Concerns about Cochrane

And there are a couple of good quotes from doctors, it's an great article

Professor Elias Eriksson, Department of Pharmacology at Sahlgrenska Academy's Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology in Gothenburg:

 

just got a weird image in my head when I read that of the large blue cock (as posted by Michael Sharpe on twitter) wearing a horned helmet ( a la vikings ).

 

Sometimes google translate seems to preserve the poetry!

 

You might want to see a psychotherapist about that. Preferably one not trained in psychology but who makes good home made lemonade and has some aspirins.

 

Exactly. Peter was terminated for two reasons:
He was openly criticising and thus hurting the perception of the brand.
He was openly criticising the organisational structure of Cochrane itself.

Cochrane is becoming a rubber-stamping exercise for the medical establishment, nothing more.

There are plenty of studies showing problems in Cochrane reviews, but things don't seem to be improving.

The issues that plague systematic meta analyses also plague Cochrane reviews:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25271098

And the overall problem of publication bias is not effectively addressed:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29981870

 

STAT NEWS: Cochrane ousted researcher over improper use of letterhead, board co-chair says

A physician and researcher recently kicked out of one of the world’s most authoritative medical research bodies repeatedly misused official letterhead to espouse personal views, the co-chair of the organization’s governing board told STAT and Retraction Watch.

 

Is aspirin used in the plural in UK or is that a typo? In American English you don't say "aspirins."

 

I would always say "aspirin" for singular or plural.

 

I've done some googles:

https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/aspirin-asprins.1771200/

https://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/the-plural-of/aspirin.html

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aspirin

 

I realise we have to treat you Americans with sympathy, since things are going a bit awry in the Senate these days, but the English take aspirins, usually three to make 900mg. We don't take some penicillins or even paracetamols (which I think you refer to as acetaminophen) but these are a bit modern - like the USA.

 

I don't - I take three aspirin (English born and bred).

 

Perhaps you are a bit modern too, Sasha.

I think we called them aspirins because they came in a jar of 500 with cotton wool at the top. It may be that my father had filched them from the pharmacy at work but I think even Boots supplied bottles like that (brown ones) until they started worrying about people taking too many.

 

we are in serious mourning and distress after yesterday's spectacularly riveting and depressing mini-series, except for some ME patients on my Facebook page who are defending Kavanagh.

 

Today's episode looked pretty messy too. It seems to have a John Le Carré feel in the sense that the good guys never quite get a chance even when you think they might. But there's two more episodes to go I gather...

 

This is what Merriam-Webster ( from @TiredSam's links) says:

plural: aspirin or aspirins

 

I've never understood the point of the cotton in prescription bottles. What's up with that?

 

Yes, and they've postponed the episodes for a week while they interview side players in the drama who could not make yesterday's curtain call.

 

Shock absorber for transport?