Categories
Cancer Clinical trials Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Rigvir: A cancer "cure" imported from Latvia that cancer patients should avoid

Recently, the Hope4Cancer Institute, a quack clinic in Mexico has added a treatment known as Rigvir to its other offerings. But what is Rigvir? It turns out that it’s an import from Latvia with a mysterious history. Its proponents claim that it targets cancer specifically. Unfortunately, there is a profound paucity of evidence for its efficacy. The story of Rigvir is the story of an unproven treatment that, because of its origin in a small country, has flown mostly under the radar. Until now, that is.

Categories
Complementary and alternative medicine Friday Woo Medicine Paranormal Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Gwyneth Paltrow’s goop: Psychic Vampire Repellent as female "empowerment"

Gwyneth Paltrow’s goop is continuing to sell snake oil promoted as the “empowerment” of women. Yes, that even includes a psychic vampire repellent, reiki charged.

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Medicine

What’s scarier than dubious stem cell clinics? A naturopathic stem cell clinic!

After nearly 13 years of blogging, I thought I’d seen it all. Then former naturopath Britt Hermes let me know that there is a naturopath in Utah offering stem cell treatments. My face is raw from the double facepalming.

Categories
Clinical trials Medicine Politics Popular culture Skepticism/critical thinking

“Right To Choose Medicine”: The free market fundamentalist assault on the FDA continues

Yesterday, I wrote about how right-to-try and an unethical offshore vaccine trial are part of free market fundamentalists’ attack on the FDA. Here’s another example, the “right to choose medicine.”

Categories
Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery

Did a gadolinium contrast agent used for MRIs “poison” Chuck Norris’ wife Gena?

Earlier this month, Chuck Norris and his wife Gena filed a lawsuit against manufacturers of MRI contrast agents, claiming that the gadolinium in them had “poisoned” Gena. But did it? The evidence linking gadolinium with the symptoms Gena Norris suffered is, even under the most generous interpretation, quite shaky, and there is no doubt that she has been victimized by quacks.