Ms. Klein's heritage (she is a quarter Greek) and from a humiliating experience at Barnard College in which, she said, she was the only woman in her class not invited to join a sorority.

    The title is tongue in cheek because while many of the entries are about rejection, an undercurrent of hope runs through them - something fans cling to when licking their own wounds. "I want to be able to not just cry over clichés but rise above it with triumph just as you've done," one reader wrote in a post on the blog.

    "I don't miss anything she writes," said Todd Moser, 43, of Plantation, Fla. "I've been hooked for nine months."

    "Here's a girl that's got everything, I mean everything," he added. "And yet she struggles to find the guy. Us single people, we all struggle with that. We can all relate to that."

    Even though Ms. Klein's love life is chronicled only online, she is regularly recognized by strangers in New York, she says. "I get so many e-mails from people saying, 'Saw you on a date last night; that guy looked like a goof,' " Ms. Klein said on a recent sweltering afternoon, swigging from a bottle of Poland Spring in a corporate cafeteria in Midtown. Contrary to the brash tone of many of her blog entries, in person she has a gentle manner and a sugary girlish voice.

    Sometimes, she added, fans make comments to her during a date.

    "It is a strange feeling when you're on a date and your waitress is like, 'I love you,' " Ms. Klein said. Once, she continued, a waitress recognized her from her blog and then proceeded to speak to her escort. "I wouldn't let her go," the waitress advised.

    In addition to the solidarity readers feel with Ms. Klein's emotional ups and downs, many say Greek Tragedy offers a glimpse of a glamorous-seeming urban life. Just as "Sex and the City" attracted viewers outside New York who felt hip by proxy while watching, Ms. Klein's blog offers its own vicarious pleasures.

    "It's like following your favorite character in a book," said Emily Marsh, 25, of Corinth, Miss. "She does things that some people don't have the opportunity to do. She can go to the Hamptons, and she can go shopping. I mean, I walk down the street, and I see my neighbor and that's about it."

    Anna Myers, 28, a teacher from Richmond, Va., reads Greek Tragedy daily. "I think it's because I'm a little bit fascinated with New York, and she's single," Ms. Myers said. "She very much creates a real world scenario. I feel like blogs are the reality television of the Internet."

    On the blog, which Ms. Klein updates nearly every day, in between writing books and holding down a full-time job, she describes her Hamptons share house, her $55 tank tops and her photography, some of which hangs in the Hotel Gansevoort in the meatpacking district. Her racy anecdotes (including a recent one about a woman who forcibly kissed her outside a Carvel store) are a draw for many readers, perhaps because her candor extends to all topics.

    "When you're honest," Ms. Klein said, "you can't be boring."

    About her husband, whom she is divorcing and whose real name she does not use, identifying him as "Gabe," Ms. Klein wrote:

    Growing up, I was the fat girl. ... When the bottle landed on me during spin the bottle, the boys chanted, "Do over." I didn't get to choose boys. Gabe was the scholar and athlete of the year growing up, and he chose me. His wanting me made me feel special. His cheating on me was worse than being told God dislikes you.

    Calls to Ms. Klein's husband for his perspective on their breakup were not returned.

    On a warm summer night, Ms. Klein and four or five friends met for drinks at Angelo and Maxie's steakhouse on Park Avenue South, where at one point Ms. Klein broke away from the group to chat up a stranger in a crisp white button-down. The women soon headed north to Sushi Samba. When some of Ms. Klein's friends visited the ladies room, they returned five minutes later to find their seats at the table taken by three men.

    They spent several hours flirting and sipping cocktails with strawberries and kiwis in them. Then Ms. Klein went home to blog about it.

    "I want to eat," she wrote, "but I've just come from a trendy sushi dinner that cost too much for me to still be hungry."

    Ms. Klein's hunger was exacerbated by the television food program "Nigella Bites," which she wrote "might as well be porn" with its finger sucking and close-ups of honey.

    "She's licking things again," Ms. Klein blogged. "I'm naked, in this chair, only mildly hating that I'm here alone, craving. A man. A hamburger. Deep-fried celery."

    "Mostly I'm into the hamburger," she wrote. "The man part, it's on its way. Sometimes, patience pays off. I'm all about the soufflé."

    ******

    Visit Stephanie: Greek Tragedy

    Hundreds of facts all about me

    She has a dog named Linus, which I'd guess is a Danish Swedish Farm Dog. More pictures of Linus. We have one too, and her name is Daisy.

    WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 22 Jul 05

    WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 22 Jul 05 Washington, DC

    NOTICE: Maryland has the WN search engine running. There's not enough space in WN for URL's of all relevant back issues. Just go to http://www.bobpark.org and click on "search."

    1. SUMMER RERUN: DISCOVERY LAUNCH TUESDAY - OR MAYBE SEPTEMBER.
    They won't know for sure if the fuel sensor is working properly until they fill the external tanks. There hasn't been a shuttle flight in 32 months. If they don't launch in July they won't have another window until September. The shuttle is still needed to make Hubble repairs and eventually dismantle the space station.

    2. SUMMER RECESS: THE LAUNCH WINDOW ON CAPITOL HILL ALSO CLOSES.
    For all they've been doing, you might have thought Congress was already in recess. Now they're in a hurry to get out of town by the end of next week. Better they left yesterday. Today, in the first space authorization in five years, the House endorsed the Bush "Vision for Space Exploration." The "Vision" calls for sending humans back to the moon in 2020. President Kennedy, in 1961, promised it "within a decade." It was done in seven years, but it's much harder now, and less urgent. The Cold War is over.

    3. HYDROGEN HURDLES: THEY AREN'T POT HOLES, THE BRIDGE IS OUT.
    In the other technology initiative of the Bush administration, House subcommittees on both energy and research heard Wednesday about some of the problems. They could have found out a year ago by reading the APS Panel on Public Affairs report on the Hydrogen Initiative http://www.aps.org/publicaffairs/index.cfm. But while members of Congress never tire of hearing about the absence of greenhouse emissions and how hydrogen could reduce dependence on Arab oil, they seem less interested in production and storage.

