Search Results for "simple blood test"
Understanding medical tests: sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value
“Prostate cancer breakthrough as UK team develops more accurate test“ “A Simple 3-Part Test May Predict Alzheimer’s” “Portable device detects severe stroke in seconds with 92% accuracy” Headlines like these touting new medical tests often include impressive-sounding claims of accuracy. Consider this HealthDay story about an experimental breath test said to be “85% accurate” for […]
Big Mango claims daily mango eating reduces systolic blood pressure in healthy women, but any fruit might do
Without a control group in the study to prove otherwise, it’s possible the consumption of two cups of any fruit, or even any food, may affect systolic blood pressure.
Mangoes helped improve cardiovascular and gut health in women
Loyola U makes data-free claim that a ‘simple’ heart test can distinguish between major depression and bipolar disorder
A “simple electrocardiogram” can help diagnose major depression or bipolar disorder, a Loyola Medicine news release claims, but where are the data to support this “groundbreaking” study?
Simple Electrocardiogram Can Determine Whether a Patient Has Major Depression or Bipolar Disorder, Study Finds
Is Alzheimer’s ‘coming for you’? NY Times uses anecdote and an old blood test to warn it might be
There it was again: Another article touting “simple blood tests” together with an alarming headline about Alzheimer’s disease “coming for you.” I thought I’d missed something in the research news but no, an article in the Nov. 17 Sunday Review of The New York Times focused on ApoE4, a protein in the blood, discovered to […]
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Blood pressure, dietary salt, and genes: What happens when the dots don’t connect?
Blood pressure, dietary salt, and how genes influence human biology are among the most frequently reported health-related topics in the media. In the last couple of weeks the new and lower blood pressure guidelines have been widely publicized and critically analyzed; salt is always in the news; and there is no shortage of stories about […]
Blood tests help diabetes patients lose weight? Show the data.
If you’re going to claim “a breakthrough in personalized nutrition,” you need the numbers to back it up.
Fasting blood sugar and fasting insulin identified as new biomarkers for weight loss
For story on experimental prostate cancer blood test, Guardian leans heavily on news release
Unfortunately, this article glosses over the measured benefits, the costs, the harms–and much more.
Prostate cancer blood test could transform treatment, say scientists
In story on experimental blood test, CNN goes where few dare–the test’s sensitivity and specificity
Readers of this story will be given a mostly thorough, non-hyped account of what a new study found.
Blood test might make Parkinson's diagnosis easier, study says
Novel urine test for cervical cancer: strong but could be better on false negatives
Under the best of scenarios, the new test gets it wrong 10 in 100 times. That’s a potential harm that the release didn’t call out.
Johns Hopkins Scientists Advance a Novel Urine Test to Predict High-Risk Cervical Cancer
PR release calls concussion blood test a ‘game changer’ — based on study involving 12 head injuries
While this new blood test for concussion is portrayed as a ‘game changing’ discovery, the preliminary nature and other drawbacks warrant caution.
Western and Lawson scientists develop game-changing blood test for concussions
Reuters–along with many other news sites–parrots erroneous news release on HIV testing via USB stick
These inaccurate news stories could very well stoke false hope among HIV field workers and their patients, and further erode public trust in news media.
Scientists develop new type of HIV test on a USB stick
Advocacy group anecdotes present one-sided picture of genetic testing for breast cancer
Genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer risk is cheaper and easier than ever. But just because a test is available doesn’t mean everyone should get it. That message didn’t come through in a recent series of patient anecdotes published on Women’s Health magazine’s web site: ‘I Had No Idea I Had an Increased Risk […]
Well-written, Newsweek’s look at blood tests for mental illnesses needed more hard data
Well written, well researched piece could have done more to explain the status of the evidence around biomarkers for mental health disorders.
CAN BLOOD TESTS DETECT SCHIZOPHRENIA AND OTHER MENTAL ILLNESSES?
‘Baby deadline test’ story on NBC News: heavy on anecdotes, light on evidence
This story describes how some doctors are helping women “beat their biological clock” by taking a test that roughly predicts the number of eggs left in the ovaries. This piece was rife with problems–from disease-mongering to skipping any discussion of data.
Baby Deadline Test: Beat Your Biological Clock
Patient-swimmer testimonial unbalances PR release on Viagra study
This news release uses a patient story to tout the benefits of Viagra for a rare lung condition affecting swimmers. The study itself was far less definitive than the patient’s glowing anecdote.
