acupuncture
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a term created by Mao lumping together various modalities in an attempt to pretend that healthcare in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was being provided despite the most severe shortages of conventional doctors, drugs and facilities. Since then, TCM seems to have conquered the West, and, in the PRC, the supply of conventional medicine has hugely increased. Today therefore, TCM and conventional medicine peacefully co-exist side by side in the PRC on an equal footing.
At least this is what we are being told – but is it true?
I have visited the PRC twice. The first time, in 1980, I was the doctor of a university football team playing several games in the PRC, including one against their national team. The second time, in 1991, I co-chaired a scientific meeting in Shanghai. On both occasions, I was invited to visit TCM facilities and discuss with colleagues issues related to TCM in the PRC. All the official discussions were monitored by official ‘minders’, and therefore fee speech and an uninhibited exchange of ideas are not truly how I would describe them. Yet, on both visits, there were occasions when the ‘minders’ were absent and a more liberal discussion could ensue. Whenever this was the case, I did not at all get the impression that TCM and conventional medicine were peacefully co-existing. The impression that I did get was that their co-existence resembled more a ‘shot-gun marriage’.
During my time running the SCAM research unit at Exeter, I had the opportunity to welcome several visiting researchers from the PRC. This experience seemed to confirm my impression that TCM in the PRC was less than free. As an example, I might cite one acupuncture project I was once working on with a scientist from the PRC. When it was nearing its conclusion and I mentioned that we should now think about writing it up to publish the findings, my Chinese colleague said that being a co-author was unfortunately not an option. Knowing how important publications in Western journals are for researchers from the PRC, I was most surprised by this revelation. The reason, it turned out, was that our findings failed to be favourable for TCM. My friend explained that such a paper would not advance but hinder an academic career, once back in the PRC.
Suspecting that the notion of a peaceful co-existence of TCM and conventional medicine in the PRC was far from true, I have always been puzzled how the myth could survive for so many years. Now, finally, it seems to crumble. This is from a recent journalistic article entitled ‘Chinese Activists Protest the Use of Traditional Treatments – They Want Medical Science’ which states that thousands of science activists in the PRC protest that the state neglects its duty to treat its citizens with evidence-based medicine (here is the scientific article this is based on):
Over a number of years, Chinese researcher Qiaoyan Zhu, who has been affiliated with the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Communication, has collected data on the many thousand science activists in China through observations in Internet forums, on social media and during physical meetings. She has also interviewed hundreds of activists. Together with Professor Maja Horst, who has specialized in research communication, she has analyzed the many data on the activists and their protests in an article that has just been published in the journal Public Understanding of Science:
“The activists are better educated and wealthier than the average Chinese population, and a large majority of them keep up-to-date with scientific developments. The protests do not reflect a broad popular movement, but the activists make an impact with their communication at several different levels,” Maja Horst explained and added: “Many of them are protesting individually by writing directly to family, friends and colleagues who have been treated with – and in some cases taken ill from – Traditional Chinese Medicine. Some have also hung posters in hospitals and other official institutions to draw attention to the dangers of traditional treatments. But most of the activism takes place online, on social media and blogs.
Activists operating in a regime like the Chinese are obviously not given the same leeway as activists in an open democratic society — there are limits to what the authorities are willing to accept in the public sphere in particular. However, there is still ample opportunity to organize and plan actions online.
“In addition to smaller groups and individual activists that have profiles on social media, larger online groups are also being formed, in some cases gaining a high degree of visibility. The card game with 52 criticisms about Traditional Chinese Medicine that a group of activists produced in 37,000 copies and distributed to family, friends and local poker clubs is a good example. Poker is a highly popular pastime in rural China so the critical deck of cards is a creative way of reaching a large audience,” Maja Horst said.
Maja Horst and Qiaoyan Zhu have also found examples of more direct action methods, where local activist groups contact school authorities to complain that traditional Chinese medicine is part of the syllabus in schools. Or that activists help patients refuse treatment if they are offered treatment with Traditional Chinese Medicine.
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I am relieved to see that, even in a system like the PRC, sound science and compelling evidence cannot be suppressed forever. It has taken a mighty long time, and the process may only be in its infancy. But there is hope – perhaps even hope that the TCM enthusiasts outside the PRC might realise that much of what came out of China has led them up the garden path!?
Acupuncture is often recommended for relieving symptoms of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). The aim of this systematic review was to ascertain whether verum acupuncture is more effective than sham acupuncture in FMS.
Ten RCTs with a total of 690 participants were eligible, and 8 RCTs were eventually included in the meta-analysis. Its results showed a sizable effect of verum acupuncture compared with sham acupuncture on pain relief, improving sleep quality and reforming general status. Its effect on fatigue was insignificant. When compared with a combination of simulation and improper location of needling, the effect of verum acupuncture for pain relief was the most obvious.
The authors concluded that verum acupuncture is more effective than sham acupuncture for pain relief, improving sleep quality, and reforming general status in FMS posttreatment. However, evidence that it reduces fatigue was not found.
