Consumer Health Digest #09-27
July 2, 2009
Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by
Stephen Barrett, M.D., and cosponsored by NCAHF and Quackwatch.
[...]
###
Lyme scammers arrested.
Robert W. Bradford, C.R.B., Inc. (d/b/a American Biologics), C.R.B.'s
chief operating officer Brigitte G. Bird, and John R. Toth, M.D. have
been charged with a total of 25 counts of conspiring to violate
federal food and drug laws and defraud individuals seeking medical
care. The indictment states that Bradford, C.R.B., and Bird marketed
bogus Lyme disease products and a microscope falsely claimed to
diagnose the disease.
http://www.casewatch.org/doj/bradford/indictment.shtml
Toth, who used the microscope/product system in his office surrendered his
medical license in 2006 and is is serving a 40-month prison sentence
for manslaughter related to the death of a woman whom he falsely
diagnosed with Lyme disease and treated with a dangerous product sold
by American Biologics.
http://www.casewatch.org/board/med/toth/consentorder.shtml
In a separate case, Carl E. Haese, owner/operator of The Haese Clinic
of Integrative Medicine in Las Cruces, New Mexico, has been charged
with fraud in connection with using Bradford's system. [Barrett S.
Lyme disease quack arrested. Casewatch, June 30, 2009]
http://www.casewatch.org/doj/haese/complaint.shtml
Bradford, 77, has a long history of quackery-related activities.
[Barrett S. A close look at Robert Bradford and his Committee for
Freedom of Choice in Medicine. Quackwatch, June 30, 2009]
http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/Nonrecorg/cfcm.html
In 1977, he and three others were convicted of conspiring to smuggle
laetrile (a quack cancer remedy) from Mexico into the United States.
In 1986, a U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a tax court assessment of
more than $2 million in income taxes and penalties against Bradford
for not reporting the income from his smuggling operation. In 1984,
1986, 1988, and 2004, the FDA took various actions against products
that American Biologics marketed with illegal claims. For many years,
Bradford owned, operated, and/or served as a consultant at a Mexican
clinic that purported to treat cancer and other serious diseases. In
the late 1990s, he founded and served as "professor of medicine" at
The Capital University of Integrative Medicine, a nonaccredited
"medical" school that offered a "Doctor of Integrated Medicine"
degree.
###
Enrollment resumed in dubious chelation therapy study.
The federal Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) has given
permission for the $30 million NIH-sponsored Trial to Assess
Chelation Therapy (TACT) to resume patient enrollment. The clinical
trial, which began in 2003 and was scheduled for completion in 2009,
is intended to test whether intravenous disodium EDTA is effective
against coronary artery disease. In May 2008, Medscape General
Medicine published a lengthy report calling for the study's immediate
termination because of researcher misconduct. In May 2009, OHRP
issued a letter agreeing that the study subjects were not given
adequate information about the experimental nature of the procedures,
the reasonably foreseeable risks and discomforts of the research, or
the FDA's withdrawal of approval for the chelating drug. The letter
also contained three "additional questions and concerns" that were
sent to the project's directors but not publicly disclosed. Kimball
Atwood, M.D., lead author of the Medscape article, called the OHRP
letter "a remarkably damning statement" but said that the TACT should
be stopped, and should never have been approved in the first place
because not enough work had been done to suggest that the treatment
is safe or effective. [Atwood KA. Human subjects as political pawns.
Science-Based Medicine Blog, July 1, 2009]
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=547
Arthur Caplan, Ph.D., a prominent bioethicist at the University of
Pennsylvania, agreed and added that that subjecting anyone to the risk of
chelation was "incredibly unethical."
[Marchione M. Heart patients in big
alternative medicine study not fully told of risks, probe finds.
Associated Press, June 2, 2009]
http://www.fortmilltimes.com/124/story/633536.html
###
Hyperbaric oxygen scammer sentenced to prison.
Chauncey Beckwith, who owned and operated International Alternative
Medicine, Inc. in Tucker, Georgia, has been sentenced to four years
and eight months in prison. She was also ordered to pay more than $1
million in restitution and perform 50 hours of community service.
Documents in the case indicate:
**Beckwith does not hold any type of medical license.
**Between 2003 and 2007, her clinic provided hyperbaric oxygen
therapy to many patients.
