31 posts · 22,018 views
Examines pseudoscience and quackery in pharmacies and pharmacy practice
Scott
31 posts
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- August 6, 2009
- 10:14 PM
- 1,103 views
Is Red Yeast Rice a Good Alternative to Statin Drugs?
by Scott in Science-Based Pharmacy
In the pharmacy, I’m often asked for “non-drug” solutions to various illnesses. In some cases, a desire to avoid medication can push people to make overdue and important diet or lifestyle changes. But in many cases, consumers simply want to avoid prescription drugs, asking if there’s something they can buy, preferably “natural”, that can help [...]... Read more »
Becker DJ, Gordon RY, Halbert SC, French B, Morris PB, & Rader DJ. (2009) Red yeast rice for dyslipidemia in statin-intolerant patients: a randomized trial. Annals of internal medicine, 150(12), 830-839. DOI: 19528562
- August 21, 2009
- 07:00 PM
- 1,097 views
World Health Organization Warns Against Use of Homeopathy
by Scott in Science-Based Pharmacy
In response to an open letter from scientists and researchers, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a unequivocal statement that it does not support the use of homeopathy for HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, influenza and infant diarrhea.
Today, the Voice of Young Science Network, part of the group Sense About Science, issued an open letter to [...]... Read more »
Shang, A., Huwiler-Müntener, K., Nartey, L., Jüni, P., Dörig, S., Sterne, J., Pewsner, D., & Egger, M. (2005) Are the clinical effects of homoeopathy placebo effects? Comparative study of placebo-controlled trials of homoeopathy and allopathy. The Lancet, 366(9487), 726-732. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67177-2
- February 27, 2009
- 11:55 PM
- 960 views
Cold-fX: More Hype than Hope for Colds and the Flu
by Scott in Science-Based Pharmacy
Cold and flu season is in full swing here in Canada, and we’re all trying to avoid catching something, and recover faster if we’re already sick. Supported by endorsements from Canadian celebrities, and a recently announced tie-in with the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the biggest selling cold product in Canada is Cold-fX, manufactured by Edmonton-based CV [...]... Read more »
Janet E. Mcelhaney, Stefan Gravenstein, Sharon K. Cole, Edward Davidson, Dennis O'neill, Sharon Petitjean, Barry Rumble, & Jacqueline J. Shan. (2004) A Placebo-Controlled Trial of a Proprietary Extract of North American Ginseng (CVT-E002) to Prevent Acute Respiratory Illness in Institutionalized Older Adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 52(1), 13-19. DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2004.52004.x
Gerald N. Predy, Vinti Goel, Ray Lovlin, Allan Donner, Larry Stitt, & Tapan K. Basu. (2005) Efficacy of an extract of North American ginseng containing poly-furanosyl-pyranosyl-saccharides for preventing upper respiratory tract infections: a randomized controlled trial. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 173(9), 1043-1048. DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.1041470
Janet E. McElhaney, Vinti Goel, Benjamin Toane, Johnathan Hooten, & Jacqueline J. Shan. (2006) Efficacy of COLD-fX in the Prevention of Respiratory Symptoms in Community-Dwelling Adults: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo Controlled Trial. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 12(2), 153-157. DOI: 10.1089/acm.2006.12.153
- April 10, 2009
- 11:40 PM
- 945 views
Vivimind: Forget About It
by Scott in Science-Based Pharmacy
You’ve seen the billboards for Vivimind across Canada. Remember them? Targeting an aging population of boomers, Vivimind is touted as a “scientifically proven” natural health product that “protects memory function”. The website goes to great lengths to promote that Vivimind is both “scientific” and “evidence based”. So let’s take a look at what sort of [...]... Read more »
Aisen, P., Saumier, D., Briand, R., Laurin, J., Gervais, F., Tremblay, P., & Garceau, D. (2006) A Phase II study targeting amyloid- with 3APS in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer disease. Neurology, 67(10), 1757-1763. DOI: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000244346.08950.64
GERVAIS, F., PAQUETTE, J., MORISSETTE, C., KRZYWKOWSKI, P., YU, M., AZZI, M., LACOMBE, D., KONG, X., AMAN, A., & LAURIN, J. (2007) Targeting soluble Aβ peptide with Tramiprosate for the treatment of brain amyloidosis. Neurobiology of Aging, 28(4), 537-547. DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2006.02.015
- February 17, 2011
- 09:00 AM
- 844 views
Are you sure you’re allergic to penicillin?
by Scott in Science-Based Pharmacy
As a pharmacist, when I dispense medication, it’s my responsibility to ensure that the medication is safe and appropriate for the patient. There are numerous checks we go through including verifying the dose, ensuring there are no interactions with other drugs, and verifying the patient has no history of allergy to the product prescribed. Asking [...]... Read more »
Caubet JC, Kaiser L, Lemaître B, Fellay B, Gervaix A, & Eigenmann PA. (2011) The role of penicillin in benign skin rashes in childhood: a prospective study based on drug rechallenge. The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology, 127(1), 218-22. PMID: 21035175
- April 25, 2009
- 10:49 PM
- 825 views
Supplements for Hot Flashes - The Power of Placebo
by Scott in Science-Based Pharmacy
As a follow-up to a previous post on bioidentical hormone replacement, I thought it would be helpful to quickly review the major herbal and alternative medicine products available to treat menopausal symptoms. The market is large, and the treatments are ubiquitous in pharmacies, so they’re worth of some science-based scrutiny.
What is menopause?
Menopause is formally [...]... Read more »
Author not specified. (2009) Herbal medicines for menopausal symptoms. Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin, 47(1), 2-6. DOI: 10.1136/dtb.2008.12.0031
Reed, S., Newton, K., LaCroix, A., Grothaus, L., Grieco, V., & Ehrlich, K. (2007) Vaginal, endometrial, and reproductive hormone findings: randomized, placebo-controlled trial of black cohosh, multibotanical herbs, and dietary soy for vasomotor symptoms. Menopause. DOI: 10.1097/gme.0b013e318057787f
- April 8, 2010
- 09:10 PM
- 802 views
Chili Burn: Can Green Tea and Chili Pepper Burn Fat?
by Scott in Science-Based Pharmacy
Diet products are common in most pharmacies. Consumer demand is one factor, with obesity proliferating to the point where the majority of Canadian adults are now overweight or obese. Compounded with the reality that there are no easy solutions when it comes to weight loss, the weight loss industry is working overtime developing new products. [...]... Read more »
Phung, O., Baker, W., Matthews, L., Lanosa, M., Thorne, A., & Coleman, C. (2009) Effect of green tea catechins with or without caffeine on anthropometric measures: a systematic review and meta-analysis. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 91(1), 73-81. DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.28157
- March 3, 2011
- 08:00 AM
- 772 views
Topical NSAIDs
by Scott in Science-Based Pharmacy
I have a mental basket of drugs that I suspect may be placebos. In that basket were the topical versions of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). When the first products were commercially marketed over a decade ago, I found the clinical evidence unconvincing, and I suspected that the modestly positive effects were probably due to simply [...]... Read more »
Haroutiunian, S., Drennan, D., & Lipman, A. (2010) Topical NSAID Therapy for Musculoskeletal Pain. Pain Medicine, 11(4), 535-549. DOI: 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2010.00809.x
Trelle S, Reichenbach S, Wandel S, Hildebrand P, Tschannen B, Villiger PM, Egger M, & Jüni P. (2011) Cardiovascular safety of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: network meta-analysis. BMJ (Clinical research ed.). PMID: 21224324
- July 14, 2009
- 09:00 AM
- 762 views
Preventing and Treating Macular Degeneration: Is TOZAL the Answer?
