Tag: Big Pharma
Opiates No Good For Back and Neck Pain
Opiates No Good For Back and Neck PainDo No Harm!!! New study from the Lancet shows that opiates are no better than placebo for low back and neck pain. My patients know that I’ve never understood the reliance on opioids for these problems since the risk is high and they do nothing to address the…
Read MoreNumbers Needed to Treat
Numbers needed to treat. This is a crucial concept. It illustrates brilliantly the concept of First, Do No Harm, which also happens to be the title of the first chapter of my writing project “Deep Resilience”. This graphic comes from this excellent article with the even more excellent title when evidence says no but doctors…
Read MoreInflammation, Immunity, and Infection in Atherothrombosis: JACC Review Topic of the Week
J Am Coll Cardiol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2019 Oct 23. Published in final edited form as: J Am Coll Cardiol. 2018 Oct 23; 72(17): 2071–2081. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2018.08.1043 PMCID: PMC6196735 NIHMSID: NIHMS1504204 PMID: 30336831 Inflammation, Immunity, and Infection in Atherothrombosis: JACC Review Topic of the Week Peter Libby, MD,1 Joseph Loscalzo, MD, PhD,1 Paul Ridker,…
Read MoreAnti-Cytokine Agents: Targeting Interleukin Signaling Pathways for the Treatment of Atherothrombosis
Circ Res. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2020 Feb 1. Published in final edited form as: Circ Res. 2019 Feb; 124(3): 437–450. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.118.313129 PMCID: PMC6386195 NIHMSID: NIHMS1517334 PMID: 30702995 Anti-Cytokine Agents: Targeting Interleukin Signaling Pathways for the Treatment of Atherothrombosis Paul M Ridker, MD, MPH Author information Copyright and License information Disclaimer The publisher’s final…
Read MoreFirst Do No Harm: Harrowing Tale of A’s Player Micah Bowie
This is a horribly sad story of medical interventions going awry. Back pain which continued after retirement in 2008. Treatments were ineffective, and in 2016 he ended up getting a spinal cord stimulator. Unfortunately the battery migrated somehow into his liver, diaphragm and then lung. He’s had horrible breathing trouble since, and it’s a…
Read MoreStents and Bypass Surgery No Better than Medications for Narrowed Arteries in Patients Without Angina
” This is far from the first study to suggest that stents and bypass are overused. But previous results have not deterred doctors, who have called earlier research on the subject inconclusive and the design of the trials flawed. Previous studies did not adequately control for risk factors, like LDL cholesterol, that might have…
Read MoreAlzheimer’s and L-Serine
I have been following the depressing story for years of billions of dollars being poured into drug research to attack the protein tangles that are pathognomonic for Alzeimer’s disease. The drug companies and research departments just couldn’t let go of the story or the approach. It’s understandable the way that funding is structured with huge…
Read MoreThe Tyranny of the Logical: or Biological plausibility
I am linking to a thorough and thoughtful article by David Epstein . The name of his article is “When Evidence Says No But Doctors Say Yes”. Careful readers of my blog know that this is something that I’ve been concerned about almost since my blog’s inception. It is a phenomenon that I’ve called the…
Read MoreStem Cell Injections Flourish With Little Evidence That They Work
I had no idea that these were not fully vetted by the FDA! As the article points out, these injections are extremely common and some insurance even pays. Wow. The FDA has taken an “industry friendly” position on allowing these injections. Are they safe? Do they work? Who knows? Money to be made! Astonishing. Apparently…
Read MoreMillions of Patients Affected by Faulty Medical Devices
My sort of standard advice to people is to not take any medication, nor use any new medical technique less than 7 years old. Often drugs and devices are rushed to market. Safer to let someone else take the risk. Unfortunately, in the case of pelvic mesh, it had been out for 20 years before…
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