case report
Dr Alok Pareek has been elected as the World President of the International Homeopathic Medical league (LMHI – Liga Medicorum Homoeopathica Internationalis), the largest, oldest and only association of Medical Homeopaths in the World. He is the first Asian in 4 decades to bring this honour to India. Dr Alok Pareek was elected at the 71st World Congress of the LMHI held in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 23rd August 2016. He was elected unopposed by over 70 member countries. He has been elected for a three year tenure from 2016 to 2019
Dr. Alok Pareek runs a homeopathic hospital together with his father R.S. Pareek in Agra, India with fifty beds, treating around two hundred patients daily. His clinical practice spans thirty years. This extensive experience has given him a wealth of opportunity to carry out and refine homeopathic treatment in a wide range of acute and emergency situations… Dr. Pareek demonstrates that homeopathy has much to offer in acute and emergency settings. He aims to increase the confidence of practitioners, to improve results and encourage them to offer safe and effective treatment in this important field, enabling homeopathy to take its place alongside conventional approaches within mainstream medicine. “As an Emergency Medicine physician who deals with life threatening diseases on a daily basis, I found Dr. Pareek’s homeopathic approach to be full of well-rounded clinical criteria and plenty of wise advice to the homeopathic doctor. I truly hope to be in medicine long enough to see us practice ‘hand in hand’ and enjoy the great benefits of this marvelous ‘scientific marriage’ in my emergency medicine patients.” Gladys H. Lopez M.D., M.P.H. USA Board Certified in Emergency Medicine
These two quotes might give you a fairly good impression of Dr Alok Pareek.
But why do I dedicate an entire post to him?
The reason is that I was alerted to one of his books entitled ‘Cancer is curable with homeopathy’. Even though it is obviously a translation from English, I could not find the original; so you have to bear with me as I translate for you the German abstract copied below:
75 years of homeopathic experience by father and son from India are expressed in this book about the homeopathic cure of cancers. Based on excellently documented cases, it demonstrates how homeopathy is clearly superior to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. We experience how a cure is possible even for such a serious disease as cancer in advanced stages. Dr D. Spinedi (Switzeralnd) estimates the immense experience of the doctors Pareek as ‘essential basic knowledge that should be accessible to all homeopaths’. It is a book that gives courage to both patients and therapists.
Zusammen 75 Jahre homöopathischer Erfahrung von Vater und Sohn Pareek aus Indien mit Tausenden von Patienten finden in diesem Buch ihren Niederschlag in der homöopathischen Heilung von Krebserkrankungen. Anhand exzellent dokumentierter Fallbeispiele wird gezeigt, wie in klassischer Arbeitsweise die Homöopathie der Chemotherapie und der Strahlentherapie deutlich überlegen ist. Wir erleben mit, wie Heilung bei einer so schweren Krankheit wie Krebs auch noch in fortgeschrittenen Stadien durch Homöopathie möglich ist. Dr. D. Spinedi (Schweiz) wertet die immense Erfahrung der Dres. Pareek als “unverzichtbares Grundlagenwissen, das allen Homöopathen zugänglich sein sollte.” Ein Buch, das Patienten wie Therapeuten Mut macht!
It is by Jove not often that I am speechless, but today, that’s exactly what I am.
On 29 August, I published a post discussing a case report of a patient who had suffered multiple unilateral pre-retinal haemorrhages immediately following chiropractic neck manipulation suggesting that chiropractic spinal adjustments can not only affect the carotid artery, but also could lead to pre-retinal haemorrhages. Two days ago (over one month after my blog-post), the story was reported in the Daily Mail. They (originally) quoted me both in their on-line and print version as follows: “Edzard Ernst, an expert in alternative medicine, said chiropractic treatments were too dangerous and not sufficiently effective to be recommended for any condition.”
I think this is a statement that does not really relate well to the story. Crucially, it is a sentence that I do not identify with.
So, why did I say it?
The answer is simple: I didn’t!
What happened is this:
The ‘science correspondent’ of the Mail emailed me asking whether she could speak to me. I replied that I am currently in Brittany and that it would be better to send me questions which I promised to answer swiftly. She then send a press-release about the above-mentioned case report and asked for a quote. The paragraph I swiftly sent her read as follows:
“Chiropractors frequently manipulate patients’ neck in such a way that the joints are taken beyond their physiological range of motion. This can lead to all sorts of problems, sometimes even death. This new report suggests that chiropractic neck manipulations can also damage the eyes. As the ensuing problems tend to be temporary, it is likely that such eye-damage occurs often after chiropractic treatments. Chiropractic neck manipulations are not convincingly effective for any condition; as they can cause a lot of harm, their risk/benefit balance is clearly negative. In other words, we should not use or recommend them.”
The science correspondent thanked me and replied that my quote was too long and had to be shortened; would I be happy, she asked, with the following text:
“Edzard Ernst, an expert in the study of alternative medicine and former professor at the University of Exeter, said: ‘Chiropractors frequently manipulate patients’ neck in such a way that the joints are taken beyond their physiological range of motion.
‘The ensuing problems tend to be temporary but it is likely that this kind of eye damage occurs often after chiropractic treatments.
‘Chiropractic neck manipulations are not convincingly effective for any condition as they can cause a lot of harm. Therefore we should not use or recommend them.’ ”
I made a slight alteration (exchanging ‘the ensuing problems’ for ‘the ensuing eye-problems’) and replied that this was fine by me.