by Scott in Science-Based Pharmacy
Nobody wants to lose their vision. Once you hit age 65, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of vision impairment/loss, affecting about 1 in 5 people. [1] [2] There is some evidence that vitamin supplements can help protect your eyes. But can a new supplement actually improve your vision? If you have [...]... Read more »
Cangemi, F. (2007) TOZAL Study: An open case control study of an oral antioxidant and omega-3 supplement for dry AMD. BMC Ophthalmology, 7(1), 3. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2415-7-3
Evans, J. (2008) Antioxidant supplements to prevent or slow down the progression of AMD: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eye, 22(6), 751-760. DOI: 10.1038/eye.2008.100
- March 22, 2010
- 08:30 AM
- 758 views
Responding to Anti-vaccine Misinformation: Understanding the Issues
by Scott in Science-Based Pharmacy
Pharmacists pride themselves as being the most accessible health professionals. In community pharmacy settings, pharmacists speak with hundred of patients per day, and are available (free, and without an appointment) for quick consultations. Building good relationships is a rewarding part of being a pharmacist, and the level of trust that can develop supports open dialogue [...]... Read more »
Kata, A. (2010) A postmodern Pandora's box: Anti-vaccination misinformation on the Internet. Vaccine, 28(7), 1709-1716. DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2009.12.022
- June 21, 2010
- 08:15 AM
- 744 views
The Science of Dosing Errors
by Scott in Science-Based Pharmacy
With the warnings this week in Canada and the United States about the risks of dosing errors with vitamin D drops, I thought it was an appropriate time to discuss dose measurement as barrier to science-based care. Dosing errors are the among the most common and most preventable causes of adverse drug events in children. [...]... Read more »
Yin HS, Mendelsohn AL, Wolf MS, Parker RM, Fierman A, van Schaick L, Bazan IS, Kline MD, & Dreyer BP. (2010) Parents' medication administration errors: role of dosing instruments and health literacy. Archives of pediatrics , 164(2), 181-6. PMID: 20124148
- April 28, 2011
- 10:00 PM
- 742 views
Do Calcium Supplements Cause Heart Attacks?
by Scott in Science-Based Pharmacy
Calcium is good for us, right? Milk products are great sources of calcium, and we’re told to emphasize milk products in our diets. Don’t (or can’t) eat enough dairy? Calcium supplements are very popular, especially among women seeking to minimize their risk of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis prevention and treatment guidelines recommend calcium and vitamin D as [...]... Read more »
Bolland MJ, Avenell A, Baron JA, Grey A, MacLennan GS, Gamble GD, & Reid IR. (2010) Effect of calcium supplements on risk of myocardial infarction and cardiovascular events: meta-analysis. BMJ (Clinical research ed.). PMID: 20671013
Bolland, M., Grey, A., Avenell, A., Gamble, G., & Reid, I. (2011) Calcium supplements with or without vitamin D and risk of cardiovascular events: reanalysis of the Women's Health Initiative limited access dataset and meta-analysis. BMJ, 342(apr19 1). DOI: 10.1136/bmj.d2040
- May 26, 2009
- 11:30 PM
- 738 views
Mulberry for Weight Loss: Not just unproven, but implausible
by Scott in Science-Based Pharmacy
I don’t normally read the freebie newspapers in Toronto as their content is the journalistic equivalent of the lead in the Toronto water supply: both slowly sap your intellect away.
But I ride public transit and those papers are littered everywhere, rolling around the TTC. So against my better judgment I picked up the paper on [...]... Read more »
Mudra, M., Ercan-Fang, N., Zhong, L., Furne, J., & Levitt, M. (2007) Influence of Mulberry Leaf Extract on the Blood Glucose and Breath Hydrogen Response to Ingestion of 75 g Sucrose by Type 2 Diabetic and Control Subjects. Diabetes Care, 30(5), 1272-1274. DOI: 10.2337/dc06-2120
- July 10, 2011
- 05:38 PM
- 714 views
Vaccine Confidence: Attitudes and Actions
by Scott in Science-Based Pharmacy
Few groups are more hazardous to public health than the anti-vaccine movement — because there’s a body count affiliated with their actions. When vaccination rates drop, communicable diseases re-emerge, and people suffer. While anti-vaccine sentiment will probably persist as long as vaccines are around, we’re fortunate that vaccination rates, on balance, remain very high. In [...]... Read more »
Kennedy A, Lavail K, Nowak G, Basket M, & Landry S. (2011) Confidence about vaccines in the United States: understanding parents' perceptions. Health affairs (Project Hope), 30(6), 1151-9. PMID: 21653969
- August 9, 2010
- 08:00 AM
- 713 views
The (Lice) Drugs Don’t Work … Or Do They?