    4. WORLD PEACE: THE INFLATION RATE EXCEEDS THAT OF REAL ESTATE.
    Avant-garde film director David Lynch ("Mulholland Dr.") wants to raise $7B to create world peace through a massive Transcendental Meditation program. A corps of 8,000, trained in TM, would create a coherent unified field over Earth. I don't mean to be a cynic, but in the 1993 Demonstration Project to reduce violence John Hagelin had 5,000 meditating over an 8 week period for only $1M. He offered to end the war in Kosovo with 7,000 Yogic flyers (flyers are better trained). After 9/11, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi himself, in a full-page ad in the NY Times, turned to "the world's wealthiest." He proposed to create world peace with a corps of 40,000 flyers for $1B. "There must be a few peace-loving billionaires who can raise the money in one day," he said. We see from Iraq that not one cheapskate billionaire came through.

    5. MISSILE DEFENSE: THAT'S EVEN BETTER THAN I THOUGHT IT WAS.
    Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry A. Obering III, director of the Missile Defense Agency, quoted in today's Washington Post: "We have a better than zero chance of successfully intercepting, I believe, an inbound warhead. That confidence will improve over time."

    THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
    Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the University of Maryland, but they should be.
    ---
    Archives of What's New can be found at http://www.bobpark.org




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    Chirotalk
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    Eva Cassidy: Legendary Singer
    The Art of Elfred Lee

    Friday, July 22, 2005

    TAHITIAN NONI ® JUICE: World Wide Warning

    Interesting sites:

    TAHITIAN NONI ® JUICE: World Wide Warning


    World Wide Warning





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    Eva Cassidy: Legendary Singer
    The Art of Elfred Lee

    Kennedy admits he's not qualified to talk about vaccines or autism

    Check out Skeptico's take on Kennedy's foolishness:

    Kennedy admits he's not qualified to talk about vaccines or autism



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    Thursday, July 21, 2005

    A Toast to Saint Nate

    Over at Orac's, a rousing meeting of skeptics is celebrating The Thirteenth Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle.

    The meeting closes with a chocking bit of news, that is hinted at in the title of the meeting: A Change is in the air.

    Well, the Great Saint Nate has made the heavy decision to stop blogging (hopefully temporarily). He announces it on his blog: "The First of My Last Posts".

    Saint Nate has contributed enormously to blogging, especially skeptical blogging, so I propose that we all lift our glasses in a toast to one of the truly great bloggers!


    To Saint Nate, Patron Saint of Skeptical Bloggers:

    May His Holiness be blessed with honor and success. May His blog be preserved as a shrine in the blogosphere. May He occasionally bless us with his presence, whenever He finds the time to visit us. May His shrine be a perpetual blessing and inspiration to skeptical pilgrims, who will be inspired to follow in His skeptical footsteps. May we who remain direct pilgrims to His shrine, and link our humble blogs to His great blog. May our lesser lights guide others to the Greater Light. Blessed be the memory of Saint Nate!


    Dear Nate,

    I wish you well in the future in all your endeavors. Just remember that you have many friends in cyberspace.

    Regards,

    Sitemaster



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    The Thirteenth Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle

    Over at Orac's, a rousing meeting of skeptics is celebrating The Thirteenth Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle.

    There are plenty of great entries, so enjoy yourselves......but be warned - the meeting closes with a chocking bit of news, that is hinted at in the title of the meeting: A Change is in the air.

    (Now you'll just HAVE to go there to resolve the suspense.....;-)

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    A Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe


    FSM Posted by Picasa

    OPEN LETTER TO KANSAS SCHOOL BOARD

    I am writing you with much concern after having read of your hearing to decide whether the alternative theory of Intelligent Design should be taught along with the theory of Evolution. I think we can all agree that it is important for students to hear multiple viewpoints so they can choose for themselves the theory that makes the most sense to them. I am concerned, however, that students will only hear one theory of Intelligent Design.

    Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design. I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. It was He who created all that we see and all that we feel. We feel strongly that the overwhelming scientific evidence pointing towards evolutionary processes is nothing but a coincidence, put in place by Him.

    It is for this reason that I’m writing you today, to formally request that this alternative theory be taught in your schools, along with the other two theories. In fact, I will go so far as to say, if you do not agree to do this, we will be forced to proceed with legal action. I’m sure you see where we are coming from. If the Intelligent Design theory is not based on faith, but instead another scientific theory, as is claimed, then you must also allow our theory to be taught, as it is also based on science, not on faith.

    Some find that hard to believe, so it may be helpful to tell you a little more about our beliefs. We have evidence that a Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe. None of us, of course, were around to see it, but we have written accounts of it. We have several lengthy volumes explaining all details of His power. Also, you may be surprised to hear that there are over 10 million of us, and growing. We tend to be very secretive, as many people claim our beliefs are not substantiated by observable evidence. What these people don’t understand is that He built the world to make us think the earth is older than it really is. For example, a scientist may perform a carbon-dating process on an artifact. He finds that approximately 75% of the Carbon-14 has decayed by electron emission to Nitrogen-14, and infers that this artifact is approximately 10,000 years old, as the half-life of Carbon-14 appears to be 5,730 years. But what our scientist does not realize is that every time he makes a measurement, the Flying Spaghetti Monster is there changing the results with His Noodly Appendage. We have numerous texts that describe in detail how this can be possible and the reasons why He does this. He is of course invisible and can pass through normal matter with ease.

    (there's more....;-)

    Health Scan: A chemical in hashish inhibits cancer

    THE JERUSALEM POST
    Jun. 19, 2005

    Health Scan: A chemical in hashish inhibits cancer
    Judy Siegel-Itzkovich,

    Hashish not only gets people high; it can bring cancer low. Derivatives of the cannabis plant from which hashish is produced have been shown by a Hebrew University doctoral student to be effective in halting the growth of tumors in laboratory and animal tests. For her work, Natalya Kogan was one of the winners of a Kaye Innovation Award, presented during the recent 68th meeting of the HU board of governors.

    Working under the supervision of Prof. Raphael Mechoulam at the Hebrew University School of Pharmacy (in collaboration with Prof. Michael Schlesinger at The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School and Prof. Ester Priel at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev), Kogan has developed new compounds – known as quinonoid cannabinoids – that parallel in their activity a group of anti-cancer drugs, the best known of which is daunomycin. But while daunomycin is toxic to the heart, Kogan, with Dr. Ronen Beeri and Dr. Gergana Marincheva of Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem's Ein Kerem, found that the quinonoid cannabinoids are much less cardiotoxic. The development of quinonoid compounds that display anticancer activity but are less toxic is a major therapeutic goal. Kogan is now continuing to investigate the mechanism of action of these promising compounds.

