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by Jeffrey Dach MD
If you happen to be a professor at the University of Chicago sitting around wondering what to do next to generate interest in your work, why not do a piece about Crazy Lunatic Medical Conspiracy theories? This sounds like a good idea.
This is exactly what Dr. Eric Oliver did. He has a PhD and is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago. He created a phone questionnaire with some weirdo medical conspiracy questions. and then published the results.(26-34) Amazingly, many people believe in Way-Out Bizarre medical conspiracy theories. Go figure.
Rather than dwell on Dr. Oliver's weirdo conspiracy theories concocted at the University of Chicago for the enjoyment of the tabloid news media, lets look at something else: Let's take a look at medical conspiracy theories that actually came true as recorded fact in the medical literature.
Examples of Medical Conspiracy Theories that Came True According to the Mainstream Medical Literature
1) Medical Conspiracy Theory:
Do You believe that Synthetic Hormones Handed out by the Medical System are unsafe and in fact cause Cancer and Heart Disease. Yes, or No ?
Yes, Synthetic hormones cause cancer and heart disease.(4) It seems incredible, but true. The mainstream medical system has been using synthetic "monster" hormones for years. The 2002 WHI (Women's Health Initiative) study finally convinced millions of women to switch to safer and more effective bioidentical human hormones. My previous articles on the safety and importance of bioidentical hormones discusses this at length. (5)(6)
2) Medical Conspiracy Theory:
Do You Believe that Knee Arthroscopy for Arthritis is a Fraud and a Scam ? Yes or No.?
Yes. The second example of a medical conspiracy theory is the discredited practice of arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis. Millions of these useless procedures were performed in the late 1990"s until it was abandoned after randomized trials showed no benefit.(7) My previous article on the power of the placebo discussed this.(8)
3) Medical Conspiracy Theory:
Do you believe that SSRI antidepressant drugs have the same benefit as a placebo ? Yes or No ?
Yes, the latest study shows that the benefits of SSRI drugs are equivalent to placebo pills.(9) In cases of mild depression, the known adverse effects of SSRI antidepressants clearly outweigh the benefits. My previous article on SSRI antidepressants discussed this.(10)
4) Medical Conspiracy Theory:
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