**None of the patients were diagnosed with medical conditions that
made them eligible to receive payments from health care benefit
programs.
**Beckwith submitted insurance claims that included false diagnostic
codes that enabled her to fraudulently collect $1,035,144 for for the
treatments. http://www.casewatch.org/doj/beckwith/indictment.shtml
Beckwith was arrested in December 2008 and pled guilty to one count
of health care fraud in April 2009.
====================================================================
Other issues of the Digest are accessible through
http://www.ncahf.org/digest09/index.html
[...]
[*/quote*]
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Neugeborenen-Hörscreening kommt bayernweit zum Einsatzzeodyrax
Posted by Reiselzing 2009-07-03 10:01:57
Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Gesundheit
Pressemitteilung
03. Juli 2009
Nr. 96/09
Staatssekretärin Huml: Neugeborenen-Hörscreening kommt bayernweit zum Einsatz
Das Neugeborenen-Hörscreening deckt Hörstörungen rechtzeitig auf, Schäden in der kindlichen Entwicklung werden vermieden. Nach Abschluss des bayerischen Modellprojekts kommt es nun bayernweit zum Einsatz, wie Gesundheitsstaatssekretärin Melanie Huml heute im Klinikum am Bruderwald in Bamberg betonte. Huml: 'Entscheidend ist, dass alle betroffenen Kinder erfasst und behandelt werden. Daher dehnen wir das erfolgreich erprobte Programm aus Hörtests einerseits und intensiver Anschlussbetreuung andererseits aktuell auf ganz Bayern aus.' Besonders erfreulich ist dabei nach Humls Worten, dass seit Januar 2009 die Früherkennung von Hörstörungen bei Neugeborenen eine Leistung der Gesetzlichen Krankenkassen ist. In das Neugeborenen-Hörscreening sollen in Bayern nun alle 139 Geburtskliniken und 32 Kinderkliniken eingebunden werden. Das Bayerische Gesundheitsministerium unterstützt die Einführung mit Schulungen für Kliniken und niedergelassene Ärzte.
Bayern gehört im Neugeborenen-Screening zu den führenden Ländern. Von 2003 bis Ende 2008 wurde in der Oberpfalz und zusätzlich ab 2006 in Oberfranken ein vom Gesundheitsministerium gefördertes Modellprojekt mit großem Erfolg durchgeführt. Dabei finden die Hörtests an den Geburtskliniken und bei niedergelassenen Ärzten statt. Im Anschluss sorgen das Screening-Zentrum im Landesamt für Gesundheit und Lebensmittelsicherheit und die Gesundheitsämter für die Nachverfolgung der Kontrolluntersuchungen ('Tracking') und die vollständige Teilnahme aller Kinder. Seit 2003 wurden so in den Modellregionen weit über 73.000 Kinder untersucht. In 51 Fällen wurden schwere Hörstörungen entdeckt. Die betroffenen Kinder begannen eine Therapie, 23 davon nur aufgrund des aktiven Nachgehens durch den Öffentlichen Gesundheitsdienst. Das in Bayern eingeführte Tracking ist daher laut Huml ganz entscheidend für den Erfolg des Gesamtprogramms. Aktuell übermitteln bereits 67 Geburtskliniken und 18 Kinderkliniken ihre Untersuchungsdaten an das Screening-Zentrum.
Etwa eines von 1000 Kindern wird mit schwerer beidseitiger Schwerhörigkeit geboren. In Bayern sind das pro Jahr etwa 100 Kinder. Durch frühe Diagnostik und Therapie können sonst häufig irreversible Sprach- und Entwicklungsstörungen vermieden werden.
Weitere Informationen:
http://www.gesundheit.bayern.de
© Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Gesundheit
[*/quote*]
Ein 2. Screening mit 12 Jahren und ein 3. mit 18 Jahren würde sehr schnell zeigen, wie sehr der Mißbrauch von technischen Geräten (Computer und MP3-Player) die Ohren schädigt. Aber das wäre dem Handel sicherlich unangenehm. Zu unangenehm, um diese Untersuchungen zuzulassen...