    All the compounds synthesized by Kogan inhibited cancer cell growth in cell culture, and one of them was found to markedly reduce the volume of tumors in animal studies The cannabinoid quinones were found to act through a rather unique pathway of cancer cell destruction – by specific inhibition of topoisomerase II, an enzyme that participates in cell replication. Most of the known anti-cancer drugs are less selective.

    The most active compound in the series developed by Kogan, as well as some other cannabinoids, were found by Kogan and HU Prof. Ruth Galilli to suppress the formation of the new blood vessels crucial for tumor growth, and much effort has been invested by researchers in the development of compounds with anti-angiogenic activity.

    The annual Kaye Innovation Awards were established in 1994 by Isaac Kaye, a prominent British industrialist in the pharmaceutical industry, to encourage HU faculty, staff and students to develop innovative methods and inventions with commercial potential.

    Wednesday, July 20, 2005

    Gov't Finally Closes St. Luke

    Gov't Finally Closes St. Luke

    The Inquirer (Monrovia)

    July 19, 2005
    Posted to the web July 20, 2005

    Monrovia

    The Government of Liberia has ordered the immediate closure of the St. Luke School of Medicine for illegally operating in the country.

    According to an Information Ministry release issued over the weekend, the government's decision is based on the findings and recommendations of a five-member committee constituted last March to probe the existence of St. Luke.

    A full criminal investigation is to be conducted against the proprietor of the school and others who may have knowingly aided the process of opening the school.

    All medical degrees issued by St. Luke School of Medicine are nullified and the school pronounced non-existent in Liberia, in keeping with the committee's recommendations approved by the Chairman of the National Transitional Government of Liberia, His Excellency Charles Gyude Bryant.

    The committee had observed that an Act to Incorporate St. Luke was approved in 2003, but was never enacted by the legislature in session.

    The cabinet committee further observed that the St. Luke School issued medical degrees in December 2001, January 2002, June 2002, August 2002, February 2003 and June 2003 when Monrovia was under attack.

    The Cabinet Committee chaired by Justice Minister Kabineh Ja'neh, included Education Minister Evelyn Kandakai, Transport Minister Vamba Kanneh, Health Minister Peter Coleman and the Director General of the Cabinet Soko V. Sackor.

    Critical Thinking About Research - book review

    From: Harriet Hall
    Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2005 10:58:42 -0700

    I want to recommend a book: "Critical Thinking about Research" by Julian Meltzoff published by the American Psychological Association.

    Just because a study is published in a peer-reviewed journal doesn't guarantee you can believe its results. This book teaches you how to evaluate scientific evidence, how to read a research article and critique it. It is a beautiful survey of all the things that can go wrong in an experiment, from the logic of design to the mechanics of randomization to the statistical analysis to the interpretation of results to the write-up. Just one very minor example: if all the group 1 data are handled early in the day and all the group 2 data are handled late in the evening, the handling of group 2 data might vary in quality due to researcher fatigue or other subjective factors. It would be easy enough to plan ahead to rule out this possibly confounding factor, but you would have to think of it first.

    It includes 16 fake articles with deliberate flaws. You can test yourself and then read the author's critique. It is a wonderful teaching exercise, made even more enjoyable by the puns he includes (Jane Kent-Reid and John E. Duzzent as authors of a study on dyslexia).

    There are a lot of studies in print that should never have been published and a lot that should never have been done in the first place. The principles of good research are poorly understood even by many researchers. Psychological pitfalls have betrayed otherwise good scientists (remember N-rays?). I wish this book were required reading for everyone who does science or reads about it - particularly those in alternative medicine who quote flawed studies to support their beliefs. And those who do meta-analyses and lump the good studies with the bad.

    Harriet Hall, MD

    *********

    Used by permission. Links added by PL.

    Aetna uncovers plot to intimidate dental licensing boards

    Aetna uncovers plot to intimidate dental licensing boards.

    Documents presented to the U.S. District Court for Colorado suggest why "biological dentists" helped fund the lawsuit that Cavitat Medical Technologies filed against Aetna, Inc. last year. [Barrett S. Documents suggest why bogus "racketeering" suit was filed against Aetna. Casewatch, July 15, 2005] Cavitat markets an ultrasound device that is claimed to help dentists diagnose "neuralgia-inducing cavitational osteonecrosis (NICO)," a condition that lacks scientific recognition. In 2002, Aetna issued a Clinical Policy Bulletin explaining why it would not cover diagnostic or treatment procedures related to use of the device. In 2004, Cavitat and its owner filed a lawsuit falsely accusing Aetna of "racketeering" and other wrongdoing. After the court dismissed the racketeering charge, Aetna filed a countersuit charging Cavitat and its owner with malicious prosecution. Documents filed with the court indicate that Cavitat's lawsuit was backed by "biological dentists" who purchased shares that would entitle them to a percentage of any money collected if Cavitat prevailed. These documents also indicate that the shareholders also planned to add dental boards as defendants in their racketeering suit if they did not agree to stop disciplining dentists who diagnose and treat "NICO." One describes the funding scheme, and the other states: "We are trying a different tactic with the state dental boards but if they do not comply, they will be named in the Aetna legal action as co-defendants, individually and as a board." One of the shareholders is Tim Bolen, a "publicist" who has issued false and defamatory statements about participants in several regulatory proceedings.

    No Vaccine-Autism Link, Parents Are Told

    "We need a war on autism, not a war on childhood vaccines." -- Dr. Peter Hotez


    New York Times
    July 20, 2005

    No Vaccine-Autism Link, Parents Are Told
    By GARDINER HARRIS

    WASHINGTON, July 19 - Top officials from three of the nation's premier public health agencies held an unusual news conference on Tuesday to say that childhood vaccines are life-saving medicines with no proven link to autism.

    "The science says very clearly that vaccines save lives and protect our children," said one of the officials, Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    To many, that declaration might have seemed akin to an announcement so basic as that high cholesterol readings are linked with heart disease. But the officials felt a need to make a forceful defense of vaccines because a growing number of parents contend that a mercury-containing vaccine preservative called thimerosal caused their children to become autistic. Indeed, several parents held a vigil outside the news conference, with one holding a large sign blaming vaccines for her child's disorder.

    Representative Dave Weldon, a Florida Republican who champions the notion that thimerosal has caused an explosion of autism cases around the world, attended the news conference and, after it ended, gave his own press briefing criticizing the public health officials.

    "It seemed that this was an effort to assuage public concerns, but I think parents are much smarter than some people give them credit for," said Mr. Weldon, who was a practicing physician before his election to the House in 1994.

