continues. In yesterdays’ Daily Telegraph there is an enthusiastic large feature on how to spend 2,300 UK pounds upwards on having a what is billed as a full body check up. It’s depressing reading: scant attention is paid to the fact that this – including electrodes to the scalp to check ‘brain functions’ …’ a key early indicator of dementia’ – is a very non evidence based intervention, with very non evidence based conclusions, such as recommending, for future health, that one should go about  ‘replacing amalgum fillings’. So what would you do if you got an abnormal result on the brain test? How likely are you to have dementia (given that you entered the clinical room with no memory problems?) What then? How about asking if the test was validated for screening in the first place, or if it meets Wilson and Jungner’s criteria ?

Commercialised medicine is a bad idea.