Rob Knight gives an outstanding overview of how the microbiome affects our health and much, much more in this timely summary.
Homeopathy found to be effective for 0 out of 68 illnesses – Times of India
A leading scientist has declared homeopathy a “therapeutic dead-end” after a systematic review concluded the controversial treatment was no more effective than placebo drugs. A total of 57 systematic reviews, containing the 176 individual studies, focused on 68 different health conditions – and found there to be no evidence homeopathy was more effective than placebo
Study: $15.4B spent by doctors annually on reporting quality measures
With MACRA, the government has allocated $500M to $1B in bonuses to be paid for the upper tier of quality performers. But let’s put that in perspective. A study by the Medical Group Management Association and Weill Cornell Medical College found that costs for reporting quality measures amount to more than $15.4 billion per year
Cumulative adenoma sizes may be as good a predictor of polyp recurrence as current strategies.
Study: Adenoma bulk may be used as surveillance strategy Analyzing adenoma bulk may predict metachronous neoplasia as well as the current surveillance strategy of size, number, and tissue type. This is according to research presented at the ACG 2016 Annual Scientific Meeting. Dr. Joseph Anderson of Dartmouth College’s Geisel School of Medicine called adenoma bulk
The bacterial microbiome raises its head once again. In a multicenter study reported in The American Journal of Gastroenterology found that bacterial genomic fragments found in the blood of patients in remission from Crohn’s disease may be an independent risk factor for flare-ups at six months. “BactDNA” at six months also was tied to higher
This foreign body was removed from a non-healing abdominal wall incision in an elderly lady with many comorbidities and previous operations. It was a rigid plastic tube which was 7 cm long and 2 to 3 mm in diameter. There were four transverse grooves at either end. Physicians caring for her were unable to identify
Is it appropriate to comment on the perceived illnesses of public figures? When Britney Spears had one of her famous meltdowns–I can’t recall if it was when she shaved her head or something worse–Dr. Phil of television fame came under fire for interjecting himself into the drama. He was providing medical opinion in public, and
Survey shows physicians inaccurately overestimate both risks and benefits
Most internal medicine residents and attending physicians overestimate the benefits and harms of common interventions, according to a new survey. Physicians and residents overestimated a treatment’s benefits 79% of the time and the harms 66% of the time, according to a survey of clinicians working in primary care, hospital medicine and specialty care at two
Bioengineering has come a long way in the past few years. Organic is so passe. GMO’s are mainstream. What’s the next controversy? A recent hot topic you may have seen online is the idea of engineering ready-to-eat meat right in the research lab. Proponents tout it as a humane way to get us the protein
Boutique Hangover Clinics Are All The Rage–But Are They Worth It?
The Hangover Clinic, a mobile center in Australia, joins a growing number of facilities that heal the ailments of over drinking with IV therapies. But these treatments aren’t worth the triple digit price tag. “Doctors, nurses, and paramedics have been using IVs to recover from hangovers for decades because it works,” said Max Petro, a
