Statins controversies, diabetes risk
Statins are widely prescribed to lower cholesterol in order to prevent blockage of coronary arteries. They do carry some risks though! Click through to read the discussion. from the NYtimes Statins, which help lower levels of LDL (or “bad” cholesterol) in the blood, can cause side effects such as headache, muscle pain, brain fog and…
Read MoreMore on Doctored Images in Research Studies
To follow up on the blog post about the doctored images in a landmark study on Alzheimer’s, this article Is written by a scientist who took it upon herself to look through thousands of journal articles in search of photoshopped and altered images. The Times attempted to contact the lead scientists of the retracted papers…
Read MoreFlaws in Alzheimers Research
This is an important story. For those who have an interest in science and scientific research I highly recommend that you read the article from Science. It reads like a gripping detective story, but is quite chilling. I had been aware that there was controversy about the role of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s research. But…
Read MoreHow Aduhelm Got FDA Approval
Quote: “This incident has shaken F.D.A. integrity quite significantly,” said Wayne Pines, a former F.D.A. senior official who has written histories about the agency. “The F.D.A. is obligated to be sure that all stones are turned over, that every avenue is pursued to make sure that this was a decision that was made on the…
Read MoreAlzheimer Drug Aduhelm
The drug Aduhelm, recently approved to treat Alzheimer’s disease is controversial for good reason. I’ve linked to several comprehensive articles below. The controversy comes down to a a few points. Is is clinically effective? It is hard to tell. At one of the phases of the trial, the data didn’t look good. Then when the…
Read MoreAdditive Solutions instead of Subtractive Solutions
People often limit their creativity by continually adding new features to a design rather than removing existing ones. The fascinating article looks at the phenomenon that problem solvers will most often add features to solve a given problem instead of removing them. They give a few examples in the article and review some of…
Read MoreDeep Resilience: Do No Harm
Belatedly posting to the blog my chapter in Deep Resilience called “Do No Harm”. Read and learn! First Do No Harm 8.29.2020 for sharing
Read MoreHow to Measure a Medical Treatment’s Potential for Harm
Read MoreMRI and X-Ray Often Worse than Useless for Back Pain
Reading through this article I went from peeved to enraged. This has been in the literature for decades and yet, STILL, people consider an MRI the gold standard and demand it. Doctors sort of have to oblige. And yet imaging, Xray AND MRI lead to higher disability for a number of reasons. Back pain does…
Read MoreFailed Back Surgery Syndrome: A Review Article
Background research for my writing project. Back surgery is one of the most expensive surgeries that have a troubled past and current state of affairs. It is one of those “biologically plausible” procedures that can wreak havoc. Asian Spine J. 2018 Apr; 12(2): 372–379. Published online 2018 Apr 16. doi: 10.4184/asj.2018.12.2.372 PMCID: PMC5913031 PMID: 29713421 Failed…
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