Vaccines
Book review–Don't Swallow Your Gum!: Myths, Half-Truths, and Outright Lies About Your Body and Health
Dec/04/09 10:16
I just finished reading Don't Swallow Your Gum!: Myths, Half-Truths, and Outright Lies About Your Body and Health (ISBN:031253387X, 2009) written by Aaron Carroll MD and Rachel Vreeman MD, both pediatricians and researchers at the University of Indiana School of Medicine.
First of all, the book is an amusing, easy read, using terms like “snot” and “poo” to describe bodily secretions. At some 200 pages, it was a quick read, not requiring a lot of time. Obviously, the book was written for a wide audience, debunking many pseudoscientific myths about health. For those of us who demand supporting research, it has a vast list of primary and secondary research citations for further reading. In fact, for me, those citations are going to be invaluable in future articles.
The book goes about debunking silly myths such as “don’t swallow your gum because it will get stuck in your intestine for 5 (10, 20, whatever) years” or the old “five second rule” which we all suspected wasn’t wise. There was one chapter on “double dipping”, which was popularized on a Seinfeld episode many years ago, in which the authors discussed research that showed that double dipping does in fact transfer a lot of germs from the chip to the dip. Not that I would confess to being a double dipper, but I may not be a single-dipper at a party after reading this book! Read More...
First of all, the book is an amusing, easy read, using terms like “snot” and “poo” to describe bodily secretions. At some 200 pages, it was a quick read, not requiring a lot of time. Obviously, the book was written for a wide audience, debunking many pseudoscientific myths about health. For those of us who demand supporting research, it has a vast list of primary and secondary research citations for further reading. In fact, for me, those citations are going to be invaluable in future articles.
The book goes about debunking silly myths such as “don’t swallow your gum because it will get stuck in your intestine for 5 (10, 20, whatever) years” or the old “five second rule” which we all suspected wasn’t wise. There was one chapter on “double dipping”, which was popularized on a Seinfeld episode many years ago, in which the authors discussed research that showed that double dipping does in fact transfer a lot of germs from the chip to the dip. Not that I would confess to being a double dipper, but I may not be a single-dipper at a party after reading this book! Read More...
How pseudoscience makes its case, Part 3
Nov/19/09 09:12
This is part of my ongoing discussion on how quacks use pseudoscience to push their myths and potions on the world. Part 1 discussed the scientific method, which allows us to objectively analyze the natural world. Part 2 discussed the best way for us to examine the difference between science and pseudoscience.
I just read an outstanding analysis, by Steven Novella, MD, a clinical neurologist at Yale University, of how pseudoscience (those who pretend to praise the scientific method, yet do it in a way that is not actually science) and anti-science (those who repudiate science outright, or even undermine science, with subjective analysis and untestable spirituality) to reject evidence-based medicine.
Dr. Novella clearly states how science in medicine works:
I just read an outstanding analysis, by Steven Novella, MD, a clinical neurologist at Yale University, of how pseudoscience (those who pretend to praise the scientific method, yet do it in a way that is not actually science) and anti-science (those who repudiate science outright, or even undermine science, with subjective analysis and untestable spirituality) to reject evidence-based medicine.
Dr. Novella clearly states how science in medicine works:
This leads us to the final continuum – the consensus of expert opinion based upon systematic reviews can either result in a solid and confident unanimous opinion, a reliable opinion with serious minority objections, a genuine controversy with no objective resolution, or simply the conclusion that we currently lack sufficient evidence and do not know the answer. It can also lead, of course, to a solid consensus of expert opinion combined with a fake controversy manufactured by a group driven by ideology or greed and not science. The tobacco industry’s campaign of doubt against the conclusion that smoking is a risk factor for lung cancer is one example.The anti-vaccine movement’s fear-mongering about vaccines and autism is another. Read More...
