A chair of anthroposophical medicine at the Univesity of Basel

I have to admit, I do not often read the ‘Aargauer Zeitung’. But perhaps I should? Certainly this article from yesterday’s issue is most interesting.

It reported that the University of Basel will soon have a new chair. Apparently, the move has created a fiercely controversial debate within the university. But the decision to go ahead with the plan has been made, and Carsten Gründemann has been formally invited to become the new professor for «translationale Komplementärmedizin». (I am sure in Basel they know what «translationale Komplementärmedizin» is, however, I don’t.)

As it turns out, the term seems entirely irrelevant, because the chair will be in anthroposophical medicine. In case you are not familiar with this SCAM, here is a short explanation copied from my new book:

Anthroposophic medicine is a form of healthcare developed in the 1920s by Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925) in collaboration with the physician Ita Wegman (1876–1943). It is based on Steiner’s mystical ideas of anthroposophy. Steiner had developed his ‘philosophy’ of anthroposophy from personal experiences, occult notions and mystical concepts. Ita Wegman studied medicine after having met Steiner in 1902. She pioneered an ‘alternative cancer treatment’ with a fermented mistletoe extract, according to Steiner’s ideas. Together, Wegman and Steiner wrote Steiner’s last book entitled ‘Extending Practical Medicine’ which was meant as a theoretical basis for their anthroposophical medicine. Wegman was also a co-founder of the pharmaceutical firm ‘Weleda’ which became the biggest producer of anthroposophical remedies. Proponents of anthroposophic medicine make several irrational assumptions, for instance, they claim that our past lives influence our present health, or that the course of an illness is determined by our ‘karmic’ destiny. Practitioners of anthroposophic medicine are usually medically trained; they employ a variety of treatments including massage, exercise, counselling, and a range of remedies (more than 1 300 different anthroposophic medicinal products are currently on the market). Most of the remedies are, like homeopathic remedies, highly diluted but they are not normally prescribed according to the ‘like cures like’ principle and are therefore distinct from homeopathy.

The report mentions that the creation of the new chair caused wide-spread anger amongst the science-based faculties at Basel. The head of Pharmacy, Christoph Meier, is quoted stating: «Indem die Professur in den Forschungsbetrieb eingebunden wird, bieten wir keine Hand zur Scharlatanerie.» [As the professorship will be tied into research, we offer no opportunity for quackery.]

Carsten Gründemann studied Biochemistry/Biology at the University of Tübingen and Freiburg (Germany) and received his Ph.D. in Experimental Immunology from the University of Tübingen (Germany). He was awarded the Karl und Veronica Carstens (KVC) Science Award 2018 for his research in the field of complementary medicine for multiple sclerosis (MS). He is currently based at the Center for Complementary Medicine, Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, University Medical Center Freiburg. Much of his past research seems to focus on anthroposophical medicines, including those produced by Weleda, the world’s largest manufacturer of anthroposophical preparations. Here is one of his 32 Medline-listed abstracts:

BACKGROUND:

Preparations from anthroposophical medicine (AM) are clinically used to treat inflammatory disorders. We wanted to investigate effects of a selection of AM medications for parenteral use in cell-based systems in vitro.

METHODS:

Colchicum officinale tuber D3, Mandragora D3, Rosmarinus officinale 5% and Bryophyllum 5% were selected for the experiments. Induction of apoptosis and necrosis (human lymphocytes and dendritic cells [DCs]) and proliferation of lymphocytes as well as maturation (expression of CD14, CD83 and CD86) and cytokine secretion (IL-10, IL12p70) of DCs were analyzed. Furthermore, proliferation of allogeneic human T lymphocytes was investigated in vitro in coculture experiments using mature DCs in comparison to controls.

RESULTS:

The respective preparations did not induce apoptosis or necrosis in lymphocytes or DCs. Lymphocyte proliferation was dose-dependently reduced by Colchicum officinale tuber D3 while the viability was unchanged. Rosmarinus officinale 5%, but not the other preparations, dose-dependently inhibited the maturation of immature DCs, reduced secretion of IL-10 and IL-12p70 and slightly inhibited proliferation of allogeneic CD4(+) T-lymphocytes in coculture experiments with DCs.

CONCLUSION:

The selected preparations from AM for parenteral use are nontoxic to lymphocytes and DCs. Rosmarinus officinale 5% has immunosuppressive properties on key functions of the immune system which propose further investigation.

The new chair is contractually bound to adhere to the ‘anthroposophical model’ (which probably is a synonym for ‘Steiner cult’). It will be financed to the tune of 3 million Swiss Franks, money that comes from the ‘Software AG Stiftung‘, Weleda, Beatrice Oeri, and other anthroposophical institutions.