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Description: The red flag mystical energy is believing that certain energy can be felt and used to predict future, sense spirits etc. However, the idea of mystical energy does not make sense to scientists.

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Pseudoscience Assignment 1
Created by: Shandel Lapoussis

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Definition: An all natural red flag is when a product is displayed as being all natural and therefore believed to have health benefits, yet that believe is not always scientifically proven. In most cases, many natural products have serious side effects that people over-look because they focus on the fact that it is natural.

Connection: Below is an article that explains the negative effects of St. John's wort, a natural product that is believed to help treat depression.

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Introduction

St. John's wort, a plant that grows in the wild, has been used for centuries for health purposes. However, consumers need to be aware of serious concerns about its safety and effectiveness. This fact sheet summarizes scientific research on St. John's wort for depression and suggests sources for more information.

Key Points

St. John's wort may help some types of depression, similar to treatment with standard prescription antidepressants, but the evidence is not definitive.

Combining St. John's wort with certain antidepressants can lead to a potentially life-threatening increase of serotonin, a brain chemical targeted by antidepressants. St. John's wort can also limit the effectiveness of many prescription medicines.

Psychosis is a rare but possible side effect of taking St. John's wort.

St. John's wort is not a proven therapy for depression. Do not use St. John's wort to replace conventional care or to postpone seeing your health care provider. Inadequately treated depression may become severe and, in some cases, may be associated with suicide. Consult a health care provider if you or someone you know may be depressed.

Tell all your health care providers about any complementary health approaches you use. Give them a full picture of what you do to manage your health. This will help ensure coordinated and safe care.

About Depression

About St. John's Wort

Although St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) has been used for centuries for mental health conditions and is widely prescribed for depression in Europe, the herb can have serious side effects. In addition, current evidence that St. John's wort is effective for depression is not conclusive. It is also important to note that in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has not approved its use as an over-the-counter or prescription medicine for depression.

For more information about St. John's wort, see NCCIH's fact sheet.

Side Effects and Cautions

St. John's wort is known to affect how the body uses and breaks down a number of drugs and can cause serious side effects.

Serotonin is a brain chemical targeted by antidepressants. Combining St. John's wort and certain antidepressants can lead to a potentially life-threatening increase in serotonin levels-a condition called serotonin syndrome. Symptoms range from tremor and diarrhea to very dangerous confusion, muscle stiffness, drop in body temperature, and even death.

Psychosis is a rare but possible side effect of taking St. John's wort, particularly in people who have or are at risk for mental health disorders, including bipolar disorder.

Taking St. John's wort can weaken many prescription medicines, such as:

Antidepressants

Birth control pills

Cyclosporine, which prevents the body from rejecting transplanted organs

Digoxin, a heart medication

Some HIV drugs including indinavir

Some cancer medications including irinotecan

Warfarin and similar medications used to thin the blood.

Other side effects of St. John's wort are usually minor and uncommon and may include upset stomach and sensitivity to sunlight. Also, St. John's wort is a stimulant and may worsen feelings of anxiety in some people.

What the Science Says About St. John's Wort for Depression

Study results on the effectiveness of St. John's wort for depression are mixed.

A 2009 systematic review of 29 international studies suggested that St. John's wort may be better than a placebo (an inactive substance that appears identical to the study substance) and as effective as standard prescription antidepressants for major depression of mild to moderate severity. St. John's wort also appeared to have fewer side effects than standard antidepressants. The studies-conducted in German-speaking countries where St. John's wort has a long history of use by medical professionals-reported more positive results than those done in other countries, including the United States.

Two studies, both sponsored by NCCIH and the National Institute of Mental Health, did not have positive results. Neither St. John's wort nor a standard antidepressant medication decreased symptoms of minor depression better than a placebo in a 2011 study. The herb was no more effective than placebo in treating major depression of moderate severity in a large 2002 study.

Preliminary studies suggest that St. John's wort may prevent nerve cells in the brain from reabsorbing certain chemical messengers, including dopamine and serotonin. Scientists have found that these naturally occurring chemicals are involved in regulating mood, but they are unsure exactly how they work.

If You Are Considering St. John's Wort for Depression

Do not use St. John's wort to replace conventional care or to postpone seeing a health care provider about a medical problem. If not adequately treated, depression can become severe. Consult a health care provider if you or someone you know may be depressed.

