Quackery in Dental Practice in Nepal.

Quackery and fraud in dental practice, seen in many countries, is also rampant in Nepal, and they are unethical practices. There is a growing need for strict enforcement of government policy measures to eliminate quackery and fraudulent dental practice in Nepal. The government should mobilize all dental workforce (dental specialists, dentists, and dental auxiliaries) and aware of their responsibilities and limitations. This article presents a brief review showing some cases of malpractice in dentistry in Nepal.

For a honest Maghreb care system. Systematic Review of the International Literature on Corruption in the Health care System.

INTRODUCTION: Corruption in the health care system is a universal phenomenon, putting at risk the health of populations. The purpose of this work was to synthesize the international literature on corruption in the health sector. METHODS: This is a systematic review of literature dealing with articles on health corruption practices, published between July 2008 and June 2018, via two search engines: PubMed and Google Scholar. The extracted data were narratively summarized in three major areas: defining the concept of corruption in health, its typology / manifestations and anti-corruption interventions. RESULTS: A total of 23 articles were selected for final analysis. The articles that defined health corruption shared two key aspects: "abuse of power" and "benefit". The main types of corruption were "abuse of therapeutic indication", followed by "bribes" and "falsification". The anti-corruption interventions were synthesized into seven types: creation of an independent multi-interventional agency, support for scientific research, law enforcement, awareness raising, detection, reporting and institutional commitment. CONCLUSION: Based on the use of power, corruption in health is a complex phenomenon whose struggle requires a specific and contextualized strategy integrating information, detection and punishment.

Does the hormone "endogenous ouabain" exist in the human circulation?

Studies in the early 1990s suggested that a hormone identical to ouabain or an isomer of ouabain is secreted by the adrenal glands into the circulation and plays a role in the regulation of arterial pressure and cardiac and renal function. This hormone, known as endogenous ouabain (EO), was claimed to contribute to the pathophysiology of a number of disorders including heart failure, renal failure, pregnancy-induced, and essential hypertension. However, some research groups have been unable to confirm the presence of EO in the human circulation and the issue remains in dispute. In that the implications are of considerable importance to clinicians who, like the authors, lack biochemical expertise, it would be useful if the dispute could be addressed by disinterested scientists with long-standing and acknowledged expertise in analytical chemistry who could opine as to whether the evidence is, or is not, sufficient to state categorically that EO does (or does not) exist in the circulation in man. This brief review does not present new data but, rather, recommends that adjudication is needed regarding this important issue. © 2018 BioFactors, 44(3):219-221, 2018.

Antioxidants: Wonder drugs or quackery?

An answer to the question posed by the title must be simple not to disturb in his tomb Albert Einstein, who wrote "Man muß die Dinge so einfach wie möglich machen. Aber nicht einfacher". A simple answer (not simpler) can be: Antioxidants are not antioxidants, they are not wonder drugs and they are not all quackery; but they are not nothing. The arguments in support of this conundrumic statement will be developed below. © 2017 BioFactors, 43(6):785-788, 2017.

Crimes against Public Health in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The criminal protection of human health, public health is based on the punishment procedures doctor, pharmacist, ordinary citizen, manufacturers and merchants. It is justified to singleout these crimes in a special group of criminal offenses within the particular part, which is particularly true for those offenses where the focus is not on false threats to the health of a particular individual, but when it may lead to more people lose their lives or get to poor health of more people. This paper will point out the fundamental characteristics of these criminal offenses, their justification to identify a separate chapter in the criminal law, the importance of respect ethical standards in scientific activity, the criminal liability of doctors as fundamental carriers of health activities with regard to the offenses for which the perpetrators appear primary doctor.

Practical divinity and medical ethics: lawful versus unlawful medicine in the writings of William Perkins (1558-1602).

