Uncategorized

The Fault lies in our Stars not in Ourselves: Randomized Controlled Trials & Clinical Knowledge In the Beginning In 1947, a trial of streptomycin introduced RCTs to medicine.  From then, through to their incorporation into the 1962 amendments to the Food, Drugs and Cosmetics Act, occasioned by the thalidomide tragedy, there were questions about the epistemological link … [Read more...] about The Fault Lies in Our Stars

The argument in The Fault Lies in our Stars features in Chapter 6 of the forthcoming Shipwreck of the Singular.  It was sent out for comment to the following, who were chosen mostly by Mark Wilson.  The responses received are below: Corrado Barbui, Lisa Bero, Alan Cassels, Angus Deaton, Jean-Francois Dreyfus, Andrew Leigh (author of Randomistas), Silvio Garattini (& … [Read more...] about Fawlty Stars

June Raine featured in the international media last week as the public face of Britain's MHRA (drugs regulatory agency) when they became the first agency to license a Covid vaccine. A journalist, who had unearthed a letter of mine from 20 years ago, got in touch with me asking to talk by phone about whether I would be confident about JR's claims that we all could have … [Read more...] about The Raine in June Falls Mainly in …

Some weeks ago, following the publication of an article by Andrea Cipriani in their journal, Jim Gottstein and I wrote to the Frontiers in Psychiatry Bigwigs asking for the Cipriani article to be removed - Meta-Analytic SuperSpreader. They have since replied Vicariously through Elena Vicario. From: Editorial Office <editorial.office@frontiersin.org> Date: Tue, 3 … [Read more...] about Frontiers in Psychiatry: Elena Vicario

Meta-Analytic SuperSpreader outlined a disturbing sequence of events leading up to the publication of an article by Andrea Cipriani and colleagues effectively promoting the benefits of antidepressants.  Andrea and colleagues are part of an Oxford University Precision Psychiatry 'lab'.  The idea that this article in some way helps move us toward a precision psychiatry is … [Read more...] about Michael Hengartner, Andrea Cipriani and Frontiers in Psychiatry

Taper MD today launched PIMsPlus.org, a new free searchable resource for safer medication use which is focused on Potentially Inappropriate Medications (PIMs): medications that should be used with caution in older adults because research and clinical experience with these medications have shown that the risk of adverse effects can outweigh the benefits. The aim of … [Read more...] about PIMsPlus: Medication Reference Site

In a recent post Infection Super-Spreaders, I outlined the disturbing publication of an article by Andrea Cipriani and colleagues that gives a green light to prescribing antidepressants to children.  Prescribing antidepressants to children could even be part of Precision Psychiatry - a new Oxford University brand to complement Evidence Based Medicine. Concerned about … [Read more...] about Meta-Analytic Super-Spreader

This post is all about a marvellous article by Arthur Schafer on Conflict of Interest - or something like that.  See below.  But first some background. In the Last Millennium Over three decades ago, Toronto and Thalassemia came together in what became one of the most celebrated bioethical cases of any millennium that initially pitched Nancy Olivieri, Brenda Gallie and … [Read more...] about Repetition Compulsion to the Death or Beyond?

Big Bias (video here) may be the most important lecture I have ever given.  Its not easy.  The bottom line is that Clinical Trials don't work.  For everyone working in health (medical Catholics), this is a bit like saying the Pope is not infallible.  We have a great problem with this, partly because our response is - If not the Pope, then who? - the idea that no-one is … [Read more...] about Does My Bias Look Big in This?

The image is of legendary journalist Bill Haddad who did more to grapple with pharmaceutical corruption than anyone else. The opening lines of A Pill for Neoliberalism, as delivered, about the job of doctors and journalists being very similar, were not part of the transcript in last week’s post. The remarks came to me as a large crowd of media and journalism students … [Read more...] about Journalists and Doctors