Search Results for "mice studies"
Of mice and men: problems with animal studies highlighted in a new light
John Ioannidis of Stanford and colleagues published an important paper in PLoS Biology, “Evaluation of Excess Significance Bias in Animal Studies of Neurological Diseases.” Summary: “Studies have shown that the results of animal biomedical experiments fail to translate into human clinical trials; this could be attributed either to real differences in the underlying biology between […]
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A breast cancer study in mice gets big headlines, setting up potential for patient ‘disaster,’ experts say
“I spoke to several cancer specialists in New York City last night who said ‘caution, this is not ready for primetime.’” — ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton. That’s the key quote from a recent Good Morning America “Cover Story” segment about a mouse study exploring why breast cancer sometimes spreads in the immediate months […]
5-Star Friday: Drugs, mice, and money
I doubt a week goes by at HealthNewsReview.org that we don’t write about one of the following … … drugs, mice, or money. You could rightly accuse me of being predictable when I say that following the money has gotten trickier in health care journalism; that pharma as a lobbyist makes the auto industry of […]
Making sense of news based on animal studies: An update to our toolkit
A chemical compound can “reverse aging” in mice, many news outlets recently reported, including ABC News, TIME, STAT, and The Boston Globe. “Reports have suggested that this might someday lead to a new drug for human use,” ABC News speculated. The Boston Globe told us the lead scientist thinks the compound “could not only restore energy and vitality in […]
Small study in mice wrongly claimed to advance human alcoholism treatment
Only human clinical trials can show if animal results will be ever be replicated in people.
Drug shown to reverse brain deficits caused by alcohol
Animal studies, reported well, include careful framing and clear caveats
Here at HealthNewsReview.org, we’ve been known to be critical of news articles making health care claims that are based on research in animals. For recent examples, see these news story reviews: Invasive weed kills superbugs? All we know is it might work in mice WaPo story generalizes findings of small study on mice to pregnant […]
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Of mice and “man flu”
Spreading like a virus on steroids, a BMJ feature article about the “man flu” shows there is now “science” behind the claim that men seem to have worse symptoms–and may be justified in complaining about them more vocally and persistently than women–when suffering from colds or the flu. Generating stories in Newsweek, CNN, LA Times, […]
With a growing number of trials exploring intermittent fasting in people it’s not clear what this mice study brings to the table
How many mice and how much did they lose compared to controls? These key questions aren’t addressed. Not is there a caution that mice studies are rarely replicated in human trials.
On-and-off fasting helps fight obesity
Red sage as an osteoporosis ‘treatment?’ Benefits shown in six mice, not people
This is very preliminary research and the limitations of animal research and small samples should have been mentioned in the release.
New osteoporosis treatment uses traditional Chinese herb to prevent bone loss
Big Raspberry’s mish-mash of animal, lab dish and human studies reveals little about health benefits of raspberries
The industry-sponsored studies were too small and preliminary to draw any conclusions.
Studies explore the potential benefits of red raspberries
Invasive weed kills superbugs? All we know is it might work in mice
Preliminary rodent research rarely (if ever) rises to the occasion of big health news. We generally recommend putting these studies away and waiting until more conclusive human research comes along.
Common weed could help fight deadly superbug, study finds
Dana-Farber touts potential leukemia ‘cure’ based on study involving only mice
This teaser on a potential treatment for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) needed to say upfront that the benefits from this potential drug were only seen in animal studies.
Discovery offers prospect of shorter treatment and cure for chronic myelogenous leukemia
Release on bile acids as a heart treatment wrongly equates success in mice with human outcomes
The release over-reaches in its description of benefits — at least to humans. Transgenic mice, however, found some benefit.
Maintaining a healthy heart through bile acids
Overly enthusiastic PR release claims breast cancer prevention is “within reach” based on animal, cell culture studies
Everyone is interested in cancer prevention discoveries, but alarm bells go off when we see findings from studies in mice and Petri dishes applied to humans.
Prevention of Genetic Breast Cancer Within Reach
News media hype of sunscreen studies leaves readers burned by speculative evidence
Carolina Branson, PhD, is an associate editor with HealthNewsReview.org. She tweets as @BransonCarolina. Just in time for beach season, the news media are serving up a confusing hodgepodge of stories, one claiming that sunscreen can reduce melanoma by 80% and the other claiming that sunscreen use has been linked to fertility problems in men. So, what’s a reader to […]