Flu vaccination locations
Nov/17/09 09:26
Google maps has an interesting application that shows locations and availability of seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccinations. I'm not sure how accurate it is, but you should give it a try. Read More...
Bill Maher is a science denialist
Nov/17/09 08:36
Bill Maher, a rather liberal talk show host, has recently been joining the anti-vaccination crowd, adding his voice to the Hollywood centered vaccination denialists. He is a typical science denialist, ignoring the vast wealth of science, research and publications, to make statements, in this case about promoting pseudoscience in his dismissal of the value of vaccines. Moreover, Mr. Maher spends time denying he is a denialist, which usually is an indicator that one is a denialist.
Interestingly, Maher is usually in sync with my feelings about global warming and evolution denialists, who use pseudoscience and outright denial to "prove" that there is no global warming or evolution. Usually, skeptics or anti-denialists (one day we need to get this terminology right) are consistent, we dismiss pseudoscience outright. I have no clue why he has chosen this particular pseudoscience and quackery to support, but maybe he just thinks Jenny McCarthy knows more than real scientists. Read More...
Interestingly, Maher is usually in sync with my feelings about global warming and evolution denialists, who use pseudoscience and outright denial to "prove" that there is no global warming or evolution. Usually, skeptics or anti-denialists (one day we need to get this terminology right) are consistent, we dismiss pseudoscience outright. I have no clue why he has chosen this particular pseudoscience and quackery to support, but maybe he just thinks Jenny McCarthy knows more than real scientists. Read More...
Debunking H1N1 Vaccine Myths
Nov/05/09 10:06
The internet is a wonderful place for getting information. But it's also a disaster in finding good information. The problem is that if you read medical facts on the internet, you tend to give equal value to both scientifically supported and outright pseudoscientific statements. I read a few posts on Facebook, which seems to be the modern world's gossip center, that spouted all sorts of conspiracy theories and ridiculous myths about the H1N1 Vaccine. Read More...
How pseudoscience makes its case, Part 2
Nov/04/09 16:30
A few days ago, I discussed how science works. It's not a belief. It's not a random set of rules. It is a rational and logical process to determine cause and effect in the natural world. Pseudoscience, by its very nature, ignores the scientific process; instead, it pretends to come to conclusions through science, although it does not.
Again, be very wary if you hear someone say, "it's proven." I've heard those words from both alternative medicine pushers and from well-trained physicians. I have previously discussed the ineffectiveness of almost every alternative medicine therapy. But what about your physician? They are, by far, devoted to your health and well-being. But they cannot know everything about medicine (thus, why we have specialists), so they may repeat information that is not valid. Read More...
Again, be very wary if you hear someone say, "it's proven." I've heard those words from both alternative medicine pushers and from well-trained physicians. I have previously discussed the ineffectiveness of almost every alternative medicine therapy. But what about your physician? They are, by far, devoted to your health and well-being. But they cannot know everything about medicine (thus, why we have specialists), so they may repeat information that is not valid. Read More...
Fox News and the flu vaccine
Nov/02/09 11:23
Fox News is not even close to being a reliable source for anything. They've been reporting about a young woman who claims that she developed dystonia after receiving the season flu vaccination. Of course, Fox News is trying to make a story where there is none. Read More...
How pseudoscience makes its case, Part 1
Nov/02/09 09:38
I always get suspicious when someone makes an argument with the statement of "it's been proven to work", "the link is proven", or, alternatively, they state the negative. Typically, I hear these kinds of statements from the pseudoscience pushing group. Many of us have debunked the "there is a proven link between vaccines and autism." Or that any number of alternative medicine (CAM) therapies don't actually work. In fact, science rarely uses the term "proven", because the scientific method is not a system to make a definitive answer on any question–scientists always leave open the possibility of an alternative hypothesis that can be tested. If the alternate hypothesis can be supported through experimentation, then it can replace the original one. When an alternative medicine or junk science supporter states "it has been proven" then you can be assured that conclusion is unsupported by scientific research. Read More...