Keep in mind that dietary supplements can cause medical problems if not used correctly or if used in large amounts, and some may interact with medications you take. Your health care provider can advise you.

Many dietary supplements have not been tested in pregnant women, nursing mothers, or children. Little safety information on St. John's wort for pregnant women or children is available, so it is especially important to talk with health experts if you are pregnant or nursing or are considering giving a dietary supplement to a child. To learn more, see the NCCIH fact sheet Using Dietary Supplements Wisely.

Tell all your health care providers about any complementary health approaches you use. Give them a full picture of what you do to manage your health. This will help ensure coordinated and safe care.

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), National Institutes of Health (NIH)

NIH Clinical Research Trials and You

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St. John's Wort and Depression: In Depth

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St. John's wort, a plant that grows in the wild, has been used for centuries for health purposes. However, consumers need to be aware of serious concerns about its safety and effectiveness. This fact sheet summarizes scientific research on St. John's wort for depression and suggests sources for more information.

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Definition: The red flag ancient wisdom is the idea that it is illogical to believe that ancient times had more knowledge than current times.

Connection: This article explains how people use to drill holes in other peoples heads to rid them from headaches and let evil spirits out of their head. It proceeds to explain how this practice eventually led to more scientific studies and how this method has changed over time to treat pei less invasive and more effective.

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Take a moment to rub the top of your skull. Pretty smooth and sturdy, right? What a great place to store 86 billion neurons! Aren't you glad there are no holes in it?

A quarter-inch of solid bone ( 0.28 inches for women), a thin layer of skin, and -- with any luck -- some hair is all that separates the outside world from your precious brain, the nucleus of your nervous system and the center of your psyche. The protection is sufficient for the hazards of everyday life; an occasional clunk to the noggin' is of little to no concern. But with a little motivation -- and the aid of a drill or pick -- one could easily unlock the squelchy pink organ encased within.

This fact was not lost on our ancestors. Medicine men of pre-Inca, Peruvian civilizations would often use their sacred knives to puncture the skulls of tribe members afflicted with serious headaches. Like letting the air out of a brimming balloon, the procedure was thought to release evil, pain-inducing spirits locked within. Of course, at the same time it let in dust particles and microbes, which often led to infection. The spirits appreciated the fresh air, though.

Across the Atlantic, Roman physicians developed an array of small, yet terrifying instruments to perforate the cranium. In lieu of blunt force, the gadgets simply needed to be twisted and rotated to gradually chisel away the bone.

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, doctors built and improved upon the Roman designs. A common "trephine" instrument could be affixed atop the skull, three stands holding it in place. All the user had to do to perform a lobotomy was screw a pointy metal object into the patient's head -- just like uncorking a bottle of wine!

Of course, the lobotomy wouldn't really take scientific shape until the late 19th century, when Swiss psychiatrist Gottlieb Burckhardt formally theorized that removing sections of the cerebral cortex could alter a person's behavior. He was right. Of the six schizophrenic patients Burckhardt operated on, two supposedly showed limited changes, two became "quieter," one died, and one improved. By his glass-half-full calculations, that indicated a success rate of roughly 50%. But many of Burkhardt's colleagues disagreed, and he discontinued his brain tampering.

Still Burkhardt's experiments gave "lobotomy" a definition: the cutting or scraping away of most of the connections to and from the prefrontal cortex (which is an executive area that shapes one's personality). Before, doctors weren't really lobotomizing, they were simply poking holes in skulls and prodding around a bit.

About 30 years later, in 1935, the Portuguese neurologist Egas Moniz developed the procedure for the modern lobotomy. His process was as follows: First, the patient would be anesthetized and holes drilled into the skull. Then, pure alcohol was poured through the holes onto the white matter beneath the frontal area, thus severing the nerve fibers connecting the frontal cortex and the thalamus. (Later on, Moniz would replace the alcohol, instead simply rubbing the edge of a knife over the white matter.)

With his partner, Almeida Lima, Moniz operated on at least 20 patients, reporting that patients were more "calm and manageable but their affect more blunted" in the wake of the operations.

In the American Journal of Psychiatry, Moniz brusquely described his achievement, one that would garner him the 1949 Nobel Prize in Medicine:

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Drilling Holes in Heads: A Brief History | RealClearScience

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Take a moment to rub the top of your skull. Pretty smooth and sturdy, right? What a great place to store 86 billion neurons! Aren't you glad there are no holes in it?