> People all over the world continue to use this treatment even in the absence of clinical evidence. It is mostly patients in the West who lose out.
Why would we say that patients in the West are "losing out"? Clinical evidence is what would tell us if they were "losing out", which, in the same sentence, you say does not exist. Popularity and antiquity do not efficacy make!
> Many highly beneficial modern treatments, from bacteriophage therapy to cancer drugs, began their journey as “folk remedies.”
> Interestingly, this same difficulty has accompanied other traditional treatments such as phage therapy.
I've heard about chemo which started as folk remedies, but I'm curious about the comparison to phage therapy, which, from what I have read, is not a "traditional" or "folk" remedy at all but really a very recent invention & child of modern microbiology. But there might be something to the story I don't know.
You are right to point out the tensions in this piece. Regarding the efficacy point: "Popularity and antiquity do not efficacy make!"
No, they do not. However, we can (by virtue of understanding how effectively hirudin binds to thrombin) believe that leeches produce highly effective compounds. We know the mechanism of action (which is why I'd say we lose out), but we don't have enough quality data.
As for phages, you are somewhat right to say they aren't really a "folk-remedy," given that they are more recent. However, their journey is certainly similar enough to many traditional remedies. OG phage therapy was often administered from phage-soaked bandages without a complete understanding of lysis or the mechanisms at work. Early treatments seemed effective, but it took a while to understand why and how. And like leeches, phage cocktails are not exactly money-makers. It isn't a perfect parallel, but it is another treatment that came from the East and was disfavored against things like antibiotics. So maybe "folk-remedy" isn't as good a term as "Eastern medicine" (however, this still invokes the former).
Glad you like "leechcraft." It sounds like a video game
> People all over the world continue to use this treatment even in the absence of clinical evidence. It is mostly patients in the West who lose out.
Why would we say that patients in the West are "losing out"? Clinical evidence is what would tell us if they were "losing out", which, in the same sentence, you say does not exist. Popularity and antiquity do not efficacy make!
> Many highly beneficial modern treatments, from bacteriophage therapy to cancer drugs, began their journey as “folk remedies.”
> Interestingly, this same difficulty has accompanied other traditional treatments such as phage therapy.
I've heard about chemo which started as folk remedies, but I'm curious about the comparison to phage therapy, which, from what I have read, is not a "traditional" or "folk" remedy at all but really a very recent invention & child of modern microbiology. But there might be something to the story I don't know.
>leechcraft
This is my new favorite word.
Hello Charles,
You are right to point out the tensions in this piece. Regarding the efficacy point: "Popularity and antiquity do not efficacy make!"
No, they do not. However, we can (by virtue of understanding how effectively hirudin binds to thrombin) believe that leeches produce highly effective compounds. We know the mechanism of action (which is why I'd say we lose out), but we don't have enough quality data.
As for phages, you are somewhat right to say they aren't really a "folk-remedy," given that they are more recent. However, their journey is certainly similar enough to many traditional remedies. OG phage therapy was often administered from phage-soaked bandages without a complete understanding of lysis or the mechanisms at work. Early treatments seemed effective, but it took a while to understand why and how. And like leeches, phage cocktails are not exactly money-makers. It isn't a perfect parallel, but it is another treatment that came from the East and was disfavored against things like antibiotics. So maybe "folk-remedy" isn't as good a term as "Eastern medicine" (however, this still invokes the former).
Glad you like "leechcraft." It sounds like a video game