I have a much more plausible conclusion for these findings: in (de-randomised) trials comparing real and sham acupuncture, patients are regularly de-blinded and therapists are invariably not blind. The resulting bias and not the alleged effectiveness of acupuncture explains the outcome.
And why do I think that this conclusion is much more plausible?
Firstly, because of Occam’s Razor.
Secondly, because this is roughly what my own systematic review of the subject found (The notion that acupuncture is an effective symptomatic treatment for fibromyaligia is not supported by the results from rigorous clinical trials. On the basis of this evidence, acupuncture cannot be recommended for fibromyalgia). This view is also shared by other critical reviews of the evidence (Current literature does not support the routine use of acupuncture for improving pain or quality of life in FM). Perhaps more crucially, the current Cochrane review seems to concur: There is low to moderate-level evidence that compared with no treatment and standard therapy, acupuncture improves pain and stiffness in people with fibromyalgia. There is moderate-level evidence that the effect of acupuncture does not differ from sham acupuncture in reducing pain or fatigue, or improving sleep or global well-being. EA is probably better than MA for pain and stiffness reduction and improvement of global well-being, sleep and fatigue. The effect lasts up to one month, but is not maintained at six months follow-up. MA probably does not improve pain or physical functioning. Acupuncture appears safe. People with fibromyalgia may consider using EA alone or with exercise and medication. The small sample size, scarcity of studies for each comparison, lack of an ideal sham acupuncture weaken the level of evidence and its clinical implications. Larger studies are warranted.
I have met many acupuncturists who think that homeopathy is bunk. Similarly, I have met many homeopaths who are convinced that acupuncture is a placebo therapy. And, I have met some (not many) practitioners of so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) who think so highly of both SCAMs that they combine the two into one handy treatment: HOMEOPUNCTURE.
I had almost forgotten (or is supressed the correct verb?) but, to be entirely truthful, a long time ago (in the mid 1970s), I even experimented with this odd therapy myself. When I worked as a junior doctor in a homeopathic hospital, several of my collegues practised homeopuncture and taught me how to do it. Essentially, you inject homeopathic remedies into acupuncture points. My colleagues told me that this approach is more powerful than each method alone. I tried it several times but remained unconvinced.
Recently, a German Heilpraktiker (Andreas Maier), reminded me of all this. Here is what he states on his website about homeopuncture:
In traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture in addition to the herb medicine as well as certain movement therapies (eg. B. Gong Qi) constituting an important element in the treatment of diseases.
By stimulating energy points with the help of fine needles will then attempts to harmonize the flow of vital energy. a disruption of vital energy because (also called Qi), is considered in Chinese medicine as a cause of any disease.
Only when the energy flows freely through all the tissues and organs of the body, the organism can develop normally and is healthy. A similar approach is also the Homeopathy, which originated at the other end of the world, namely in Germany.
Samuel Hahnemann (1755 – 1843), the discoverer of this method of healing, also saw a failure of the life force as a pathogenic factor.
By smallest stimuli the homeopath tries to eliminate these disease-causing disorder and bring about healing. Unlike in the acupuncture reduced drug doses to be used strictly in accordance with the principle of similarity are selected.
Mid-19th century was the German physician Dr. August consecration firmly (1840- 1896) that disease with painful spots may accompany the body.
These pain points are often far from the actual disease process. The phenomenon was known to the Chinese for thousands of years in Europe, however, no one had yet busy. Dr. Weihe, himself a keen homeopath, was in the treatment of his patients finally see that by the suitably chosen homeopathic healed not only the disease, but also disappeared the painfulness of the points.
It was surprising that certain homeopathic remedies appear to be well-defined points had a direct bearing on the body.
A few years later, the Chinese medicine and acupuncture also reached the European continent, they took Weihe discoveries closer look. A comparison of the so-called consecration points with acupuncture points showed significant matches.
The more than 300 known Weihe points are also used therapeutically since both diagnosis. Because they can provide information on the pathological processes in the body and on the displayed homeopathic. thus the Homöopunktur brings together the findings from Chinese medicine and homeopathy. The treatment can be done differently.
On the one hand the consecration points can be traditionally stimulated with fine needles, concomitant administration of homeopathic medicine. With the help of injection preparations, means may also be injected directly to the point.
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(sorry about my friend’s poor English; I hope you could make sense of it)
I don’t think I need to tell you what the evidence tells us about homeopuncture. Yes, you guessed it: nothing! But the idea of combining SCAMs is fascinating nevertheless. So, let me suggest a few further SCAM combinations that might be attractive:
- acupuncture + massage (sorry, that already exists under the name of shiatsu)
- colonic irrigation + coffea (that to is already taken by the Gerson guys)
- art therapy + homeopathy (too late: this one too already exists; painting homeopathy on the body surface)
- detox + meditation (no, the health retreat/wellness entrepreneurs might get upset)
I am clearly not very successful at finding viable SCAM combinations. Let’s look for something innovative, something that nobody has yet thought of. How about:
- homeo-laugh (homeopathy followed by an explanation what homeopathy is resulting in laughter; not sure that this would sell all that well)
- kinesiology colour taping (instead of using random colours for kinesiology tape, this approach uses the wisdom of coulourtherapists to match the patient’s individual colour requirements; this means the therapists needs dual qualifications and can thus charge double – I think that might be attractive!)