Immunization–get the facts
Aug/09/09 14:17
Just when I thought that the whole anti-vaccination movement was going to be eclipsed by the whole healthcare reform debate (or myth-pushing, depending on your point of view), I still realize that there are groups who think that vaccines are not usesful. People are starting to stand up to the pseudoscience-based woo-pushing crowd: Read More...
The Jenny McCarthy Song
May/15/09 09:22
Without making excuses, I really try to keep this blog focused on issues that might impact the medical business world. I am, however, strongly offended by pseudoscience, the primary “authority” for most quack remedies, alternative medicine, and the anti-vaccine movement. I have previously discussed Ms. McCarthy a number of times, and without a doubt, I believe she’s a danger to healthcare. The consequences of the anti-vaccination push is evident by real science. Read More...
Swine flu–don't panic
Apr/30/09 00:02
With respect to the swine flu, I want to repeat myself, once again–Don’t Panic.
Yes, the World Health Organization revised the pandemic alert for swine flu from 4 to 5. They did this to urge vaccine manufacturers to prepare a new vaccine, to warn governments to prepare in advance, and to request that government surveillance be heightened.
This does not mean that we will be returning to the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918, where more than 20 million people died worldwide. We are healthier, there are no major wars such as World War I, we have a better healthcare system, we have more focus from governments, and we have better treatments. Read More...
Yes, the World Health Organization revised the pandemic alert for swine flu from 4 to 5. They did this to urge vaccine manufacturers to prepare a new vaccine, to warn governments to prepare in advance, and to request that government surveillance be heightened.
This does not mean that we will be returning to the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918, where more than 20 million people died worldwide. We are healthier, there are no major wars such as World War I, we have a better healthcare system, we have more focus from governments, and we have better treatments. Read More...
Swine flu
Apr/29/09 15:34
Well, actually I’m not going to say too much about swine flu, except that my initial impression is that it’s not that much different from other types of flu in terms of severity. For example, during the 2007-2008 flu season, there were 83 pediatric mortalities in the US that resulted from influenza infections. In other words, like a lot of diseases that we think are minor, there are serious health consequences that often fly “under the radar.” There is a certain fascination with this disease because of where it started (Mexico), conspiracy theories, and for other reasons that are beyond my ability to understand. I am personally not concerned, because, as I mentioned above, the morbidity of the infection probably is similar to other types of influenza.
There are a number of bloggers who are passing along sage and sane advice. Basically, don’t panic. Wash your hands. And that’s about it for really good medical information.
Of course, the woo-meisters have weighed in with their useless advice. I won’t even begin to explain the logical and scientific fallacies of colon cleansing, but it isn’t going to either prevent or lessen the severity of swine flu. Read More...
There are a number of bloggers who are passing along sage and sane advice. Basically, don’t panic. Wash your hands. And that’s about it for really good medical information.
Of course, the woo-meisters have weighed in with their useless advice. I won’t even begin to explain the logical and scientific fallacies of colon cleansing, but it isn’t going to either prevent or lessen the severity of swine flu. Read More...
The cost of medical woo
Apr/15/09 22:45
My blog entries wander between three broad topics: medical woo (pseudoscience, science denialism, vaccine denialism, and alternative medicine), market opportunities for medical products and healthcare policy. And one discussion about my beloved Syracuse Orange. My three broad interests in the medical arena are interrelated in such a fashion that medical companies (both pharmaceutical and medical devices) need to prepare strategic plans that maximize their success despite some difficult market forces.
First, let’s talk about the whole area of medical woo. The anti-vaccine movement (which I will continue to label as vaccine denialism), if it continues to gain traction in social consciousness, will require more investment in studies that continue to confirm that there is no link between vaccines and autism (OK, yes the proper scientific method would force me to say that there is a possibility that a link could be found, but after 100’s of clinical papers, I’m firmly on the side that this issue has been decided). If this movement becomes problematic, we might be dealing with infectious disease epidemics unseen in a generation. Can hospitals and clinics deal with these diseases? How large are the infectious disease wards in hospitals? How many infectious disease specialists are there? And what kinds of medical products will need to be available to treat these diseases? Read More...
