Consumer Health Digest #24-43 October 27, 2024

Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by William M. London, Ed.D., M.P.H., with help from Stephen Barrett, M.D., It summarizes scientific reports; legislative developments; enforcement actions; other news items; Web site evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended books; research tips; and other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer decision-making. The Digest’s primary focus is on health, but occasionally it includes non-health scams and practical tips. Items posted to this archive may be updated when relevant information becomes available. To subscribe, click here.

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Misleading cancer books abound on Amazon

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the University of Alberta’s Health Law Institute, and the University of Edinburgh’s Global Health Policy Unit searched for “cancer cure” on Amazon.com and reviewed the titles and descriptions of the top 1,000 English-language books from search results to determine whether the books provided cancer misinformation. Nearly half—494 books—were found to contain misleading cancer treatment or cure information. Of those:

• 97.3% of the misleading books were found to promote a treatment it claims can or has cured cancer
• 39.3% oversimplify cancer and cancer treatment
• 38.33% falsely justify ineffective treatments as science-based
• 34.2% attempt to discredit conventional cancer treatments
• 26.9% promote one treatment as curing all types of cancer and/or other diseases
• 26.7% present one treatment to cure all types of cancer
• 24.1% feature people with cancer, their families, or health practitioners finding new cancer cures and treatment options
• 16.6% claim cancer cures already exist but are hidden or banned because of financial interests from the pharmaceutical industry, legal battles with regulators or medical associations, and conspiracies to ruin reputations

The researchers concluded:

These results demonstrate that misleading cancer cure and treatment books are for sale, visible, and seemingly prevalent on Amazon.com. Nearly half of the “cancer cure” books for sale offered misleading and potentially harmful cancer treatment misinformation. Misleading books directly claimed to have efficacious cures for cancer, undermined scientifically supported treatments, misapplied scientific reasoning, oversimplified cancer and cancer treatments, and promoted conspiracy theories. Books offered information that may delay or encourage patients to opt out of best-standard treatments and create false hope.

Our study contributes to the increasing research documenting the presence, spread, and mechanisms of medical misinformation on Amazon. Notably, Amazon’s algorithm has been reported to amplify books with vaccine misinformation. In other cases, Amazon has been found to host products selling fake autism cures and promote COVID-19 misinformation. Amazon’s search results have been found to rank products with misinformation higher than sources debunking misinformation. Concerningly, misinformation in Amazon-hosted products may be amplified by fake product reviews, which are associated with a causal increase in product sales.

[Zenone M, and others. Selling misleading “cancer cure” books on Amazon: Systematic search on Amazon.com and thematic analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research, e56354, 2024]

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FDA warns consumers not to use potentially contaminated homeopathic nasal spray

 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers and health care professionals not to use SnoreStop Nasal Spray, distributed by Green Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Camarillo, California. The product may have microbial contamination that can potentially lead to infection, which can be life-threatening in certain patient populations such as immune-compromised individuals. SnoreStop Nasal Spray, an unapproved product, was previously sold on the company’s website and other sites and marketed for children beginning at age 5 and adults with unproven claims it opens air passages and relieves congestion.

FDA inspected the Green Pharmaceuticals facility in April 2024 and uncovered laboratory test results that reported significant microbial contamination in SnoreStop Nasal Spray lot number 2460. FDA investigators found evidence some products in this lot had been repackaged and distributed to customers for use as single units and in kits. On August 8, 2024, Green Pharmaceutical destroyed the remaining SnoreStop Nasal Spray from lot 2460 and other products the company had on-hand. FDA recommended Green Pharmaceuticals recall their SnoreStop Nasal Spray product on Aug. 13 and Sept. 12, 2024. The agency repeated its recall recommendation multiple times during this time, but as of September 18, the company did not recall the product from the market.

FDA issued a warning letter to Green Pharmaceuticals on December16, 2022, for distributing unapproved drugs and lacking quality controls over the products they sell. Additionally, the company voluntarily recalled one lot of SnoreStop NasoSpray on June 9, 2022, after FDA testing found the product contained microbial contamination identified as Providencia rettgeri. SnoreStop NasoSpray was renamed SnoreStop Nasal Spray following this recall. [FDA warns consumers not to use SnoreStop Nasal Spray by Green Pharmaceuticals due to potential contamination. FDA Drug Safety Communication, Sept 18, 2024]

According to the FDA’s announcement, the company subsequently stopped selling nasal spray products on its website. When the webpage to order the product was active, it indicated it was a homeopathic preparation with seven ingredients, five of which were diluted 6X or one part per million, one diluted 4X, and one diluted 12X. A blog post that remains on the SnoreStop website describes the nasal spray as “the best quality natural nasal spray to reduce snoring.” The website still has a page for ordering SnoreStop for Pets, described as a “homeopathic anti-snoring oral spray” and “the only natural anti-snoring solution for your pet’s snoring.” The FDA’s announcement said nothing about SnoreStop for Pets even though it has the same ingredient list as the potentially contaminated nasal spray.

