Professor
Raymond Tallis is not only one of Britain’s leading experts in gerontology,
he is also a distinguished literary critic, poet and philosopher. He will receive
the 2007 HealthWatch Award at the AGM this month. With more than 70 scientific
papers to his name, he has also published fiction, three volumes of poetry,
and over a dozen books on the philosophy of mind, philosophical anthropology,
literary theory, the nature of art and cultural criticism.
In March 2006, Professor Tallis became a full-time writer, though he remains
visiting professor at St George’s Hospital Medical School, University
of London. On BBC R4’s “Desert Island Discs” recently he described
his specialism in the care of elderly patients as an aspect of “unpacking
the miracle of everyday life”.
The award will take place at this year’s HealthWatch Annual Open Meeting
and AGM. Professor Tallis will speak on “Anecdotes, data and the curse
of the media case study”. The meeting is free and open to all and begins
at 6.30pm on Wednesday 18th October 2006 at The Medical Society of London, 11
Chandos Street, Cavendish Square, London W1M 0EB (nearest Underground: Oxford
Circus). The evening will end with optional buffet dinner with wine.
Those wishing to stay for dinner must book in advance: please mail your cheque
for £30.00 per diner (made out to HealthWatch) to Kenneth Bodman, 8 Eagle
Close, Amersham, Bucks HP6 6TD enclosing a stamped addressed envelope and a
separate note of your name, address, and the number of vegetarian meals required,
to arrive no later than 8th October; or telephone Mr Bodman on 01494 722 450.
There has been much online discussion recently prompted by the news that TV nutrition pundit Patrick Holford has been conferred the title of Visiting Professor at the University of Teesside [1]. However HealthWatch’s investigations have confirmed that the appointment is not related to nutrition but to psychology. Patrick Holford has a BSc in experimental psychology from the University of York which he attended in the 1970’s. He also holds an honorary diploma in nutritional therapy from the Institute of Optimum Nutrition [2].
Responding to an enquiry from HealthWatch vice-chairman Professor John Garrow, Professor Graham Henderson, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Teesside, stressed that the proposal to confer the title of Visiting Professor upon Mr Holford came from their School of Social Sciences and Law, not their School of Health and Social Care and, he said, “was not in any way linked to the University’s work in the field of nutrition.” It was not his understanding that Mr Holford would have any involvement at all in this aspect of the University’s research activity, and his research activities would be solely linked to the work in Psychology within the School of Social Sciences & Law. “Further,” he added, “the exact title that Mr Holford may be permitted to use has yet to be agreed with the University.” Professor Henderson also pointed out that, “the University has well established procedures for making such conferment decisions, based upon a combination of a personal CV, a citation from the nominating School and a number of both personal and independent references.”
1. David Colquhoun’s Improbable Science Page can be found at: http://dcscience.net/?p=39
2. View Patrick Holford’s profile on his website:http://www.patrickholford.com/content.asp?id_Content=1279
Ernst, who is professor of complementary medicine research at the Peninsula
College of Medicine and Dentistry, reviewed papers and case reports on the subject
published since 2001 and concluded that spinal manipulation can be dangerous.
He found that mild adverse effects such as increased pain, headache and tiredness
occurred in 30–61% of patients, and in rare cases serious damage was reported,
usually tearing of the vertebral artery because of over-stretching, which can
lead to thrombosis or embolism. Adverse events were more likely to be linked
with chiropractic than with other treatments, probably because chiropractors
use spinal manipulation the most frequently. “The conclusion,” says
Ross, “appears to be that the routine use of spinal manipulation by physicians,
physiotherapists and osteopaths should be reconsidered, and in the interests
of public safety chiropractors should get another job.”
1. Ernst E. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 2007; 100: 330–338.
The series, which claimed to examine the evidence base for various alternative remedies, has drawn criticism for what many experts believe was sensationalised coverage of a number of alternative treatments. The example which attracted most comment was the filming of open heart surgery in which, it was claimed, acupuncture was used in place of a general anaesthetic. Critics later complained that the narrative had exaggerated the value of the acupuncture and underplayed the role of sedatives and powerful local anaesthetics used in the operation (See HealthWatch Newsletter issue 62, July 2006).
Singh’s initial complaints, made direct to the BBC complaints department, were rejected. But his subsequent appeal to the highest level (Board of Trustees) was successful this summer.
The BBC responded to three serious criticisms. First, they agreed that the acupuncture open heart surgery sequence, “could have misled the audience”. Second, the BBC agreed that their attempts to discredit Singh’s criticism of the series, “was a breach of trust with the audience” because the BBC had not disclosed its role in organising critical letters. However the BBC did not uphold a third complaint, that a brain imaging acupuncture experiment was portrayed in a misleading manner, because the BBC felt that, “the statements made by the scientists were a true reflection of their views and an accurate presentation of the experiment”. This is despite the fact that, shortly after the broadcast, one of the leading scientists who had been filmed in this particular sequence was reported to have called the coverage, “inappropriately sensationalized”.