When I saw what was eventually published (the nonsense printed in bold above), I was baffled and irritated. Therefore I instantly complained to the science correspondent. She apologised saying that my quote had been “paraphrased from [my] full quote, probably for reasons of space during the production process”. She also changed the quote in the on-line version to what it says currently.
I replied: “of course, I accept your apology personal, as I knew it was not your doing. nevertheless, I find it totally unacceptable that someone at the DM can just go ahead and change direct quotes. you say he/she paraphrased me; I disagree! the published sentence has an entirely different meaning. this is not journalism! I want an apology from the person who is responsible.”
The science correspondent then promised to take care of it; but, so far, nothing has happened.
One could easily view this episode as trivial. However, I believe that decent journalism should stick to the rules. And one of the most fundamental one is that journalists cannot put words into people’s mouths just because it fits their story-line (Boris Johnson did this when he was a journalist, and look what a formidable mess he is now creating!). If we let journalists get away with such behaviour, we cannot have trust in journalism. And if we cannot trust journalism, it has lost its purpose.
So, should I continue insisting on an adequate apology from the person responsible or not?
What do you think?
In Germany, homeopathic firms are – as I recently mentioned – starting to panic. Sales figures have, for the first time since decades, declined. This is undoubtedly the work of all those evil sceptics (including, or perhaps foremost?, my evil self!) who are well-organised and even better-funded.
At least, this is what their new PR-man seems to think.
Christian J Becker has been exceedingly active on Twitter provoking everyone who said a word against homeopathy. He is without any doubt the fiercest PR-defender of German homeopathy since Claus Fritzsche. But just like with the late Fritzsche, all those years ago, I am beginning to worry. Is Mr Becker feeling alright? I see increasingly worrying signs and parallels. Might he be drifting into some sort of a psychopathologic episode?
- Despite being a novice to this field, he seems to think that a substance which had no therapeutic effect to start with – think of Berlin wall – becomes highly active, if you dilute it at a rate of 1:1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000, for instance. Could this be the first sign of a deeper problem developing?
- He hints at his suspicion that poor old Fritzsche did, in fact, not commit suicide as generally believed and well-documented. No, he seems to think that he was murdered! By whom? Not the evil sceptics, surely?!
- He seems persuaded that I am some sort of master mind of the growing German opposition to homeopathy. As I obviously know better, I find his persuasion worrying.
- A further concern, in my view, is Becker‘s assumption about the huge amounts of money that are behind the criticism of homeopathy. As the big money is demonstrably on the other side, i. e. the homeopathic industry, this loss of reality might be an ominous sign.
- Similarly, Becker believes that the German government has decided to go against homeopathy. As the opposite is (and always has been) the case, one might ask: do his opinions indicate some type of a paranoid trait?
- Becker thinks, as already mentioned, that those who speak out against homeopathy are all paid by some sinister source. We all receive big cheques and live a life of Reilly because of this lavish support? This theory supposes that we all act against better knowledge and, deep down, we all know that homeopathics diluted at a rate of 1:1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 are effective. More loss of reality?, I ask myself.
- Becker has a strategy that he proudly admits to: he provokes people on Twitter to a point where they lose their nerve and reply something offensive. Armed with this statement, he then recruits a lawyer* and sues them for libel. He tried his trick recently likening several homeopathy-critics to Roland Freisler, the infamous judge of the Nazi era. Such actionable behaviour could be seen as a sign of a man in serious trouble – has Becker lost so much contact with reality that he does not realise that, in court, his insults would harm him and not his opponent?
- Or perhaps he misunderstood the prime dogma of homeopathy? ‘Like cures like’ does not mean one can cure criticism with aggression. I am sure that Hahnemann, who knew a fair bit about aggression, never said so.
- One of the most concerning features of homeopathy’s new defender is that Becker thinks anyone might believe him when he implies that, as a professional PR-man, he does a time-consuming PR-job for free. Yes, he did indicate that he conducts PR for homeopathy for a hobby. Would you find such behaviour normal?
So, should we be worried about the state of mind of homeopathy’s staunch defender? It might be too early to issue a final judgement on this question. But I am the first to admit that the signs are somewhat ominous. The man might need our help! Therefore, let me emphatically and empathetically stress this:
Mr Becker, if you read this – and I suspect you will – please stay calm. I know several good physicians who might be able to help you. And I promise, they will not prescribe a single homeopathic remedy!
*if you are one, please note this article is pure satire!
Central retinal artery occlusion, nystagmus, Wallenberg syndrome, ophthalmoplegia, Horner syndrome, loss of vision, diplopia, and ptosis are all amongst the eye-related problems that have been associated with chiropractic upper spinal manipulations. Often the damage leaves a permanent deficit – happily, not in this instance.
US ophthalmologists published the case of a 59-year-old Caucasian female who presented with the acute, painless constant appearance of three spots in her vision immediately after a chiropractor performed cervical spinal manipulation using the high-velocity, low-amplitude technique. The patient described the spots as “tadpoles” that were constantly present in her vision. She noted the first spot while driving home immediately following a chiropractor neck adjustment, and became more aware that there were two additional spots the following day.
Slit lamp examination of the right eye demonstrated multiple unilateral pre-retinal haemorrhages with three present inferiorly along with a haemorrhage over the optic nerve and a shallow, incomplete posterior vitreous detachment. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) demonstrated the pre-retinal location of the haemorrhage.
These haemorrhages resolved within two months.
