TY - JOUR T1 - Book review: Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 738 LP - 739 DO - 10.3399/bjgp08X342525 VL - 58 IS - 555 AU - Jeremy Swayne Y1 - 2008/10/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/58/555/738.abstract N2 - TRICK OR TREATMENT? ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE ON TRIAL SIMON SINGH EDZARD ERNST Bantam Press 2008 HB 352 £16.99 9780593061299The main conclusions of Ernst and Singh's very thorough and clever book are that: there is no evidence to justify any claim for the specific effectiveness of any except a very few specific complementary and alternative medical (CAM) treatments in specific conditions, nor of CAM treatments overall;the perceived benefits are explained by other dynamics of the therapeutic process, particularly the placebo effect; andthese benefits, even if substantial in terms of the patient's experience, should be disallowed because they are unethical and dishonest; they involve lying to patients about the nature of the treatment.These conclusions are supported by clear discussion of the nature and virtues of evidence-based medicine and the scientific method that underpins it, and an overview of research evidence in CAM that demonstrates the absence of effectiveness. Many with research experience in this field will argue that this overview is partial and by no means definitive, but my interest in the book is more general.The authors set great store by the pursuit of truth and knowledge, and the role of science in that enterprise. The book is explicitly dedicated to the pursuit of truth, and claims a balanced presentation of the facts in pursuit of the truth of the matter, in this case the validity of CAM as a contribution to health care. I applaud that aim. Truthfulness is an essential attribute of a therapeutic relationship and an essential attribute of the scholarship that informs clinical practice. But it is in this regard that I am … ER -