Thursday, December 27, 2012

Docs Debate Value of 'Fringe' Treatment | Redux

Docs Debate Value of 'Fringe' Treatment

Heart Monitor
Heart Monitor by Rennett Stowe
License (according to Flickr): Attribution License
Excerpt:

A heart disease treatment that many doctors consider to be fringe medicine unexpectedly showed some promise in a federal study clouded by ethical and scientific controversy, causing debate about the results. The study took 10 years, cost taxpayers $30 million, involved several doctors convicted of felonies and spurred a federal probe into patient safety. Even the lead researchers say the treatment cannot be recommended without further research. The study tested chelation (pronounced "kee-LAY'shun") — periodic intravenous infusions that proponents say may help remove calcium from hardened arteries around the heart. Chelation has long been used to treat lead poisoning but its safety and value for heart disease are unproven. The heart disease version involves a different drug that does not have government approval for any use in the United States.

People:

Dr. Steven Nissen

Overall Sentiment: -0.368401

Relevance: 0.450829

SentimentQuote
-0.450599"The study in my view is inconclusive," said Dr. Steven Nissen, ...
-0.34101"Chelation has been practiced by physicians on the extreme fringes of medicine" and many involved in this study offer "a variety of other quack therapies," Nissen ...
-0.202851"Chelation has been practiced by physicians on the extreme fringes of medicine" and many involved in this study offer "a variety of other quack therapies," Nissen said. "I'm really worried about harm coming to the public. Patients should not seek this therapy on the basis of this trial."
Sentiment Stats:
  • Number of Quotes: 3
  • Aggregate Sentiment: -0.99446
  • Mean: -0.33148666666667
  • Standard Deviation: 1

Dr. Gary Gibbons

Overall Sentiment: -0.19413

Relevance: 0.395524

Dr. John G. Harold

Overall Sentiment: 0.123275

Relevance: 0.302811

Key:

  • Aggregate Sentiment is meant to be an indicator of an individual's overall sentiment.
  • The Mean is meant to be an indicator of an individual's average comment sentiment.
  • The Standard Deviation, when there are enough quotes, will indicate an individual's consistency of sentiment (i.e. a Standard Deviation of 0 would mean they were very consistent in their sentiment and 1 would mean they were very inconsistent).

Note that quote stats are likely to be meaningless beyond the aggregate score due to the tiny sample size. However, they are always provided just in case you find something useful there.

Additional Info:

HealthCondition: heart disease

Overall Sentiment: 0.0391146

Relevance: 0.777421

Disambiguation: DiseaseOrMedicalCondition | CauseOfDeath | RiskFactor | Disease | OrganizationSectorReferences:

HealthCondition: heart attacks

Overall Sentiment: -0.193884

Relevance: 0.534292

Disambiguation: DiseaseOrMedicalCondition | CauseOfDeath | RiskFactor | Symptom | DiseaseReferences:

HealthCondition: heart failure

Overall Sentiment: -0.250702

Relevance: 0.47916

Disambiguation: DiseaseOrMedicalCondition | CauseOfDeath | DiseaseCause | Symptom | DiseaseReferences:

HealthCondition: lead poisoning

Overall Sentiment: 0.140044

Relevance: 0.314374

FieldTerminology: conventional medicine

Overall Sentiment: -0.578923

Relevance: 0.356917

City: Los Angeles

Overall Sentiment: 0.0965499

Relevance: 0.404944

StateOrCounty: Massachusetts

Overall Sentiment: -0.236849

Relevance: 0.307949

Disambiguation: Location | PoliticalDistrict | AdministrativeDivision | GovernmentalJurisdiction | USStateReferences:

Organization: Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.436421

Organization: Heart Association

Overall Sentiment: 0.018359

Relevance: 0.429048

Organization: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Overall Sentiment: -0.25252

Relevance: 0.341177

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