Much of the concern regarding CDC guidelines for COVID-19 involves the perception that, at times, they are contradictory. And these perceived flip-flops can be used as political fodder. While some mix-messaging is due to our changing understanding of the deadly virus, it may often stem from the struggle between messages directed at overall public health, versus those for individuals.
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Drug companies try all kinds of nonsense to keep selling their brand-name drugs, when the same drugs are also sold as over-the-counter store-name generics. Sanofi just started a sleazy marketing campaign trying to do just that. And it's not their first time either.
It's spring, and, among other nuisances, poison ivy is sprouting from the ground in its neverending quest to make your life miserable. Much of what you "know" about poison ivy is a myth, but an interesting column in the NY Times takes care of this. Even better, some of the reader's comments are hilarious. Watch me make fun of them!
With a little over a year from the beginning of the pandemic, the shape of what was tried is becoming clearer. When everyone is dying, and nothing you can do makes a difference, you pull out all the stops, and you throw everything you have at the problem. What does it mean, medically, to throw everything you have at the problem? With 2 million deaths attributed to COVID-19 and 85 million confirmed cases, there is certainly enough “clinical material” to begin to see what does and does not work to improve outcomes.
The anti-biotech movement continues to warn that consuming GE crops makes people sick. A recent email blast from The Institute for Responsible Technology typifies the latest arguments coming from activist groups. How well do these stand up to the facts?
Can two well-intentioned clinically trained individuals look at the same data and reach differing conclusions? Yes. When it comes to ivermectin, I have more doubts and concerns than others. Here’s my take.
A new study offers preliminary evidence that consuming sugary drinks may boost women's risk of early-onset colorectal cancer. Further research has to confirm this link before we draw conclusions, but that hasn't stopped reporters from exaggerating the paper's significance.
Microorganisms like viruses and bacteria are harmful to us, and they cause diseases. What if you knew that in your body trillions of beneficial microorganisms exist? How do they benefit us, and what can we do to keep them healthy?
The FDA is conducting a workshop to discuss the science (lack thereof, really) of Morphine Milligram Equivalents as it applies to the atrocious CDC 2016 Opioid Prescribing Guidelines. Public comments have been solicited. Here are mine.
A new poll confirms that vaccine uptake is increasing in the U.S. There are legitimate concerns about convincing the minority of immunization skeptics to get their shots as we pursue herd immunity. But risk-averse regulators and panic-prone journalists may be exacerbating the problem.
The anti-GMO movement used to be a cultural juggernaut. But as time goes on, the activist groups that once held so much sway seem increasingly irrelevant.
In a pandemic, will physicians, who determine that the potential benefit of Ivermectin outweighs its well-documented risks for their patients, finally once again be given free rein to practice medicine?
Certain providers recently received a solicitation from Cigna, informing them that their patients on secukinumab (Cosentyx) – a biologic commonly prescribed for psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and other autoimmune illnesses – may soon receive a $500 debit card for accepting an alternative treatment. Uniformly, any patient on this medication is enticed to switch even if they’re stable on their current treatment. Disturbingly, this attempt to lure patients by providing them with a one-time payment blurs the line between insurance coverage and medical practice.
As we’re in the midst of a reevaluation of whether the Virology Laboratory in Wuhan, China was the true source of the Covid-19 virus that caused the pandemic, a theory which the World Health Organization (WHO), many U.S. scientists, and the media rejected for over a year’s time, there is another issue that warrants a complete reexamination: The International Agency for Research on Cancer’s (IARC’s) assessment of glyphosate.
There has been a lot of ink spilled, and bytes spent this week discussing the FDA’s approval of aducanumab, brand-name Aduhelm, for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease. I have mixed feelings; there are advantages to a Phase 4 study, but how do you say no to hope?
Organized medicine, and by that, I mean healthcare with all its players, institutions, and systems, is continuing to undergo seismic shifts. Those related to COVID-19, like video visits or increasing acknowledgment of socioeconomic determinants of our health, get the headlines. But the changes to the business of medicine are rapidly increasing, will affect us far sooner, and I am afraid, for far longer. What are we sacrificing on the altar of efficiency and access?
The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) is a favorite tool of skeptics aiming to spread immunization fears. As it turns out, VAERS has actually helped ensure the safety of FDA-approved shots.
A recent survey found that fewer than 40% of Americans trust their federal public health agencies. Could “mission creep” into issues such as climate change, gun violence, and racism rather than a focus on traditional public health issues be a cause? Did mission creep impact our response to the COVID-19 pandemic?
We learn more and more every day about the bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live within us and support us. It's our own personal world: the microbiome. And researchers have identified ecologic niches with varying microbial occupants. And it seems that cities have unique microbiomes, too.
Facebook has proven itself incapable of reliably preventing the spread of "misinformation." If we needed more evidence, the company recently threatened to "restrict" the account of a prominent researcher for talking about science.
For most of us, hiccups are a minor nuisance. But for a very few, it can be a chronic and debilitating condition.
The other day, the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, hosted a webinar for stakeholders on maintaining the scientific integrity of their work. I have pulled a few images from their “slide deck” to share.
Not only does your diet fuel your body, but it also fuels and shapes your microbiome, which in turn can alter your mood, change your response to pathogens, and maybe, just maybe, alter your energy metabolism.
The New York Times (correctly) reports that a COVID pill is needed, not just a vaccine. But the paper also tells this story in its typically biased manner, implying that the government, not drug companies, discover drugs. It's a bunch of nonsense that dates back to... forever.
A virion is “the complete, infective form of a virus outside a host cell, with a core of RNA or DNA and a capsid.” It is the infectious form of the virus as it moves between cells and hosts. A year plus into the COVID-19 pandemic, and we still do not know the number of virions necessary and sufficient to cause an infection – a new study, at least, puts us into the ballpark.
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