[escepticos] RV: Scientists Report A Massive "Science Gap" in Alt. Medicine

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-----Original Message-----
De: SkeptInq en aol.com <SkeptInq en aol.com>
Para: CSICOP-ANNOUNCE en LISTSERV.AOL.COM <CSICOP-ANNOUNCE en LISTSERV.AOL.COM>
Fecha: miércoles 24 de febrero de 1999 22:06
Asunto: Scientists Report A Massive "Science Gap" in Alt. Medicine


> February 24, 1999
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> Contact Matt Nisbet at 716-636-1425 X219
>
>
> TOP SCIENTISTS AND PHYSICIANS REPORT A MASSIVE 'SCIENCE GAP' IN
ALTERNATIVE
>MEDICINE
>
> They Point to Evidence that Too Many are Ignoring, Distorting, or
>Misunderstanding Data
>
> Philadelphia Conference Features Keynote Speeches by Marcia Angell, Editor
of
>NEJM, and George Lundberg, Former Editor of JAMA
>
> Press Conference
> Sat., Feb. 27
> 1:00 p.m.
> Chancellor Room
> Warwick Hotel
> Philadelphia, PA
>
>
> PHILADELPHIA, PA--Several prominent researchers and doctors, along with
the
>editors of the Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine (SRAM) and
Skeptical
>Inquirer magazine, believe that the public, the media, and many physicians
are
>missing the real story about "alternative medicine." At a press briefing,
they
>will highlight some of the evidence suggesting that scientific
evidence--and
>scientific thinking--are being excluded from discussions and evaluations of
>unconventional treatments. There is, as they say, a "science gap" in
>alternative medicine--despite the urgent need for science to play the key
role
>in sorting out effective from ineffective treatments.
>
> Wallace Sampson, Editor of SRAM, will present results of a survey he
>conducted of American medical schools. He found that only five schools
taught
>students how to analyze unproven health claims, while over 50 had courses
that
>treated such claims uncritically. "At a time when physicians desperately
need
>to know how to scientifically evaluate all the dubious claims that patients
>are confronted with," he says, "this training is practically nonexistent."
He
>notes that the uncritical courses avoided discussion of evidence that
>disproves or undermines the claims, and that the result was indoctrination
>rather than education.  Sampson is a retired professor of clinical medicine
at
>Stanford University.
>
> Sampson will also present an example of research findings that are being
>distorted--and then misreported in the media. Group psychotherapy has been
>widely reported as prolonging the lives of people with cancer. But, he
says,
>the few studies showing positive results are defective and have not been
>reproduced by other groups.
>
> (Many other such analyses will be presented at the medical conference that
>hosts the press briefing. The theme of the conference, which will take
place
>at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia, Feb. 26-28, is "Science Meets
>Alternative Medicine.")
>
> In addition, scientists at the briefing will announce results of a new
study
>examining the ability of therapeutic touch (TT) practitioners to detect a
>"human energy field." The research promises to be an improvement over
previous
>scientific protocols used to evaluate this controversial technique. TT is
>being used by thousands of practitioners (most of them nurses) and promoted
by
>its supporters--even though it has not been backed by any credible
scientific
>evidence.
>
> Additional speakers include Paul Kurtz, publisher of SRAM, and  Lewis
Vaughn,
>SRAM's Executive Editor.
>
> The conference will also feature keynote addresses from George Lundberg,
>former Editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association, and
Marcia
>Angell, Editor of the New England Journal of Medicine.
>
> --30--
>
> THE SCIENTIFIC REVIEW OF ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE is the only peer-reviewed
>medical journal in the world devoted exclusively to the scientific
evaluation
>of "alternative" medical claims. The review publishes original research,
>critiques published studies, reviews available evidence for claims, and
>discusses the methods and principles of valid research. Topics covered in
the
>Spring 1998 issue include acupuncture, oxygenation therapy, naturopathy,
>magnet therapy, St. John's Wort, the ethics of alternative medicine, and an
>experience with a Tijuana cancer doctor. The journal is published by
>Prometheus Books and sponsored by the Council for Scientific Medicine.
>
> SKEPTICAL INQUIRER magazine is a bi-monthly magazine devoted to scientific
>evaluations of the paranormal and pseudoscientific.  It is published by the
>Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
>(CSICOP.) www.csicop.org.