By Dr. Jeff Hersh / Daily News Correspondent
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Q: I just read an article about Lorenzo's oil in the newspaper that said a new medical study showed it works. Years ago when that film "Lorenzo's Oil," starring Susan Sarandon, came out, medical studies at the time showed that is was not helpful at all. Is it common that medical studies contradict themselves?
A: I will not discuss the specifics about the recent Lorenzo's oil article. I think it showed some benefit from Lorenzo's oil in preventing symptoms in patients with adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), a progressive degenerative disorder, before they become symptomatic rather than in treating patients who were already sick). Rather, I will discuss the very important point you raise, that of the reliability of medical studies. There are still many weaknesses in the medical literature, and I will discuss the good, the bad and the ugly of the medical literature in today's column.
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Posted by gruwell at July 20, 2005 7:02 AM
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