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Acupuncture paper in JAMA Internal Medicine denounced

 Steven Novella, M.D., an associate professor of neurology at Yale School of Medicine, has described the paper “Acupuncture vs, Sham Acupuncture for Chronic Sciatica from Herniated Disk: A Randomized Clinical Trial,” as “scientifically worthless.” The paper was published October 14, 2024, in JAMA Internal Medicine. He noted:

. . .the study was not double-blinded, the sham treatment used was inappropriate, the measured outcome was subjective, acupuncture is of implausible value, and the study came out of China where such studies have a near 100% bias toward positive results.

An Editor’s Note in JAMA Internal Medicine asserted the acupuncture study was “methodologically rigorous” and acupuncture is “an effective, evidence-based, non-pharmacological treatment” for chronic sciatica. In contrast, Dr. Novella concluded: “Doctors, other clinical professionals, and medical scientists need to maintain the highest levels of skepticism toward any claims or treatments in medicine. Otherwise, we will slide into pseudoscience. History is very clear on this fact.”

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Circuit court backs FDA’s authority to regulate adipose cell therapy as a drug

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that stromal vascular fraction (SVF)—a mixture of stem cells, other cells, and cell debris spun down from patients’ own fat cells—is a drug that can be regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and is not exempt under the FDA’s “same surgical procedure” exception. In 2018, FDA sued the California Stem Cell Treatment Center and the related Cell Surgical Network over its SVF treatments. In 2022, a federal judge in California sided with the center, ruling that those treatments weren’t subject to regulation. But the FDA appealed and won. In a similar lawsuit brought by the FDA against Florida-based U.S. Stem Cell Clinic over its SVF treatments, the clinic lost its case in 2019 and its appeal was subsequently denied. [Fiore K. Judge rules against stem cell clinic. MedPage Today, Oct 2, 2024]

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Stephen Barrett, M.D.

Consumer Advocate

7 Birchtree Circle

Chapel Hill, NC 27517

Telephone: (919) 533-6009 

http://www.quackwatch.org (health fraud and quackery)

http://www.acuwatch.org (skeptical guide to acupuncture history, theories, and practices)

http://www.allergywatch.org (guide to questionable theories and practices)

http://www.autism-watch.org (guide to autism)

http://www.cancertreatmentwatch.org (guide to intelligent treatment)

http://www.casewatch.net (legal archive)

http://www.chelationwatch.org (chelation therapy)

http://www.chirobase.org (skeptical guide to chiropractic history, theories, and practices)

http://www.credentialwatch.org (guide to health-related education and training)

http://www.dentalwatch.org (guide to dental care)

http://www.devicewatch.org (guide to questionable medical devices)

http://www.dietscam.org (guide to weight-control schemes and ripoffs)

http://www.fibrowatch.org (guide to the fibromyalgia marketplace)

http://www.homeowatch.org (guide to homeopathy)

http://www.ihealthpilot.org (guide to trustworthy health information)

http://www.infomercialwatch.org (guide to infomercials)

http://www.mentalhealthwatch.org (guide to the mental help marketplace)

http://www.mlmwatch.org (multi-level marketing)

http://www.naturowatch.org (skeptical guide to naturopathic history, theories, and practices)

http://www.nccamwatch.org (activities of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)

http://www.ncahf.org (National Council Against Health Fraud archive

http://www.nutriwatch.org (nutrition facts and fallacies)

http://www.pharmwatch.org (guide to the drug marketplace and lower prices)

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Medicare And Alternatives To Medicine

"I recently wrote about the free preventive medicine appointments offered by Medicare. Those are worthwhile and are based on good science, but I was surprised to see that Medicare sometimes departs from rigorously science-based standards. They also cover alternative medicine treatments based on fantasy."

It's not just Medicare. Why is ANY health insurer covering bullish!t? Click on the link below for details:

Medicare doesn’t support good science-based medicine

A Reminder: Your Brain Alone Is Not Reliable

Recently, I have received a great deal of push-back on my Facebook page regarding some topics, for example: chiropractic, acupuncture, corporal punishment, GMOs, and nuclear power. Frankly, their arguments are no different than the Intelligent Design folks. As I frequently say, tell me what other than the consensus of scientists actually working in the discipline under discussion will give you a better understanding of reality regarding such.