by Scott in Science-Based Pharmacy
For those of us in the northern hemisphere, summer is drawing to an end and that means back to school – and the annual wave of panic about head lice. It seems that cramming hundreds of children together in one building leads to lice outbreaks, panicky teachers, and distraught parents. Right on schedule, in last [...]... Read more »
Frankowski, B., & Bocchini, J. (2010) Head Lice. PEDIATRICS, 126(2), 392-403. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2010-1308
- January 2, 2010
- 06:23 PM
- 701 views
Forget to take your Ginkgo biloba? Turns out, it doesn’t matter
by Scott in Science-Based Pharmacy
Among the natural products on pharmacy shelves, I was rooting for Ginkgo biloba for the prevention of dementia. For one, dementia is a horrible illness. Secondly, currently available drugs for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have little meaningful effect. Thirdly, preliminary data with ginkgo for AD looked encouraging. I recall reading this systematic review back in [...]... Read more »
Snitz, B., O'Meara, E., Carlson, M., Arnold, A., Ives, D., Rapp, S., Saxton, J., Lopez, O., Dunn, L., Sink, K.... (2009) Ginkgo biloba for Preventing Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: A Randomized Trial. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 302(24), 2663-2670. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2009.1913
- June 23, 2011
- 08:13 PM
- 701 views
Making sense of biomarker research
by Scott in Science-Based Pharmacy
Everything you know may be wrong. Well, not really, but reading the research of John Ioannidis does make you wonder. His work, concentrated on research about research, is popular among those that want to improve the way we deliver medicine. And that’s because he’s focused on improving the way evidence is brought to bear on [...]... Read more »
Ioannidis JP, & Panagiotou OA. (2011) Comparison of effect sizes associated with biomarkers reported in highly cited individual articles and in subsequent meta-analyses. JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association, 305(21), 2200-10. PMID: 21632484
- May 14, 2011
- 02:20 PM
- 697 views
Counting the Placebo Prescriptions
by Scott in Science-Based Pharmacy
How frequently are placebos prescribed and dispensed? I blogged earlier this week about Tom Blackwell’s recent article in the National Post on the prevalence of placebo prescriptions. The authors of the paper Blackwell summarized suggest that one in five physicians actively use placebos. Even if they’re being used sporadically, that’s a lot more use than [...]... Read more »
Fässler, M., Meissner, K., Schneider, A., & Linde, K. (2010) Frequency and circumstances of placebo use in clinical practice - a systematic review of empirical studies. BMC Medicine, 8(1), 15. DOI: 10.1186/1741-7015-8-15
Kermen R, Hickner J, Brody H, & Hasham I. (2010) Family physicians believe the placebo effect is therapeutic but often use real drugs as placebos. Family medicine, 42(9), 636-42. PMID: 20927672
Raz A, Campbell N, Guindi D, Holcroft C, Déry C, & Cukier O. (2011) Placebos in clinical practice: comparing attitudes, beliefs, and patterns of use between academic psychiatrists and nonpsychiatrists. Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie, 56(4), 198-208. PMID: 21507276
- December 23, 2010
- 06:00 AM
- 678 views
Vaccines are a pain: What to do about it
by Scott in Science-Based Pharmacy
As much as I support vaccines, I see the short term consequences. Vaccines can be painful. Kids don’t like them, and parents don’t like seeing their children suffer. That this transient pain is the most common consequence of gaining protection from fatal illnesses seems like a fair trade-off to me. But that’s not the case [...]... Read more »
Taddio A, Appleton M, Bortolussi R, Chambers C, Dubey V, Halperin S, Hanrahan A, Ipp M, Lockett D, Macdonald N.... (2010) Reducing the pain of childhood vaccination: an evidence-based clinical practice guideline (summary). CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal , 182(18), 1989-95. PMID: 21098067
- August 1, 2011
- 08:18 AM
- 657 views
Salt: More confirmation bias for your preferred narrative
by Scott in Science-Based Pharmacy
Judging by the recent press reports, the latest Cochrane review reveals that everything we’ve been told about eating salt, and cardiovascular disease, is wrong: The New York Times: Nostrums: Cutting Salt Has Little Effect on Heart Risk The Daily Mail: Cutting back on salt ‘does not make you healthier’ (despite nanny state warnings) Scientific American: [...]... Read more »
Taylor RS, Ashton KE, Moxham T, Hooper L, & Ebrahim S. (2011) Reduced dietary salt for the prevention of cardiovascular disease: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (cochrane review). American journal of hypertension, 24(8), 843-53. PMID: 21731062
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