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U.S. to Provide Antiviral Medication to Latin America and the Caribbean for Novel H1N1 Influenzazeodyrax
Posted by Reiselzing 2009-07-02 12:13:29
July 2, 2009
For Release: Immediately
Contact: HHS Press Office
(202) 690-6343
Headline: U.S. to Provide Antiviral Medication to Latin America and the Caribbean for Novel H1N1 Influenza
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that the United States
will provide 420,000 treatment courses of Tamiflu (Oseltamavir) to the
Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) to fight the novel H1N1
influenza in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Secretary made the announcement while attending a series of
high-level meetings for health ministers throughout the Americas in
Cancun, Mexico.
"The U.S. is committed to supporting and enhancing the health security
in the region by reducing transmission and severity of illness,"
Sebelius told officials in Cancun. "Viruses know no borders. The U.S.
recognizes that a novel virus such as the H1N1 is a burden borne by all
nations, and all of us have a responsibility to help support one another
in the face of this challenge."
On June 23, HHS received a request from PAHO to partner with the U.S
government to increase the PAHO stockpile of Tamiflu in the regional
stockpile available for Latin America and the Caribbean countries. PAHO
is working to ensure that its member countries have the capacity and
resources to respond to outbreaks of H1N1.
HHS holds approximately 50 million courses of antiviral medications in
the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). In April, HHS deployed 11
million treatment courses from the SNS to the states across the country
to fight the H1N1 influenza. Since then, HHS has purchased antiviral
drugs to replenish the SNS along with an additional 2 million treatment
courses.
The United States supports the goal of improving access to vaccines and
antiviral drugs for developing countries, particularly in the context of
public-health emergencies as part of its broader commitment to protect
global public health. The United States has provided significant
support to the World Health Organization's vaccine programs and will
continue to work to support international partners and developing
nations around the world.
Transmission of the virus within the region and throughout the Americas
is a significant U.S. health security concern because of the vast amount
of travel and commerce in the hemisphere.
The U.S. is working closely with the World Health Organization and PAHO
to monitor the virus in the southern hemisphere. The information
collected will assist the U.S. in making future decisions about the use
of vaccine, antiviral medications and the steps needed to protect our
communities.
For more information about the U.S. response to the novel H1N1 outbreak,
visit www.cdc.gov. To learn more about what organizations, businesses,
families, and individuals can do to protect themselves from pandemic flu, visit
http://www.pandemicflu.gov
[*/quote*]
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Hademar Bankhofer und die Klostermimose
zeodyrax
Posted by Reiselzing 2009-07-01 14:30:49
Der Menschliche Zoo ist groß und die Flora auch. Sie wurde, so scheint's, vergrößert um die Klostermimose.
[*QUOTE*]
"Das MÜSSEN Sie hören!
Der Hörfunkstar und Ganz Wien-Aufweckerchef der 88.6 Morgenshow, Hary Raithofer, im Wortwechsel mit Prof. Hademar Bankhofer:
Über das neue Buch "Ihre Gesundheit liegt mir am Herzen", über die besten und wichtigsten Tipps für Sie darin, über die Rufschädigung Bankhofers durch Arschlöcher in Deutschland und deren laufende Vermehrung."
[*/QUOTE*]
da schau her!
http://www.gesundheitswelten.com/presse.asp
Shootout at Bankhofer Range:
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in Erinnerung an Robert Schlittenbauer
zeodyrax
Posted by Reiselzing 2009-06-30 10:35:41
Trauer um Robert
Robert († 2008)
Wie wir erst jetzt erfahren haben, ist Robert Michael Schlittenbauer am 24. Dezember 2008, nach langer schwerer Krankheit, gestorben.
Robert, der nie selbst elterliche Liebe empfangen hat, ist als Waise durch mehrere Kinderheime geschickt worden, und doch war er sein ganzes Leben immer auch für andere Menschen da. In jungen Jahren war er Mitglied in einer Hundestaffel, die hat so manchen Menschen das Leben gerettet. Schwere Schicksalsschläge zeichneten seinen weiteren Lebensweg.
Der eigene große Schmerz machte ihn sensibel für das Leid der Anderen. So versuchte er in späteren Jahren anderen Menschen im Verein "Sektenaustieg Allgäu" Halt und Hilfe zu bieten.