- autologous slapping therapy (this combination of slapping and autologous blood therapy (ABT) means the therapist has to hit so hard that the patient develops sizable haematomas which are the ABT part of the intervention; perhaps a bit risky, as some patients might call the police)
- effective reverse energy transfer counselling, ERETC (the patients is counselled that his money can, with the help of the therapist, be converted into pure healing energy; to make it work, the patient needs to transfer it to the account of the therapist – the more the better)
I think I like ERECT best; in fact, I will start work on it straight away. It still needs to be perfected, but once it’s up and running, it will be just great and, as the name already makes clear, effective – not for the patient, but for the therapist!
Controlled clinical trials are methods for testing whether a treatment works better than whatever the control group is treated with (placebo, a standard therapy, or nothing at all). In order to minimise bias, they ought to be randomised. This means that the allocation of patients to the experimental and the control group must not be by choice but by chance. In the simplest case, a coin might be thrown – heads would signal one, tails the other group.
In so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) where preferences and expectations tend to be powerful, randomisation is particularly important. Without randomisation, the preference of patients for one or the other group would have considerable influence on the result. An ineffective therapy might thus appear to be effective in a biased study. The randomised clinical trial (RCT) is therefore seen as a ‘gold standard’ test of effectiveness, and most researchers of SCAM have realised that they ought to produce such evidence, if they want to be taken seriously.
But, knowingly or not, they often fool the system. There are many ways to conduct RCTs that are only seemingly rigorous but, in fact, are mere tricks to make an ineffective SCAM look effective. On this blog, I have often mentioned the A+B versus B study design which can achieve exactly that. Today, I want to discuss another way in which SCAM researchers can fool us (and even themselves) with seemingly rigorous studies: the de-randomised clinical trial (dRCT).
The trick is to use random allocation to the two study groups as described above; this means the researcher can proudly and honestly present his study as an RCT with all the kudos these three letters seem to afford. And subsequent to this randomisation process, the SCAM researcher simply de-randomises the two groups.
To understand how this is done, we need first to be clear about the purpose of randomisation. If done well, it generates two groups of patients that are similar in all factors that might impact on the results of the study. Perhaps the most obvious factor is disease severity; one could easily use other methods to make sure that both groups of an RCT are equally severely ill. But there are many other factors which we cannot always quantify or even know about. By using randomisation, we make sure that there is an similar distribution of ALL of them in the two study groups, even those factors we are not even aware of.
De-randomisation is thus a process whereby the two previously similar groups are made to differ in terms of any factor that impacts on the results of the trial. In SCAM, this is often surprisingly simple.
Let’s use a concrete example. For our study of spiritual healing, the 5 healers had opted during the planning period of the study to treat both the experimental group and the control group. In the experimental group, they wanted to use their full healing power, while in the control group they would not employ it (switch it off, so to speak). It was clear to me that this was likely to lead to de-randomisation: the healers would have (inadvertently or deliberately) behaved differently towards the two groups of patients. Before and during the therapy, they would have raised the expectation of the verum group (via verbal and non-verbal communication), while sending out the opposite signals to the control group. Thus the two previously equal groups would have become unequal in terms of their expectation. And who can deny that expectation is a major determinant of the outcome? Or who can deny that experienced clinicians can manipulate their patients’ expectation?
For our healing study, we therefore chose a different design and did all we could to keep the two groups comparable. Its findings thus turned out to show that healing is not more effective than placebo (It was concluded that a specific effect of face-to-face or distant healing on chronic pain could not be demonstrated over eight treatment sessions in these patients.). Had we not taken these precautions, I am sure the results would have been very different.
In RCTs of some SCAMs, this de-randomisation is difficult to avoid. Think of acupuncture, for instance. Even when using sham needles that do not penetrate the skin, the therapist is aware of the group allocation. Hoping to prove that his beloved acupuncture can be proven to work, acupuncturists will almost automatically de-randomise their patients before and during the therapy in the way described above. This is, I think, the main reason why some of the acupuncture RCTs using non-penetrating sham devices or similar sham-acupuncture methods suggest that acupuncture is more than a placebo therapy. Similar arguments also apply to many other SCAMs, including for instance chiropractic.
There are several ways of minimising this de-randomisation phenomenon. But the only sure way to avoid this de-randomisation is to blind not just the patient but also the therapists (and to check whether both remained blind throughout the study). And that is often not possible or exceedingly difficult in trials of SCAM. Therefore, I suggest we should always keep de-randomisation in mind. Whenever we are confronted with an RCT that suggest a result that is less than plausible, de-randomisation might be a possible explanation.
