Evidenced-based medicine: there’s really no alternative
| 22 August, 2011 | Eleanor Howell |
2
|
|
A colleague in our editorial department forwarded an article from The Telegraph on to me this morning as it poses an interesting question: are we wasting money on alternative therapies?
Apparently, the British spend around £2 billion a year on unproved alternative therapies, and 100% of cancer patients have used ‘alternative’ therapies. Examples in the article included: papaya leaf extract to boost the immune system and Bemer pulsating magnetic field machine to boost microcirculation.
But do these therapies have any real health benefit? Not according to Edzard Ernst, labelled as ‘the world’s first professor of complementary medicine’. He argues that the safety and effectiveness of the 400 alternative treatments currently used should be properly investigated and individuals should use the investigative findings to decide whether to ‘waste’ their money on such therapies.
Some background: Edzard Ernst has run the complementary medicine research group at the Peninsula Medical School in Devon (a partnership between Exeter and Plymouth Universities and the NHS), for the past 18 years. The post has seen him thrust in to the limelight, most notably for his ‘disagreement’ with the Prince of Wales, which began in 2005 when he spoke out publicly against a report claiming that the NHS could save up to £3.5 billion a year by spending more on alternative therapies (the report was sponsored by the Prince).
I’ll leave you with this thought from Edzard Ernst: “You can’t go around torturing yourself with believing every nonsense on the internet.”
|
|
previous post
Interesting article in the Telegraph indeed; apparently Edzard Ernst, ‘the world’s first professor of complementary medicine’ is rather behind on his scientific literature awareness. He claims – “it is naive to think that the immune system fights the cancer cells”! Well, can he explain the recent research that has shown otherwise? The data from Rag2 deficient mice or nude mice has shown that they have more spontaneous cancers than mice with competent immune system. Also the recently emerging data on immunogenic cell death expediting the anti-tumour immune response has been promising; something which has been clinically put to use in some cancer patients with autologous DC vaccination. He can criticize alternative medicine but should not make such unfounded statements; for these newspapers are read by public who tend to follow such statements – coming from a “pioneering” professor in this case!
Placebacillin can be an extremely effective method of cutting health care costs, particularly given the proclivity of certain patients to overuse the health care system. Dr Edzard “Lizard” Ernst ought to read between the lines, realize the hidden benefits in things, and encourage physicians to use these alternative therapies where appropriate.
For the stupids out there, I’m saying these therapies should be used on malingerers, hypochondriacs, and non-compliant patients as medicine is expensive and limited, and this is a way to get them out of the clinic with minimal resource expenditure.