UK - Doctor's Diary: Gove was right, we have had enough of experts

James Le Fanu
Michael Gove’s remark amid the referendum campaign that “people have had enough of experts” resonated widely – reflecting a well-founded suspicion that informed opinion, buttressed by jargon and statistics, can be much less trustworthy than it appears.

This has become an endemic problem in medicine, and the recent unmasking of a widely endorsed treatment for Myalgic Encephalomyalitis – better known as ME, or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) – is highly instructive.Several people have queried the alternative hypothesis that fluoride (whether natural or artificially added) present in the water supply at a concentration of just one part per million might be responsible for otherwise unexplained stomach complaints. This would seem improbable, though specialists at the All India Medical Institute report that fluoride levels in the blood were “significantly higher” in those with non-ulcer dyspepsia compared to those measured against the control group.

“Chronic exposure should be considered in patients where other possible causes of dyspepsia have been excluded,” they write (I P Gupta et al, Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 1992, vol. 7, pp 355-9).............................