Monthly Archives: July 2017
The last time I reported about Kate Birch, I ended my post stating that I became so angry that I was about to write something that I might later regret. Let’s see whether I can restrain myself again.
Kate published another book: The Solution Homeoprophylaxis: The Vaccine Alternative. Here is the press release for her new rant:
Modern parents and even medical practitioners often pose the question of whether the benefits of reducing the incidence of acute diseases through vaccinations is worth the risks of the increased incidence of immune system imbalanceas a result of those same vaccines. This often leads many into questioning if vaccinations for children are indeed safe.
Despite the fact that most medical practitioners refute the possibility that vaccines can cause harm to the immune system, and that their purpose and efficacy have been instilled in people’s minds for the last 200 years, many parents still are looking for possible alternative ways of preventing and treating infants from the so many forms of infectious, contagious acute diseases.
Certified classical homeopaths and authors Kate Birch and Cilla Whatcott want the world to know that there is an alternative path to the use of vaccination which is a more effective and less expensive method of helping to build immunity towards infectious disease. The Solution ~ Homeoprophylaxis: The Vaccine Alternative offers parents a wealth of useful information on the effective prevention of infectious diseases through homeoprophylaxis. The book introduces the basic principles of HP, and an overview of the immune system and how it iacs intended to work with infectious disease, what vaccines actually do in the immune system and a clinical overview of the homeopathic treatment of childhood eruptive diseases, febrile illnesses, and tropical diseases.
This book is written in simple language to help parents navigate the question of immune system development, infectious disease prevention with homeoprophylaxis and if vaccines are really doing what they are intended to do. The authors clearly explain and differentiate important terminology such as immunology, vaccination, and immunization. What is amazing with this book is that Birch and Whatcott offer the world a different view on disease prevention and the use of HP as an immune system educator, and cite multiple references to clinical research and real time applications of the use of HP for disease prevention.
The Solution is a must-read for every parent, health care provider, and any concerned citizen who has questions about the current day vaccine paradigm. As adverse reactions and associated health problems are becoming more and more prevalent in children after receiving vaccinations The Solution offers another way.
END OF QUOTE
We have discussed homeoprophylaxis (HP) many times before on this blog (see here, here, here, and here, for instance) It seems to be a subject that does not go away. HP-fans tend to claim that:
- conventional vaccinations are dangerous
- conventional vaccinations are ineffective
- the public is being conned by BIG PHARMA
- homeopathy works like vaccination
- highly diluted homeopathic nosodes stimulate the immune system
- highly diluted homeopathic nosodes are effective for the prevention of infectious diseases
- they are much safer than conventional vaccinations
None of this is true!
- highly diluted nosodes do nothing whatsoever
- they cause to quantifiable effects on the immune system
- they do not prevent any disease
- to claim otherwise is irresponsible, unethical, and perhaps even criminal
- the epidemiological ‘evidence’ homeopaths cite for HP is misleading.
The concept of HP lives off the herd immunity we have via conventional vaccinations and, at the same time, endangers this very immunity. It is a danger for both the public and the individual who might believe in it. In my view, promoting HP is unethical, irresponsible and possibly even criminal.
To a significant extend, this blog has always exposed untruths in the realm of alternative medicine – not just one or two, but hundreds. Obviously, some of them are more clear-cut than others. If, for instance, someone claims that acupuncture has been proven to be effective for a given condition, this many seem like a lie or untruth to you, like a misinterpretation of the evidence to someone else, or like the truth to a third person.
But there are some statements which are demonstrably false. These are often the most irritating lies, frequently forwarded by people who should know better and who nevertheless insist on not being truthful. Below I have listed a few, randomly-chosen examples upon which I have previously commented. For clarity, I have copied the quotes in question, linked them to my original posts, named the authors in brackets, and added a brief comment by myself in bold print.
I was at Exeter when Ernst took over what was already a successful Chair in CAM. (anonymous reviewer of my book at Amazon)
Anyone can check this fairly easily, for instance, in my memoir ‘A SCIENTIST IN WONDERLAND’, there was no pre-existing chair at Exeter.
Ernst’s leak of the Smallwood report (also front page lead in The Times, August 2005), (Dr Peter Fisher, homeopath of the Queen)
This was painfully investigated during a 13 (!) months inquiry which found that I did not leak this report. Again you find the full details in my memoir.
