Consensi combines two drugs for high blood pressure and osteoarthritis. That doesn’t make sense, and it costs $12,000 a year more than taking the individual components. Combination drugs, or fixed dose combinations (FDCs), combine two or more active ingredients in a single dosage form. One company added LSD to their… read more "Fixed Dose Combination Drugs: Consensi Is a Bad Example"
Would You Drill Holes in Your Head for Science?
How do we know whether a treatment is effective? It is only natural to assume a treatment works if: There is a good rationale as to why it should work Lots of patients got better with the treatment But assumptions can be wrong. Remember the old saying that assumptions make… read more "Would You Drill Holes in Your Head for Science?"
Glucosamine and Chondroitin: Do They Really Work?
Glucosamine and chondroitin are widely used for osteoarthritis pain. My daughter even gives them to her elderly horse. Their popularity is puzzling, since the evidence from scientific studies indicates that they don’t work. Wikipedia has a useful survey of the history, studies, criticisms, and systematic reviews (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_trials_on_glucosamine_and_chondroitin). It includes a… read more "Glucosamine and Chondroitin: Do They Really Work?"
Stem Cells and Chiropractic
As good a source of stem cells as any chiropractor. My local newspaper is a constant source of topics to blog about. It regularly features ads for untested dietary supplements and for chiropractors who offer non-chiropractic treatments and don’t identify themselves as chiropractors. Recently, a full-page ad for NW Pain… read more "Stem Cells and Chiropractic"
Glucosamine Update
Osteoarthritis, the “wear-and-tear” type of arthritis, affects a great many of us as we grow older. Knee pain is a common symptom. The diet supplements glucosamine and chondroitin have been proposed as a more “natural” treatment than pharmaceuticals, and they are components of a number of proprietary “joint health” formulations… read more "Glucosamine Update"
Tylenol May Not Be As Safe and Effective As We Thought
I’ve always thought of Tylenol (AKA acetaminophen in the US and paracetamol in the UK) as one of the safest drugs around, with essentially no side effects when used as directed. But it has been in the limelight lately. Several SBM articles have addressed it here, here, and here. We know there is a risk… read more "Tylenol May Not Be As Safe and Effective As We Thought"
Effectiveness of Glucosamine and Chondroitin for Osteoarthritis
TO THE EDITOR: This article repeated a common misconception about the Glucosamine/Chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial (GAIT), interpreting it as showing that the combination of glucosamine and chondroitin is effective for treating moderate to severe osteoarthritis.1 The study found that glucosamine and chondroitin, separately or in combination, were not more effective… read more "Effectiveness of Glucosamine and Chondroitin for Osteoarthritis"
Glucosamine: The Unsinkable Rubber Duck
Glucosamine is widely used for osteoarthritis pain. It is not as impossible as homeopathy, but its rationale is improbable. As I explained in a previous post, Wallace Sampson, one of the other authors of this blog, has pointed out that the amount of glucosamine in the typical supplement dose is… read more "Glucosamine: The Unsinkable Rubber Duck"
Does Glucosamine Really Work?
Glucosamine and chondroitin, used separately or together, are among the more popular diet supplements. They are used widely for osteoarthritis, especially of the knee, and have been better studied than most other diet supplements. But do they really work? The journal of my medical specialty, American Family Physician, recently published… read more "Does Glucosamine Really Work?"