    Thimerosal was largely removed from all childhood vaccines in 2001. Flu shots were an exception, and Mr. Weldon has sponsored legislation to ban preservative levels of thimerosal from them as well.

    Joining Dr. Gerberding at the news conference were Dr. Duane Alexander, director of the National Institute of Child Health Development, and Dr. Murray M. Lumpkin, acting deputy commissioner for international and special programs at the Food and Drug Administration.

    All said they were sympathetic to the problems faced by parents with autistic children. "We want the parents of children with autism to know that we are listening to their concerns," Dr. Alexander said.

    The National Institutes of Health has quadrupled financing for autism research since 1997, he said, to $102 million in the current fiscal year.

    Dr. Lumpkin said doctors wanted parents to examine the data concerning vaccines so that they will realize, he said, that the benefits of the medicines far outweigh their risks.

    Three other experts joined the officials at the news conference. Among them was Dr. Peter Hotez, a vaccine researcher at George Washington University, who is the father of a 12-year-old autistic daughter.

    Dr. Hotez said her condition had "come close to tearing our family apart." But he said he and his wife were convinced that their daughter's autism was "not related to vaccines."

    "We need a war on autism," he said, "not a war on childhood vaccines."

    I never said I could cure cancer, says 'therapist'

    I never said I could cure cancer, says 'therapist'

    Jul 19 2005
    Robin Turner, Western Mail


    A SELF-STYLED "detoxification therapist" accused of falsely claiming he could cure cancer walked free from court yesterday after the case against him collapsed.

    Roy McKinnon, 62, a former Royal Bank of Scotland official, had been treating ill people including cancer patients with a battery powered "zapper" which he said could alter their DNA.

    He also offered herbal remedies and his practices made him and another therapist the subject of an investigative programme by BBC Wales's Week In Week Out team.

    The programme involved input from Malcolm Mason, professor of oncology at the University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff, who said a cure for cancer "did not exist".

    Working from his semi-detached home in Garden Crescent, Gorseinon, Swansea, Mr McKinnon based some of his therapies on work by Hulda Regehr Clark, a doctor in Tijuana, Mexico, who claims in a book to have discovered "the cure for all cancers".

    But at Swansea Crown Court yesterday, Judge David Hale said there was no evidence that Mr Mackinnon had ever claimed that he could cure cancer.

    He said the complainant in the case, Janet Evans, did not specify in her evidence that Mackinnon told her he could cure cancer.

    Mackinnon, charged under the 1968 Trade Descriptions Act with "recklessly making a statement he could cure the condition known as cancer", was preparing for trial having entered a not guilty plea.

    Crown prosecutor Frances Jones attempted at the last minute to change the wording of the charge, inserting the word "halt" instead of "cure".

    But eventually the prosecutor agreed to offer no evidence and Mackinnon was declared not guilty before a jury was sworn in.

    Afterwards he said, "It's a relief because this has been hanging over me for two years. This has been a waste of taxpayers' money.

    "After finishing my life as a banker I started to learn about alternative medicine. Now I regard myself as a teacher who can help others to understand their medical problems. I never said I could cure cancer."

    He added that he believed the battery-powered zapper could help to alter people's DNA and help clear the body of toxins.

    Asked if he would now continue treating people following his acquittal, he said, "I don't know. I'm no spring chicken now."

    As Mackinnon left court yesterday, he clutched a book written by Hulda Clark, entitled The Cure for All Cancers.

    She claims that all cancers and many other diseases are caused by "parasites, toxins, and pollutants" and can be cured within a few days by administering a low-voltage electric current, herbs and other non-standard treatments.

    Mackinnon added yesterday, "As the judge said, I did not say I had the cure but I have helped people. I specialise in detoxification therapy and have been doing this now for around 20 years."

    A spokesman for Week In Week Out said, "It would not be advisable to comment at this stage."

    Researchers from Exeter University have warned that some websites on alternative or complementary medicine have been discouraging patients from using conventional cancer therapies.

    One website was criticised for false claims about chemotherapy, key to treating many cancers. It suggested "women with breast cancer are likely to die faster with chemotherapy than without".

    Professor Edzard Ernst who headed the study said, "Cancer patients get confused in the maze of claims and counter-claims and often turn to the internet for information which can give advice that has led to real harm and even death in some cases."

    Sunday, July 17, 2005

    Keyword analysis

    Checking out the search terms people are using to find this blog is interesting. Here are the results for today:

    Num % Search Term
    7 18.42 protandim
    2 5.26% dr john e curran rhode island
    2 5.26% grades of recommendation
    2 5.26% matt osborne lawyer utah
    1 2.63% cancer/alternative therapy
    1 2.63% autism and vaccinations
    1 2.63% theres a sucker born every minute
    1 2.63% spinal mobilisation
    1 2.63% web pages referring script
    1 2.63% consumers health digest
    1 2.63% dangers of colonic therapy
    1 2.63% mucus film
    1 2.63% richard dawkins blog
    1 2.63% dr amen
    1 2.63% blogging and josh groban
    1 2.63% baden autopsy schiavo
    1 2.63% antivax sites
    1 2.63% web pages referring
    1 2.63% mindless invalid
    1 2.63% creation god earth 6000 years
    1 2.63% arnold scott devous
    1 2.63% chiropractors scam masters circle
    1 2.63% protandim dangers
    1 2.63% prevalence of autism in us
    1 2.63% hayden blog
    1 2.63% god is dead new york times
    1 2.63% cancer research uk scam
    1 2.63% matthias rath new york time international herald
    1 2.63% new york times god is dead



    Terms for July 19, 2005

    Num % Search Term
    12 20.69% protandim
    4 6.90% spect scan
    3 5.17% richard anderson nd
    2 3.45% noni scam
    2 3.45% beast and 666
    2 3.45% kw-map
    2 3.45% founder of chiropractic
    2 3.45% acupuncture autism 2005 treatment
    1 1.72% proving a negative
    1 1.72% dr. ranjit chandra
    1 1.72% education data autism
    1 1.72% wendi friesen fraud
    1 1.72% proadjuster
    1 1.72% hiv confessions
    1 1.72% b.j. palmer quotes
    1 1.72% proposal memo
    1 1.72% floridians for constitutional integrity
    1 1.72% confessions of a quackbuster
    1 1.72% steven bratman, md
    1 1.72% dr.amen
    1 1.72% airborne effervescent founder
    1 1.72% neck manipulation
    1 1.72% blog on naturopath frauds
    1 1.72% steven bratman skeptic
    1 1.72% judge faith angell biography
    1 1.72% amen clinic
    1 1.72% neurocranial restructuring quackery
    1 1.72% mucoid plaque
    1 1.72% autism, thimerosal
    1 1.72% physical therapy vs chiropractic
    1 1.72% chiropractic science
    1 1.72% chiropractic negative
    1 1.72% university of oregon and autism data
    1 1.72% barelyfitz forum
    1 1.72% randi dawkins shake
    1 1.72% zouzhuan
    1 1.72% pharmd dpharm
    58 100.00%