…homeopathic care is recommended for people who have been exposed (or think they have been exposed) to toxic substances… (Dana Ullman US homeopath)
As far as this statement implies that homeopathy is effective for treating intoxications, this is not only a lie but a very dangerous nonsense.
Homeopathy has a long history of being used successfully in veterinary practice for both domestic and farm animals. (UK Faculty of Homeopathy)
If this is to suggest that homeopathy is of proven effectiveness in treating diseases of animals, this is a lie.
Homeoprophylaxis, the homeopathic vaccine alternative, prevents disease through nosodes. (Lisa is the mastermind behind All Natural Ideas)
Homeoprophylaxis has never been proven to prevent any disease; this lie could kill millions.
This lie is quite funny in its transparent defamation of the truth, I think.
Homeopathy works like a vaccine. (Dr Batra, Indian homeopath)
Homeopathy does not even remotely work like a vaccine; in fact, it works like a placebo, if at all.
…UK invests 0% of its research budget on CAM… (Dr Michael Dixon, GP and advisor to Prince Charles)
There has always been a sizable budget for CAM-research in the UK.
In this short quote, there are more lies than I care to comment on. The paranoia of the anti-vaccination brigade is astounding and endangers many lives.
A lie is a statement used intentionally for the purpose of deception. In alternative medicine, we encounter so many lies that one would need to continually publish volume after volume to expose just the most harmful untruths. The danger of these lies is that some people might believe them. This could seriously harm their health. Another danger is that we might get used to them, trivialise them, or – like Trump and co – start thinking of them as ‘alternative facts’.
I will continue to do my best to prevent any of this from happening.
Isn’t it wonderful when your long-held views are confirmed by someone with influence?
This, of course, is a rhetorical question – I can tell you: it is wonderful!
Matthew Stanbrook, MD PhD recently published an editorial in CMAJ which I find delightful; let me present you a few quotes from it:
The multibillion-dollar market for “natural” health products has flourished under lax government regulations. These regulations have enabled manufacturers to exploit the public’s difficulty in distinguishing nonprescription drugs, with scientifically proven therapeutic benefits, from herbal or homeopathic preparations and supplements that often make similar health claims with little or no evidence and are frequently grounded in unscientific belief systems about health and disease…
In pharmacies, supermarkets and convenience stores, natural health products are displayed side by side with nonprescription drugs. Both tout their approval by Health Canada as an implicit endorsement of efficacy and safety on package labels that make similar health claims. However, although nonprescription drugs and their therapeutic claims require scientific evidence that is carefully scrutinized by Health Canada, natural health products have a separate regulatory system that typically imposes such minimal requirements that it is effectively a rubber stamp. Unlike nonprescription drugs, if a problem arises with a natural health product, Health Canada has little or no authority to compel any changes to its manufacture, labelling or sale.
…Risk is often difficult to perceive accurately without direct evidence. For example, under the proposed framework, Health Canada would continue to classify most homeopathic preparations as low-risk products and, thus, exempt from scientific review. Recently, a homeopathic product sold in the United States that claimed to relieve teething pain in infants and supposedly contained a very dilute extract from the belladonna plant was associated with several deaths of infants who manifested classic signs of anticholinergic poisoning…
…If consumers are unable to separate products with no scientific proof behind them from products supported by evidence, then we need to separate them in stores. Natural health products should be pulled from the shelves where they are mixed with nonprescription drug products and confined to their own separate section, away from any signage implying a therapeutic use.
The double standard perpetuated by both regulators and retailers that enables the deception of unsuspecting Canadians must end. Alternative medicines with claims based on alternative facts do not deserve an alternative, easy regulatory road to market — at the very least, they need to be moved to an alternative shelf.
END OF QUOTES
This, of course, is Canada. But elsewhere progress is also being made.The Australian reported about plans in Australia whereby pharmacies would be banned from selling useless and possibly dangerous homoeopathic remedies. The Australian last year revealed a review of pharmacy regulation, headed by Stephen King from the Productivity Commission, identified a potential conflict of interest in pharmacists selling vitamins, for example, that may not have a significant evidence base, alongside more stringently regulated and government-subsidised medicines. In its interim report, the review panel was “concerned that the sale of complementary medicines alongside other medicines may mislead consumers”. It therefore concludes that “complementary medicines should be held in a separate area within community pharmacies, where customers can easily access a pharmacist for appropriate advice.”