First, let’s talk about the whole area of medical woo. The anti-vaccine movement (which I will continue to label as vaccine denialism), if it continues to gain traction in social consciousness, will require more investment in studies that continue to confirm that there is no link between vaccines and autism (OK, yes the proper scientific method would force me to say that there is a possibility that a link could be found, but after 100’s of clinical papers, I’m firmly on the side that this issue has been decided). If this movement becomes problematic, we might be dealing with infectious disease epidemics unseen in a generation. Can hospitals and clinics deal with these diseases? How large are the infectious disease wards in hospitals? How many infectious disease specialists are there? And what kinds of medical products will need to be available to treat these diseases? Read More...
Jenny says....
Apr/07/09 08:22
If you read my blog, you know I don’t have much respect for the anti-vaccination movement, and I have contempt for Jenny McCarthy, JB Handley, Andrew Wakefield, Generation Rescue and others for the damage they have done to health care. One of my favorite blogs to read is Science Based Medicine, which has several physicians editors (and guest editors) who discuss medicine from a scientific perspective. I share their point-of-view on medicine, and since my background is from the industry perspective, I cannot obviate the need for good scientific reasoning for product development. In Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends: The Jenny and Jim antivaccine propaganda tour has begun, David Gorski, MD, tears apart, in about as civil a manner as he can, Jenny’s recent interview. Read More...
The anti-Jenny blogosphere
Apr/02/09 15:17
Medical and science blogs are aghast at Jenny McCarthy’s comments that I reviewed earlier today. Let me list some of the more choice comments. Read More...
Jenny McCarthy again!
Apr/02/09 12:35
Why is anyone listening to Jenny McCarthy? She just published a new books continuing her unscientific and unsupported rants about how vaccines cause autism. As of today, there are still no links between the two, but because she was a Playboy Playmate of the Year, she has a soapbox to promote her views. Read More...
The anti-vaccination tragedy
Mar/31/09 10:07
I have written about the anti-vaccination movement several times recently, yet every day, I read another article or another comment somewhere that reminds me of this situation. Today, I came across a recently published article in The Lancet, one of the most respected peer-reviewed medical journals, which reinforced one of the consequences of the anti-vaccination movement. The article, Measles in Europe: an epidemiological assessment, states that there were 12,232 cases of measles in Europe during 2006 and 2007. Most cases were unvaccinated or improperly vaccinated children. Read More...
Vaccines, once again and a bit irreverent
Mar/30/09 22:55
As I’ve discussed previously, I find the anti-vaccine movement, linking cases of autism to pediatric vaccinations, to be based on pseudoscientific principles. There are several individuals that have pushed this quackery, but one of the more visible is Jenny McCarthy, ex-Playboy Playmate of the Year (no, I’m not going to link to it), bad actress, and failed game-show host. I am flabbergasted that anyone would listen to this woman, a scientific illiterate, about anything outside of how to model and possibly how to choose bad movies. That parents are making decisions about vaccinating their children based on her bogus beliefs is beyond my simple understanding of the world.
There are always consequences to every action, and there are many by delaying or refusing vaccinations. The Jenny McCarthy Body Count is a website that lists every vaccine-preventable case and death that has occurred since Jenny made public her belief that vaccines caused autism in her son (which many believe is a misdiagnosis) in June 2007. Since then, there have been 720 preventable cases and 142 preventable deaths (as of today). As the website says, she’s not responsible for everyone one of these cases or deaths. But if she convinces just one person to not adhere to a vaccine schedule for their children, then it’s one too many.
Read More...