“I think it has been worth the time and effort,” wrote Singh in an e-mail to colleagues, “because I know that the articles and complaints were discussed by several people within the BBC, from programme-makers to senior managers.”
Read the full complaint and findings at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/appeals/
esc_bulletins/apr2007.pdf
On 10 August, the High Court ruled against the alliance and upheld NICE’s decision to limit treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. “NICE is an independent body established to tackle the difficult—some would say near impossible—but essential task of trying to judge how the resources of the NHS can be used effectively and equitably, Chalmers wrote in the BMJ recently [1]. “This process is bound to result in ‘winners’ and ‘losers,’ but those like the Alzheimer’s Society that now regard themselves as losers must make it clearer whether they support the principles upon which NICE was established, says Chalmers, who is co-ordinator of the database of uncertainties about the effects of treatment at the James Lind Alliance. He is calling for the Alzheimer’s Society to declare clearly on its website the sources and amounts of support it receives for its work and, having challenged NICE’s judgements, to make clear what alternative distribution of limited resources it regards as more appropriate, and why.
1. BMJ 24 August 2007 View on: http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/august/pv400.pdf
The Times Higher Education Supplement reports a 31.5% increase in applications for university courses in complementary medicine. “Compare this,” says David Colquhoun, professor of pharmacology at University College London, “with 19 per cent fall in applications for places on anatomy, physiology and pathology courses, and a relatively low 6 per cent rise in applications for pharmacology, toxicology and pharmacy.” Celia Bell, head of Middlesex University’s department of natural sciences, defended the trend: “There are now millions of people seeking complementary medicine treatments, and we have to ensure that the practitioners are safe and competent and properly trained.”
Times Higher Education Supplement, 27 July 2007. Article accessible online to
subscribers only, but read comments on http://www.dcscience.net/improbable.html
The British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint against the Body Detox Clinic, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and ordered the clinic to stop claiming that its colonic irrigation and “detoxification” programmes can help people with a list of conditions including haemorrhoids, irritable bowel syndrome, bad breath, psoriasis, acne, joint pain and dandruff. The clinic attempted to justify its claims by citing the writings of Bernard Jensen (a deceased American chiropractor noted for his promotion of iridology) and Michael Gershon, another American who, it is said, had postulated that the intestine contains a “second brain”. However, the ASA concluded that, except possibly for relief of occasional constipation, the clinic had, “provided only anecdotal evidence…and had not been able to support those claims with robust clinical evidence.”
Read the report on Dr Stephen Barratt MD’s Casewatch website at: http://www.casewatch.org/foreign/asa/body_detox.shtml
Hindu priests in an impoverished state in India are blessing children with polio vaccine drops instead of holy water to help eradicate polio, reports the India Tribune. The priests, who call the drops “god’s blessings,” have been trained by Indian health officials to administer the polio drops to immunize children. More than 600 cases of polio were reported across India last year. Officials called in the temple priests, who residents regard with great reverence, after local press campaigns had failed in the face of anti-vaccination myths, notably that the drops cause impotence.
India Tribune, 20 April 2007 http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070421/nation.htm#9
The latest accusation against hormone replacement therapy is that it causes ovarian cancer. Headlines such as, “A thousand women killed by HRT” have been appearing in the press over the past three months. An extreme example of the press coverage is an article by Dr Margaret Cook, a retired haematologist, which appeared in the Daily Telegraph on 20 April [1].
She wrote of the “HRT cartel”, meaning a conspiracy between male
doctors and the pharmaceutical industry to mass medicate women for profit, and
claimed that by allowing themselves to be “marketing fodder” women
are responsible for thousands of deaths caused by HRT.
What led to this latest questionmark over HRT is no more than an editorial aberration
in a paper published in the Lancet in May [2]…
Michael Henk
Consultant Clinical Oncologist (retired)
1. HRT: kill or cure? Cook, M. The Daily Telegraph; 20 April 2007. (Article
no longer available online).
2. Beral V. Ovarian cancer and hormone replacement therapy in the Million Women
Study. Lancet 2007; 369: 1703–10.
REFLECTION
: The possibility of knowledge in a post-modern world One of the works of art we looked at was a cabinet made to look like a Victorian museum cabinet, with a display case on the upper storey, and tray drawers for smaller items below. The items displayed were beach-combed from the Thames; bits of old pottery, electrical equipment, any old rubbish discarded over the last century or so.
