"Don't use homeopathy, there is no evidence" the homeopathy denialists tell us. Well, not only is this nonsense - there is plenty of evidence, empirical (patients getting better) and nearly 500 RCTs.
Yet the implication of this criticism of homeopathy is that conventional medical treatments are based on good scientific evidence.
Electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) has been used by conventional medicine to 'treat' mental health patients since the 1950's, and apparently it still goes on. What evidence is there for this the safety and effectiveness of this treatment, which has been practiced now for over 70 years.
"Despite ongoing controversy, there has never been a large-scale, prospective study of the cognitive effects of electroconvulsive therapy" Dr Harold Sackeim, et al, 2007
This is a quotation from an article by the Alliance of Human Research Protection, who have reported on the first trials, which were conducted by Dr Sackeim, and reported in Neuropsychopharmacology (32:244-254. 2007), 'Cognitive Effects of Electroconvulsive Therapy in Community Setting'. It states that:
“This study provides the first evidence in a large, prospective sample that the adverse cognitive effects can persist for an extended period, and that they characterize routine treatment with ECT in community settings.”
The study confirmed that ECT can induce long-term memory loss, and other cognitive problems, especially in women (the majority of people subjected to this treatment are women).
Postscript
March 2019
So does conventional medicine still make use of this awful treatment? Or is electroshock treatment an abandoned medical brutality from the past?
This Natural News article says that nearly 23,000 patients were 'brain shocked in the UK from 2015-16. So it goes on, regardless of safety, regardless of its lack of effectiveness, regardless of any medical science to support its use.
Yet the implication of this criticism of homeopathy is that conventional medical treatments are based on good scientific evidence.
Electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) has been used by conventional medicine to 'treat' mental health patients since the 1950's, and apparently it still goes on. What evidence is there for this the safety and effectiveness of this treatment, which has been practiced now for over 70 years.
None whatsoever
"Despite ongoing controversy, there has never been a large-scale, prospective study of the cognitive effects of electroconvulsive therapy" Dr Harold Sackeim, et al, 2007
This is a quotation from an article by the Alliance of Human Research Protection, who have reported on the first trials, which were conducted by Dr Sackeim, and reported in Neuropsychopharmacology (32:244-254. 2007), 'Cognitive Effects of Electroconvulsive Therapy in Community Setting'. It states that:
“This study provides the first evidence in a large, prospective sample that the adverse cognitive effects can persist for an extended period, and that they characterize routine treatment with ECT in community settings.”
The study confirmed that ECT can induce long-term memory loss, and other cognitive problems, especially in women (the majority of people subjected to this treatment are women).
So, no evidence for it being effective; but plenty of evidence that it can cause harm. It seems that this is the norm for conventional medicine.
The full Alliance for Human Research Protection article on this barbaric treatment can be found at
Postscript
March 2019
So does conventional medicine still make use of this awful treatment? Or is electroshock treatment an abandoned medical brutality from the past?
This Natural News article says that nearly 23,000 patients were 'brain shocked in the UK from 2015-16. So it goes on, regardless of safety, regardless of its lack of effectiveness, regardless of any medical science to support its use.
