Sysiphus Speaks

Yes. They propose that schizophrenia is actually demon possession and best treated by a faith healer.

Adults, as a rule, have a choice in participating in medical studies and the potential for adverse effects. Children and animals do not, and the ethics of inflicting worthless pseudo-medical procedures on dumb animals is suspect at best and creepy at worst.

Take Comparison of intrarectal ozone, ozone administered in acupoints and meloxicam for postoperative analgesia in bitches undergoing ovariohysterectomy as an example.

Numerous class actions against homeopathic remedy manufacturers, based on fraud and violation of various consumer protection laws, are pending or have been settled in the U.S.

This has soured at least one homeopathic remedy manufacturer on the U.S. market.  Heel Group, a German manufacturer of homeopathic remedies, announced it is ceasing all U.S. and Canadian operations.

Harriet Hall calls it Tooth Fairy Science and it abounds in the world of pseudo-medicine. Modern technology is applied to fictional concepts with laughable results that are used to ‘prove’ that fiction is reality. A case in point:

Ear acupuncture and fMRI: a pilot study for assessing the specificity of auricular points.

Someone else notices an association between an ear lobe crease and coronary artery diseases. That seems even odder and studies have been both pro and con for the association.

But a recent meta-analysis, Ear lobe crease as a marker of coronary artery disease: A meta-analysis., suggests the association is legit.

So it was with interest I saw “Effect of Pumpkin Seed Oil on Hair Growth in Men with Androgenetic Alopecia: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.” One never knows if a botanical is going to have an effect on a physiologic process, and, given the difference in hair between Linus and Charlie Brown, perhaps there is something to it.

What a lot the pseudo-medicine offer patients, besides time, is touch. Lots of touch, and touch is nice. Even something as totally wackaloon as craniosacral therapy looks quite pleasant if the underlying goofiness is removed. Lying on your back, half asleep, as your head is gently massaged.

Washington just became the third state (along with Vermont and Oregon) to cover naturopathic services as Medicaid providers. Medicaid is the state-run, but federally financed, health care program for low-income residents, and it is up to the individual states to decide what services the state will pay for.

Age cannot wither acupuncture, nor custom stale its infinite variety. Shakespeare. Antony and Cleopatra

There are so many kinds of acupuncture: Chinese, Japanese, tongue, hand, ear, German and electro. Which is the real one? Trick question. None are.

I recently mentioned the issues of bias in the medical literature and suggested that belief in a pseudo-medical intervention may be every bit as distorting as a financial interest in an outcome. A positive study of acupuncture by acupuncturists should be as suspect as a pharmaceutical sponsored drug study.