MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'controlled trial'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:25:22 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158863&cid=t_285562_86_f&fid=38272&url=http%3A%2F%2Flaikaspoetnik.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F08%2F21%2Fpubmeds-higher-sensitivity-than-ovid-medline-other-published-cliches%2F Is it just me, or are biomedical papers about searching for a systematic review often of low quality or just too damn obvious? I’m seldom excited about papers dealing with optimal search strategies or peculiarities of PubMed, even though it is my specialty. It is my impression, that many of the lower quality and/or less relevant papers are [...] (Source: Laika's MedLibLog) Laika's MedLibLog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158863 Sun, 21 Aug 2011 19:21:49 +0100 5158863 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139644&cid=t_285562_86_f&fid=38272&url=http%3A%2F%2Flaikaspoetnik.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F08%2F14%2Frip-statistician-paul-meier-foster-parent-not-father-of-the-rct%2F This headline in Boing Boing caught my eye today:  RIP Paul Meier, father of the randomized trial Not surprisingly, I knew that Paul Meier (with Kaplan) introduced the Kaplan-Meier estimator (1958), a very important tool for measuring how many patients survive a medical treatment. But I didn’t know he was “father of the randomized trial”…. But is he really?: [...] (Source: Laika's MedLibLog) Laika's MedLibLog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139644 Sun, 14 Aug 2011 21:55:48 +0100 5139644 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5130671&cid=t_285562_86_f&fid=38272&url=http%3A%2F%2Flaikaspoetnik.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F08%2F14%2Frip-statistician-paul-meier-foster-parent-not-father-of-the-rct%2F This headline in Boing Boing caught my eye today:  RIP Paul Meier, father of the randomized trial Not surprisingly, I knew that Paul Meier (with Kaplan) introduced the Kaplan-Meier estimator (1958), a very important tool for measuring how many patients survive a medical treatment. But I didn’t know he was “father of the randomized trial”…. But is he really?: [...] (Source: Laika's MedLibLog) Laika's MedLibLog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5130671 Sun, 14 Aug 2011 21:55:48 +0100 5130671 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4642716&cid=t_285562_112_f&fid=34971&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.drmalpani.com%2F2011%2F03%2Fwhat-medicine-can-teach-economists-and.html There's a lot doctors can learn from other professionals - and there's a lot doctors can teach others as well !An interesting "recent" innovation in economics is the introduction of "controlled trials" to determine the true impact of interventions to help alleviate poverty. Common sense would suggest that giving the poor loans will them help to turn around their lives - but in reality, this is not what usually happens. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and "aid" can often end up killing initiative ; fueling waste and corruption; and breeding dependence ! Handouts don't always work well - and it's easy to waste a lot of money very quickly ! The only way to find out what works and what does not work is to perform experiments in the field - something which doctors are very good ... The Patient's Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4642716 Mon, 28 Mar 2011 03:38:00 +0100 4642716 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3938421&cid=t_285562_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FncOsKc_7GXs%2F Many parents, health care professionals, and educators agree that there is a pressing need to develop effective treatments for ADHD to complement or substitute for traditional medication and behavior therapy approaches. This is because such treatments do not work for everyone, important difficulties often remain even when these treatments are effective, and evidence for the long-term benefits of these treatments remains less compelling than one would like. In addition, in the case of medication treatment, some individuals experience intolerable side effects and many have concerns about taking ADHD medication for an extended period. One alternative approach to treating ADHD has relied on the use of Compound Herbal Preparations (CHP) derived from traditional Chinese medicine. Practitioners o... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3938421 Mon, 06 Sep 2010 11:05:56 +0100 3938421 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3269661&cid=t_285562_86_f&fid=38272&url=http%3A%2F%2Flaikaspoetnik.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F02%2F01%2Fnotsofunny-ridiculing-rcts-and-ebm%2F I remember it well. As a young researcher I presented my findings in one of my first talks, at the end of which the chair killed my work with a remark, that made the whole room of scientists laugh, but was really beside the point. My supervisor, a truly original and very wise scientist, suppressed [...] (Source: Laika's MedLibLog) Laika's MedLibLog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3269661 Mon, 01 Feb 2010 02:28:37 +0100 3269661 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3227701&cid=t_285562_86_f&fid=38272&url=http%3A%2F%2Flaikaspoetnik.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F02%2F01%2Fnotsofunny-ridiculing-rcts-and-ebm%2F I remember it well. As a young researcher I presented my findings in one of my first talks, at the end of which the chair killed my work with a remark, that made the whole room of scientists laugh, but was really beside the point. My supervisor, a truly original and very wise scientist, suppressed [...] (Source: Laika's MedLibLog) Laika's MedLibLog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3227701 Mon, 01 Feb 2010 02:28:37 +0100 3227701 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3220485&cid=t_285562_86_f&fid=38272&url=http%3A%2F%2Flaikaspoetnik.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F29%2Ffriday-foolery-15-the-man-who-pioneered-the-rct%2F This BMJ video certainly belongs on a blog like this, focussing on EBM. This video shows “John Crofton who pioneered the randomised controlled trial in a 1948 BMJ paper which looked at the antibiotic streptomycin to treat TB. Now in his 90s, Dr Crofton talks to Colin Blakemore about the importance of randomisation and blinding, [...] (Source: Laika's MedLibLog) Laika's MedLibLog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3220485 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:34:51 +0100 3220485 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3159805&cid=t_285562_109_f&fid=38951&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcarlatpsychiatry.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F01%2Fantidepressants-ineffective-dont_11.html Last week, I posted part 1 of my reaction to the JAMA study showing that antidepressants don't beat placebo for mild to moderate depression. The many comments I received were intelligent and informed--reading them will give anybody an instant education in the limitations of antidepressant research. It has been clear for years that antidepressants barely outperform sugar pills, at least in the artificial environment of the double blind, placebo controlled study. It is also clear that most psychiatrists in the trenches are perplexed by these results, because in our practices we appear to see people responding very robustly to antidepressants--including those with only mild to moderate symptoms. So what gives? I presented a hypothetical patient who became depressed because of financial woes... The Carlat Psychiatry Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3159805 Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:54:00 +0100 3159805 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3153444&cid=t_285562_109_f&fid=38951&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcarlatpsychiatry.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F01%2Fantidepressants-ineffective-dont.html A recent study in JAMA (the Journal of the American Medical Association) appeared to show that antidepressants do not work well in patients whose depression is mild to moderate, which is the majority of patients. The authors combined the results of six studies (three evaluated Paxil and three evaluated the old tricyclic imipramine) and found that there was little difference between active drug and placebo in patients with less severe depression. However, there was a large benefit of the active drug in patients with very severe depression.The study made news--see, for example, this piece in the New York Times. But do the results really mean that antidepressants are ineffective? I don't think so. In order to understand the implications of the study, you have to understand how clinical trials... The Carlat Psychiatry Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3153444 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:54:00 +0100 3153444 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2477492&cid=t_285562_86_f&fid=38272&url=http%3A%2F%2Flaikaspoetnik.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F06%2F15%2Fcecem-bridging-the-gap-between-evidence-based-practice-and-practice-based-evidence%2F A very interesting presentation at the CECEM was given by the organizer of this continental Cochrane meeting, Rob de Bie. De Bie is Professor of Physiotherapy Research and director of Education of the Faculty of Health within the dept. of Epidemiology of the Maastricht University. He is both a certified physiotherapist and an epidemiologist. [...] (Source: Laika's MedLibLog) Laika's MedLibLog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2477492 Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:32:34 +0100 2477492 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2441348&cid=t_285562_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsandnsurf.medbrains.net%2F2009%2F05%2Fde-testimonio%2F I recently discovered the online slideshow (with audio) version of Professor Sir Michael Rawlins’ 2008 Harveian Oration titled “De testimonio: On the evidence for decisions about the use of therapeutic interventions”. Now, I’ve nodded off in more than my share of lectures on medical statistics and clinical trials, so believe me when I claim that this [...] (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2441348 Thu, 21 May 2009 21:00:14 +0100 2441348 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2375785&cid=t_285562_86_f&fid=38272&url=http%3A%2F%2Flaikaspoetnik.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F04%2F27%2Fsome-sugars-worse-than-others-the-bittersweet-fructoseglucose-debate%2F Excessive consumption of sugar has been associated with increased incidences of type 2 diabetes, formerly called adult-onset diabetes, obesity and tooth decay. There are many sugars around. Natural sugars and refined sugars. The refined table sugar and sugar cubes would be called “sucrose” by a chemist. Sucrose consists of two simple sugars (monosaccharides): 1 fructose and [...] (Source: Laika's MedLibLog) Laika's MedLibLog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2375785 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:11:40 +0100 2375785 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2307454&cid=t_285562_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsandnsurf.medbrains.net%2F2009%2F04%2Fquackery-without-scruples%2F With disappointment I report the existence of the organisation called “Homeopaths Without Borders” . Yes, really. They really do exist.  I have to agree with PZ Myers who, given the brazen adulteration the good name of MSF (”Doctors Without Borders”), thinks that “Quackery Without Scruples” is more appropriate. The propagation of any practice - especially something [...] (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2307454 Fri, 03 Apr 2009 21:00:26 +0100 2307454 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2093781&cid=t_285562_88_f&fid=38203&url=http%3A%2F%2Fprecordialthump.medbrains.net%2F2009%2F01%2F09%2Fhomeopathy%2F Some years ago I saw the Horizon documentary “Homeopathy - The Test”, which assesses the scientific validity (or lack thereof…) of homeopathy. (courtesy of YouTube) It makes great viewing for many reasons. Firstly, it examines the claims of, and possible explanations for, the effectiveness of homeopathy. It takes scientific reports for the effectiveness of homeopathy seriously, and then puts them to the test. The film also provides an excellent introduction to the “double-blind randomised controlled trial” - the study design generally recognised in medical science as the “gold standard”, because it removes confounding factors and accounts for the placebo effect. Brilliant arch-skeptic and debunker James Randi plays a key role in the story; his pres... AEQUANIMITAS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2093781 Fri, 09 Jan 2009 18:52:20 +0100 2093781 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1188575&cid=t_285562_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F01%2F30%2Fa-love-letter-to-ect%2F We have a lot of respect for James Potash, a well-known researcher from Johns Hopkins who has made his career by studying the genetic basis of mood disorders and schizophrenia and possible overlaps. So we were a little saddened to see him write this love letter to ECT, over at ABC News. We don’t doubt that ECT has helped many, many people over the years, and, that as a treatment of last resort for people with serious, chronic depression, it is relatively effective. We’re a little concerned about his data in this article. ECT doesn’t appear to be effective in 75% of cases where it is used, from our reading of the research — its efficacy in fact varies from about 25% to 65% (see, for example, Eschweiler, et. al., 2007; Kellner, et. al. 2006; Kho, et. al., 2005). Si... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1188575 Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:53:19 +0100 1188575