“To avoid potential harm, or the confusion between the efficacies of different types of medicines, pharmacists need to be easily accessible to give needed advice when consumers choose a complementary or pharmacy-only medicine,” the review panel said. It was scathing of homoeopathy and the perception of legitimacy given to those so-called remedies sold in pharmacies. “The only defence put to the panel regarding homoeopathy was that it was harmless and able to be used as a placebo in certain circumstances,” the review panel noted. “The panel does not believe that this argument is sufficient to justify the continued sale of these products in pharmacies …”
AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACY (AJP) noted that the interim report of the Review of Pharmacy Remuneration and Regulation states that “there are unacceptable risks where community pharmacies are allowed to sell homeopathic products”.
In 2015 Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) said it did not support the sale of homeopathy in pharmacy. “Our position is that pharmacists must use their professional judgement to prevent the supply of products with evidence of no effect,” PSA president Joe Demarte said at the time. Ian Carr, of Saxby’s Pharmacy in Taree, NSW, and Friends of Science in Medicine member, told the AJP that “in terms of homeopathic products being recommended not to be sold by PBS-approved pharmacies, I one hundred per cent heartily agree with that finding. “I love saying that I believe homeopathy works. But it has never been shown to work better than placebo. There are many things that will work as well as placebo, but it’s not ethical to be selling them as a cure or treatment for something. I would have a bit more time for it if there was a plausible theory behind it, but its basis is entirely implausible – it pushes all the buttons for being a pseudoscience, so I agree it has no place in Australian pharmacy. However, I am at a bit of a loss to understand why they haven’t carried some of that logic over into the comments on complementary medicines generally.”
Mr Carr also told the AJP that “If one conceives of complementary medicines as being vitamins and minerals, that’s one thing. But the marketing of those items has become so diffuse and so wide that on most of these CM shelves we have traditional medicines, we’ve got herbal medicines, we’ve got items that are basically just marketing formulas for certain conditions. The evidence behind most of these things is very very slim, and we still have the possibility of health fraudsters just marching in and taking advantage of the lack of regulation in the industry.”
So, Canada and Australia are making progress in protecting consumers from bogus healthcare products and from pharmacists selling them.
Hurray!!!
When, I ask myself, are the UK, the US and other countries following suit?
This recently published report provides updated clinical practice guidelines from the Society for Integrative Oncology on the use of integrative therapies for specific clinical indications during and after breast cancer treatment, including anxiety/stress, depression/mood disorders, fatigue, quality of life/physical functioning, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, lymphedema, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, pain, and sleep disturbance.
The practice guidelines are based on a systematic literature review from 1990 through 2015. The recommendations are as follows:
- Music therapy, meditation, stress management, and yoga are recommended for anxiety/stress reduction.
- Meditation, relaxation, yoga, massage, and music therapy are recommended for depression/mood disorders.
- Meditation and yoga are recommended to improve quality of life.
- Acupressure and acupuncture are recommended for reducing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.
- Acetyl-L-carnitine is not recommended to prevent chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy due to a possibility of harm.
- No strong evidence supports the use of ingested dietary supplements to manage breast cancer treatment-related side effects.
The authors conclude that there is a growing body of evidence supporting the use of integrative therapies, especially mind-body therapies, as effective supportive care strategies during breast cancer treatment. Many integrative practices, however, remain understudied, with insufficient evidence to be definitively recommended or avoided.
I have to admit that I am puzzled by this paper.
The first obvious point to make is that these treatments are not ‘integrative therapies’; they are alternative or complementary and I fail to see what is integrative about them.
The second point is that the positive recommendations are based on often poor-quality studies which did not control for placebo effects.
The third point is that the negative recommendations are woefully incomplete. There are many more alternative therapies for which there is no strong evidence.
The forth point is the conclusion implying that treatment supported by insufficient evidence should be avoided. I would not claim that any of the mentioned treatments is backed by SUFFICIENT evidence. Therefore, we should avoid them all, one might argue.
But these concerns are perhaps relatively trivial or far-fetched. More important is the fact that a very similar article been published in 2014. Here is the abstract:
Background
The majority of breast cancer patients use complementary and/or integrative therapies during and beyond cancer treatment to manage symptoms, prevent toxicities, and improve quality of life. Practice guidelines are needed to inform clinicians and patients about safe and effective therapies.
