Herbal remedy clinical trials in the media: a comparison with the coverage of conventional pharmaceuticals

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study systematically compares newspaper coverage of clinical trials for herbal remedies, a popular type of complementary and alternative medicine, with clinical trials for pharmaceuticals using a comparative content analysis. This is a timely inquiry given the recognized importance of the popular press as a source of health information, the complex and significant role of complementary and alternative medicine in individual health-care decisions, and the trend toward evidence-based research for some complementary and alternative medical therapies. We searched PubMed for clinical trials, Lexis/Nexis for newspaper articles in the UK, US, Australia/New Zealand, and Factiva for Canadian newspaper articles from 1995 to 2005. We used a coding frame to analyze and compare 48 pharmaceutical and 57 herbal remedy clinical trials as well as 201 pharmaceutical and 352 herbal remedy newspaper articles.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Herbal remedy clinical trials had similar Jadad scores to pharmaceutical trials but were significantly smaller and of shorter duration. The trials were mostly studies from Western countries and published in high-ranking journals. The majority of pharmaceutical (64%) and herbal remedy (53%) clinical trials had private sector funding involvement. A minority declared further author conflicts of interest. Newspaper coverage of herbal remedy clinical trials was more negative than for pharmaceutical trials; a result only partly explained by the greater proportion of herbal remedy clinical trials reporting negative results (<it>P </it>= 0.0201; <it>χ</it>²= 7.8129; degrees of freedom = 2). Errors of omission were common in newspaper coverage, with little reporting of dose, sample size, location, and duration of the trial, methods, trial funding, and conflicts of interest. There was an under-reporting of risks, especially for herbal remedies.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our finding of negative coverage of herbal remedy trials is contrary to the positive trends in most published research based primarily on anecdotal accounts. Our results highlight how media coverage is not providing the public with the information necessary to make informed decisions about medical treatments. Most concerning is the lack of disclosure of trial funding and conflicts of interest that could influence the outcome or reporting of trial results. This lack of reporting may impact the medical research community, which has the most to lose by way of public trust and respect.</p