    Probing Edges Of Medicine -- And Reality

    Probing Edges Of Medicine -- And Reality
    Homeopathy Against Bioterrorism? For a Local Research Institute, Few Areas of Study Are Too Far Out

    By Sandra G. Boodman
    Washington Post Staff Writer
    Tuesday, July 12, 2005; Page HE01


    Ask Wayne B. Jonas why the scientific foundation he directs is funding research into the effects of prayer, the use of homeopathy to fight bioterrorism and whether magnetic devices can heal orthopedic injuries, and he offers a straightforward answer: Science is the way to determine whether they work.

    "We're trying to stimulate good-quality research," said Jonas, a former chief of the Office of Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) who directs the nonprofit Samueli Institute for Information Biology (SIIB) in Alexandria. "There is a good case for looking at these things scientifically, because we don't know a lot about them."

    But, the 51-year-old board-certified family physician and retired Army doctor adds, "it's difficult to walk the scientific fence" -- dodging criticism from "the hard-core skeptics" who dismiss alternative medicine as quackery and the "hard-core advocates" who accept it uncritically.

    Jonas has headed the institute -- named for its principal benefactor, California philanthropist Susan Samueli -- since its inception in 2001. What began as a two-person foundation has grown into a research organization with four offices and a staff of 15. It has an annual budget of about $4 million provided by the Samueli family, and an additional $5 million in contracts from the Department of Defense (DOD) to study alternative treatments. Currently the institute is funding about 50 projects, awarding grants ranging from $20,000 to $250,000 to researchers in the United States, Europe and Asia. Some grants have been awarded to institute staff members.

    Among the DOD-related projects, which are a collaboration with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, the military medical school in Bethesda where Jonas is a clinical professor, are several to determine whether the use of extremely diluted poisons, including cyanide and botulinum toxin, might protect soliders from higher doses to which they could be exposed in biological warfare.

    "The work in this area is in its earliest stages but has some promising characteristics," said Iris R. Bell, director of research for the integrative medicine program at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. "The Samueli staff are open-minded scientists, they are not taking anything as dogma. They are asking the bigger questions, such as what are the assumptions of science? I would expect the work they do and the work they fund is going to be controversial."

    Critics of the institute say that while they support rigorous research into alternative medical treatments, Samueli is not doing it.

    "There is nothing of scientific value they're doing that I'm aware of," said Wallace Sampson, editor of the Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine and clinical professor emeritus of medicine at Stanford. "They're all ideologues trying to prove something that doesn't exist."

    Homeopathy, prayer and other forms of "energy medicine" belong to a category the NIH's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, the name for the office Jonas once directed, calls "among the most controversial of CAM practices."

    Homeopathy, a treatment invented in the late 1700s, is predicated on the belief that "like cures like" and that illnesses can be treated by stimulating a healing response through the ingestion of highly diluted substances such as herbs, heavy metals or poison ivy, which would cause harm at larger doses. In most cases no single molecule of the substance remains.

    Homeopathy has not been conclusively proven to be effective for any clinical condition, according to NCCAM, and its "key concepts do not follow the laws of science."

    Sampson and other critics of Samueli's work also question its use of terminology not found in science, such as "information biology," which Jonas defines as "the interaction of information with biological systems"; and "salutogenesis," which he says is the process of healing and the opposite of pathogenesis, the process of disease.

    "We have to keep an open mind, but not an open mind to nonsense," said Bruce Flamm, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, Irvine.

    "The Samuelis are very generous people," said obstetrician-gynecologist Flamm, "but this institute is a sadly misguided waste of money that could be spent on legitimate research."

    Last year, after Flamm repeatedly raised questions about a widely promulgated study conducted by researchers affiliated with Columbia University that prayer could help infertile women conceive, the study was withdrawn. (Samueli had no affiliation with the study.) One of the authors is currently serving time in federal prison on unrelated criminal fraud charges.

    Some skeptics say the Samueli-sponsored research is fundamentally unscientific and that much of it lacks the necessary safeguards to prevent spurious results. One paper presented at a Samueli-sponsored conference last year on optimal healing environments -- a concept Jonas said he is helping to synthesize -- was entitled "The Spa as a Model of an Optimal Healing Environment." Written by an executive of the posh Canyon Ranch Spa in Tucson, it was published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Using Canyon Ranch as a case study, the author concluded that "creating an optimal healing environment at any price point" requires "a dedicated, caring staff."

    "What they're doing isn't science, it's faith healing," said Robert L. Park, a professor of physics at the University of Maryland and the author of a 2002 book entitled "Voodoo Science," which includes a lengthy discussion of homeopathy.

    Adrienne Fugh-Berman, an associate professor in the complemetary medicine program at Georgetown University, said she regarded the studies listed on the SIIB Web site as "pretty self-indulgent."

    Fugh-Berman, a physician who has published two dozen studies of alternative treatments, called the belief that homeopathy could be used to fight bioterrorism "embarrassing" and said she regarded optimal healing environments as "spa therapy for rich people."

    "What bothers me about some of the research is that I suspect its objective is to create a veneer of science over certain strongly held beliefs," she said.

    Jonas disputes these criticisms and says the institute follows standard NIH grant review practices. He said the goal is to fund credible pilot studies to determine what works -- or doesn't -- and that he has no other agenda. Negative results of studies are published on the SIIB Web site, he noted.

    While the nonprofit foundation tries to subsidize research that is rigorous, Jonas continued, it is not always possible to conduct randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies of alternative therapies.

    "A high percentage meet those requirements," he said, but "some things can't be blinded."

    Richard H. Grimm, an epidemiologist who is director of the Berman Center for Outcomes at the University of Minnesota, agreed, noting that much of conventional medicine is predicated on treatments that haven't been put to such a test.

    "It's relatively easy to do a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of something that fits into a capsule," Grimm said, but not for a non-drug treatment.