On this blog, we have often noted that (almost) all TCM trials from China report positive results. Essentially, this means we might as well discard them, because we simply cannot trust their findings. While being asked to comment on a related issue, it occurred to me that this might be not so much different with Korean acupuncture studies. So, I tried to test the hypothesis by running a quick Medline search for Korean acupuncture RCTs. What I found surprised me and eventually turned into a reminder of the importance of critical thinking.
Even though I found pleanty of articles on acupuncture coming out of Korea, my search generated merely 3 RCTs. Here are their conclusions:
The results of this study show that moxibustion (3 sessions/week for 4 weeks) might lower blood pressure in patients with prehypertension or stage I hypertension and treatment frequency might affect effectiveness of moxibustion in BP regulation. Further randomized controlled trials with a large sample size on prehypertension and hypertension should be conducted.
The results of this study show that acupuncture might lower blood pressure in prehypertension and stage I hypertension, and further RCT need 97 participants in each group. The effect of acupuncture on prehypertension and mild hypertension should be confirmed in larger studies.
Bee venom acupuncture combined with physiotherapy remains clinically effective 1 year after treatment and may help improve long-term quality of life in patients with AC of the shoulder.
So yes, according to this mini-analysis, 100% of the acupuncture RCTs from Korea are positive. But the sample size is tiny and I many not have located all RCTs with my ‘rough and ready’ search.
But what are all the other Korean acupuncture articles about?
Many are protocols for RCTs which is puzzling because some of them are now so old that the RCT itself should long have emerged. Could it be that some Korean researchers publish protocols without ever publishing the trial? If so, why? But most are systematic reviews of RCTs of acupuncture. There must be about one order of magnitude more systematic reviews than RCTs!
Why so many?
Perhaps I can contribute to the answer of this question; perhaps I am even guilty of the bonanza.
In the period between 2008 and 2010, I had several Korean co-workers on my team at Exeter, and we regularly conducted systematic reviews of acupuncture for various indications. In fact, the first 6 systematic reviews include my name. This research seems to have created a trend with Korean acupuncture researchers, because ever since they seem unable to stop themselves publishing such articles.
So far so good, a plethora of systematic reviews is not necessarily a bad thing. But looking at the conclusions of these systematic reviews, I seem to notice a worrying trend: while our reviews from the 2008-2010 period arrived at adequately cautious conclusions, the new reviews are distinctly more positive in their conclusions and uncritical in their tone.
Let me explain this by citing the conclusions of the very first (includes me as senior author) and the very last review (does not include me) currently listed in Medline:
penetrating or non-penetrating sham-controlled RCTs failed to show specific effects of acupuncture for pain control in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. More rigorous research seems to be warranted.
Electroacupuncture was an effective treatment for MCI [mild cognitive impairment] patients by improving cognitive function. However, the included studies presented a low methodological quality and no adverse effects were reported. Thus, further comprehensive studies with a design in depth are needed to derive significant results.
Now, you might claim that the evidence for acupuncture has overall become more positive over time, and that this phenomenon is the cause for the observed shift. Yet, I don’t see that at all. I very much fear that there is something else going on, something that could be called the suspension of critical thinking.
Whenever I have asked a Chinese researcher why they only publish positive conclusions, the answer was that, in China, it would be most impolite to publish anything that contradicts the views of the researchers’ peers. Therefore, no Chinese researcher would dream of doing it, and consequently, critical thinking is dangerously thin on the ground.
I think that a similar phenomenon might be at the heart of what I observe in the Korean acupuncture literature: while I always tried to make sure that the conclusions were adequately based on the data, the systematic reviews were ok. When my influence disappeared and the reviews were done exclusively by Korean researchers, the pressure of pleasing the Korean peers (and funders) became dominant. I suggest that this is why conclusions now tend to first state that the evidence is positive and subsequently (almost as an after-thought) add that the primary trials were flimsy. The results of this phenomenon could be serious:
- progress is being stifled,
- the public is being misled,
- funds are being wasted,
- the reputation of science is being tarnished.
Of course, the only right way to express this situation goes something like this:
BECAUSE THE QUALITY OF THE PRIMARY TRIALS IS INADEQUATE, THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ACUPUNCTURE REMAINS UNPROVEN.
In a paper discussed in a previous blog, Ioannidis et al published a comprehensive database of a large number of scientists across science. They used Scopus data to compile a database of the 100,000 most-cited authors across all scientific fields based on their ranking of a composite indicator that considers six citation metrics (total citations; Hirsch h-index; coauthorship-adjusted Schreiber hm-index; number of citations to papers as single author; number of citations to papers as single or first author; and number of citations to papers as single, first, or last author). The authors also added this caution:
Citation analyses for individuals are used for various single-person or comparative assessments in the complex reward and incentive system of science. Misuse of citation metrics in hiring, promotion or tenure decision, or other situations involving rewards (e.g., funding or awards) takes many forms, including but not limited to the use of metrics that are not very informative for scientists and their work (e.g., journal impact factors); focus on single citation metrics (e.g., h-index); and use of calculations that are not standardized, use different frames, and do not account for field. The availability of the data sets that we provide should help mitigate many of these problems. The database can also be used to perform evaluations of groups of individuals, e.g., at the level of scientific fields, institutions, countries, or memberships in diversely defined groups that may be of interest to users.