АНАЛІЗ ВИЗНАЧЕНЬ ТА НОРМАТИВНИХ ВИМОГ СИСТЕМИ ЗАХИСТУ ОБ’ЄКТА КРИТИЧНОЇ ІНФРАСТРУКТУРИ

Introduction. Taking into account the conditions of constant progressive changes in the project environment, taking&nbsp;into account the factors of the state of war and constant uncertainty and instability, it becomes&nbsp; obvious that the risk to life&nbsp;safety of the territories and the population is increasing. First of all, this is reflected in the massive shelling of critical&nbsp;infrastructure facilities by an insidious enemy. It is worth noting that&nbsp; during the conflict in the east of Ukraine and Russia's&nbsp;full-scale aggression, significant damage and losses in infrastructure were caused in recent years. Data on economic losses&nbsp;are summarised and updated and can&nbsp; be reported in the form of official reports of government bodies, and international&nbsp;organisations such as the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank.Goal. The goal is to analyse possible main threats and potential negative consequences for critical infrastructure&nbsp;objects, to prevent and prevent the occurrence of such threats to critical infrastructure.Research methods. Research of critical infrastructure objects of Ukraine can be carried out using various methods&nbsp;and approaches modelling and simulation, socio-economic research, and methods of system analysis&nbsp; – all these are tools&nbsp;for our further work.The results. The results of the study of the area concerning the objects of critical infrastructure, their technical&nbsp;condition and standards consist in identifying vulnerabilities and potential threats, assessing possible&nbsp; risks and&nbsp;establishing priorities for protection, since in certain aspects our defence capabilities of such objects are limited. Identified&nbsp;and processed vulnerabilities and risks make it possible to identify and, accordingly,&nbsp; carry out the categorisation and&nbsp;prioritisation of the most critical objects that require immediate improvement of relevant protection measures. Based on&nbsp;the processing of this analysis, specific recommendations for&nbsp; protective measures and response plans for potential&nbsp;emergencies are developed. In addition, it is important to constantly monitor changes in threats, which in current&nbsp;conditions appear almost daily, and to update&nbsp; protection measures taking into account the changes. These research results&nbsp;are the basis for developing strategies to protect critical infrastructure and ensure the security of national interests.&nbsp;Conclusions. The generated data from the study of critical infrastructure facilities (CIF), including certification, as&nbsp;well as the implementation of the LIDAR system, showed a future perspective and great opportunities&nbsp; for the development&nbsp;and promotion of new technologies. There is a high probability that these innovations will become very useful and&nbsp;necessary to ensure the safety and efficient functioning of the infrastructure.&nbsp;Вступ. Зважаючи на умови постійних прогресивних змін проєктного середовища, враховуючи чинники&nbsp;воєнного стану та постійну невизначеність і нестабільність, стає очевидним збільшення ризику&nbsp; yебезпеки для&nbsp;життєдіяльності територій та населення. В першу чергу це відображається через масовані обстріли об’єктів&nbsp;критичної інфраструктури підступним ворогом. Варто зазначити, що під час&nbsp; російської повномасштабної агресії&nbsp;на сході України, за останні роки було завдано значних пошкоджень і втрат в інфраструктурі. Дані про економічні&nbsp;збитки підсумовуються та оновлюються і можуть&nbsp; повідомлятися у вигляді офіційних звітів урядових органів,&nbsp;міжнародних організацій, таких як Міжнародний валютний фонд або Світовий банк.&nbsp; Мета. Метою є аналіз стану урегульованості профілактики та реагування щодо можливих основних загроз&nbsp;та потенційних негативних наслідків для об’єктів критичної інфраструктури (ОКІ), визначення їх&nbsp; показників для&nbsp;запобігання таким загрозам для критичної інфраструктури.Методи дослідження. Дослідження об'єктів критичної інфраструктури України можуть проводитися за&nbsp;допомогою різноманітних методів і підходів залежно від конкретної потреби та мети дослідження.&nbsp; Технічне&nbsp;обстеження, моделювання та симуляція, соціально-економічні дослідження, методи системного аналізу – все це&nbsp;інструменти для подальшої нашої роботи.Результати. Результати дослідження показників систем захисту в області, що стосується об'єктів критичної&nbsp;інфраструктури, їх технічного стану та стандартів безпеки, полягають у виявленні вразливостей та&nbsp; потенційних&nbsp;загроз, оцінці можливих ризиків і встановленні пріоритетів для захисту, оскільки в певних аспектах наші&nbsp;оборонні спроможності таких об’єктів є обмеженими. Ідентифіковані та опрацьовані&nbsp; dразливості і ризики дають&nbsp;змогу визначити та відповідно здійснити категоризацію та пріоритезацію найбільш критичних об'єктів, які&nbsp;потребують негайного вдосконалення відповідних заходів захисту.&nbsp; Відповідно до результатів цього аналізу&nbsp;розробляються конкретні рекомендації із заходів захисту та планів реагування на потенційні надзвичайні&nbsp;ситуації. Крім того, важливо постійно відстежувати зміни у&nbsp; загрозах, які в нинішніх умовах відбуваються ледь&nbsp;не щодня, та оновлювати заходи захисту з урахуванням змін. Ці результати дослідження є основою для&nbsp;розроблення стратегій захисту критичної&nbsp; інфраструктури та забезпечення національних інтересів.&nbsp;Висновки. Сформовані дані дослідження об'єктів критичної інфраструктури, включаючи паспортизацію, а&nbsp;також впровадження показників систем захисту на базі системи LIDAR, показали майбутню&nbsp; перспективу та&nbsp;великі можливості для розвитку та заохочення впровадження нових технологій. Існує висока ймовірність, що&nbsp;саме ці нововведення стануть дуже корисними та необхідними для забезпечення&nbsp; безпеки та ефективного&nbsp;функціонування інфраструктури.&nbsp

UK science press officers, professional vision and the generation of expectations

Science press officers can play an integral role in helping promote expectations and hype about biomedical research. Using this as a starting point, this article draws on interviews with 10 UK-based science press officers, which explored how they view their role as science reporters and as generators of expectations. Using Goodwin’s notion of ‘professional vision’, we argue that science press officers have a specific professional vision that shapes how they produce biomedical press releases, engage in promotion of biomedical research and make sense of hype. We discuss how these insights can contribute to the sociology of expectations, as well as inform responsible science communication.This project was funded by the Wellcome Trust (Wellcome Trust Biomedical Strategic Award 086034)

Reproducibility and reuse of adaptive immune receptor repertoire data

High-throughput sequencing (HTS) of immunoglobulin (B-cell receptor, antibody) and T-cell receptor repertoires has increased dramatically since the technique was introduced in 2009 (1-3). This experimental approach explores the maturation of the adaptive immune system and its response to antigens, pathogens, and disease conditions in exquisite detail. It holds significant promise for diagnostic and therapy-guiding applications. New technology often spreads rapidly, sometimes more rapidly than the understanding of how to make the products of that technology reliable, reproducible, or usable by others. As complex technologies have developed, scientific communities have come together to adopt common standards, protocols, and policies for generating and sharing data sets, such as the MIAME protocols developed for microarray experiments. The Adaptive Immune Receptor Repertoire (AIRR) Community formed in 2015 to address similar issues for HTS data of immune repertoires. The purpose of this perspective is to provide an overview of the AIRR Community\u27s founding principles and present the progress that the AIRR Community has made in developing standards of practice and data sharing protocols. Finally, and most important, we invite all interested parties to join this effort to facilitate sharing and use of these powerful data sets ([email protected])

Canadian newspaper coverage on harm reduction featuring bereaved mothers: A mixed methods analysis.

