125732262_web1_Coronavirus--1-

12 new cases of COVID-19 in Luzerne County; 1,594 statewide over 2 days

500 years ago, another epidemic swept Mexico: smallpox

Good science is methodical. It involves developing a hypothesis, that is a testable idea, creating an appropriate experiment, running it carefully, and repeating it often enough that the results are determined by statistical analysis to be the consequence of a real effect and not just chance alone. Only then are we able to draw sound conclusions.
				And that&rsquo;s critical. Reliable evidence is the only way we can be sure of our insights, and when it comes to medicine, it&rsquo;s the best way to know that our treatments are safe and effective. In research published Sept. 23 in Neurology Clinical Practice, a journal of the American Academy of Neurology, a Harvard Medical School investigator and his colleagues found that five drugs that have never been tested on humans, are in some over-the-counter brain-enhancement products.
				These supplements, advertised as boosting cognitive ability, were also found to contain substances that were not declared on the labels, and the research team discovered that the 10 products they analyzed delivered pharmaceutical-level doses of the unapproved drugs. An article in Medscape that outlined the study, included commentary from an interview with my colleague, Glen Finney, MD, director of the Memory and Cognition Program at Geisinger and a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology.
				Dr. Finney noted the failure to list ingredients and the use of unlisted substances at active levels is cause for concern. Pointing out that an uninformed consumer could have a sensitivity or allergy to one of those ingredients, he flagged the sale of such products as a safety issue.
				&ldquo;Over-the-counter supplements are not regulated, so there is no guarantee that they contain what they claim, and there is very little evidence that they help memory and thinking even when they do have the ingredients they claim in the supplement,&rdquo; Finney said to Medscape. &ldquo;The best way to stay safe and help memory and thinking is to speak with your health providers about proven treatments that have good safety regulation, so you know what you&rsquo;re getting and what you&rsquo;re getting from it.&rdquo;
				Dr. Finney&rsquo;s advice is valuable today, because unregulated supplements can be found everywhere from your local health and nutrition store to TV and internet ads. Unless a product has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in treating a specific condition, you should not assume it is safe or effective. And even after FDA approval, a drug should only be taken as directed by your doctor.
				This discussion is particularly relevant during the novel coronavirus pandemic, because there&rsquo;s a lot of confusion right now about the difference between an emergency use authorization (EUA) and an actual approval of a drug or therapy for COVID-19.
				An EUA simply means the FDA has found a treatment to be safe enough to use for appropriate patients, but the efficacy of such treatments has not been determined. Much more data, observation and positive results are needed before a drug or therapy can go from being authorized for emergency use to being approved for wider use going forward. Think of them as opposite ends of a spectrum on which scientists and healthcare providers examine whether treatments are safe and useful enough to become lasting therapies.
				So, as you read about EUAs each month in health news articles, don&rsquo;t jump to any conclusions, and don&rsquo;t bombard your doctors and nurses with questions about getting access to miracle drugs. The fact that we have determined some treatments are helpful and that we have some promising vaccine candidates in trial stages is reason enough to be hopeful.
				But be patient. Strong science is always slow, and the best thing we can do to battle COVID-19 right now is wear our masks, wash our hands and stay away from large gatherings of people. The rest will catch up &mdash; when the science is sound.

Good science takes time