Even on the rare occasions that quacks lose their medical licenses, they often continue preying on the public
https://www.smh.com.au/national/melbourne-integrative-institute-employed-doctor-who-lost-licence-after-patients-died-20210727-p58dep.html
Quacks who market themselves as integrative, functional, and naturopathic not only defraud their patients but also endanger them:
Near-fatal blood infection following naturopathic IV vitamin infusion
A patient nearly died from a blood infection after a compounded naturopathic vitamin infusion. IV vitamin infusions ...
sciencebasedmedicine.org
Dr. Caumes sheds light on what is the real "health scandal": the over-diagnosis carried out by a network of "Lyme Doctors", with deleterious consequences for patients who think they have found an explanation for their sometimes disabling disorders...
Afis Science - Association française pour l’information scientifique
Maladie de Lyme – Réalité ou imposture ?Pr Éric Caumes Bouquins, 2021, 176 pages, 18 € Les livres grand-pub...
www.afis.org
New from @FormerAntivax: When I was an antivaxxer and I would watch people engage in debate, I would always walking away feeling like my side won. HOW? Well, Antivaxxers employ underhanded debate tactics, as a defense.
Antivax Debate Tactics
ANTIVAX DEBATE TACTICS
backtothevax.com
We have warned about predatory publisher MDPI since it has become a vanity publisher for conspiracy theorists.
However we are glad to see MDPI retract two anti-vax papers within the last month.
James Lyons-Weiler whines about his "vaxxed/unvaxxed" study retraction - RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE
James Lyons-Weiler published a "vaxxed/unvaxxed" study with antivax pediatrician Paul Thomas . It's been retracted, and his whine is epic.
respectfulinsolence.com
The FDA has sent a strongly worded letter to integrative medicine grifter Hyun Joon Lee, MD regarding unapproved claims about treating many diseases, including ALS, diabetes, Parkinson’s, and so-called chronic #Lyme disease
@FDACBER issues Untitled Letter to Scarsdale Integrative Family Medicine, PLLC, dba See Beyond for marketing unapproved #cellular product for treatment of various diseases or conditions including #multiplesclerosis #ALS #Parkinsons https://www.fda.gov/media/150744/download
Good discussion of how bad journalism from the NY Times spawned false claims of Subway tuna not being tuna.
Once again, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
Everyone knows the true scandal of Subway tuna is that they use too much mayo!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMALh_GVxF4
The integrative/alternative/functional vultures are circling, ready to prey on people with post-COVID symptoms:
Long COVID: Alternative medicine sees a business opportunity
With vaccines transforming the risk and consequences of a COVID infection, the health burden of "long COVID" may b...
sciencebasedmedicine.org
Quiz originally published in JAMA:
A 10-year-old girl developed an annular skin lesion on her neck. The lesion, initially attributed to a bug bite by her mother, enlarged and developed central clearing.
After reviewing the following, what do you do? #FOAMed #MedEd #idtwitter
Wondering:
NIH has spent billions of dollars promoting quackery.
Francis Collins & Anthony Fauci, as NIH leaders, helped facilitate this nonsense.
Many quackery sellers & consumers are anti-vax.
Did Collins and Fauci fuel current anti-vax sentiment?
$142 Million For Quack Medicine Buried Inside The New 2018 Budget
Hidden deep in the new US budget is $142 million for NIH to invest in promoting quackery and pseudoscience, a ...
www.forbes.com
Dr. Laura Cabrera explains how false chronic #Lyme diagnoses happen:
Unclear symptoms get a name, unvalidated lab tests generate false-positive results, & activists have an overwhelming internet presence.
And we appreciate the referral to LymeScience!
Chronische Borreliose – ein Krankheitsbild zwischen Fakten und Fiktion
Betroffene mit langfristigen Beschwerden nach einer Borrelien-Infektion fühlen sich nicht ernst genommen. Doch die Datenl...
deutsch.medscape.com
Dr. Steven Novella: Homeopathy is literally 100% health fraud, and yet we sanction its existence. It is sold alongside real medicine in pharmacies.
Our acceptance of rebranding fraud as “alternative,” “complementary,” or “integrative” is biting us hard.
Fake Homeopathy COVID Scam
A naturopath was arrested for selling fake homeopathic COVID treatments, which reveals the "alternative" rot in the medical system.
sciencebasedmedicine.org
Such a pleasure to listen to Alan Alda and Paul Rudd 👇
It's PODCAST DAY! @alanalda chats with actor Paul Rudd.
Available here: https://apple.co/3ixDKMa
Paul Rudd and Alan Alda talk acting, from being spontaneous and "in the moment," to odd ways to learn lines.
🍿 💙
Dangerous grifting doctor Rashid Buttar has been arrested for assault.
In addition to peddling discredited treatments, Buttar is a notorious anti-vax conspiracy theorist and one of the “disinformation dozen”.
https://mecksheriffweb.mecklenburgcountync.gov/Arrest/Details/1838376?pid=493726&lastName=buttar&last24only=False
New article compares Lyme disease manifestations in Europe & North America.
Also discussed is why evidence increasingly doesn't support associating #Lyme with cognitive complaints or chronic distal symmetric sensory peripheral neuropathy in the US.
Comparison of Lyme Disease in the United States and Europe
Lyme Disease in the United States and Europe
wwwnc.cdc.gov
California naturopath Juli Mazi has been arrested for a fake COVID-19 immunization and vaccine card scheme
The damning charges against Mazi included details of undercover recordings and photos of vaccine cards and instructions she provided:
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/press-release/file/1412186/download
Naturopath Juli Mazi has been arrested for selling fake COVID vaccines and fraudulent vaccination record cards.
