Myths and fallacies

Misconceptions about epilepsy may explain the considerable stigma accompanying it. We aimed to identify such fallacies through questionnaire-based interviews of 487 adult residents of a slum area in Karachi, Pakistan. Of those interviewed, 25% believed that epilepsy was caused by evil spirits, black magic and envy by others - those without a school education were more likely to hold these views (P < 0.05). Perceived complications included impotence and cancer. Shoe-sniffing was considered a treatment modality by 13%...

Creatine is one of the most popular athletic supplements with sales surpassing 400 million dollars in 2004. Due to the popularity and efficacy of creatine supplementation over 200 studies have examined the effects of creatine on athletic performance. Despite the abundance of research suggesting the effectiveness and safety of creatine, a fallacy appears to exist among the general public, driven by media claims and anecdotal reports, that creatine supplementation can result in muscle cramps and dehydration. Although a number of published studies have refuted these claims, a recent position statement by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) in 2000 advised individuals who are managing their weight and exercising intensely or in hot environments to avoid creatine supplementation...

The results achieved by a Nutritional Support Group (NSG) operating within a tertiary-level hospital in the city of Havana (CUBA) for the last 8 years are presented in this work. Results relate to the performance of the Group in the three domains of medical care, on one hand, and the inception of a Metabolic, Nutritional and Feeding Intervention Program (PRINUMA) of institutional reach, on the other. Nutritional assistance has served the purpose of demonstrating the feasibility of intervention schemes conducted under the premise of the use of the enteral route as first choice, and the benefits observed in selected cases...

Myths abound in the practice of health care, death, and disease. Akin to the old adage of swallowing camels and straining gnats, the myth that mass fatalities cause epidemics of disease following natural or other disasters is alive and well. Despite the findings of observers, microbiologists, epidemiologists, and other scientists, even medical doctors and public health professionals lend support to the ancient belief and rush into mass graves or mass cremations the bodies of those victims of trauma in a disaster...

John Bowlby's attachment theory has had a profound effect on the way we think about parent-child relationships and the way young babies are cared for. Bowlby observed that children appear to do better if they grow up with a sense that someone cares about them and that someone will be there to help them when they are anxious or distressed. He explained why attachment relationships are so important for social and emotional wellbeing, and argued that good maternal care was essential for psychological health. Bowlby's ideas have been gaining strong support again recently, although it is important to distinguish between what he actually wrote and the many myths and misunderstandings about his work...

BACKGROUND: The influenza outbreak of 2003-2004 received substantial media attention, including widespread reports of a severe season and vaccine shortages. Understanding the determinants of vaccine receipt is important for guiding immunization policies. METHODS: From February through June 2004, we administered a structured telephone survey to Tennessee residents, using random-digit dialing methodology. RESULTS: Questionnaires were completed by 4028 persons, of whom 2077 (52%) had received influenza vaccination during the previous outbreak season...

Upon the completion of 25 years of the integration of Nursing in the Spanish University system, this author presents a reflection on the role of research in nursing professional development and the consolidation of nursing as a university field. After tearing down the negative mythology which surrounds research in nursing, the author develops what he considers are the three main challenges at the start of this new millennium: to make visible the potential researchers in the field of Nursing, construct Nursing by manes of research, and utilize research as a method to emancipate Nursing...

Because there are competing modalities to treat early-stage prostate cancer, the constraints or deficiencies of one modality may be erroneously applied to others. Some valid concerns arising from surgery and external beam therapy, which have been falsely transferred to brachytherapy, are constraints based on patient age, clinical and pathological parameters, patient weight, and size of prostate. Although the constraints have a valid basis in one modality, knowledge of the origin and mechanism of the constraint has provided a means to circumvent or overcome it in brachytherapy...

Dr. Jean Infield, a family planning expert from England, was invited to conduct a series of refresher lectures to the medical personnel of the Association. The 4-session refresher course was held in the mornings of February 26 to March 1 for 47 doctors, advisers and nurses. The topics were on the choice of contraceptive, postcoital contraception, overview of hormonal contraception, myths and fallacies of oral contraceptives, intrauterine contraception, contraception for the older women and barrier methods. Participants agreed that the lectures were informative and useful to their work in family planning...

In this special section of The Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, new ideas about how to analyze change are presented in a format that is accessible to clinicians and clinical researchers. Rogosa's (1988) myths of longitudinal research are reviewed in an attempt to familiarize psychologists with the dangers of assuming (a) that regression toward the mean is unavoidable, (b) that difference scores are unreliable, (c) that analysis of covariance is the way to analyze change, (d) that two points are adequate to measure change, and (e) that the correlation between change and initial level is always negative...

The historical development of "firing" as a treatment for various complaints in animals and man is followed from the first surviving written account by Vegetius (approximately AD 500) to the present day. Changing concepts as to the mechanism of action of the actual cautery are examined in relation to physiological understanding at various times and conflicting views and evident fallacies are discussed. It is of particular interest that firing of "sinewes" (tendons and ligaments) was expressly forbidden until the 18th century...

The expression of sexuality in best-selling novels and major motion pictures was examined. There are two reasons that such stimuli merit systematic analysis. First and foremost is the finding that best-selling novels and major motion pictures exist as a primary source of sexual information. Of equal importance, however, is the need to examine such stimuli for myths and fallacies. The novels and films analyzed in the present study were selected from the last years of three consecutive decades: 1959, 1969, and 1979...

The four-generational family is becoming increasingly common. As investigators learn more about family dynamics and relationships, some familiar myths must be reconsidered. The destitute retiree, the lonely widow craving attention from grandchildren and the abandoned nursing home resident are stereotypes that may not reflect reality. The family physician who cares for elderly patients should understand the fallacies inherent in many such stereotypes.

This article, in memory of Bernard Diamond, revisits his seminal editorial on the "Fallacy of the Impartial Expert." In a later article he formulated his thesis most succinctly: "There is no such thing as an impartial expert witness; the objectivity of the expert witness is largely a myth." I argue that the implications of his challenging assertion have as yet not been fully recognized. Ultimately, they also invite a revision of the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law's Guidelines for the Practice of Forensic Psychiatry...

The author discusses the myths of the ECT process--that shock and the convulsion are essential, memory loss and brain damage are inescapable, and little is known of the process--and assesses the fallacies in these ideas. Present views of the ECT process suggest that its mode of action in depression may best be described as a prolonged form of diencephalic stimulation, particularly useful to affect the hypothalamic dysfunctions that characterize depressive illness. The author emphasizes the need for further study of this treatment modality and for self-regulation by the profession...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

There are still many myths, incorrect beliefs, in medicine; some pertaining to the field of blood grouping are discussed. Certain fallacious statements are dealt with in detail such as the dependence on the A-B-O blood group of the shape of the retracted clot; the patients with Dupuytren contracture all being type Rh1Rh2; the assumption of an association with the blood groups of a number of diseases and even of temperament; the belief in the existence of ant-M-lectin and of little d and thus of anti-d sera; and also of the alleged LW (Landsteiner--Wiener) factor...

There has never been a single set of criteria for the ascription of disease. The pathoanatomic view ascribed to Virchow and propounded by Thomas Szasz has coexisted with the patient-centered or phenomenologic view for millenia. Schizophrenia, as well as such entities as idiopathic epilepsy and migraine, may be considered a disease because it entails suffering and incapacity, albeit in the absence of any obvious lesion. The Szaszian view of disease neither appreciates the nuances of Virchow's own position nor acknowledges the fluidity of current medical nosology...