Da Robert sein ganzes Leben sehr tierlieb war, engagierte er sich zeitweise auch im Tierschutz. Aber auf seine Aufklärungsarbeit über Sekten und sektenähnliche Vereinigungen, auch unter dem Deckmantel der Kirche, richtete er die größte Aufmerksamkeit.
Daß Robert sehr kompromißlos in seiner Arbeit war, hat ihm nicht nur Freunde eingebracht. Doch "es ist unmöglich die Fackel der Wahrheit durchs Gedränge zu tragen, ohne jemandem den Bart zu versengen." (Georg Christoph Lichtenberg)
Wir haben Robert als einen sehr freundlichen und hilfsbereiten, vor allen Dingen aber sehr engagierten Menschen kennengelernt. In seinem letzten Lebensjahr, bedingt durch seine schwere Krankheit, hatte sich Robert ganz in sein Privatleben zurückgezogen.
Unserer Gesellschaft würden viel mehr Menschen wie Robert gut zu Gesicht stehen. Um so größer bestürzt uns sein Verlust.
in tiefer Trauer, Reiselzing
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Das antike Recht auf freie Berufswahl
zeodyrax
Posted by Reiselzing 2009-06-30 10:14:33
Seitdem gibt es Sklaverei,
Sklavenhalter sind so frei.
(http://www.reimbibel.de)
Der Sklave will nicht frei sein.
Er will Sklavenaufseher werden.
(Stanislaw Jercy Lec)
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say NO!
zeodyrax
Posted by Reiselzing 2009-06-30 10:08:19
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Hommage a Corinne Thos
zeodyrax
Posted by Reiselzing 2009-06-30 08:38:03
Corinne Thos
http://www.youtube.com/v/axtdZ0AMDd0
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Neurodermitis: Whiter Laundry and a Surprising New Treatment for Kids’ Eczema
zeodyrax
Posted by Reiselzing 2009-06-28 20:34:39
Press release by the Northwestern University
April 27, 2009 | Research
Whiter Laundry and a Surprising New Treatment for Kids’ Eczema
CHICAGO--- It's best known for whitening a load of laundry. But now simple household bleach has a surprising new role: an effective treatment for kids' chronic eczema.
Chronic, severe eczema can mar a childhood. The skin disorder starts with red, itchy, inflamed skin that often becomes crusty and raw from scratching. The eczema disturbs kids' sleep, alters their appearance and affects their concentration in school. The itching is so bad kids may break the skin from scratching and get chronic skin infections that are difficult to treat, especially from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
Researchers from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have discovered powerful relief in the form of diluted bleach baths. It's a cheap, simple and safe treatment that drastically improves the rash as well as reduces flare-ups of eczema, which affects 17 percent of school-age children.
The study found giving pediatric patients with moderate or severe eczema (atopic dermatitis) diluted bleach baths decreased signs of infection and improved the severity and extent of the eczema on their bodies. That translates into less scratching, fewer infections and a higher quality of life for these children.
The typical treatment of oral and topical antibiotics increases the risk of bacterial resistance, something doctors try to avoid, especially in children. Bleach kills the bacteria but doesn't have the same risk of creating bacterial resistance.
Patients on the bleach baths had a reduction in eczema severity that was five times greater than those treated with placebos over one to three months, said Amy S. Paller, M.D., the Walter J. Hamlin Professor and chair of dermatology, and professor of pediatrics, at the Feinberg School. Paller also is an attending physician at Children's Memorial Hospital.
The study will be published in the journal Pediatrics April 27.
“We’ve long struggled with staphylococcal infections in patients with eczema,” Paller said. She noted more than two-thirds of eczema patients have evidence of staphylococcus on their skin, the bacteria that most commonly causes infection and worsens the eczema. "This study shows that simple household bleach, which we think decreases the staphylococcus on the skin, can help these children."
In the study, Paller and researchers treated 31 pediatric patients (6 months to 17 years old) who had eczema and a bacterial staph infection for 14 days with oral antibiotics. Half of the patients received bleach in their bath water (half a cup per full standard tub), while the other half received a look-alike placebo. Patients were also instructed to put a topical antibiotic ointment or placebo control into their nose (where the staphylococcus can also grow) for five sequential days of each month. All were instructed to bathe in the bleach twice a week, and soak for five to 10 minutes for three months.
