Medical Science versus Wishful Thinking

The "art of healing" has been an honored skill in virtually all human cultures for recorded history and before then. Artifacts and specimen skulls from South America show that the ancients removed sections of an injured person's skull to relieve pressure (e.g., arising from a concussion) that might otherwise have been deadly. The practices of healing matured over human history largely isolated from one another, separated by oceans and deep cultural divides. Perhaps only in the past one hundred years or so has western ("Evidence-based") medicine recognized some of the possible benefits of treatments employed in other cultures. The major influence of other medical cultures has been in the use of novel herbs and other materials as potions, rubs, and most recently, a source of modern pharmaceutical compounds.

Here is where evidence-based medicine and the others part company. Through careful scientific investigation (the never ending cycle of conjecture, theory, hypothesis, test and revision to theory) the biological and medical sciences have been able to understand and isolate the bio-active molecules found in natural healing herbs. An early and excellent example is Salicylate, a compound found in certain willow trees. Hippocrates of Cos (460-377 B.C.) noted that chewing leaves of willow (Salix) reduced pain, although its use in folk medicine was well known elsewhere, such as Egypt. Today, as a result of science, we have aspirin - the most widely consumed pharmaceutical in the world. I have no doubt there are many other such valuable bio-active materials yet to be discovered or refined from Earth's rich biosphere.

Unlike evidence-based medicine, alternative practices such as homeopathy, chi manipulation, ayurveda,chiropractice and to a certain extent osteopathy have not matured in the rigorous environment of scientific investigation. The theories, models and explanations of these practices are rooted more in historical narrative or magical thinking than in biology. In simple terms, the touted benefits of treatments in these disciplines are unproven. Many times the claims made by "alternative" medicine are not testable by scientific methods. Unless you believe in anecdotes, "revealed truth" or truths told by some "trusted" authority, there is no rational reason yet to believe in any of the benefits of these disciplines.

The Bottom Line

Looking towards our common future and the great hopes we all have for medicine, it is wishful thinking to imagine some grand merger of evidence-based and alternative medicine. There are always lessons to be learned, but they must be learned in the harsh light of excellent scientific method; there is no other way to establish what actually works and what does not. No miracle cures will suddenly emerge from alternative medicine; if there is valuable knowledge, it will be incrementally added to evidenced-based medicine using well-established scientific methods.

My friend and colleague, Dr. Steven Salzberg, authors an excellent blog called "Genomics, Evolution, and Pseudoscience" in which he shines the harsh light of science on alternative medicine and other ideas that while popular, cannot stand careful rational scrutiny.