The Relationship Between Inflammation and RLS

For everything and anything else not covered in the other RLS sections.
Rustsmith
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Re: The Relationship Between Inflammation and RLS

Post by Rustsmith »

I'm not sure what to do. It seems clear now that I really had no business proposing any kind of theory and that I have made a fool of myself. I guess that's why it takes so long to earn a doctorate!
Unfortunately, you are far, far from being alone. I suspect that many MDs also have no idea of the amount of rubbish that gets published. I am always reminded of an opinion piece that was published a couple of years ago in the British journal Lancet, which is very highly regarded. The author came straight out and said that RLS is a made up disease dreamed up by the pharmaceutical companies to sell drugs. The guy was rightfully blasted by every RLS organization in the world and many, many patients. It got so bad that I believe that Lancet had to shut off comments and remove it from online access.

So, having an MD does not always qualify you to be a researcher (those are the doctors with both an MD and one or more PhDs) and unfortunately for those of us who do research in any field, we have to be very careful when reading something by someone whose reputation we do not know.
Steve

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

Frunobulax
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Re: The Relationship Between Inflammation and RLS

Post by Frunobulax »

inflammatory_rls wrote:
Sun Jun 07, 2020 12:26 am
I had not known that there was such a wide gap between the idea of science and its actual, imperfect application.

I'm not sure what to do. It seems clear now that I really had no business proposing any kind of theory and that I have made a fool of myself. I guess that's why it takes so long to earn a doctorate!
I like your theory, and I think most of it is sound. Don't get discouraged. You just walked into the trap that sprung on many of us: It's surprising to a scientific mind that the quality of medical/nutritional research is so bad in some areas. I mean, there is a lot of excellent work out there, so don't get me wrong.

Medical school is often different than other sciences: A lot of it is dogma, and there are strongly hirarchichal structures on all levels. The chief physician is "god" which cannot be opposed by an underling, so is the professor in medical school. I think it all starts with the way research is presented: In physics, every child can verify the archimedian principle by taking a bath. In medical school, pupils are not taught *how* researchers come to their conclusions, but only the conclusions. This does not allow critical thinking, because the theories cannot be verified, validated or questioned. As a student I shared a flat with a medical student, all he did was memorizing stuff for the next exam that he had every other week. After the exam he would party for a few days and happily forget everything he has learned. Very different from the world I know (maths), where it's all about understanding the path and little about the result.

Many researchers know this (and let me once again recommend Feinmans talk, I think he's both brilliant and I love his dry humor, plus it's only 30 minutes :P ), and many areas of medicine are pretty solid. But others aren't, nutrition in particular is minefield in my opinion, and the relation between nutrition and medicine is much neglected.

People like us in this forum can help, because public opinion will help those researchers in medicine that try to steer away from the dogmas. But in the end, knowing that a lot of science is flawed, what can we do (as we're the one who need treatment)? We can only base theories on what we know, so we do just that. But we keep our eyes open, and are aware of the fact that some research may be flawed and could be changed in the future. Personally I became my own doctor, I read research papers, and there are some research areas which I believe to be sound, there are others that I believe to be controversial, but most of all I am very careful with results in areas that I don't know.

And one more thing. I have some opinions that are controversial, and often there is a debate, and that's good because we learn from a good, scientific discussion. "Question the science" is a sound principle (within reason of course), if we didn't we would still believe that the earth is flat.

badnights
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Re: The Relationship Between Inflammation and RLS

Post by badnights »

You in no way made a fool of yourself. Keep researching. (Do it while you still have the energy! :lol: )

(Ahh - sorry - a joke in poor taste, and just because I make bad jokes doesn't mean you're going to get worse.) Seriously, keep pondering these things and researching as best you can, with the cautions in mind.
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
Click for info on WED/RLS AUGMENTATION & IRON
I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

inflammatory_rls
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Re: The Relationship Between Inflammation and RLS

Post by inflammatory_rls »

So, having an MD does not always qualify you to be a researcher (those are the doctors with both an MD and one or more PhDs) and unfortunately for those of us who do research in any field, we have to be very careful when reading something by someone whose reputation we do not know.
And one more thing. I have some opinions that are controversial, and often there is a debate, and that's good because we learn from a good, scientific discussion. "Question the science" is a sound principle (within reason of course), if we didn't we would still believe that the earth is flat.
You in no way made a fool of yourself. Keep researching.
Thank you all for the advice.

I will try focusing my research on only one or two areas of the original theory and delving into them in more detail. Unfortunately, I am not sure I have the ability to recognize design flaws present in studies - it's not as if authors advertise their mistakes. I will begin by exploring the connection between RLS and MS.

ViewsAskew
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Re: The Relationship Between Inflammation and RLS

Post by ViewsAskew »

inflammatory_rls wrote:
Sun Jun 07, 2020 12:26 am
It seems clear now that I really had no business proposing any kind of theory and that I have made a fool of myself. I guess that's why it takes so long to earn a doctorate!
And that doesn't always mean anything, either! I teach in higher ed. I know many colleagues that wouldn't have a CLUE about research. I've taken stats 3 times and STILL don't remember all the concepts because I never use them. The only time I published research, there were four of us, and one was a statistician that teaches and is current. That way, we had relative assurance that whenever one of the rest of the team suggested something that was opening us up to an error or issue, Jody would find it and reel us back in!
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

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