It seems thus obvious and relevant to employ the new metrics for defining the most ‘influential’ (most frequently cited) researchers in so-called alternative medicine (SCAM). Doing this creates not one but two non-overlapping tables (because ‘complementary&alternative medicine’ is listed both as a primary and a secondary field (not sure about the difference)). Below, I have copied a small part of these tables; the first three columns are self-explanatory; the 4th relates to the number of published articles, the 4th to the year of the author’s first publication, the 5th to the last, the 6th column is the rank amongst 100 000 scientists of all fields who have published more than a couple of papers.
TABLE 1
| Ernst, E. | University of Exeter | gbr | 2253 | 1975 | 2018 | 104 |
| Davidson, Jonathan R. T. | Duke University | usa | 426 | 1972 | 2017 | 1394 |
| Kaptchuk, Ted J. | Harvard University | usa | 245 | 1993 | 2018 | 6545 |
| Eisenberg, David M. | Harvard University | usa | 127 | 1991 | 2018 | 8641 |
| Lundeberg, Thomas | 340 | 1983 | 2016 | 17199 | ||
| Linde, Klaus | Technische Universitat Munchen | deu | 276 | 1993 | 2018 | 19488 |
| Schwartz, Gary E. | University of Arizona | usa | 264 | 1967 | 2018 | 21893 |
| Eloff, J.N. | University of Pretoria | zaf | 204 | 1997 | 2018 | 23830 |
| Birch, Stephen | McMaster University | can | 244 | 1985 | 2018 | 31925 |
| Wilson, Kenneth H. | Duke University | usa | 76 | 1976 | 2017 | 40760 |
| Kemper, Kathi J. | Ohio State University | usa | 181 | 1988 | 2017 | 45193 |
| Oken, Barry S. | Oregon Health and Science University | usa | 121 | 1974 | 2018 | 51325 |
| Pittler, M.H. | 155 | 1997 | 2016 | 53183 | ||
| Postuma, Ronald B. | McGill University | can | 159 | 1998 | 2018 | 61018 |
| Patwardhan, Bhushan | University of Pune | ind | 144 | 1989 | 2018 | 64465 |
| Krucoff, Mitchell W. | Duke University | usa | 261 | 1986 | 2016 | 66028 |
| Chiesa, Alberto | 87 | 1973 | 2017 | 82390 | ||
| Baliga, Manjeshwar Shrinath | 142 | 2002 | 2018 | 83030 | ||
| Mischoulon, David | Harvard University | usa | 194 | 1992 | 2018 | 91705 |
| Büssing, Arndt | University of Witten/Herdecke | deu | 207 | 1980 | 2018 | 95907 |
| Langevin, Helene M. | Harvard University | usa | 67 | 1999 | 2018 | 98290 |
| Creath, Katherine | 84 | 1984 | 2017 | 99709 | ||
| Kuete, Victor | University of Dschang | cmr | 239 | 2005 | 2018 | 128347 |
TABLE 2
| White, Adrian | University of Plymouth | gbr | 294 | 1990 | 2016 | 16714 |
| Astin, John A. | California Pacific Medical Center | usa | 50 | 1994 | 2014 | 21379 |
| Kelly, Gregory S. | 37 | 1985 | 2011 | 31037 | ||
| Walach, Harald | University of Medical Sciences Poznan | pol | 246 | 1996 | 2018 | 31716 |
| Berman, Brian M. | University of Maryland School of Medicine | usa | 211 | 1986 | 2018 | 34022 |
| Lewith, George | University of Southampton | gbr | 380 | 1980 | 2018 | 34830 |
| Kidd, Parris M. | University of California at Berkeley | usa | 38 | 1976 | 2011 | 36571 |
| Jonas, Wayne B. | 187 | 1992 | 2018 | 42445 | ||
| MacPherson, Hugh | University of York | gbr | 143 | 1996 | 2018 | 49923 |
| Bell, Iris R. | University of Arizona | usa | 142 | 1984 | 2015 | 51016 |
| Patrick, Lyn | 21 | 1999 | 2018 | 57086 | ||
| Ritenbaugh, Cheryl | University of Arizona | usa | 172 | 1981 | 2018 | 63248 |
| Boon, Heather | University of Toronto | can | 188 | 1988 | 2017 | 69066 |
| Aickin, Mikel | University of Arizona | usa | 149 | 1996 | 2014 | 72040 |
| Lee, Myeong Soo | 430 | 1996 | 2018 | 72358 | ||
| Lao, Lixing | University of Hong Kong | hkg | 247 | 1990 | 2018 | 74896 |
| Witt, Claudia M. | Charite – Universitatsmedizin Berlin | deu | 238 | 2001 | 2018 | 78849 |
| Sherman, Karen J. | 136 | 1984 | 2017 | 82542 | ||
| Verhoef, Marja J. | University of Calgary | can | 190 | 1989 | 2016 | 84314 |
| Smith, Caroline A. | University of Western Sydney | aus | 135 | 1979 | 2018 | 94130 |
| Miller, Alan L. | 30 | 1980 | 2016 | 94421 | ||
| Paterson, Charlotte | University of Bristol | gbr | 71 | 1995 | 2017 | 95130 |
| Milgrom, Lionel R. | London Metropolitan University | gbr | 107 | 1979 | 2017 | 112943 |
| Adams, Jon | University of Technology NSW | aus | 294 | 1999 | 2018 | 128486 |
| Litscher, Gerhard | Medical University of Graz | aut | 245 | 1986 | 2018 | 133122 |
| Chen, Calvin Yu-Chian | China Medical University Taichung | chn | 130 | 2007 | 2016 | 164522 |
No other researchers are listed in the ‘Complementary&Alternative Medicine’ categories and made it into the list of the 100 000 most-cited scientists.
