Originally published July 27 2005
Study findings can be false, even contradictory
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A review of 49 recent major medical studies found a third of the results of the studies either contradicted entirely or were found to describe a smaller effect than was originally thought, and US News has printed a few of the studies in a recent article.
* A 1991 study concluded that taking hormones after menopause was probably good for protecting women's hearts from coronary artery disease.
Three years ago, an investigation designed to address that question famously showed just the opposite was true.
* A study based on a small number of trial participants, published in 1991, found that giving a patient a particular antibody could reduce the patient's risk of dying from some infections.
A later, larger trial found that the antibody didn't help at all.
* A 1995 study found that giving recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) to stroke victims greatly aided their recovery, while later trials have found that rt-PA is useful only in some cases.
Not all studies, of course, are likely to be contradicted.
For example, one 1998 review found that intensively managing Type II diabetes reduced a patient's risk of complications.
That effect was so strong that it would be unethical to test it in a randomized trial where some patients' diabetes was less intensively controlled, according to clinical epidemiologist John Ioannidis, who carried out the analysis of these studies.
Ioannidis is a professor at the University of Ioannina in Greece.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml