The Failure of Scientific Research

There is a fascinating article in the November edition of The Atlantic magazine about the work of Dr. John Ioannidis. His research was originally published PLoS Medicine in 2005 (I'm surprised I haven't run across it sooner). The title of the current article about his work should give you an idea of what it's about: Lies, Damned Lies and Medical Research.

The bottom line? Dr. Ioannidis's research and analysis found that 80% of the most common type of medical research, the non-randomized trial, turns out to be wrong. The so-called gold standard of research, randomized trials, are in error up to 25% of the time. Even large, randomized trials (often called the platinum standard of medical research) was found to be wrong up to 10% of the time.

What was especially interesting was how many years incorrect medical information continued to be accepted by doctors as normal medical treatment, frequently a dozen years or more.

And doctors wonder why patients are confused? Is anyone surprised that medical research involving prescription drugs was the worst for credibility? Is it any wonder that patients are more interested in therapies that have been used for decades, hundreds or even thousands of years instead of the best of "modern" medicine?

Here's a link to: Lies, Damned Lies and Medical Research.

Wisdom of Age

A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports that "age effects on wisdom hold at every level of social class, education and IQ." In other words, age really does bring wisdom. Researchers at the University of Michigan found that older people were more likely to recognize that values differ, they were better able to acknowledge uncertainties, to accept that things change over time, and to respect others' points of views than younger or middle-aged folks.

The old adage to respect our elders has a basis in fact after all.

Happiness Is Healthy

A new study from Columbia University shows that happiness contributes to better health. In 1995 they measured the happiness of 1,700 adults in Canada with no heart problems using a 5-point scale. Ten years later they discovered that for every point on their happiness scale people were 22% less likely to have a heart problem.

Experts say that happiness results in a healthier heart because it avoids the negative health effects of other conditions like stress and depression. Research has shown that stress releases hormones that can damage heart muscle and depression has long been associated with heart problems.

So BE HAPPY!

Remember, it's not what happens to you in life, it's how you react to it.

Researchers and Practitioners Meet

It's interesting to note the recent 2nd Annual Fascia Research Congress in Amsterdam, The Netherlands because it's the second organized exchange between the basic sciences and practitioners of manual therapy. There were over 550 people there from 40 countries. This field is attempting to bridge the divide between two cultures which will standardize language and terminology but also develop mutual respect.

The congress opened with an exhortation towards precision with language in order to dispel confusion about the term “fascia” because there are different types and they're not all the same. The scientific research going on is providing a deeper understanding of the mechanics of the various structural integration and massage therapies for the practitioners and the experience of the practitioners provides insight and understanding to the researchers. It's a win-win opportunity.

Wouldn't it be great if other fields could learn to work with and respect each other? Just imagine how much progress could be made when folks work together!

More To Genes

Researchers have discovered that comprehensive lifestyle changes including a better diet and more exercise can lead not only to a better physique, but also to swift and dramatic changes at the genetic level. The activity was improved diet and exercise along with an hour each day of stress management including such techniques as meditation. The small study involved men with prostate cancer and it found that after the three months, the men had changes in activity in about 500 genes -- including 48 that were turned on and 453 genes that were turned off.

The activity of disease-preventing genes increased while a number of disease-promoting genes, including those involved in prostate cancer and breast cancer, shut down, according to the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This is exactly the type of response that Dr. Bruce Lipton and others involved with the field of epigenetics have been talking about for some time. Research is now beginning to verify that disease isn't simply "in our genes" after all. The choices we make in how we live are clearly a factor.