To make this easier to read, I have ordered all SCAM researchers according to their rank in one single list and, where known to me, added the respective focus in SCAM research (ma = most areas of SCAM):
- ERNST EDZARD (ma)
- DONALDSON JONATHAN
- KAPTCHUK TED (acupuncture)
- EISENBERG DAVID (TCM)
- WHITE ADRIAN (acupuncture)
- LUNDEBERG THOMAS (acupuncture)
- LINDE KLAUS (homeopathy)
- ASTIN JOHN (mind/body)
- SCHWARTZ GARRY (healing)
- ELOFF JN
- KELLY GREGORY
- WALLACH HARALD (homeopathy)
- BIRCH STEVEN (acupuncture)
- BERMAN BRIAN (acupuncture)
- LEWITH GEORGE (acupuncture)
- KIDD PARRIS
- WILSON KENNETH
- JONAS WAYNE (homeopathy)
- KEMPER KATHIE (ma)
- MACPHERSON HUGH (acupuncture)
- BELL IRIS (homeopathy)
- OKEN BARRY (dietary supplements)
- PITTLER MAX (ma)
- PATRICK LYN
- RITENBAUGH CHERYL (ma)
- POSTUMA RONALD
- PATWARDHAN BHUSHAN
- KRUCOFF MICHELL
- BOON HEATHER
- AICKIN MIKEL (ma)
- LEE MYEONG SOO (TCM)
- LAO LIXING (acupuncture)
- WITT CLAUDIA (ma)
- CHIESA ALBERTO
- SHERMAN KAREN (acupuncture)
- BALIGA MANJESHWAR
- VERHOEF MARIA (ma)
- MISCHOULON DAVID
- SMITH CAROLINE (acupuncture)
- MILLER ALAN
- PATERSON CHARLOTTE (ma)
- BUESSING ARNDT (anthroposophical medicine)
- LANGEVIN HELENE (ma)
- CREATH KATHERINE
- MILGROM LIONEL (homeopathy)
- KUETE VICTOR
- ADAMS JON (ma)
- LITSCHER GERHARD
- CHEN CALVIN
The list is interesting in several regards. Principally, it offers individual SCAM researchers for the first time the opportunity to check their international standing relative to their colleagues. But, as the original analysis in Ioannidis’s paper contains much more data than depicted above, there is much further information to be gleaned from it.
For instance, I looked at the rate of self-citation (not least because I have sometimes been accused of overdoing this myself). It turns out that, with 7%, I am relative modest and well below average in that regard. Most of my colleagues are well above that figure. Researchers who have exceptionally high self-citation rates include Buessing (30%), Kuete (43%), Adams (36%), Litscher (45%), and Chen (53%).
The list also opens the possibility to see which countries dominate SCAM research. The dominance of the US seems fairly obvious and would have been expected due to the size of this country and the funds the US put into SCAM research. Considering the lack of funds in the UK, my country ranks surprisingly high, I find. No other country is well-represented in this list. In particular Germany does not appear often (even if we would classify Wallach as German); considering the large amounts of money Germany has invested in SCAM research, this is remarkable and perhaps even a bit shameful, in my view.
Looking at the areas of research, acupuncture and homeopathy seem to stand out. Remarkably, many of the major SCAMs are not or not well represented at all. This is in particular true for herbal medicine, chiropractic and osteopathy.
The list also confirms my former team as the leaders in SCAM research. (Yes, I know: in the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.) Pittler, White and Lee were, of course, all former co-workers of mine.