The specialists concluded that chiropractor neck manipulation has previously been reported leading to complications related to the carotid artery and arterial plaques. This presents the first case of multiple unilateral pre-retinal haemorrhages immediately following chiropractic neck manipulation. This suggests that chiropractor spinal adjustment can not only affect the carotid artery, but also could lead to pre-retinal haemorrhages.
In the discussion section of their paper, the authors stated: Upper spinal manipulation with the HVLA technique involves high velocity, low-amplitude thrusts on the cervical spine administered posteriorly. No other aetiology of the pre-retinal haemorrhages was found on work-up (no leukemic retinopathy, hypertension, diabetes, or retinal tear). The temporal association immediately while driving home from the chiropractic procedure makes other causes less likely, although we cannot exclude Valsalva retinopathy or progressive posterior vitreous detachment. Given the lack of any retinal vessel abnormalities or plaques along with the temporal association, we postulate that the chiropractor neck manipulation itself induced vitreo-retinal traction that likely led to pre-retinal haemorrhages which were self-limited. It is also possible that the HVLA technique could have mechanically assisted with induction of a posterior vitreous detachment.
If the authors are correct, one has to wonder: how often do such problems occur in patients who simply do not bother to report them, or doctors who do not correctly diagnose them?
Doctor Jens Wurster is no stranger to this blog; previously I discussed his claim that he has treated more than 1000 cancer patients homeopathically and we could even cure or considerably ameliorate the quality of life for several years in some, advanced and metastasizing cases. So far, his claims were based not on evidence published in peer-reviewed journals (I cannot find a single Medline-listed paper by this man); but now Wurster has published an article in a German Journal (Wurster J. Zusatznutzen der Homöopathie … Deutsche Zeitschrift für Onkologie 2018; 50: 85–91; not Medline-listed, I am afraid). The paper is in German, but it has an English abstract; here it is:
____________________________________________________________________________
All over the world, oncology patients receive homeopathic treatment concomitant to conventional treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation treatment, in order to reduce the side effects of these therapies. It has been shown that cancer patients, who are receiving homeopathic treatment in addition to conventional therapies, have a higher quality of life and a longer survival rate. Studies in cancer cell research have shown the direct effects of highly potentized homeopathic medicines on tumor cell lines. Tumor inhibiting properties of homeopathic medicines have been proven in vivo as well as in vitro. Research projects into complementary medicine (CAMbrella) and research into personalized immunotherapies as well as additive homeopathy open the door to the future of integrative oncology.
_____________________________________________________________________________
In the article, Wurster states that he has 20 years of experience in treating cancer with homeopathy as an add-on to conventional care, and that he can confirm homeopathy’s effectiveness. He claims that ‘very many’ patients have thus benefitted by experiencing less side-effects of conventional treatments. And he offers two case-reports to illustrate this.
[Nach 20 Jahren klinischer Erfahrung in der Clinica St. Croce im Tessin mit der Behandlung onkologischer Patienten mithilfe der Homöopathie können wir deutlich den Zusatznutzen der Homöopathie in der Onkologie bestätigen [1]. So gelang es unserem Ärzteteam in den zurückliegenden Jahren bei sehr vielen Patienten, durch gezielten Einsatz homöopathischer Mittel die Nebenwirkungen von Chemotherapien oder Bestrahlungen erfolgreich zu reduzieren [1]. Wie dabei Schulmedizin und Homöopathie in der Praxis zusammenwirken, zeigt folgendes Beispiel. ([1] Wurster J. Die homöopathische Behandlung und Heilung von Krebs und metastasierten Tumoren. Norderstedt: Books on Demand; 2015)]The two case-reports lack detail and are less than convincing, in my view. Both patients have had conventional therapies and Wurster claims that his homeopathic remedies reduced their side-effects. There is no way of verifying this claim, and the improvements might have occurred also without homeopathy.
In the discussion section of his paper, Wurster then elaborates that oncologists throughout Europe are now realising the potential of homeopathy. In support he mentions paediatric oncologists in Klagenfurt who managed to spare pain-killers by giving homeopathics. Similarly, at the Inselspital in Bern, they are offering homeopathic consultations to complement conventional treatments.
[Inzwischen haben auch einige Onkologen erkannt, wie eine gezielt eingesetzte homöopathische Behandlung die Nebenwirkungen von Chemotherapien oder Bestrahlungen reduzieren kann. Wir arbeiten inzwischen mit einigen Onkologen aus ganz Europa zusammen, die den Zusatznutzen der Homöopathie in der Onkologie erlebt haben. In der Kinderonkologie in Klagenfurt beispielsweise konnten mithilfe der Homöopathie Schmerzmittel bei den Kindern eingespart werden. Auch am Inselspital Bern werden zusätzliche homöopathische Konsile in der Kinderonkologie angeboten, um die konventionelle Behandlung begleiten zu können [8].]At this point, Wurster inserts his reference number 8. As several of his references are either books or websites, this reference to an article in a top journal seems interesting. Here is its abstract:
___________________________________________________________________________________
BACKGROUND:
Though complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are frequently used by children and adolescents with cancer, there is little information on how and why they use it. This study examined prevalence and methods of CAM, the therapists who applied it, reasons for and against using CAM and its perceived effectiveness. Parent-perceived communication was also evaluated. Parents were asked if medical staff provided information on CAM to patients, if parents reported use of CAM to physicians, and what attitude they thought physicians had toward CAM.
STUDY DESIGN:
All childhood cancer patients treated at the University Children‘s Hospital Bern between 2002-2011 were retrospectively surveyed about their use of CAM.