She is one of a number of fake doctors who are inexplicably allowed to prey on patients in California and other states.
Napa naturopathic doctor charged with faking COVID vaccines and vaccination cards
Federal officials say Dr. Juli A. Mazi of Napa sold pellets that she claimed would confer "lifelong immunity" agai...
napavalleyregister.com
Smart people can get scammed because scammers tell compelling stories that override warning signs.
This is why telling victims of quackery that they are being scammed is often ineffective.
Note the tactics: misdirection, a sense of urgency, and impersonating a trusted entity:
[Thread] Something that happened today: my bank account was scammed. I'm really annoyed at myself, because this is the kind of thing I'd warn my mother about. Admittedly I'm not at my sharpest at the moment with Covid brain. But here we are.
How smart people are drawn into harmful pseudoscientific movements
An Alternative-Medicine Believer's Journey Back to Science
Jim and Louise Laidler used to believe in alternative medicine. Their story is a microcosm of the debate over tr...
www.wired.com
Tennessee's top vaccine official Dr. Michelle Fiscus has been removed to appease anti-science politicians.
And Tennessee stopped all vaccination outreach to children, who may remain unvaccinated from COVID, HPV, measles, and other preventable diseases.
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/health/2021/07/12/covid-19-tennessee-fired-vaccine-official-michelle-fiscus-fears-state/7945291002/
Experts discuss harmful false and misleading information that has been spreading about #Lyme disease
False and Misleading Information About Lyme Disease
Recently, there has been considerable interest in the topic of fake news. For infectious diseases physicians, false ...
www.amjmed.com
Dr. Eleanor Love gathers leftover wedding flowers for patients ❤️
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/07/09/wedding-flower-bouquet-doctor-hospital/
Medical experts in Canada 🇨🇦 have examined the evidence and acknowledge the scientific consensus about #Lyme disease diagnosis and treatment.
This scientific consensus is as strong as the consensus about humans causing global warming.
Canada Lyme Experts Affirm Global Scientific Consensus, Support for Patients
lymescience.org
American Academy of Pediatrics: Misinformation about chronic Lyme disease on the Internet and in popular media has led to publicity and anxiety about #Lyme disease that is out of proportion to the actual morbidity that it causes.
https://pedsinreview.aappublications.org/content/35/12/500
To our list of papers showing the harms of quack #Lyme treatments, we added a 1992 report of a woman whose skin hardened after she was sold fake treatments for fake Lyme, chronic mono, & candida diagnoses.
The grift hasn’t changed much:
https://lymescience.org/papers-chronic-lyme-disease/#consequences_of_treatment_for_chronic_lyme_disease
Former naturopath Britt Hermes explains how she sold a detox scam:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srcvHDbBN2M
All 11 of these characteristics can be found in chronic #Lyme pseudoscience:
11 Characteristics of Pseudoscience
By @Thinkingpowers
#ScienceUpFirst https://twitter.com/Thinkingpowers/status/1412382146669469698
Another garbage paper from predatory publisher MDPI. 👇
This nonsense may drive the killing and poaching of crocodiles.
Crocodile blood supplementation to treat muscle soreness after workouts.
Of course
@MDPIOpenAccess #MDPIsays
Horrifying: Another victim of chronic #Lyme quackery is dead.
Doctors said a middle-aged man suffered “devastating neurological injury” from his treatment, which included a harmful anti-microbial and disulfiram cocktail.
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(21)00408-0/fulltext
Reviewer: Kenneth Liegner's paper "reads more like a gossip column from a news magazine, & the scientific shortcomings outlined in the previous review are still glaringly evident despite all the bells and whistles."
Predatory MDPI: We published it anyway!
https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/9/12/868/review_report
Breaking: Doctors raise alarm in new paper: Devastating Neurological Injury as a Result of Treatment of “Chronic Lyme Disease”
This patient was abused with a quack combination of two antimicrobials and disulfiram.
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(21)00408-0/fulltext
Good to see some coverage of how predatory publisher MDPI has become a vanity publisher for conspiracy theorists, including anti-vaxxers
Scientists quit journal board, protesting ‘grossly irresponsible’
Critics say authors of Vaccines report misrepresented Dutch data
www.sciencemag.org
In cults, many members are both victims and perpetrators.
We see this in the harmful chronic #Lyme movement, where patients will become convinced to harm themselves and also their children, because of a belief in an infestation that isn't there.
Really appreciating the nuance from the bench of U.S. District Court Judge Nicholas Garaufis in the Allison Mack sentencing. After clearly stating that Mack “willingly enslaved, destabilized, and manipulated other women”, he pivoted to the complications of networked abuse. /1
Thank you to all the doctors and scientists around the world who have spoken out to support patients and four decades of science
Doctors and scientists discuss “Chronic Lyme” beliefs
lymescience.org
Thank you, Dr. Krammer, for resigning from predatory publisher MDPI, which published yet another anti-vaccine manifesto and has long been a vanity publisher for conspiracy theorists.
@udarnik Hi John, I was made aware of the paper yesterday, read it, sent an email to the editorial staff with exactly your question and then resigned from my role at the journal.
Abby Hartman is a Minnesota mom who was a victim of "Lyme literate" quacks for 11 years. She finally broke free after one tried to convince her to abuse her son.
She was interviewed by New York Magazine for this phenomenal piece:
What Happens When Lyme Disease Becomes an Identity?
The tick-borne disease that’s now a movement.
www.thecut.com
New: The risks associated with quackery, including fake diagnoses like adrenal fatigue and chronic #Lyme
The risks associated with alternative medicine
In a new paper, the types and severity of harms from different types of alternative medicine are described.
sciencebasedmedicine.org