They were categorised according to a variety of different seemingly arbitrary criteria. For example; things that had round ends, or sharp bits, or a greenish hue. Thus you could have a deflated football in the same category as a broken round bottomed bottle. The point was to try to demonstrate that the confident Victorian approach to knowledge was a human construction which was in fact arbitrary, and that all our knowledge is like that…
James May
General Practitioner, Kennington, London
Professor
John Garrow continues our occasional series, “Can it be true?” (coined
as“CIBeT?”) in which he attempts to hunt down the truth behind some
incredible pronouncements on health treatmentsIn the last issue of this Newsletter I wondered if the statement in italics below could be true. It was made by Dr Peter Fisher, Clinical Director of London’s Royal Homeopathic Hospital, about trials of the efficacy of homeopathy (BBC Radio 4 on 23rd May). “We have recently surveyed all the placebo-controlled trials with WHO and found about 120 trials. About 50% were clearly positive, a very small number were negative, and quite a few had equivocal results”.
I doubted the statement for two reasons. Firstly, that many respected analysts have reviewed controlled trials of homeopathy, and none have come to a conclusion so favourable to homeopathy. And, secondly, both Dr Fisher and WHO have an interest in homeopathy being shown to be effective. Dr Fisher is the Royal Homeopath, and WHO is always on the lookout for inexpensive therapies with which to treat disease in poor countries…
John Garrow
Emeritus Professor of Human Nutrition, University of London
Being in a silly mood I asked him whether he had any sal volatile, the old name for ammonium chloride. He said no, but offered me spirits of hartshorn and muriatic acid [1] to make my own. The students in the lab were astonished to hear this apparent nonsense from two senior academics…
David A Bender
Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry
University College London
1. Spirits of hartshorn is the old name for ammonia; it was originally prepared
by dry distillation from deer antlers. Muriatic acid is hydrochloric acid; a
Google search suggests that the name is still used when it is sold for cleaning
masonry and etching concrete.
Keith
Isaacson was enlightened and impressed at a one-day symposium organised jointly
by the James Lind Alliance and The Lancet. “How can clinical trialists
serve the needs of clinicians and patients more effectively?” was held
at the Royal Society of Medicine, London, on 25 June 2007James Lind was a Naval Surgeon at a time when sailors were dying of scurvy. The Admiralty’s official treatment was to give the sailors vinegar, but the College of Physicians were recommending dilute sulphuric acid. James Lind divided his crew into groups and carried out what must have been one of the first controlled clinical trials. He discovered that the sailors who were treated with oranges and lemons recovered from scurvy more quickly than sailors who were given the standard treatment for that time.
It is fitting, then, that Lind has given his name to an Alliance which has been set up to promote partnerships between patients and clinicians so that patients can better understand the advantages and disadvantages of different forms of treatment.
The morning session was chaired by Professor Iain Chalmers who is co-ordinating a database on “The uncertainty of treatment”. The first speaker was Dr. David Tovey, Editorial Director of the British Medical Journal’s publication “Clinical Evidence and Best Treatment”. He explained that research projects are often carried out on populations that are totally different to those receiving the treatment…
Keith Isaacson
Senior Consultant Orthodontist
The North Hampshire Hospital, Basingstoke
Meeting papers in pdf form can be found on http://www.lindalliance.org
Neville
Goodman’s reviews of the two-part Channel 4 series “The Enemies
of Reason” appeared originally in his regular column for the British Journal
of Hospital Medicine (http://www.bjhm.co.uk).
Here his reaction to the series has been adapted for the HealthWatch Newsletter
and appears with kind permission from the BJHM.It was no surprise that I was completely on Richard Dawkins’ side as he went after water dowsers, astrologers, and a variety of other psychic peddlers in the first programme of Channel 4’s “The Enemies of Reason” (13 August). But I do agree with the various television critics following that programme. To quote The Times’ Andrew Billen, “If Oxford University’s Professor for the Public Understanding of Science could not humiliate this lot, there would be something wrong. There wasn’t and he did.” Billen’s excellent suggestion was that Dawkins should be making a 13-part series on natural selection rather than gunning for intellectual inferiors caught in a media spotlight. I mean, is it worth anybody’s time at all to discuss the spiritual “rockness” of a rock?
Disappointingly, there was little of the evidence on which Dawkins laid such emphasis. Too much was conversational interchange, in which the challenged psychics and mumbo-jumblers made all too easy excuses, which were variations on, “science can’t explain everything”. Neil Spencer, the Observer’s astrologer (I find it difficult to write that phrase without gagging), simply copped out with, “It’s a deep dark mystery”. It’s far less than that; it is sheer nonsense that the position of Saturn or any other planet in the sky can have any effect at all on a baby emerging from its mother’s womb…
Neville Goodman
Consultant Anaesthetist
Southmeads Hospital, Bristol
Cholesterol-reducing yogurts, omega-3 enriched eggs and milk drinks containing bacterial culture are all examples of functional foods—foods that are altered in some way to provide a specific health benefit. The market is set to exceed £1.6million by 2010. But how valuable are they in health terms? David Bender, lecturer in nutritional biochemistry at University College London, and chairman of HealthWatch, examines the category in a newly-updated position paper that can be read in full on the HealthWatch website…
Read the full paper on here