RESULTS:
Data was collected from 133 patients (response rate: 52%). Of those, 53% had used CAM (mostly classical homeopathy) and 25% of patients received information about CAM from medical staff. Those diagnosed more recently were more likely to be informed about CAM options. The most frequent reason for choosing CAM was that parents thought it would improve the patient’s general condition. The most frequent reason for not using CAM was lack of information. Of those who used CAM, 87% perceived positive effects.
CONCLUSIONS:
Since many pediatric oncology patients use CAM, patients’ needs should be addressed by open communication between families, treating oncologists and CAM therapists, which will allow parents to make informed and safe choices about using CAM.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Any hope that this paper might back up the statements made by Wurster is thus disappointed.
Altogether, this Wurster-paper contains no reliable evidence. The only clinical trial it seems to rely on is the one by Prof Frass which we have discussed previously here and here. The Frass-study is odd in several ways and, before we can take its results seriously, we need to see an independent replication of its findings. In this context, it is noteworthy that my own 2006 systematic review concluded that there is insufficient evidence to support clinical efficacy of homeopathic therapy in cancer care. In view of all this, I feel that the new Wurster-paper provides no reliable evidence and no reason to change my now somewhat dated conclusion of 2006. Moreover, I would insist that those who claim otherwise are unethical and behave irresponsible.
And finally, I need to reiterate what I stated in my previous post: the Wurster-paper indicates that something is amiss with medical publishing. How can it be that, in 2018, the ‘Deutsche Zeitschrift für Onkologie’ (or any other medical journal for that matter) can be so bar of critical thinking to publish such dangerously misleading nonsense? The editors of this journal (Univ.-Prof. Dr. med. Arndt Büssing, Witten/Herdecke; Dr. med. Peter Holzhauer, Bad Trissl und München) and its editorial board members (L. Auerbach, Wien; C. Bahne Bahnson, Kiel; J. Büntzel, Nordhausen; B. Freimüller-Kreutzer, Heidelberg; H.R. Maurer, Berlin; A. Mayr, Starnberg; R. Moss, New York; T. Ostermann, Witten/Herdecke; K. Prasad, Denver; G. Pulverer, Köln; H. Renner, Nürnberg; C.P. Siegers, Lübeck; W. Schmidt, Greifswald; G. Uhlenbruck, Köln; B. Wolf, München; K.S. Zänker, Witten/Herdecke) should ask themselves whether they are taking their moral obligations seriously enough, or whether their behaviour is not a violation of their most fundamental ethical duties.
In our book ‘MORE HARM THAN GOOD‘ we allude to such problems as follows: …Spurious results are frequently paraded by CAM advocates in support of implausible treatments… the more poorly conceived and executed a research project is, the more likely it is to produce false-positive results. These results then may lead to repetitive cycles of unproductive work to explain what was found—often to simply disprove the erroneous results. This is an unfortunate feature of various fields of scientific research, but it has particularly serious implications in medical research. Moreover, researchers who practice and behave as advocates of CAM may unintentionally or deliberately distort or exaggerate weak findings. Invalid CAM research claims tend not to be put to rest; instead they are repeatedly recycled…
And:
…The CAM practitioner who promotes untruths has either failed to enlighten themselves as to the facts—this being a central requirement of professional ethics— or has chosen to deliberately deceive patients. Either of these reasons for promulgating falsehoods amounts to a serious breach in terms of virtue ethics. According to almost all forms of ethical theory, the truth-violating nature of CAM renders it immoral in both theory and practice.
The damage that can result from such violations of medical ethics is not merely a matter for the ‘ivory towers of academia’, it can virtually be a matter of life and death.
In 2005, I published a systematic review of ophthalmic adverse effects after spinal manipulations. At the time, I found 14 case reports. Clinical symptoms and signs were diverse and included loss of vision, ophthalmoplegia, diplopia and Horner’s syndrome. The underlying mechanism was arterial wall dissection in most cases. The eventual outcome varied and often included permanent deficits. Causality was frequently deemed likely or certain.
I concluded that upper spinal manipulation is associated with ophthalmological adverse effects of unknown frequency. Ophthalmologists should be aware of its risks. Rigorous investigations must be conducted to establish reliable incidence figures.
Now a new article has emerged that throws more light on this issue:
A 46-year-old healthy male with a history of chronic musculoskeletal neck pain presented to the emergency department with left sided weakness after a syncopal episode. The patient had been treated with frequent chiropractic neck manipulations over the past seven years, with his last session one month prior to presentation. One week prior to presentation, the patient developed a new headache, anisocoria, and ptosis of his right upper eyelid. Computed tomography angiography (CTA) of the head and neck showed an internal carotid occlusion with right middle cerebral artery zone of ischemia, and tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) was administered. Subsequently, the patient experienced vision loss in his right eye. MRI and CTA were repeated, revealing a right ICA dissection from below the ophthalmic artery to the posterior communicating artery. On examination, vision in the right eye was no light perception (NLP) and the pupil was amaurotic. Fundus exam showed vascular attenuation, severe pallor of the optic nerve and retina, without a cherry red spot. A diagnosis of ophthalmic artery occlusion was made.
Inpatient workup revealed no stroke risk factors, and he was discharged on aspirin and clopidogrel therapy. Follow up imaging showed re-cannulation of the ICA, although vision remained NLP at outpatient evaluation the following month. Macular spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT) showed hyperreflectivity of the inner retina diffusely and of the outer retina and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) centrally. Fluorescein angiography revealed patchy choroidal filling, delayed arterial filling, and macular nonperfusion. Three months after presentation, vision had improved to light perception, and remains stable at one year after the dissection.
Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) has been previously described after neck manipulation; however, these cases have been attributed to a dislodged embolic plaque rather than arterial dissection as in this case. Carotid artery dissection after neck manipulation is rare, although the exact incidence is unknown, and may be fatal.
The authors of this case report concluded that internal carotid artery dissection in this case was permanently devastating to the vision of a previously healthy young patient.
What follows is simple:
- upper spinal manipulations have no or very little proven benefit;
- they are associated with a finite risk;
- thus, their risk/benefit balance fails to be positive;
- consequently, upper spinal manipulations cannot be recommended as a treatment of any condition.
My previous post was about the question whether lay-homeopaths can practise homeopathy without breaking their code of ethics. The answer was NO, because they lack most of the skills needed to obtain informed consent.
What about doctor homeopaths?
Can they practice homeopathy ethically?
Doctors are, of course, also obliged to follow their ethical code, and that means they too must obtain informed consent from their patients before starting a therapy. This is, for instance, what the UK General Medical Council tells their members:
You must give patients the information they want or need about:
- the diagnosis and prognosis
- any uncertainties about the diagnosis or prognosis, including options for further investigations
- options for treating or managing the condition, including the option not to treat
- the purpose of any proposed investigation or treatment and what it will involve
- the potential benefits, risks and burdens, and the likelihood of success, for each option; this should include information, if available, about whether the benefits or risks are affected by which organisation or doctor is chosen to provide care
- whether a proposed investigation or treatment is part of a research programme or is an innovative treatment designed specifically for their benefit4
- the people who will be mainly responsible for and involved in their care, what their roles are, and to what extent students may be involved
- their right to refuse to take part in teaching or research
- their right to seek a second opinion
- any bills they will have to pay
- any conflicts of interest that you, or your organisation, may have
- any treatments that you believe have greater potential benefit for the patient than those you or your organisation can offer.
You should explore these matters with patients, listen to their concerns, ask for and respect their views, and encourage them to ask questions.
You should check whether patients have understood the information they have been given, and whether or not they would like more information before making a decision. You must make it clear that they can change their mind about a decision.
Following the 8 points from my previous post (I am trying to apply the same criteria to both types of homeopaths), a medical homeopath might tell her patient (whose stomach pain turns out to be caused, let’s assume, by a stomach ulcer) roughly this:
- The tests show that you are suffering from stomach ulcer.
- The natural history of this condition is usually benign, but it needs effective treatment; if not, the problem would become serious.
- Conventional medicine has several effective therapeutic options.
- I nevertheless propose to treat you with a homeopathic remedy.
- There is no good evidence that it will work beyond a placebo effect.
- The remedy is harmless, but not giving you an effective treatment might cause considerable harm.
- The cost of the consultation is £80, and the remedy will cost you around £15.
- I suggest you come again in a week or two; perhaps we need quite a few consultations altogether.
Again, as with the lay-homeopath from my previous post, any sensible patient would walk away without accepting the treatment. This means that our doctor homeopath can only practice homeopathy, if she does not inform her patient about points 5 and 6. In other words, doctors who practice homeopathy cannot obtain adequately informed consent. We have recently seen a real case of this happening and ending in the death of the patient.
Of course, the homeopath might send her patient to a specialist; or she might decide to administer a conventional therapy herself. Either way, she would not be practising homeopathy.
The dilemma is real, yet it is rarely considered. Here is a short passage from our book where we discuss the ethics of alternative medicine in full detail:
Genuine informed consent is unattainable for most CAM modalities. This presents a serious and intractable ethical problem for CAM practitioners. Attempts to square this circle by watering down or redefining the criteria for informed consent are ethically indefensible. The concept of informed consent and its centrality in medical ethics therefore renders most CAM practice unacceptable. Conventional healthcare subscribes to the ethical principle ‘no consent, no treatment’; we are not aware of the existence of any good reasons to excuse CAM from this dictum.
As I said, the ethical practice of homeopathy is a practical impossibility.
Or do you think I got this wrong?
The Internet is full of complete nonsense about alternative medicine, as we all know. Much of it could be funny – if it was not so extremely dangerous. Misinformation on health can (and I am afraid does) kill people. One of the worst BS I have seen for a long time is this article entitled ‘Here’s What Oncologists Won’t Tell You About Essential Oils’.
A few excerpts might be of interest:
START OF QUOTES
…The human body resonates at a frequency of 62-78 MHz and scientists believe that diseases start at 58 MHz. Many studies have shown that negative thoughts can reduce our frequency by 12 MHz, while positive thinking raises it by 10.
This means that there are many things that can affect our health in ways we can’t imagine.
According to the latest studies, essential oils can fight cancer thanks to their antibacterial properties and their ability to change the frequency we resonate at.
One of the scientists involved in the study, Bruce Tainio, developed a special Calibrated Frequency Monitor that measures the frequency of essential oils and how they affect us. M. Suhail, an immunologist, says that cancer develops when the DNA in our cells’ nucleus is corrupted.
Essential oils can correct this and repair the code, effectively improving our chances against the terrible disease…
In his book “The Body Electric”, R. O. Becker said that our bodies’ electronic frequency determines our health.
Even Nikola Tesla said that removing outside frequencies can make us more resistant against ailments, while Dr. Otto Warburg discovered over a century ago that our cells have a specific electrical voltage that can drop due to a various factors and trigger diseases such as cancer.
