Mind reading machines … and other research

A lesson in TACTThere was no plausible mechanism to suggest that removing heavy metals such as cadmium and lead using edetate disodium (EDTA) infusions might reduce cardiovascular events in people who have had a myocardial infarction, but the TACT randomised control trial was funded nonetheless. In 2013 the findings surprised the academic world when those in the EDTA chelation arm of the trial were found to have lower rates of cardiovascular events than those in the placebo group. Eleven years on, the TACT2 study has failed to reproduce these results, finding no cardiovascular benefits from EDTA chelation compared with placebo among the nearly 1000 participants with type 2 diabetes and a history of myocardial infarction. An aptly tactful editorial note accompanying the study in JAMA calls for us to learn from this story and reminds us that “common sense dictates that not all hypotheses need be subjected to a clinical…
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