    Andew J. Vickers, an assistant attending research methodologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, said the Samueli Institute should be judged on the quality of science it supports. Vickers said he forsees three possible outcomes for the research on homeopathy and prayer. The first is that they work, the second is that "none of this works and it's a waste of time" and the third is that "they find other things along the way that would be scientifically useful. Science is full of examples of that."

    It was Susan Samueli's longstanding interest in alternative medicine that led to the creation of the institute in 2001, Jonas said. Around the same time, she and her husband Henry endowed the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine in the medical school at the University of California, Irvine.

    The family's fortune comes from Henry Samueli's interest in Broadcom, a company he co-founded in the early 1990s while on leave from teaching at UCLA, where he earned a doctorate in electrical engineering. Broadcom pioneered the manufacture of chips used in DSL and cable modems just before the demand for these chips skyrocketed. Over a period of a few years, that invention catapulted the Samuelis from middle-class comfort to the ranks of the Forbes 400, a listing of America's richest families.

    The son of Polish Holocaust survivors who as a youth worked in his family's liquor store, Henry Samueli has made record gifts to the engineering schools at UC Irvine and UCLA, both of which now bear his name. Several months ago the couple bought the Mighty Ducks professional hockey team.

    Susan Samueli, whose undergraduate degree in math is from Berkeley, has a PhD from the American Holistic College of Nutrition and a diploma from a British homeopathic institute. The holistic college is an unaccredited correspondence school located in Birmingham, Ala.

    Jonas's interest in homeopathy dates back to college. In a 1996 book entitled "Healing With Homeopathy," he wrote that as a medical student he suggested trying homeopathy on several patients who were faring poorly with conventional treatments and was upbraided by supervisors.

    Later, while stationed as an Army doctor in Germany, where homeopathy is popular, Jonas said his interest in the subject grew, in part because he couldn't understand how it might work.

    Jonas said he thinks the answer might lie in a substance released by an ingredient in glass or could be due to the placebo effect. He said he doubts the view, widely held by other homeopaths, that the water somehow retains the "memory" of the diluted substance, which results in healing.

    "There are possible ways to explain this on a rational basis," he said.

    Two months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Jonas, a former official at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, urged Congress to consider the use of homeopathy to fight bioterrorism. In testimony before a commitee chaired by Indiana's Republican Rep. Dan Burton, one of the most enthusiastic supporters of alternative medicine in Congress, Jonas said that "homeopathic medical literature reveals numerous reports of apparently successful treatment of epidemic diseases . . . including smallpox" from the last century.

    A month later NCCAM chief Stephen E. Straus, a virologist, warned the House commitee against using alternative remedies for biological weapons.

    In 2003 Jonas was lead author of an analysis of homeopathy studies published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The authors, all specialists in alternative medicine, concluded that homeopathy may be effective for some conditions and "deserves an open-minded opportunity to demonstrate its value" but should not supplant proven therapies.

    To Colorado physician Steven Bratman, the author of a dozen books on alternative medicine and an expert in research in the field, using homeopathy to combat bioterrorism is "completely insane -- not as insane as UFOs, but pretty close."

    "For homeopathy to work, there would have to be a whole new law of science," said Bratman, a former alternative medicine practitioner who said he abandoned acupuncture and other treatments about a decade ago after he grew increasingly uneasy about their lack of scientific underpinnings.

    "The fact that DOD is spending money on this research is unfortunate," he said.

    Increasingly, Jonas said, the Samueli Institute is focusing on projects that explore and define optimal healing environments, a concept that grows out of his long-standing interest in preventive medicine.

    "We have a biomedical system that is attempting to apply the acute care model to chronic illness," he said. "We need a new way of thinking. . . . That's the salutogenic model."

    This interest in healing is reflected in the institute's expensively decorated suite of offices overlooking the King Street Metro station in Old Town Alexandria.

    Situated outside Jonas's office is a large section of an aspen tree, trucked in from land the Samueli family owns in Telluride, Colo. Native Americans, Jonas said, believed the aspen tree was endowed with curative properties. It seemed a fitting symbol.

    Slipped Disc: Misleading Terminology

    Regarding this site: Better Health Channel:


    On this page I found the following sentence:

    Slipped disc - when cartilage in the spinal column shifts out of position.


    This description is quite misleading (which is acknowledged below), as the discs and vertebral bodies are firmly attached (grown together) to each other. When viewed as a whole, the spine should be viewed as one long flexible piece, not as a series of independent parts that are simply stacked on top of each other.

    The exception is the top two vertebrae, which have no disc between them, are very movable, and where the risk of injury is much greater, whether it be from an accident or a deliberate spinal manipulation.

    This misleading description plays into the hands of chiropractors, who have - for 110 years - deceived people into thinking that they could "push it back into place", when that wasn't what was happening at all. In fact, the so-called "chiropractic subluxation" (not the same as real orthopedic ones) has never been proven to exist. It just happens to be the foundation for the whole profession and the only legitimate (not) excuse for its existence!



    on this page the description is more correct:

    Disc problems
    The invertebral discs are spongy cushions found between the vertebrae. As we age, these discs dry out and harden, making them prone to injury. The term 'slipped disc' is misleading. The disc doesn't actually move out of place, but cracks its tough outer shell, which allows the softer insides to ooze out. This is called a disc bulge or prolapse.


    For more information about the spine, try Spine University.

    Kerre Woodham: Hostility to jab hard to fathom

    17.07.05


    This paper's interview with Tariana Turia, in which she revealed she wasn't inoculating her grandchildren against meningococcal B, has sparked a storm of controversy.

    The Maori Party co-leader has been accused of all sorts of hypocrisy, given that she was an associate Minister of Health when the vaccination programme was rolling out, failure of leadership and being a victim of faulty science. Which is a bit harsh.

    But it's staggering that people won't protect their children against this killer disease. We know the vaccinations aren't 100 per cent certain. We have heard of children who have reacted badly to other vaccinations, although I've never actually met any.

    The anti-vaccination advocates accuse the Ministry of Health of scaremongering, but they certainly give as good as they get with all their spooky stories.

    You'll notice the antis, for the most part, are under the age of 40. Anyone who grew up with the horrors of whooping cough, scarlet fever, polio and the other nasties is incredulous that modern parents wouldn't take advantage of the science available.

    Uni students in England and Wales have been told to get inoculated before they show up for class as health authorities try to stem a mumps epidemic. One third of them are believed to have missed their MMR vaccinations because their parents chose not to protect them, and mumps cases have risen from 5800 in 2003-4 to just over 55,000 during the past year. Most students will suffer only pain and discomfort but others will be left deaf or infertile.

