Search results

Physicians have to apply population-based guidelines to individuals. How do they know which to use? P-values don't work and eminence is not evidence. Can a measure of a studies "fragility" be an answer?

As your mother probably told you, "It's better to give than to receive." While we know it to be true for surgery, a new study suggests it's true for advice, as well. Can it help explain the value to support groups?

Only about 37% of American adults bothered to get a flu shot this past flu season. That's actually a decrease from the previous season, when about 43% got one. Partially as a result, 80,000 Americans died from the flu. On the flip side, we did buy more organic food than ever before.

Is there a way to crowd-source funding medical research in a way that allows more people to share the risk, as well as the possible profit? A group of patients – Bio-Bonds – thinks there is.

In an ill-advised Twitter ad, the candidate offers a teachable moment on the importance of not driving while distracted.

Triclosan has garnered a bad reputation due to its overuse. But it may still serve a purpose in treating cystic fibrosis infections.

Ours is a culture that prioritizes instant gratification, and is instinctually reflexive about taking a pill or other fix immediately to end pain. When, actually, it is pain that can in a number of conditions be our greatest gift.

The DEA, an arm of the Department of Justice, released a 184-page report claiming that prescription opioid analgesics is the drug class that's killing the most Americans. Huh? This sure seems strange. But a closer look suggests that the only thing strange is the manner in which that data is used in the report. The DEA spins and wins. Pain patients lose.

The FDA and 23andMe announced a newly approved report on consumer's individual ability to metabolize commonly used medications. What a treat! But the trick was that it has, at this point, no clinical value.

The CDC reports that last year four states experienced outbreaks of hepatitis A, mostly among homeless people and/or intravenous drug users. Overall, 1,521 people got sick and 41 died. This is the predictable outcome of societal negligence and our collective unwillingness to adequately address the homelessness crisis.

The Environmental Protection Agency has extended registration for Dicamba – an herbicide commonly used to remove growing weeds, as well as Dicamba-tolerant crops – out to the end of 2020. Here's what that means.

After years, countless hours and dollars spent you'd think doctors could readily share a patient's records. However, you would be wrong. The latest excuse: sharing patient data may be an anti-trust violation, since after all, patient data is valuable. But when did we lose ownership of our most personal of information?

There aren't many things today that unite both sides of the political aisle, but leave it to some environmental activists to achieve the impossible. There's bipartisan opposition to a proposed Colorado law that would severely curtail fracking in the state.

Did you know if you had a cardiac arrest, the decision to give you a potentially life-saving medication or placebo – in the fleeting moment where seconds matter – might be made at random by those coordinating a study? A little-known FDA exemption allows for it.

A new study finds that more than 15 percent of blood donations often don't make it to shooting victims or other hospital patients at a later time, and must be poured out. In addition, when local officials announce a well-meaning call for donations after such a tragedy, many times it's unnecessary. But we have a suggestion that can address these issues.

What is a scientist? Ask a dozen people that question and you will get at least eight answers. (And that's even if those 12 happen to be scientists.)

Statistics show that on Halloween, pedestrian deaths increase among kids. However, a few accidents per year, as compared to walking on other dark evenings, is no reason to spoil the holiday. The takeaway: exercise more caution with pre-schoolers and use some common sense.

A company named Concrobium sells a safe, environmentally-friendly mold killer. It seems to work pretty well, but comes with a hefty price tag. What's in it that makes it cost so much? It sure ain't the chemicals.

Sometimes, a cute stray animal at your doorstep is carrying something you don't want to cuddle up to.

Americans benefit from the terrific advancements science and health have brought. That's, ironically, how NGOs and alternative hucksters have gained ground. If you don't know anyone with polio you can be convinced it was never real, or that acupuncture can fix it. That said, take a good look at the results of this national survey.

California has a ballot proposal to cap profits by dialysis companies. And by the state's own economic analysis, the effect is unknown. Will it help patients, lower costs; or will it harm patients and return money to insurance companies to use as they wish? No one knows but of the 155 ballot measures nationwide, this one has garnered over 14% of all lobbying spending close to $130 million.

As the saying goes, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." We know that's true because statisticians themselves just said so. A jaw-dropping study reveals that nearly 1 in 4 of them report being asked to remove or alter data to better support a hypothesis. That is called scientific fraud.

Trump officials made a big splash with proposals to curb drug costs. But the benefits may not match the rhetoric from either the administration or Big Pharma. As is often the case, it's a bit more complicated than what we're getting as a first impression.

What if malaria, which affects hundreds of millions worldwide annually, could be sniffed out before it began delivering its debilitating, flu-like effects? Well, that is what's literally happening, with researchers utilizing dogs' keen sense of smell in a recent study to determine malaria's presence in humans.

Substitute the word "Halloween" for any celebratory event and pervasive worry-lists abound. Fun also matters.