Methods
Following the Institute of Medicine’s guideline development process, a systematic review identified randomized controlled trials testing the use of integrative therapies for supportive care in patients receiving breast cancer treatment. Trials were included if the majority of participants had breast cancer and/or breast cancer patient results were reported separately, and outcomes were clinically relevant. Recommendations were organized by outcome and graded based upon a modified version of the US Preventive Services Task Force grading system.
Results
The search (January 1, 1990–December 31, 2013) identified 4900 articles, of which 203 were eligible for analysis. Meditation, yoga, and relaxation with imagery are recommended for routine use for common conditions, including anxiety and mood disorders (Grade A). Stress management, yoga, massage, music therapy, energy conservation, and meditation are recommended for stress reduction, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and quality of life (Grade B). Many interventions (n = 32) had weaker evidence of benefit (Grade C). Some interventions (n = 7) were deemed unlikely to provide any benefit (Grade D). Notably, only one intervention, acetyl-l-carnitine for the prevention of taxane-induced neuropathy, was identified as likely harmful (Grade H) as it was found to increase neuropathy. The majority of intervention/modality combinations (n = 138) did not have sufficient evidence to form specific recommendations (Grade I).
Conclusions
Specific integrative therapies can be recommended as evidence-based supportive care options during breast cancer treatment. Most integrative therapies require further investigation via well-designed controlled trials with meaningful outcomes.
I have harshly criticised this review on this blog in 2016. For instance, I voiced concern about the authors declaration of conflicts of interest and stated:
I know none of the authors (Heather Greenlee, Lynda G. Balneaves, Linda E. Carlson, Misha Cohen, Gary Deng, Dawn Hershman, Matthew Mumber, Jane Perlmutter, Dugald Seely, Ananda Sen, Suzanna M. Zick, Debu Tripathy) of the document personally. They made the following collective statement about their conflicts of interest: “There are no financial conflicts of interest to disclose. We note that some authors have conducted/authored some of the studies included in the review.” I am a little puzzled to hear that they have no financial conflicts of interest (do not most of them earn their living by practising integrative medicine? Yes they do! The article informs us that: “A multidisciplinary panel of experts in oncology and integrative medicine was assembled to prepare these clinical practice guidelines. Panel members have expertise in medical oncology, radiation oncology, nursing, psychology, naturopathic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, epidemiology, biostatistics, and patient advocacy.”). I also suspect they have other, potentially much stronger conflicts of interest. They belong to a group of people who seem to religiously believe in the largely nonsensical concept of integrative medicine…
The just-published update has a different statement about conflicts of interest:
DISCLOSURES: Linda E. Carlson reports book royalties from New Harbinger and the American Psychological Association. Misha R. Cohen reports royalties from Health Concerns Inc., outside the submitted work. Matthew Mumber owns stock in I Thrive. All remaining authors report no conflicts of interest.
Is this much better than the previous statement? Was the previous statement therefore false?
I wonder.
What do you think?
I have repeatedly cautioned about the often poor quality of research into alternative medicine. This seems particularly necessary with studies of acupuncture, and especially true for such research carried out in China. I have also frequently noted that certain ‘CAM journals’ are notoriously prone to publishing rubbish. So, what can we expect from a paper that:
- is on alternative medicine,
- focusses on acupuncture,
- is authored by Chinese researchers,
- was published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (JACM)?
The answer is PROBABLY NOT A LOT!
As if for confirming my prediction, The JACM just published this systematic review. It reports pairwise and network meta-analyses to determine the effectiveness of acupuncture and acupuncture-related techniques for the treatment of psoriasis. A total of 13 RCTs were included. The methodological quality of these studies was ‘not rigorous’ according to the authors – in fact, it was lousy. Acupoint stimulation seemed to be more effective than non-acupoint stimulation. The short-term treatment effect was superior to the long-term effect (as one would expect with placebo). Network meta-analysis suggested that acupressure or acupoint catgut embedding generate superior effects compared to medications. It was noted that acupressure was the most effective treatment of all the acupuncture-like therapies.
The authors concluded that acupuncture-related techniques could be considered as an alternative or adjuvant therapy for psoriasis in short term, especially of acupressure and acupoint catgut embedding. This study recommends further well-designed, methodologically rigorous, and more head-to-head randomized trials to explore the effects of acupuncture-related techniques for treating psoriasis.