    Some antis believe these diseases are good for humankind, that exposing people to epidemics toughens them up and ensures only the strong survive. I wonder if they'd still feel that way if God's little pruning fork took their child.

    Unsafe health practices blamed on 'soft' law

    Unsafe health practices blamed on 'soft' law
    By Catharine Munro
    July 17, 2005
    The Sun-Herald


    The State Government has failed to toughen up laws preventing self-proclaimed miracle workers from preying on the desperately ill, nearly three years after it announced a crackdown.

    Professor John Dwyer, the chairman of a committee that was set up to combat "dodgy cures and health practices" in late 2002, said the Government had not followed its recommendation to clamp down on people posing as doctors or naturopaths in NSW.

    The committee had given the Government a list of "repeat offenders" who had "had their wrists slapped" after promising to make their clients better with unproven remedies.

    "We just wanted to make the point that reoffending was common in this industry," Professor Dwyer said. "Complaints from practitioners weren't followed through."

    One of those known to the Government was medical imposter Jeffrey Dummett, who is now facing possible manslaughter charges over the death in February 2002 of 37-year-old Vecko Krsteski. On Friday, a coroner found that a jury was likely to find beyond reasonable doubt that Dummett's treatment had caused Krsteski's death.

    Professor Dwyer said the coroner's findings were good news because many cases fell through the cracks while the regulation of the alternative medicine industry was often put in the "too-hard basket" by state and federal governments. During the inquest, expert witnesses called for a register of naturopaths to be set up.

    The death of Krsteski, a Sydney Airport security guard, came just months after Dummett was fined more than $33,000 for posing as a doctor. In 1995 he had been expelled from the Australian Traditional Medicine Society for posing as a doctor when his only qualification was in Swedish massage.

    When Dummett took Krsteski into his care in 2002 he had already been pulled up by the NSW Medical Board for again posing as a doctor and found guilty of breaching fair trading laws while doing business in Lismore.

    Krsteski was chronically ill with hepatitis B and suffering from end-stage renal failure when he started Dummett's in-house detox program on February 13.

    During his time with Dummett, he abandoned the dialysis treatment provided by St George Hospital that was making his kidneys function. Police say he died alone and in pain of a massive heart attack following renal failure some time between 7pm on February 25 and 7.30am the next morning.

    Dummett had drawn up a program for Krsteski that consisted of enemas, sunbathing, walking and a diet that led Krsteski to lose 11 kilograms in 10 days.

    Professor Stephen Myers, a complementary medicine expert, told an inquest into Krsteski's death that the diet of vegetable juices and protein drink that Krsteski had been put on was "poison" for a man suffering from kidney failure.

    His death did not prevent Dummett from printing out an invoice for $4971.77, dated the day after he found Krsteski's body.

    The Director of Public Prosecutions will now decide whether to lay manslaughter charges over Krsteski's death.

    A spokesman for Health Minister Morris Iemma said the State Government was "moving forward on regulation of complementary practitioners" and would make public draft laws regulating Chinese medicine later this year.

    Saturday, July 16, 2005

    Schwarzenegger's Bully Pulpit: Muscle Magazines

    Schwarzenegger's Bully Pulpit: Muscle Magazines

    By LORNE MANLY
    Published: July 16, 2005
    Arnold Schwarzenegger, the writer, has many voices.

    In his monthly editorials for the bodybuilding magazines Muscle & Fitness and Flex, Mr. Schwarzenegger is cheerleader-in-chief for the sport. He plays the motivator, scolding layabouts. He serves as personal trainer, offering detailed workout plans. And he is a fierce defender of nutritional supplements, which provide the lion's share of the magazines' advertising revenue.

    That last identity landed Mr. Schwarzenegger, whose day job is governor of California, in the middle of a political tempest this week, after revelations that he stood to make at least $5 million over five years for his work as executive editor for the magazines. Critics are accusing Mr. Schwarzenegger of a conflict of interest because his contract tied his compensation to the magazines' advertising revenues and the governor vetoed a bill last year that sought to restrict the use of performance-enhancing supplements among high school students.

    On Friday, Mr. Schwarzenegger announced that he would end his financial arrangement with the magazines. A spokesman for the magazines said they expected his column to continue.

    Mr. Schwarzenegger began contributing the monthly editorials after he was named executive editor in March 2004. He has long been closely associated with the two magazines, having appeared on their covers 50 times since 1968 and often contributing advice columns.

    The magazines, to the average, weightlifting-averse person, are an undifferentiated riot of ripped men and women, with Brobdingnagian muscles and bulging veins. But they are distinct publications. Muscle & Fitness, with articles like "Six-Pack Attack: Shirtless By Summer," is for the weight-lifting enthusiast. Flex appeals to the hard-core bodybuilder, as articles like "Sickest Ever Leg Workout: Train 'til You Puke" make clear.

    Mr. Schwarzenegger's presence is a huge selling point for the magazines, which are owned by American Media. But he is not your typical columnist, sending in 700 words or so of polished prose each month. Instead he speaks on the phone to two men who have known him and his training philosophy for decades: either Vincent Scalisi, the president of Weider Publications' enthusiast group and the editor in chief of Muscle & Fitness, or Peter McGough, the editor in chief of Flex. They write a draft, send it to the governor, he tweaks and then dispatches an approved copy, said Mr. Scalisi. The columns are essentially the same.

    The columns share the folksy, conversational tone Mr. Schwarzenegger uses in speaking engagements. He writes off bodybuilders who go without water as "losers." And he tells those who moan about not having the time to go to the gym, "I'm tired of excuses."

    But beyond the taskmaster persona he assumes in doling out advice about using cables and working fast-twitch muscle fibers, he can sound almost like a new-age guru. "The human mind and body are so closely connected that you'll never be able to achieve your desired fitness goals without harnessing the power of your mental energies," he wrote.

    He also warns of the grave dangers of anabolic steroids. Nutritional supplements, however, are a different matter.

    The magazines are dominated by advertisements for dietary supplements like Vitargo-CGL, urging readers to "get huge," "look massive," and "be freaky."

    These products - and their safety - are a matter of intense debate. Bill Gurley, professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, said that there was little definitive research into the effects of the combination of hundreds of ingredients in some of the products.

    Some products make claims based on "very, very scanty medical evidence," Mr. Gurley added. And, he said, some of the latest data show adverse changes in cardiovascular results. "By standing behind these types of products, it cheapens the magazines' credibility," Mr. Gurley added.

