In today s so what? news, yet another dietary supplement has failed when subjected to the scrutiny of properly conducted clinical trials.
When the EU adopted the anti-science precautionary principle as its guiding paradigm a decade or more ago, we don t think anyone (except perhaps its anti-progress advocates) had any idea how low the regulatory process would stoop in service of its ideology.
A group of researchers led by Dr. Vinay Prasad of the National Cancer Institute reviewed over 1,300 articles published in the New England Journal of Medicine over
The next time you go to a doctor, the medication you are prescribed may not be exactly what you re expecting. New York has just launched the Fruit and Vegetable Prescription program
Since June, the CDC has been notified of nearly 400 cases of infection by the parasite Cyclospora in seventeen states. At least twenty-two people have been hospitalized because of this outbreak.
Although most breast-feeding women would be aghast at the thought of taking drugs that could affect their babies, many are doing just that.
Josh Bloom in Medical Progress Today, August 6, 2013
As if the FDA doesn't have enough to do.
Yes, they sure do, but this didn't stop them from issuing a warning last week that is so ridiculous that it gave me a headache.
The wise elders of the Massachusetts town of Canton will meet in conclave next Monday the 12th to contemplate how best to reduce the dreadful toll of smoking in their community. The proposed approach includes raising the legal age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21.
Never mind that the New York Times Style section today can t seem to tell the difference between smoking and vaping. The latter is the term that has been adopted by the majority of the large and growing e-cigarette community,
A small-scale proof-of-concept study has given malaria researchers and the millions of victims of this ancient scourge reason for hope that an effective preventive vaccine may one day become a reality
Last year s flu season raised more controversy than usual about the use and utility of the flu vaccine. The degree of protection (about 60%) was on the low side, leading many to question whether it was even worth being vaccinated. Another related question that arose was whether more is better. In other words, if one dose gives moderate protection, would doubling the dose provide more? What about a fourfold increased dose?
Teen vaccination rates are all over the board, according to the CDC. In order to assess vaccination rates,
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 250 million preschool children worldwide suffer from vitamin A deficiency.
Researchers from the University of Hawaii Cancer Center conducted a study with the goal of understanding how fruits and vegetables impact the risk of developing cancer.
Worried about links between cell phone use and brain cancer? Don t be.
Today s Wall Street Journal features a very informative article entitled Antibiotics Do s and Don ts.
The article lists infections for which use of antibiotics is warranted and a longer list of those for which it is not.
NYTimes article tells us about the vast amount of e-cigarette advertising and marketing funding. The tone is that e-cigs are becoming more like regular cigarettes. But there is a vast difference in health risks, so more power to them.
In what's bound to make exaggerated waves in mainstream media, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data on Thursday showing the percentage of U.S. middle and high school students who use electronic cigarettes, or e-cigs, more than doubled from 2011 to 2012
Secondhand smoke has been linked to the intensifying of asthma symptoms in children. It has also been linked to middle ear infection, bronchitis, pneumonia, coughing and wheezing and worse lung function
Editorials and op-ed by doctors, medical journals and other media icons about the risks and benefits of e-cigarettes and their need for regulation expose their ignorance of the subject in numerous different ways.
Antibiotic resistance is a serious and persistent national problem. For example, Staphlococcus aureus bacteria that are resistant to the antibiotic methicillin (MRSA) have become common throughout the US, causing invasive infections of skin and soft tissues as well as bloodstream infections in patients in critical care settings.
In the first of its kind study to compare refeeding protocols for patients diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, researchers found more aggressive, high-calorie diets produced twice the rate of weight gain among adolescents.
By far, the major thrust of pharmaceutical research at this time is aimed at cancer. In 2102, a record eleven oncology drugs were approved by the FDA. Unfortunately, most advances have been incremental, and cures for most previously incurable cancers remain elusive.
Dr. A. Zuger's NYTimes column presents an excellent discussion of penicillin allergies, both real, exaggerated, and severe and how to deal with them.
It is hardly news that some people are ardently anti-vaccine (for NO good reason). And it is intuitively obvious that when children don t get vaccinated their risk for contracting a given infection is higher.