However, science has now discovered that essential oils with higher frequencies can destroy diseases with lower frequencies.
Here’s a list of some of the oils used in the research and their electrical frequencies:
- Juniper – 98 Mhz
- Angelica – 85 Mhz
- Frankincense – 147 MHz
- Rose – 320 Mhz.
- Sandalwood – 96 Mhz
- Helichrysum – 181 MHz
- Peppermint – 78 Mhz
- Lavender – 118 Mhz
In the study, cinnamon, thyme, jasmine and chamomile oils had the best results when put up against breast cancer cells. Chamomile destroyed 93% of the cells in vitro, while thyme destroyed 97% of the cells…
11 oils were examined in total including bitter and sweet fennel, winter savory, peppermint, sage, lavender, chamomile and thyme.
Frankincense oil
According to Suhail, frankincense oil can divide the nucleus of cancer cells from the cytoplasm and prevent it from reproducing. The oil works thanks to the presence of the so-called monoterpenes which have the ability to kill cancer cells.
Frankincense oil works in all stages of cancer and is cytotoxic, meaning it doesn’t destroy healthy cells.
End-stage liver cancer patient
In the study, a patient with end-stage liver cancer was given only a few months left to live. The tumor was inoperable due to the large size, so having nothing to lose, the man decided to try frankincense oil.
He applied a bit under his tongue and topically on the area of the liver, and on his next doctor visit, the tumor has already reduced in size. The patient continued using frankincense oil, and it eventually reduced just enough to be operable. His tumor was later removed and the man is now happily enjoying his life free of cancer.
A child with brain cancer
One of the toughest cases among all the patients in the study was a little girl aged 5 with brain cancer. After exhausting all other options, the parents decided to give the girl a mixture of frankincense and sandalwood oil.
They rubbed the mixture on her feet while also rubbing a bit of lavender on her wrist. After a few months, the cancer was completely defeated!
Bladder cancer patient
Jackie Hogan is a woman suffering from bladder cancer who needed to undergo a surgery for bladder removal due to the cancer.
However, she decided to try using essential oils in her condition and after a few months of applying a mixture of sandalwood and frankincense oil topically on the area, she is cancer-free.
Stage-4 cancer patient
One woman in the research was diagnosed with stage-4 lung cancer which has already spread to other organs in her body.
Instead of agreeing to chemo and surgery, the woman started applying a bit of frankincense oil topically on the affected areas of her body every 2-3 hours and she was completely healthy in 7 months.
Breast cancer patient
A woman diagnosed with advanced breast cancer used a mixture of frankincense and lemongrass oil (topically and under the tongue) to defeat the disease in only a few months.
Cervical cancer patient
A woman with cervical cancer was given only a few months left to live, but thanks to the powers of frankincense oil, she managed to defeat the diseases in a couple of months.
There are many more patients who have managed to defeat different types of cancer using the remarkable powers of various essential oils…
_________________________________________________________________________
END OF QUOTES
Unspeakable nonsense!
I managed to find 4 of the studies this article seems to refer to:
__________________________________________________________________________
Dozmorov MG, Yang Q, Wu W, Wren J, Suhail MM, Woolley CL, Young DG, Fung KM, Lin HK.
Chin Med. 2014 Jul 2;9:18. doi: 10.1186/1749-8546-9-18. eCollection 2014.
- PMID:
- 25006348
Ni X, Suhail MM, Yang Q, Cao A, Fung KM, Postier RG, Woolley C, Young G, Zhang J, Lin HK.
BMC Complement Altern Med. 2012 Dec 13;12:253. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-12-253.
- PMID:
- 23237355
Woolley CL, Suhail MM, Smith BL, Boren KE, Taylor LC, Schreuder MF, Chai JK, Casabianca H, Haq S, Lin HK, Al-Shahri AA, Al-Hatmi S, Young DG.
J Chromatogr A. 2012 Oct 26;1261:158-63. doi: 10.1016/j.chroma.2012.06.073. Epub 2012 Jun 28.
- PMID:
- 22835693
Suhail MM, Wu W, Cao A, Mondalek FG, Fung KM, Shih PT, Fang YT, Woolley C, Young G, Lin HK.
BMC Complement Altern Med. 2011 Dec 15;11:129. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-11-129.
- PMID:
- 22171782
____________________________________________________________________________
I do not think that these papers actually show what is claimed above. Specifically, none of the 4 articles refers to clinical effects of essential oil on cancer patients. In fact, according to a 2014 review, and a 2013 paper (the most recent summaries I found) there are no clinical trials of essential oil as a cure for cancer.
The conclusion therefore must be this: Essential oils might be an interesting area of research, yet one has to tell consumers and patients very clearly:
there is no evidence to suggest that using essential oils will change the natural history of any type of cancer.
Few alternative fads have survived as long as the current Kombucha boom. Since decades, it is being hyped as the best thing since sliced bread. Consequently, it has become popular and is now being promoted as a veritable panacea, allegedly curing asthma, cataracts, diabetes, diarrhoea, gout, herpes, insomnia and rheumatism and purported to shrink the prostate and expand the libido, reverse grey hair, remove wrinkles, relieve haemorrhoids, lower hypertension, prevent cancer, and promote general well-being. Kambucha is believed to stimulate the immune system, and help with HIV infection. And – sure enough – it is ideal for detox!!!