There are always consequences to every action, and there are many by delaying or refusing vaccinations. The Jenny McCarthy Body Count is a website that lists every vaccine-preventable case and death that has occurred since Jenny made public her belief that vaccines caused autism in her son (which many believe is a misdiagnosis) in June 2007. Since then, there have been 720 preventable cases and 142 preventable deaths (as of today). As the website says, she’s not responsible for everyone one of these cases or deaths. But if she convinces just one person to not adhere to a vaccine schedule for their children, then it’s one too many.
Read More...
Vaccines...Part II
Feb/25/09 09:37
If you read what I have written so far, I am firmly against pseudoscience influencing healthcare policy. Anti-vaccinationists, who have harmed human beings with their pseudoscientific assertion that MMR vaccines cause autism, are now on the run as I’ve stated earlier. Read More...
Vaccines...who are you going to believe?
Feb/19/09 15:51
In one corner, we have Jenny McCarthy, former Playboy Playmate of the Year, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, and pseudoscience with an extra dose of quackery. In the other corner, we have the Centers for Disease Control, the Institute of Medicine for the National Academy of Sciences, UK’s National Health Service, and the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (what is commonly called the Vaccine Court). The battle is over MMR vaccine, a mixture of three live attenuated viruses administered by injection for immunization against measles, mumps and rubella (formerly known as German measles).
Let’s take a close look at the participants. First, Jenny McCarthy, whose extensive medical and science education includes....not much. In 2005, she announced that her child was diagnosed with autism, a diagnosis about which there is some doubt. McCarthy believes that vaccines caused her son’s autism, although that view is unsupported by any scientific or medical evidence. Her public appearances and statements have increased the public perception of this link, and may have led to decreased immunization rates and increased incidence of measles. McCarthy has stated that chelation therapy helped her son recover from autism. Essentially, McCarthy claims that mercury in vaccines causes autism, which has been rejected by scientific and clinical studies. In fact, the National Institute of Mental Health has concluded that autistic children will not receive any benefit to balance the risks of cognitive and emotional problems induced by the chelating agents used in this treatment. Really, she should stick to modeling and bad movies.
Dr. Andrew Wakefield is a whole different story. He, and 12 other researchers, published a paper in the British medical journal in 1998, The Lancet, which reported on 12 (yes 12) children with developmental disorders. They linked eight of these children to MMR vaccinations. The paper described several bowel symptoms and the possible link to the vaccine. He even gave a name to the syndrome, autistic enterocolitis. After publication of the paper, confidence in the MMR vaccine fell; pediatricians in the United Kingdom thought the British government was either hiding evidence of the link, or was failing to prove it. Read More...
Let’s take a close look at the participants. First, Jenny McCarthy, whose extensive medical and science education includes....not much. In 2005, she announced that her child was diagnosed with autism, a diagnosis about which there is some doubt. McCarthy believes that vaccines caused her son’s autism, although that view is unsupported by any scientific or medical evidence. Her public appearances and statements have increased the public perception of this link, and may have led to decreased immunization rates and increased incidence of measles. McCarthy has stated that chelation therapy helped her son recover from autism. Essentially, McCarthy claims that mercury in vaccines causes autism, which has been rejected by scientific and clinical studies. In fact, the National Institute of Mental Health has concluded that autistic children will not receive any benefit to balance the risks of cognitive and emotional problems induced by the chelating agents used in this treatment. Really, she should stick to modeling and bad movies.
Dr. Andrew Wakefield is a whole different story. He, and 12 other researchers, published a paper in the British medical journal in 1998, The Lancet, which reported on 12 (yes 12) children with developmental disorders. They linked eight of these children to MMR vaccinations. The paper described several bowel symptoms and the possible link to the vaccine. He even gave a name to the syndrome, autistic enterocolitis. After publication of the paper, confidence in the MMR vaccine fell; pediatricians in the United Kingdom thought the British government was either hiding evidence of the link, or was failing to prove it. Read More...