A growing body of evidence suggests that news media which includes a sympathetic portrayal of a mother bereaved by substance use can increase public support for harm reduction initiatives. However, the extent to which such news media coverage occurs in Canada is unknown, and research has not documented how the news media in Canada covers such stories. We undertook a mixed-method secondary analyses of 5681 Canadian newspaper articles on harm reduction (2000-2016). Quantitative analyses described the volume and content of harm reduction reporting featuring a mother whose child's death was related to substance use while qualitative thematic analysis provided in-depth descriptions of the discourses underlying such news reporting. Newspaper articles featuring a mother whose child's death was related to substance use were rarely published (n = 63; 1.1% of total harm reduction media coverage during the study period). Deductive content analysis of these 63 texts revealed that coverage of naloxone distribution (42.9%) and supervised drug consumption services (28.6%) were prioritized over other harm reduction services. Although harm reduction (services or policies) were advocated by the mother in most (77.8%) of these 63 texts, inductive thematic analysis of a subset (n = 52) of those articles revealed that mothers' advocacy was diminished by newspaper reporting that emphasized their experiences of grief, prioritized individual biographies over structural factors contributing to substance use harms, and created rhetorical divisions between different groups of people who use drugs (PWUD). Bereaved mothers' advocacy in support of harm reduction programs and services may be minimized in the process of reporting their stories for newspaper readers. Finding ways to report bereaved mothers' stories in ways that are inclusive of all PWUD while highlighting the role of broad, structural determinants of substance use has the potential to shift public opinion and government support in favour of these life-saving services

An Analysis of News Media Coverage of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Background: To examine the accuracy and adequacy of lay media news stories about complementary and alternative medicines and therapies. Methodol./Principal Findings: A descriptive anal. of news stories about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the Australian media using a national medical news monitoring website, mediadoctor.org.au. Each story was rated against 10 criteria by two individuals. Consensus scores of 222 news articles reporting therapeutic claims about complementary medicines posted on mediadoctor.org.au between 1 Jan. 2004 and 1 Sept. 2007 were calculated. The overall rating score for 222 CAM articles was 50% (95% CI 47% to 53%). There was a statistically significant (F = 3.68, p = 0.006) difference in cumulative mean scores according to type of therapy: biol. based practices (54%, 95% CI 50% to 58%); manipulative body based practices (46%, 95% CI 39% to 54%), whole medical systems (45%, 95% CI 32% to 58%), mind body medicine (41%, 95% CI 31% to 50%) and energy medicine (33%, 95% CI 11% to 55%). There was a statistically significant difference in cumulative mean scores (F = 3.72, p = 0.0001) according to the clin. outcome of interest with stories about cancer treatments (62%, 95% CI 54% to 70%) scoring highest and stories about treatments for children's behavioral and mental health concerns scoring lowest (31%, 95% CI 19% to 43%). Significant differences were also found in scores between media outlets. Conclusions/Significance: There is substantial variability in news reporting practices about CAM. Overall, although they may be improving, the scores remain generally low. It appears that much of the information the public receives about CAM is inaccurate or incomplete

A scoping review of research on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and the mass media: Looking back, moving forward

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has become more common in Western developed countries in recent years, as has media reporting on CAM and related issues. Correspondingly, media reports are a primary information source regarding decisions to use CAM. Research on CAM related media reports is becoming increasingly relevant and important; however, identifying key concepts to guide future research is problematic due to the dispersed nature of completed research in this field. A scoping review was conducted to: 1) determine the amount, focus and nature of research on CAM and the mass media; and 2) summarize and disseminate related research results.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The main phases were: 1) searching for relevant studies; 2) selecting studies based on pre-defined inclusion criteria; 3) extracting data; and 4) collating, summarizing and reporting the results.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of 4,454 studies identified through various search strategies, 16 were relevant to our objectives and included in a final sample. CAM and media research has focused primarily on print media coverage of a range of CAM therapies, although only a few studies articulated differences within the range of therapies surveyed. Research has been developed through a variety of disciplinary perspectives, with a focus on representation research. The research reviewed suggests that journalists draw on a range of sources to prepare media reports, although most commonly they cite conventional (versus CAM) sources and personal anecdotes. The tone of media reports appears generally positive, which may be related to a lack of reporting on issues related to risk and safety. Finally, a variety of discourses within media representations of CAM are apparent that each appeal to a specific audience through resonance with their specific concerns.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Research on CAM and the mass media spans multiple disciplines and strategies of inquiry; however, despite the diversity in approach, it is clear that issues related to production and reception of media content are in need of research attention. To address the varied issues in a comprehensive manner, future research needs to be collaborative, involving researchers across disciplines, journalists and CAM users.</p

Transforming healthcare through regenerative medicine

Regenerative medicine therapies, underpinned by the core principles of rejuvenation, regeneration and replacement, are shifting the paradigm in healthcare from symptomatic treatment in the 20th century to curative treatment in the 21st century. By addressing the reasons behind the rapid expansion of regenerative medicine research and presenting an overview of current clinical trials, we explore the potential of regenerative medicine to reshape modern healthcare

Opening options for material transfer.

UNLABELLED: The Open Material Transfer Agreement is a material-transfer agreement that enables broader sharing and use of biological materials by biotechnology practitioners working within the practical realities of technology transfer. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version of this article (doi:10.1038/nbt.4263) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users