One author goes even further and lists no less than 17 indications:
It’s good for your gut:
1. Kombucha contains naturally fermenting probiotics that help maintain healthy gut flora by increasing the number of beneficial organisms.
2. It preserves nutrients and breaks them down into an easily digestible form, which allows you to absorb them better.
3. It enhances the absorption of minerals, particularly calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, phosphorous and copper.
4. Healthy gut flora improves digestion, fights candida overgrowth, improves mental clarity and stabilizes moods.
5. A healthy gut can also be attributed to reducing or eliminating depression an anxiety.
6. Kombucha contains numerous strains of yeasts and up to 20 different bacterial species (and possibly many more!).
It detoxifies the body:
7. The enzymes and bacterial acids in kombucha ease the burden on the liver by reducing pancreatic load.
8. Kombucha contains glucuronic acid, which binds to toxins and increases their excretion through the kidney or intestines.
9. In 1951, a popular Russian study found that the daily consumption of kombucha was correlated with an extremely high resistance to cancer.
10. It contains vitamin C, a potent detoxifier.
It supports the nervous system:
11. Kombucha contains vitamin B, which has been associated with reducing blood pressure and supporting the nervous system.
It’s anti-ageing and supports the joints:
12. Kombucha contains glucosamines, which are vital for the treatment and prevention of arthritis.
13. Kombucha allegedly eliminates grey hair, increases sex drive and improves eyesight.
14. Kombucha concentrates the antioxidants found in tea. Antioxidants not only fight the environmental toxins known as free radicals, which contribute to illness and disease, but help slow the aging process.
15. Theoretically, powerful antioxidant nutrients can prevent and lessen wrinkles by promoting skin elasticity.
It’s anti-microbial
16. Kombucha is anti-microbial due to it’s acetic and organic acids, proteins, enzymes and bacteriocins. It exerts anti-microbial activity against pathogenic bacteria like E coli and Salmonella. Incidentally, green tea kombucha has a high anti-microbial effect than when made with black tea.
It decreases sugar cravings
17. Emmet from Remedy told us that customers often comment that kombucha reduces their sugar cravings. “My take on this is that kombucha provides a natural energy boost and is therefore a handy antidote for when cravings kick in. It’s also a great way to break the soft drinks habit.”
END OF QUOTE
Sadly, none of these claims are based on anything that even vaguely resembles evidence. My own systematic review of 2003 aimed at locating and critically evaluating all human medical investigations of kombucha regardless of study design. However, no clinical studies were found relating to the efficacy of this remedy. Several case reports and case series raise doubts about the safety of kombucha. They include suspected liver damage, metabolic acidosis and cutaneous anthrax infections. One fatality was on record. I therefore concluded that on the basis of these data it was concluded that the largely undetermined benefits do not outweigh the documented risks of kombucha. It can therefore not be recommended for therapeutic use.
Since then no clinical trials have been published; but more information on the risks of Kombucha has emerged. A case report of a 54-year-old asthmatic woman, for instance. She presented to hospital with a 10-day history of breathlessness. On examination, she was tachypnoeic with mild wheeze. She had preserved peak flows and was saturating at 100% on room air. Investigations revealed severe metabolic lactic acidosis. On further questioning, it transpired that she drank kombucha tea, which has been linked to lactic acidosis. She made a full recovery with supportive management and cessation of the tea.
A case of hepatotoxicity has also been related to Kombucha consumption. Another case report tells the story of a 22 year old male, newly diagnosed with HIV, who became short of breath and febrile within twelve hours of Kombucha tea ingestion. He subsequently became combative and confused, requiring sedation and intubation for airway control. Laboratories revealed a lactate of 12.9 mmol/L, and serum creatinine of 2.1 mg/dL. The authors concluded that consumption of this tea should be discouraged, as it may be associated with life-threatening lactic acidosis.
But how can a simple tea like Kombucha cause such serious problems? The answer lies in the method of preparation which carries the risk of contamination: the Kombucha material is incubated at room temperature in a sugar-containing liquid for 7–12 days. It is hardly surprising that, under such conditions, human pathogens may grow. It follows that, depending on the method of preparation and standards of hygiene, some Kombucha teas may be entirely innocent whilst others carry the risk of contamination and infection. Contaminated batches may act like a ‘biological chain letter’.
Considering all this, here are my instructions for making Kombucha and enjoying it safely.
You will need:
- 3 litres of filtered water
- 10 green or black teabags
- 1 SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast)
- ½ a cup of sugar
And this is what you need to do:
Boil the filtered water.
Pour over the teabags in a large container.
Add the sugar to the tea, and allow time to brew and cool (about two hours).
Pour the brewed tea into a large, jar and add the SCOBY.
Cover jar with cheesecloth, muslin or paper towel and secure with a rubber band.
Leave to brew for a week or more to taste.
Pour the kombucha into bottles
… and bin the lot.
I have often criticised papers published by chiropractors.
Not today!
This article is excellent and I therefore quote extensively from it.
The objective of this systematic review was to investigate, if there is any evidence that spinal manipulations/chiropractic care can be used in primary prevention (PP) and/or early secondary prevention in diseases other than musculoskeletal conditions. The authors conducted extensive literature searches to locate all studies in this area. Of the 13.099 titles scrutinized, 13 articles were included (8 clinical studies and 5 population studies). They dealt with various disorders of public health importance such as diastolic blood pressure, blood test immunological markers, and mortality. Only two clinical studies could be used for data synthesis. None showed any effect of spinal manipulation/chiropractic treatment.
