Waubonsee Community College

Snake oil science, the truth about complementary and alternative medicine, R. Barker Bausell

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 295-315) and index

illustrations

index present

non fiction

Snake oil science

bibliography

85862469

R. Barker Bausell

"In Snake Oil Science, R. Barker Bausell provides an engaging look at the scientific evidence for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and at the logical, psychological, and physiological pitfalls that lead otherwise intelligent people - including researchers, physicians, and therapists - to endorse these cures, The book's ultimate goal is to reveal not whether these therapies work - as Bausell explains, most do work, although weakly and temporarily - but whether they work for the reasons their proponents believe."--Jacket

the truth about complementary and alternative medicine

The rise of complementary and alternative therapies -- A brief history of placebos -- Natural impediments to making valid inferences -- Impediments that prevent physicians and therapists from making valid inferences -- Impediments that prevent poorly trained scientists from making valid inferences -- Why randomized placebo control groups are necessary in CAM research -- Judging the credibility and plausibility of scientific evidence -- Some personal research involving acupuncture -- How we know that the placebo effect exists -- A biochemical explanation for the placebo effect -- What high-quality trials reveal about CAM -- What high-quality systematic reviews reveal about CAM -- How CAM therapies are hypothesized to work -- Tying up a few loose ends