Clinics in China are offering unproven (and almost assuredly bullshit) treatments for a range of incurable diseases. A part of it is the usual Chinese medicine nonsense, but they also involve untested practices such as injections of fetal tissue and stem cells into the brain and spinal cord. Like everything else connected with medicine and health practices that come out of China, despite the fact there is no a shred of evidence of any of these practices being effective, they have no qualms about taking thousands of dollars from desperate patients.
The hospital says its stem cell injections are combined with daily, three-hour
doses of intravenous drugs designed to stimulate production of the patient's own
stem cells. Physical rehabilitation and Chinese medicine are also part of the
plan. A standard two-month course of treatment costs $30,000 to $35,000.
Kaching! So basically they're just cramming everything they can think of into patients hoping something will take, or, more likely, patients can fool themselves into believing their health condition has improved in some way ('placebo-based medicine', one could say). Lot of money to be had in offering hope to the desperate.
Some of those meddling Western doctors have tried to investigate the practices though. Here is what they have found:
Noting the lack of evidence, three Western doctors undertook their own
limited study. It involved seven patients with spinal cord injuries who chose to
get fetal brain tissue injections at one hospital in China. The study reported
"no clinically useful improvements" — even though most patients believed they
were better. Five developed complications such as meningitis.
Cute. Not only did those involved not get any better, the majority developed more health problems. Welcome to the Chinese Century.
3 comments:
I'm your first REAL commenter, so gimme that psychic reading.
Kevin
PS: At a guess, the reading will begin: You are blunt, chunky, and demanding. You are also hungry.
You are indeed blunt, chunky and demanding, and always hungry for more steamy Amat3urs showing huge b00b5. You have an ass built to punish toilets (and the ladies who clean them).
You've been a bit frustrated with your current job and circumstances. You wonder if there isn't something bigger out there for you. You're thinking that maybe now is the time to start believing in yourself more and summon up the courage to throw caution to the wind and start pursuing some of your big dreams more aggressively. You really need to stop thinking like this.
I'm getting a name that starts with an 'S' (Steve? Sam? Sheldon?). He's a total asshole. Stay clear of him. The next time you see him, spit in his face and tell him that you are on to him. If you don't know whom I am talking about already, then just do the above action to every new person you meet whose name starts with an S, just to be safe. In the long run, this will bring you great fortune (not to mention a good deal of interesting blogging material).
Indeed you are powerful, as the Emperor has foresk-- uh, foreseen.
Kevin
(and don't think I didn't catch that "Terminator" quote down below)
Post a Comment