And what is wrong with that?
EVERYTHING!
- The review is of very poor quality.
- The primary studies are even worse.
- The English language is defective to the point of being not understandable.
- The conclusions are misleading.
Correct conclusions should read something like this: Due to the paucity and the poor quality of the clinical trials, this review could not determine whether acupuncture and similar therapies are effective for psoriasis.
And then there is, of course, the question about plausibility. How plausible is the assumption that acupuncture might affect a genetic autoimmune disease like psoriasis. The answer, I think, is that the assumption is highly unlikely.
In the above review, most of the 13 primary RCTs were from China. One of the few studies not conducted in China is this one:
56 patients suffering from long-standing plaque psoriasis were randomized to receive either active treatment (electrostimulation by needles placed intramuscularly, plus ear-acupuncture) or placebo (sham, ‘minimal acupuncture‘) twice weekly for 10 weeks. The severity of the skin lesions was scored (PASI) before, during, and 3 months after therapy. After 10 weeks of treatment the PASI mean value had decreased from 9.6 to 8.3 in the ‘active’ group and from 9.2 to 6.9 in the placebo group (p < 0.05 for both groups). These effects are less than the usual placebo effect of about 30%. There were no statistically significant differences between the outcomes in the two groups during or 3 months after therapy. The patient’s own opinion about the results showed no preference for ‘active’ therapy. It was also clear from the answers that the blinded nature of the study had not been discovered by the patients. In conclusion, classical acupuncture is not superior to sham (placebo) ‘minimal acupuncture‘ in the treatment of psoriasis.
Somehow, I trust these conclusions more than the ones from the review!
And somehow, I get very tired of journal editors failing to do their job of rejecting papers that evidently are embarrassing, unethical rubbish.
In the US, some right-wing politicians might answer this question in the affirmative, having suggested that American citizens don’t really need healthcare, if only they believed stronger in God. Here in the UK, some right-wing MPs are not that far from such an attitude, it seems.
A 2012 article in the ‘Plymouth Harald’ revealed that the Tory MP for South West Devon, Gary Streeter , has challenged the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for banning claims that ‘God can heal’. Mr Streeter was reported to have written to the ASA demanding it produce “indisputable scientific evidence” to prove that prayer does not work – otherwise they will raise the issue in Parliament, he threatened. Mr Streeter also accused the ASA of “poor judgement” after it banned a Christian group from using leaflets stating: “Need healing? God can heal today!… We believe that God loves you and can heal you from any sickness.”
The ASA said such claims were misleading and could discourage people from seeking essential medical treatment.
The letter to ASA was written on behalf of the all-party Christians in Parliament group, which Mr Streeter chairs. Here are a few quotes from this bizarre document:
“We write to express our concern at this decision and to enquire about the basis on which it has been made… It appears to cut across two thousand years of Christian tradition and the very clear teaching in the Bible. Many of us have seen and experienced physical healing ourselves in our own families and churches and wonder why you have decided that this is not possible. On what scientific research or empirical evidence have you based this decision?… You might be interested to know that I (Gary Streeter) received divine healing myself at a church meeting in 1983 on my right hand, which was in pain for many years. After prayer at that meeting, my hand was immediately free from pain and has been ever since. What does the ASA say about that? I would be the first to accept that prayed for people do not always get healed, but sometimes they do… It is interesting to note that since the traumatic collapse of the footballer Fabrice Muamba the whole nation appears to be praying for a physical healing for him. I enclose some media extracts. Are they wrong also and will you seek to intervene? … We invite your detailed response to this letter and unless you can persuade us that you have reached your ruling on the basis of indisputable scientific evidence, we intend to raise this matter in Parliament.”
Mr Streeter displays, of course, a profound and embarrassing ignorance of science, healthcare and common sense:
- ‘Indisputable’ evidence that something is ineffective is usually not obtainable in science.
- In healthcare it is also not relevant, because we try to employ treatments that are proven to work and avoid those for which this is not the case.
- It is common sense that those who make a claim must also prove it to be true; those who doubt it need not prove that it is untrue.
- Chronic pain disappearing spontaneously is not uncommon.
- The plural of anecdote is anecdotes, not evidence!
Personally, I find it worrying that a man with such views sits in parliament and exerts influence over me and our country.
