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Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Integrative medicine Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery

Is it even possible to design high quality acupuncture trials?

Acupuncture advocates have published guidelines for “rigorous” acupuncture randomized controlled trials. While that sounds good on the surface, the devil is in the details, which reveal that acupuncturists’ dedication to scientific rigor is perhaps not so strong.

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Bad science Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Politics Popular culture

These days, ivermectin reminds me of acupuncture

As high-quality evidence increasingly and resoundingly shows that ivermectin does not work against COVID-19, advocates are doing what acupuncture advocates do: Turning to lower quality “positive” studies to claim incorrectly that their favorite ineffective treatment actually does “work.”

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery

How can germ theory denial explain contagion?

Germ theory denial has always had a hard time explaining the contagiousness of infectious diseases—until now, apparently. According to “Dr.” Melissa Sell, it’s all about the vibes, ma-an!

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Complementary and alternative medicine Integrative medicine Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery

Quoth an “integrative” functional medicine doc: “I’m not a quack, I’m an early adopter”

Functional medicine practitioner Dr. Melinda Ring thinks that she should be considered an “early adopter” instead of a quack. However, being an “early adopter” of quackery is not something to be admired.

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Complementary and alternative medicine Integrative medicine Medicine Politics

NCCIH strategic plan 2021-25: Same ol’, same ol’, with a devious twist

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health recently released its latest 5 year strategic plan. It’s basically the same as the last strategic plan, but with one new addition. It’s not really a new addition, but it signals a resurrection of an old trope about “integrating” quackery with science-based medicine.