Perhaps the most intriguing finding, I think, relates to the many SCAM researchers who did not make it into the list. Here are a few notable absentees:
- Behnke J – GERMANY (homeopathy)
- Bensoussan A – AUSTRALIA (acupuncture)
- Brinkhaus B – GERMANY (acupuncture)
- Bronfort G – US (chiropractic)
- Chopra D – US (mind/body)
- Cummings M – UK (acupuncture)
- Dixon M – UK (ma)
- Dobos G – GERMANY (ma)
- Fisher P – UK (homeopathy)
- Fonnebo V – NORWAY (ma)
- Frass M – AUSTRIA (homeopathy)
- Goertz C – US (chiropractic)
- Hawk C -US (chiropractic)
- Horneber M – GERMANY (ma)
- Jacobs J – US (homeopathy)
- Jobst K – UK (homeopathy)
- Kraft K – GERMANY (naturopathy)
- Lawrence D – US (chiropractic)
- Long CR – US (chiropractic)
- Meeker WC – US (chiropractic)
- Mathie R – UK (homeopathy)
- Melchart – GERMANY (ma)
- Michalsen A – GERMANY (ma)
- Mills S – UK (herbal medicine)
- Peters D – UK (ma)
- Reilly D -US (homeopathy)
- Reily D – UK (homeopathy)
- Robinson N – UK (ma)
- Streitberger K – GERMANY (acupuncture)
- Tuchin PJ – US (chiropractic)
- Uehleke – GERMANY (naturopathy)
- Ullman D – US (homeopathy)
- Weil A – US (ma)
I leave it to you to interpret this list and invite you to add more SCAM researchers to it.
(thanks to Paul Posadski for helping with the tables)
An article in the Sydney Morning Herald might be interesting to some readers. It informs us that, after more than 25 years of running, the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) intends to stop offering its degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). A review of the Chinese Medicine Department found it should be wound up at the end of 2021 because
- it was no longer financially viable,
- did not produce enough research,
- and did not fit with the “strategic direction” of the science faculty.
The UTS’s Chinese medicine clinic, which offers acupuncture and herbal treatments, would also close. Students who don’t finish by the end of 2021 will either move to another health course, or transfer to another university (Chinese medicine is also offered by the University of Western Sydney, RMIT in Melbourne, and several private colleges).
TCM “is a historical tradition that pre-dated the scientific era,” said the president of Friends of Science, Associate Professor Ken Harvey. “There’s nothing wrong with looking at that using modern scientific techniques. The problem is people don’t, they tend to teach it like it’s an established fact. If I was a scientifically-orientated vice chancellor I would worry about having a course in my university that didn’t have much of a research profile in traditional Chinese medicine.”
But a spokesman for the University of Technology Sydney said the debate over the scientific validity of Chinese medicine had nothing to do with the decision, and was “in no way a reflection of an institutional bias against complementary health care”. Personally, I find this statement surprising. Should the scientific validity of a subject not be a prime concern of any university?
In this context, may I suggest that the UTS might also have a critical look at their ‘AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE IN COMPLEMENTARY AND INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE‘. They call themselves ‘the first centre worldwide dedicated to public health and health services research on complementary and integrative medicine’. Judging from the centre director’s publications, this means publishing one useless survey after another.
Acupuncture is effective in alleviating angina when combined with traditional antianginal treatment, according to a study published today in JAMA Internal Medicine. Researchers conducted a 20-week randomized clinical trial at 5 clinical centres in China. Patients with chronic, stable angina (a serious symptom caused by coronary heart disease) were randomly assigned to 4 groups:
- acupuncture on acupoints in the disease-affected meridian,
- acupuncture on a non-affected meridian,
- sham acupuncture,
- waitlist group that did not receive acupuncture.
All participants also received recommended antianginal medications. Acupuncture was given three times each week for 4 weeks. Patients were asked to keep a diary to record angina attacks. 398 patients were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. Greater reductions in angina attacks occurred in those who received acupuncture at acupoints in the disease-affected meridian compared with those in the nonaffected meridian group, the sham acupuncture group and the wait list group.
“Acupuncture was safely administered in patients with mild to moderate angina”, Zhao et al wrote. “Compared with the [control] groups, adjunctive acupuncture showed superior benefits … Acupuncture should be considered as one option for adjunctive treatment in alleviating angina.”
This study is well-written and looks good – almost too good to be true!
Let me explain: during the last 25 years, I must have studied several thousand clinical trials of SCAM, and I think that, in the course of this work, I have developed a fine sense for detecting trials that are odd or suspect. While reading the above RCT, my alarm-bells were ringing loud and clear.
The authors claim they have no conflicts of interest. This may well be true as far as financial conflicts of interest are concerned, but I have long argued that, in SCAM, ideological conflicts are much more powerful than financial ones. If we look at some of the authors’ affiliations, we get a glimpse of this possibility:
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University o fTraditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- Department of Acupuncture, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan, China
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Guiyang University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, Guizhou, China
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, Shaanxi, China
- Acupuncture and Tuina School, Yunnan Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kunming, Yunnan, China
I have reported repeatedly that several independent analyses have shown that as good as no TCM studies from China ever report negative results. I have also reported that data falsification is said to be rife in China.
I am aware, of course, that these arguments are hardly evidence-based and therefore amount to mere suspicions. So, let me also mention a few factual points about the new trial:
- The study was concluded 4 years ago; why is it published only now?
- The primary outcome measure was entirely subjective; an objective endpoint would have been valuable.
- Patient blinding was not checked but would have been important.
