Neil McKenzie

Firstly, I must commend the September 1999 Midland Renal Service Nephrology newsletter. It warned that anyone presenting with unexplained or worsening kidney disease should be questioned about their ... (713 words)

Menopausal Madness In the wake of the green-lipped mussel debacle, the Australian Menopause Society (AMS) convened an expert panel of doctors to discuss controversial areas of menopausal medicine. ... (580 words)

ONCE again the medical profession has made a mess of its relations with the public, and I'm not talking about Gisborne smear takers. Little Liam's folks have made a right monkey out of the doctors. ... (554 words)

Fat Chance I START with another example of chemists' lack of ethics and the gullibility of the public. In November 28 issue of the Listener, the ever suspicious Pamela Stirling did a good expose on ... (713 words)

Soft Targets Like Noel O'Hare, I attended the September Skeptics' conference. Noel, winner of an NZ Skeptics Bravo Award "for critical analysis and common sense for his health column throughout ... (760 words)

Think Big Hypnotist Lawrence Follas claims he can increase the size of a client's bust by telling her to imagine her breasts are growing (Sunday News 24 May). He says his client's breasts have grown ... (790 words)

Often Overacting Syndrome A ruse by any other name smells just as fishy, and it seems RSI, OOS and OOI are good examples, if a UK surgeon is to be believed. According to Murray Matthewson, the ... (915 words)

Quack Croaks Perhaps it's a coincidence, but many experts in non-proven schemes fall on their own swords. For example, Hoxsey died of cancer, and recently a Lower Hutt clairvoyant went bankrupt (due ... (1089 words)

Sharma Karma Another "I've seen the light" American quack whizzed through New Zealand recently, spreading his own magical brew of antioxidants, lacto-vegetarian diets, bioFlavonoid herbs, and, wait ... (868 words)

In the first of a new series, Tauranga GP Neil McKenzie comments on recent examples of pseudoscience relating to medicine. BEING a busy GP, running a jazz band, playing hockey and squash, and ... (1227 words)