Paller said bathing in the diluted bleach bath water was surprisingly odor-free because of the small amount of bleach added. “In our clinics, no one had the just-out-of-the-swimming pool smell,” she said.
The research team saw such rapid improvement in the kids taking the real bleach baths that they terminated the study early because they wanted the children getting the placebo to get the same relief.
"The eczema kept getting better and better with the bleach baths and these baths prevented it from flaring again, which is an ongoing problem for these kids," Paller said. "We presume the bleach has antibacterial properties and decreased the number of bacteria on the skin, which is one of the drivers of flares."
Northwestern researchers launched the study to confirm their hunch about the potential of bleach baths, "since bleach has been used by hospitals in the past few years as a disinfectant to decrease MRSA," Paller said.
One interesting finding in the study was the eczema on the body, arms and legs improved dramatically with the bleach baths, but the face, which was not submerged in the bath, did not improve, further evidence of the positive effect of the bath.
As a result of the study, Paller suggests that kids who have eczema on their face close their eyes and mouths and dunk under the water to help improve the lesions. In her practice, patients have found that even daily bleach baths are well tolerated. The bleach baths may also be useful for individuals with frequent staphylococcus infection, whether related to eczema or not, and in adults with eczema and recurrent infections.
(Paller's study was funded by investigator-initiated research grants from the Society for Pediatric Dermatology and the Neutrogena Corporation.)
To help treat a rising number of severe cases of eczema, Northwestern's Feinberg School has recently opened an Eczema Care & Education Center. The new center offers patients one-on-one instruction for treating eczema, while a support group helps patients and their families cope with the emotional aspects of the disease.
“This is a disorder that can drive people crazy,” said Peter Lio, M.D., director of the Eczema Care & Education Center and an assistant professor of dermatology and of pediatrics at the Feinberg School. “Eczema beats people down."
Lio said he just worked with an 11-year-old girl who had missed a half-year of school because of her severe eczema. "As we were working with her and demonstrating how to treat her skin, she started weeping," he said. "Between the tears, she said ‘I’m crying because I know I’m going to get better.’ ”
Scientists believe eczema may be triggered by urban pollutants and toxins and/or allergies, and certainly shows a genetic tendency. “We don’t have all the answers and are still learning about this disease," Lio said. He also is a physician at Children's Memorial Hospital and Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Source:
http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2009/04/pallereczema.html
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GAU in der Medizinischen Universität Wien
zeodyrax
Posted by Reiselzing 2009-06-28 15:04:07
[*QUOTE*]
GAU in WienEs gibt Skandale, die irgendwann niemanden mehr interessieren, und solche, die immer schlimmer werden. In die letzte Kategorie fällt eindeutig das, was gerade an der Medizinischen Universität Wien (MUW) geschieht.
(26. Juni 2009) Laborjournal hatte ausführlich über die beiden Studien aus den Jahren 2005 (Diem et al., Mutation Research, 583:178-83) und 2008 (Schwarz et al., Int Arch Occup Environ Health, 81:755-67) zu angeblichen genotoxischen Wirkungen von Mobilfunkstrahlung und über die Hintergründe berichtet (Laborjournal 5/2008). Inzwischen gab es in dieser Angelegenheit eine vorläufig letzte Pressemitteilung des Rektors der MUW, Wolfgang Schütz, vom 1.9.2008. Dort stand - wie in den vorherigen Pressemitteilungen - dass zahlreiche Indizien auf eine "Datenfabrikation" durch eine technische Mitarbeiterin hinwiesen, die Erst- beziehungsweise Co-Autorin der beiden Publikationen war. Sie hatte die Verblindung der Exposition - ein stets als Qualitätsmerkmal gepriesenes Kriterium der Studien - geknackt.
[*QUOTE*]
mehr: http://www.laborjournal.de/editorials/383.html
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zeodyrax (47)
Previous Posts
Science-Based Medicine Blog
2009-06-28 14:55:35
Habe mir die Reimbibel beim Amazon bestellt
2009-06-26 06:47:14
Wattenmeer wird Weltnaturerbe
2009-06-26 06:23:22
Keep libel laws out of science!
2009-06-25 07:00:26
Support grows for Simon Singh libel defense
2009-06-25 06:43:21
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2009-06-24 10:39:54
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2009-06-24 07:56:11
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[*/quote*]