- The discussion is devoid of any critical input; this is perhaps best seen when looking at the reference list. The authors cite none of the many critical analyses of acupuncture.
- The authors did actually not use normal acupuncture but electroacupuncture. One would have liked to see a discussion of effects of the electrical current versus those of acupuncture.
- The therapists were not blinded (when using electroacupuncture, this would have been achievable). Therefore, one explanation for the outcome is lies in the verbal/non-verbal communication between therapists and patients.
- Acupuncture was used as an add-on therapy, and it is conceivable that patients in the acupuncture group were more motivated to take their prescribed medications.
- The costs for 12 sessions of acupuncture would have been much higher (in the UK) than those for an additional medication.
- The practicality of consulting an acupuncturist three times a week need to be addressed.
- The long-term effects of acupuncture on angina pectoris (which is a long-term condition) are unknown.
Coming back to my initial point about the reliability of the data, I feel that it is important to not translate these findings into clinical routine without independent replications by researchers from outside China who are not promoters of acupuncture. Until such data are available, I believe that acupuncture should NOT be considered as one option for adjunctive treatment in alleviating angina.
It is hot, very hot? People have difficulties sleeping at night, not to mention working during the day. If you are one of the millions suffering, do not despair. Luckily, we have so-called alternative medicines (SCAM) that can help.
This article, for instance explains what homeopathy can do for you:
Glonoine:
This is one of the top remedies to consider in heat stroke especially in the following symptoms are present; eyes fixed without expression, glassy eyes, pupils contracted, pulse either barely perceptible or so quick it can’t be counted, loss of speech, face pale, white or yellowish-red; cold sweat, body cold and head hot to the touch.
Belladonna:
It is easy to confuse Belladonna and Glonoine (see above). They both have cold body with a hot head, fixed or staring eyes etc. However, there are some differences. Typically you would see dilated pupils in Belladonna. In addition, the face will typically be red. Other symptoms that indicate Belladonna can include involuntary stool or urination, twitching or trembling of the limbs, bending the head backwards and an unusually heavy sleep.
Aconite:
Aconite can also be useful. Symptoms calling for this remedy can include heat in the whole body (and not as much in the head as in Belladonna and Glonoine), contracted pupils, hard and full pulse. One way to differentiate Aconite is its characteristic anxiety and restlessness.
Another article recommends acupuncture:
Acupuncture is always a great option, too. Your practitioner will focus on clearing the heat, and if you have the damp type, they will also resolve the dampness and calm your digestion down. There are also some really effective Chinese herbal formulas specifically designed for Summerheat. So be cool and don’t let the hot weather get you down.
And yet another article advises us to use Bach flower remedies:
Into a glass of water, put 4 drops of Rescue Remedy and 2 drops each of Beech and Olive and sip through out the day. If you’re travelling, into a 500ml bottle of mineral water, put 6-8 drops of Rescue and 3-4 drops of the single remedies into the bottle and sip.
Find it hard to decide which one to try? Let me make the choice easier for you:
- Homeopathy is ineffective.
- Acupuncture is ineffective.
- Bach flower remedies are ineffective.
But you knew that anyway, didn’t you?
The aim of this systematic review was to determine the efficacy of conventional treatments plus acupuncture versus conventional treatments alone for asthma, using a meta-analysis of all published randomized clinical trials (RCTs).
The researchers included all RCTs in which adult and adolescent patients with asthma (age ≥12 years) were divided into conventional treatments plus acupuncture (A+B) and conventional treatments (B). Nine studies were included. The results showed that A+B could improve the symptom response rate and significantly decrease interleukin-6. However, indices of pulmonary function, including the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC) failed to be improved with A+B.
The authors concluded that conventional treatments plus acupuncture are associated with significant benefits for adult and adolescent patients with asthma. Therefore, we suggest the use of conventional treatments plus acupuncture for asthma patients.
I am thankful to the authors for confirming my finding that A+B must always be more/better than B alone (the 2nd sentence of their conclusion is, of course, utter nonsense, but I will leave this aside for today). Here is the short abstract of my 2008 article:
In this article, we test the hypothesis that randomized clinical trials of acupuncture for pain with certain design features (A + B versus B) are likely to generate false positive results. Based on electronic searches in six databases, 13 studies were found that met our inclusion criteria. They all suggested that acupuncture is effective (one only showing a positive trend, all others had significant results). We conclude that the ‘A + B versus B’ design is prone to false positive results and discuss the design features that might prevent or exacerbate this problem.
Even though our paper was on acupuncture for pain, it firmly established the principle that A+B is always more than B. Think of it in monetary terms: let’s say we both have $100; now someone gives me $10 more. Who has more cash? Not difficult, is it?
But why do SCAM-fans not get it?
Why do we see trial after trial and review after review ignoring this simple and obvious fact?
I suspect I know why: it is because the ‘A+B vs B’ study-design never generates a negative result!
But that’s cheating!
And isn’t cheating unethical?
My answer is YES!
(If you want to read a more detailed answer, please read our in-depth analysis here)
