Signos is asking customers to pay for the privilege of testing their glucose monitoring system. You may have seen the commercials for FreeStyle Libre devices. Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) are intended to help improve management of diabetes in patients whose diabetes is not under good control, and also for patients… read more "Signos Sells a Continuous Glucose Monitor, But Not to Diabetics"
Plenity – A New Weight Loss Pill
Plenity is a new weight loss pill designed to create a sense of fullness. It is backed by a single study where users had an average weight loss of 22 pounds. Not an effective way to achieve ideal weight, but may help some people when combined with diet and exercise.… read more "Plenity – A New Weight Loss Pill"
Pain Reprocessing Therapy
In a trial of Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT), 2/3 of patients with chronic low back pain reported significant pain relief with psychotherapy that helped them reconceptualize the pain as nondangerous. Impressive if true, but flaws in research design make the study untrustworthy. I don’t usually get my medical information from Reader’s… read more "Pain Reprocessing Therapy"
Patients Who Deceive
Loren Pankratz’s book Patients Who Deceive covers the whole spectrum of different kinds of deception. It is well written, informative, and entertaining, with case examples that read like detective stories. As Dr. House says on the TV series, “Everybody lies”. Doctors know their patients can’t always be trusted to provide a complete… read more "Patients Who Deceive"
Nugenix Total T
Nugenix Total T is one of many so-called testosterone boosters on the market. Vague claims, insufficient evidence. The commercials insult my intelligence. They show men on a golf course commiserating with each other about how their performance had gone downhill since the good old days of their youthful manhood, and… read more "Nugenix Total T"
Videos Said to be “Proof” that Nonverbal Autistics Can Communicate by Spelling
The father of nonverbal autistic child believes videos constitute proof that other children with autism can communicate by by pointing to letters on a board held by a facilitator to spell out words. He is wrong. I get a lot of email inquiries about questionable treatments, and when I explain… read more "Videos Said to be “Proof” that Nonverbal Autistics Can Communicate by Spelling"
Death by Aromatherapy
An aromatherapy room spray was contaminated with bacteria that caused melioidosis, resulting in deaths and serious sequelae. Buyers were misled. When cases of melioidosis were diagnosed in four patients in four different states, doctors were puzzled. Melioidosis, infection with the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, is typically associated with exposure to soil and water in… read more "Death by Aromatherapy"
The World’s First Productivity Drink
Magic Mind claims to be the world’s first productivity drink. It seems to me an increase in productivity should be easy to prove. If your widget factory produces 1,000 widgets a day you could do a controlled study comparing workers who used Magic Mind to workers who used a placebo. If… read more "The World’s First Productivity Drink"
Deciding Which Risks to Take
No medical treatment is risk-free. Paul Offit’s new book covers the history of innovations that went awry and advises how to balance the risks of new medical innovations with the risk of not treating. It is always risky to use a new treatment before all the evidence is in, but… read more "Deciding Which Risks to Take"
This Scary Mask Is Not for Halloween: It’s for Anti-Aging Skin Care
CurrentBody’s LED mask provides “anti-aging” red and near-infra-red light therapy to the face. It is supposed to improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, “clinically proven to reduce wrinkles by 35% in just 4 weeks”. It promises to improve skin tone and texture and firm the skin. It has won… read more "This Scary Mask Is Not for Halloween: It’s for Anti-Aging Skin Care"