This article examines for the first time the theologically based medical ethics of the late sixteenth-century English Calvinist minister William Perkins. Although Perkins did not write a single focused book on the subject of medical ethics, he addressed a variety of moral issues in medicine in his numerous treatises on how laypeople should conduct themselves in their vocations and in all aspects of their daily lives. Perkins wrote on familiar issues such as the qualities of a good physician, the conduct of sick persons, the role of the minister in healing, and obligations in time of pestilence. His most significant contribution was his distinction between "lawful" and "unlawful" medicine, the latter category including both medical astrology and magic. Perkins's works reached a far greater audience in England and especially New England than did the treatises of contemporary secular medical ethics authors and his writings were influential in guiding the moral thinking of many pious medical practitioners and laypersons.

"Snake-oil," "quack medicine," and "industrially cultured organisms:" biovalue and the commercialization of human microbiome research.

BACKGROUND: Continued advances in human microbiome research and technologies raise a number of ethical, legal, and social challenges. These challenges are associated not only with the conduct of the research, but also with broader implications, such as the production and distribution of commercial products promising maintenance or restoration of good physical health and disease prevention. In this article, we document several ethical, legal, and social challenges associated with the commercialization of human microbiome research, focusing particularly on how this research is mobilized within economic markets for new public health uses. METHODS: We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews (2009-2010) with 63 scientists, researchers, and National Institutes of Health project leaders ("investigators") involved with human microbiome research. Interviews explored a range of ethical, legal, and social dimensions of human microbiome research, including investigators' perspectives on commercialization. Using thematic content analysis, we identified and analyzed emergent themes and patterns. RESULTS: Investigators discussed the commercialization of human microbiome research in terms of (1) commercialization, probiotics, and issues of safety, (2) public awareness of the benefits and risks of dietary supplements, and (3) regulation. CONCLUSION: The prevailing theme of ethical, legal, social concern focused on the need to find a balance between the marketplace, scientific research, and the public's health. The themes we identified are intended to serve as points for discussions about the relationship between scientific research and the manufacture and distribution of over-the-counter dietary supplements in the United States.

The Fickle finger of quackery in otology: the saga of Curtis H. Muncie, Osteopath.

OBJECTIVE: Throughout history, false and outrageous cures for deafness have been abundant. Most of these false remedies were short lived and did not gain much attention. However, Curtis H. Muncie, a New York osteopathic physician, accrued vast wealth and fame over a half century career (1910-1960) with his proclaimed cure of deafness through reconstruction of the Eustachian tube with his index finger. Through creative marketing, clever manipulation of the press, and outrageous claims of efficacy, he profited handsomely from what was, no doubt, the most egregious and remunerative instance of deafness quackery in 20th century otology. DATA SOURCES: A collection of original pamphlets issued by Curtis H. Muncie between 1921 and 1960 supplemented by articles from the popular press and both osteopathic and medical journals. RESULTS: The evidence that Dr. Muncie used unscientific methods and unscrupulous business practices is overwhelming. Famously, he fraudulently claimed in 1923 and for years thereafter that he had cured a congenitally deaf Spanish Prince (Don Jaime). At the height of the depression, his magical finger earned him over half a million dollars. Even his 1942 prison sentence for tax evasion did not keep him from resuming his flimflam upon his release. CONCLUSION: The story of Curtis H. Muncie is the quintessential example of how desperate patients can be exploited by an unscrupulous practitioner whose goal is satisfying his own avarice rather than curing illness.

New technologies: quackery or fraud?

A few dentists are responsible for most of the unconventional or unethical dentistry performed on the public. However, the influence of a few can have a major effect on the public's trust of the profession. Suppressing the introduction or continued development of new technologies in the dental profession is not the solution. Rather, new technologies should be integrated into existing established modes of dental practice. Innovations are good for the dental profession and for the public. As prudent dentists, our goal should be to critically assess innovations and demand validation before allowing unconditional widespread use in dental procedures. Regarding unethical clinicians, they probably always will put their interest ahead of the patient's. However, through peer pressure and enhanced education in ethics early in dental education, we can begin to minimize such activity within the profession.