Regarding consumer products, including food from GMOs, unfortunately, there is a strong unsupported conspiracy theory that for-profit corporations cannot perform unbiased scientific studies. Should we ignore any research funded by companies or special interest groups? Certainly not. These groups provide invaluable funding for scientific research. Furthermore, science has many safeguards in place to catch instances of bias that affect research outcomes. Ultimately, misleading results will be corrected as science proceeds. (link)(link)

More Acupuncture Quackery

"One of my fans sent me a clipping from a community newsletter, Colorado Serenity, with an article by acupuncturist Christina Fick, who calls herself a doctor. The title is “Give Your Immune System Some Love!” It is full of pseudoscientific advice about the things that harm and help the immune system. My correspondent thought it was “a cornucopia of questionable medical advice and treatments, including her own proprietary mushroom medley, which is bad enough.” But what really concerned him was the claim that acupuncture increases your red and white blood cell counts, along with your T-cell counts. He searched the Internet and found a few supporting articles about red and white blood cells; but none were from a reputable medical source, and he was unable to find any mention of T-cells."

Click on the link below for details:

DOES ACUPUNCTURE INCREASE RED AND WHITE BLOOD CELLS AND T-CELLS?

Update On Acupuncture

Below is a link regarding the continuing problem with acupuncture:

Medicare approves acupuncture treatment for chronic low back pain

A reminder: there STILL is no evidence that acupuncture is any more than a placebo

Feel good about how the US government is spending healthcare money?

Acupuncture Is Bogus, Get Over It

"Acupuncture has been studied for decades and the evidence that it can provide clinical benefits continues to be weak and inconsistent.

"There is no longer any justification for more studies. There is already enough evidence to confidently conclude that acupuncture doesn’t work. It is merely a theatrical placebo based on pre-scientific myths." 

Is there any place for acupuncture in 21st century medical practice? 

Harriet Hall has a 31 minute video on the second most common form of quackery.

Quackery And Pediatric Facial Nerve Palsy

"Although there are no medical therapies that have been shown to significantly hasten recovery, it is important for the correct diagnosis to be made, particularly in children who are more likely than adults to have a more concerning etiology of their facial weakness. Rather than one of the many implausible and unproven alternatives, your best bet is science-based care from an appropriately trained medical professional."

Separating Fact from Fiction in Pediatric Medicine: Facial Nerve Palsy

Acupuncture: My Final Word

"Acupuncture has been studied for decades and the evidence that it can provide clinical benefits continues to be weak and inconsistent. There is no longer any justification for more studies. There is already enough evidence to confidently conclude that acupuncture doesn’t work. It is merely a theatrical placebo based on pre-scientific myths."

On the pointlessness of acupuncture in the emergency room…or anywhere else

Dry Needling

Sad to see my former profession, physical therapy, continue to drift into the land of Woo.

If dry needling is not acupuncture, then a PT or a DC or an ND or whoever is free of those onerous requirements and can needle without the worry of acupuncture boards and regulations.

NOTE: I have received a private email from Liz Martin, who is involved with a website called Healthy But Smart. This article generally is supporting my contention on this topic. Just another resource attempting to objectively evaluate acupuncture and dry needling.

Cochrane Systematic Review Fails Again

"Cochrane is generally considered to be the gold standard for evidence-based systematic reviews, but their history is dodgy when it comes to unconventional treatments. For example, they famously had to withdraw their review of homeopathic occillococcinum for the flu because they concluded, although the evidence was insufficient to recommend it, was 'promising' and deserved further research."

Acupuncture for Tension-Type Headache

Science-Based Medicine (SBM) Vs Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM)

Most people do not know the difference between science-based medicine and evidence-based medicine.  While the two terms look the same, as science is based on evidence, in practice, the former looks more skeptically at plausibility and challenges the "further research is recommended" mantra regarding research failing to support alternatives to medicine.  This article is a good example of the difference regarding acupuncture, which has zero plausibility and has been repeatedly studied without showing a clinical effect other than placebo.  Under SBM criteria, NHS would have not recommended it so long, if at all.

Acupuncture for low back pain no longer recommended for NHS patients

And I Thought Chiropractors Are Dangerous

Acupuncture for Coronary Artery Disease

The Difficulty Of Giving Up Alternatives To Medicine

"I sometimes still catch myself hoping to find validity for acupuncture and TCM. I think it is indeed “hope” that drives people to alternative medicine. We want to believe that when scientific knowledge falls short, there is another way to gain control of our bodies. The desire for hope is so strong, that perfectly intelligent people can blind themselves beyond basic reason."

What’s the point of acupuncture? A TCM practitioner wants out