    The editors defend the advertisements. "From our perspective, a very informed, first-hand perspective, these products are used regularly, used safely and used effectively," Mr. Scalisi said.

    Mr. Schwarzenegger has been outspoken about how important they were to his progress in the 1960's and 1970's, and about how he will climb the barricades in their defense and fight against steroids. In the June issue of Muscle & Fitness, he wrote, "our mission must be to enlighten the uninformed to the differences between the two and ultimately protect the kind of right America's forefathers wrote into our Constitution: the freedom of choice."

    Schwarzenegger to end relationship with magazines

    Schwarzenegger to end relationship with magazines

    SACRAMENTO (AP) — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Friday that he will end his multimillion-dollar consulting deal with two fitness magazines that rely heavily on advertising for nutritional supplements.

    The governor, who came under fire when critics said the deal represented a conflict of interest, said he will relinquish his title as executive editor of Muscle & Fitness and Flex magazines and forego any compensation.

    "I don't want to be paid," Schwarzenegger said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press, adding that he wanted to leave no doubt that "the people have my full devotion."

    The governor was forced to defend his contract with the magazines after a securities disclosure filed this week showed he would be paid at least $1 million a year for five years to act as a consultant.

    "The decision is to discontinue the relationship we have now," he said. "I will continue promoting body building and fighting obesity."

    Last year, Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have regulated the use of performance-enhancing substances in high school sports.

    That led some lawmakers to accuse the governor of having a conflict of interest: acting on legislation that could hurt the nutritional supplements industry while at the same taking millions of dollars from magazines that rely on the industry for most of their profits.

    Schwarzenegger's deal with a subsidiary of American Media Inc., Weider Publications, was disclosed in March 2004. But the amount he was being paid was not made public until the company filed documents Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    At the time of the 2004 announcement, Schwarzenegger said he would take a salary that was "petty compared to the movies." The magazines also agreed to donate $250,000 a year to the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness.

    The governor has admitted using steroids during his days as a champion body builder, when the substances were legal, but has since denounced them. He has continued to promote nutritional supplements.

    "Any food supplement you take, all those are natural and will help you have more energy and help with your performance," the governor said "No reason I thought to outlaw food supplements, something I've been on my whole life."

    He also said he will continue writing columns for both magazines but will not be paid. He said he has no plans to return the money from the consulting work "because we haven't done anything wrong."

    In vetoing the bill a year ago, the governor said it was flawed because it did not clearly define supplements and failed to adequately address steroid use.

    A similar bill is pending this year, and Schwarzenegger said he would be "more than happy" to consider the redrafted version.

    "I want to do everything I can to get rid of the performance-enhancing (substances)," he said Friday.

    California law allows elected officials to keep outside jobs, and Schwarzenegger does not accept his $175,000 annual salary from the state.

    The contract stated that Schwarzenegger would receive 1% of the magazines' advertising revenue each year for five years. The payment was to be no less than $1 million a year but could reach much higher.

    The governor's financial disclosure filings with the state showed only that he received an undisclosed amount from American Media, which also publishes The National Enquirer, Star and other celebrity tabloids.

    A telephone call to American Media's office in Boca Raton, Fla., went unanswered late Friday.

    The SEC filing, which refers to Schwarzenegger only as "Mr. S," also showed that American Media is paying $100,000 a year for five years to the Arnold Classic, an annual bodybuilding competition in Ohio.

    Schwarzenegger said Friday that he has had "an extraordinarily close personal and business relationship" with Weider Publications for more than 35 years and saw no reason to end it after he was elected governor in 2003.

    "Sometimes there's two different things — there's reality and there's perception, and perception is very powerful," the governor told the AP.

    Chiropractic Search Terms

    Here are some chiropractic searches (with a decidedly skeptical twist....;-) Use these searches in your research, then modify them as needed. Please inform me of interesting searches to add to this list.

    chirolinks
    chirolinks healthbase
    chiropractic resources
    chiropractic subluxation
    chiropractic religion
    chiropractic religion philosophy
    chiropractic religion philosophy vitalism
    chiropractic vitalism
    chiropractic biotheology
    chiropractic philosophy
    chiropractic belief systems
    chiropractic belief systems vitalism
    chiropractic belief systems vitalism religion
    chiropractic belief systems vitalism religion quack
    chiropractic quack
    chiropractic quackery
    chiropractic unethical
    chiropractic skeptic
    chiropractic advice
    chiro info
    chiropractic treatment
    chiropractic adjustment
    chiropractor
    chiroquacktor
    chiroquack
    chiroquackery
    chiropractic vaccination
    chiropractic "anti-vaccination"
    chiropractic anti vax
    chiropractic "practice building"
    chiropractic lifetime patients
    chiropractic lifetime patients maintenance
    chiropractic lifetime patients maintenance wellness
    chiropractic daniel david palmer
    chiropractic daniel david palmer quack
    chiropractic daniel david palmer quackery
    chiropractic dd palmer
    chiropractic dd palmer quack
    chiropractic dd palmer quackery
    chiropractic bj palmer
    chiropractic bj palmer quack
    chiropractic bj palmer quackery
    chiropractic bartlett j palmer
    chiropractic "safe haven"
    chiropractic joseph flesia
    chiropractic flesia
    site:www.worldchiropracticalliance.org flesia
    "Renaissance International" chiropractic
    chiropractic "sid williams"
    chiropractic "sid williams" "dynamic essentials"
    chiropractic "dynamic essentials"
    chiropractic "terry rondberg"
    chiropractic rondberg
    chiropractic reikeman
    "guy reikeman"
    chiropractic "tedd koren"
    chiropractic "james parker"
    chiropractic "chris kent"
    chiropractic "patrick gentempo"
    chiropractic "david singer"
    chiropractic "C.J. Mertz"
    chiropractic "Jay Morgan"
    chiropractic "reggie gold"
    chiropractic "Eric Plasker"
    chiropractic "500 Club"
    chiropractic "500/500 Club"
    site:www.thefamilypractice.net 500
    Lifetime Chiropractic Care for Everyone
    chiropractic lcfe
    "chiropractic assistant"
    chiropractic assistant
    "chiropractic assistant association"
    chiropractic assistant forum
    chiropraxy
    kiropraktik (Danish, Swedish, Norwegian)
    kiropraktor
    chiropratique (French)
    quiropráctica (Spanish)
    kiropraktik information
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    kiropraktik religion