Trick or Treatment? : Alternative Medicine on Trial - Hardcover

Professor Edzard Singh Simon; Ernst; Edzard Ernst

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9780593061299: Trick or Treatment? : Alternative Medicine on Trial

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0593061292 ISBN 13: 9780593061299

Publisher: Bantam Press, 2008

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The efficacy of alternative medicine is rigorously addressed by analyzing the evidence for and against more than thirty popular alternative therapies such as acupuncture, homeopathy, aromatherapy, reflexology, chiropractic and herbal medicines.

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About the Author:

Professor Edzard Ernst is the UK's first professor of Complemetary Medicine and is based at the University of Exeter . Formerly a homeopath and a clinical doctor, he has now built a world class reputation for successfully applying science to test the value of alternative therapies and is regularly interviewed for TV and radio. Dr Simon Singh has a PhD in particle physics and started his career as a producer on BBC science programmes like Horizon. He is the author of the worldwide bestsellers Fermat's Last Theorem and The Code Book. Big Bang, his history of cosmology became a New York Times bestseller.

From Publishers Weekly:

Noted science writer Singh and British professor of complementary medicine Ernst offer a reasoned examination of the research on acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic, herbal medicine and other alternative treatments. Singh (Fermat's Last Theorem) and Ernst work hard to be objective, but their conclusion is that these therapies are largely worthless. As they examine the research on various alternative therapies, the authors explore the principles of evidence-based medicine on which their conclusions are based, including clinical trials and the placebo effect; they also explore related ethical issues. The authors report that many patients will improve with any alternative remedy—but no more than those given a placebo. Exceptions exist; some herbal remedies (e.g., St. John's wort, echinacea) can be helpful though not always advisable, and chiropractors can relieve low back pain under certain circumstances. This is a stimulating and informative account that will be indispensable to anyone considering an alternative treatment, though it may not dissuade true believers. 16 illus. (Aug.)
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