4 ms·

Medicine is old. Many uses of penicillin are not well studied, because it was the first real antibiotic and we just know it works for what it does. Nobody can g

Medicine is old. Many uses of penicillin are not well studied, because it was the first real antibiotic and we just know it works for what it does. Nobody can get funding to study penicillin uses unless it somehow magically can cure something new.

rsynnott 6y ago
Also, there’d be significant ethical issues with trying to prove that some long-used treatment works. There’s really no way to get a control group.
dehrmann 6y ago
There was article in The Atlantic a few months ago about fluoride in water not probably works, but isn't particularly well-studied, and long-term side effects aren't really understood. At least with fluoride, it's so widespread that you'd expect any serious issues to have surfaced by now. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/04/why-fluoride-water/606784/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/04/why-flu...
- akimball 6y ago
  You mean like increase in autism, depression, and decrease in population mean testosterone?
doesnotexist 6y ago
There are 55 cochrane reviews if you search for pencillin on their site https://www.cochranelibrary.com/advanced-search https://www.cochranelibrary.com/advanced-search. Infectious Disease is one of the most academic oriented and evidence rigorous disciplines in all of medicine. As the requirements for levels of evidence are ratcheted up many treatments that are old and established are reviewed and undergo additional study to establish them under the new expectations.