**The quacks and charlatans of medicine**
Dr Jenny Lange, *Neuroscientist*

Scientific research in medicine has led to many groundbreaking discoveries, from the development of vaccines to the treatment of many previously fatal diseases. Today our chances of surviving serious illness are better than ever, thanks to significant advances in medical knowledge. Yet history is littered with sham doctors, charlatans and quacks peddling bogus medicines and preying on those people desperate for a cure. In the age of social media and in the wake of COVID-19, the distrust in scientific experts has resulted in a new wave of fake medicines and false information that is spread at a rapid pace.

In this talk, Dr Jenny Lange delves into the history of grifters who capitalised on a lack of medical knowledge, selling fraudulent medicines that at best had no effect and at worst resulted in the death of their victims. From John R. Brinkley, the bizarre ‘goat-gland doctor’, to those who used radium therapy as a cure for everything from diabetes to impotence, to more recent fake medicines such as those promoted by the ‘Church of Bleach’, this talk will examine how easy it is to fall prey to medical quacks even today.

Dr Jenny Lange is a neuroscientist who specialises in uncovering the mechanisms of rare neurological disorders. Initially en route to becoming a psychologist, Jenny became intrigued by the field of psychopharmacology and completed a PhD in Neuroscience at King’s College London. She’s currently working as a postdoctoral research fellow at the UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London, as well as writing for PET Bionews.

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The Quacks and Charlatans of Medicine [Dr Jenny Lange]

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