The authors concluded that they found no evidence in the literature of an effect of chiropractic treatment in the scope of PP or early secondary prevention for disease in general. Chiropractors have to assume their role as evidence-based clinicians and the leaders of the profession must accept that it is harmful to the profession to imply a public health importance in relation to the prevention of such diseases through manipulative therapy/chiropractic treatment.
In addition to this courageous conclusion (the paper is authored by a chiropractor and published in a chiro journal), the authors make the following comments:
Beliefs that a spinal subluxation can cause a multitude of diseases and that its removal can prevent them is clearly at odds with present-day concepts, as the aetiology of most diseases today is considered to be multi-causal, rarely mono-causal. It therefore seems naïve when chiropractors attempt to control the combined effects of environmental, social, biological including genetic as well as noxious lifestyle factors through the simple treatment of the spine. In addition, there is presently no obvious emphasis on the spine and the peripheral nervous system as the governing organ in relation to most pathologies of the human body.
The ‘subluxation model’ can be summarized through several concepts, each with its obvious weakness. According to the first three, (i) disturbances in the spine (frequently called ‘subluxations’) exist and (ii) these can cause a multitude of diseases. (iii) These subluxations can be detected in a chiropractic examination, even before symptoms arise. However, to date, the subluxation has been elusive, as there is no proof for its existence. Statements that there is a causal link between subluxations and various diseases should therefore not be made. The fourth and fifth concepts deal with the treatment, namely (iv) that chiropractic adjustments can remove subluxations, (v) resulting in improved health status. However, even if there were an improvement of a condition following treatment, this does not mean that the underlying theory is correct. In other words, any improvement may or may not be caused by the treatment, and even if so, it does not automatically validate the underlying theory that subluxations cause disease…
Although at first look there appears to be a literature on this subject, it is apparent that most authors lack knowledge in research methodology. The two methodologically acceptable studies in our review were found in PubMed, whereas most of the others were identified in the non-indexed literature. We therefore conclude that it may not be worthwhile in the future to search extensively the non-indexed chiropractic literature for high quality research articles.
One misunderstanding requires some explanations; case reports are usually not considered suitable evidence for effect of treatment, even if the cases relate to patients who ‘recovered’ with treatment. The reasons for this are multiple, such as:
- Individual cases, usually picked out on the basis of their uniqueness, do not reflect general patterns.
- Individual successful cases, even if correctly interpreted must be validated in a ‘proper’ research design, which usually means that presumed effect must be tested in a properly powered and designed randomized controlled trial.
- One or two successful cases may reflect a true but very unusual recovery, and such cases are more likely to be written up and published as clinicians do not take the time to marvel over and spend time on writing and publishing all the other unsuccessful treatment attempts.
- Recovery may be co-incidental, caused by some other aspect in the patient’s life or it may simply reflect the natural course of the disease, such as natural remission or the regression towards the mean, which in human physiology means that low values tend to increase and high values decrease over time.
- Cases are usually captured at the end because the results indicate success, meaning that the clinical file has to be reconstructed, because tests were used for clinical reasons and not for research reasons (i.e. recorded by the treating clinician during an ordinary clinical session) and therefore usually not objective and reproducible.
- The presumed results of the treatment of the disease is communicated from the patient to the treating clinician and not to a third, neutral person and obviously this link is not blinded, so the clinician is both biased in favour of his own treatment and aware of which treatment was given, and so is the patient, which may result in overly positive reporting. The patient wants to please the sympathetic clinician and the clinician is proud of his own work and overestimates the results.
- The long-term effects are usually not known.
- Further, and most importantly, there is no control group, so it is impossible to compare the results to an untreated or otherwise treated person or group of persons.
Nevertheless, it is common to see case reports in some research journals and in communities with readers/practitioners without a firmly established research culture it is often considered a good thing to ‘start’ by publishing case reports.
Case reports are useful for other reasons, such as indicating the need for further clinical studies in a specific patient population, describing a clinical presentation or treatment approach, explaining particular procedures, discussing cases, and referring to the evidence behind a clinical process, but they should not be used to make people believe that there is an effect of treatment…
For groups of chiropractors, prevention of disease through chiropractic treatment makes perfect sense, yet the credible literature is void of evidence thereof. Still, the majority of chiropractors practising this way probably believe that there is plenty of evidence in the literature. Clearly, if the chiropractic profession wishes to maintain credibility, it is time seriously to face this issue. Presently, there seems to be no reason why political associations and educational institutions should recommend spinal care to prevent disease in general, unless relevant and acceptable research evidence can be produced to support such activities. In order to be allowed to continue this practice, proper and relevant research is therefore needed…
All chiropractors who want to update their knowledge or to have an evidence-based practice will search new information on the internet. If they are not trained to read the scientific literature, they might trust any article. In this situation, it is logical that the ‘believers’ will choose ‘attractive’ articles and trust the results, without checking the quality of the studies. It is therefore important to educate chiropractors to become relatively competent consumers of research, so they will not assume that every published article is a verity in itself…
END OF QUOTES
YES, YES YES!!!
I am so glad that some experts within the chiropractic community are now publishing statements like these.
This was long overdue.
How was it possible that so many chiropractors so far failed to become competent consumers of research?
Do they and their professional organisations not know that this is deeply unethical?
Actually, I fear they do and did so for a long time.
Why then did they not do anything about it ages ago?
I fear, the answer is as easy as it is disappointing:
If chiropractors systematically trained to become research-competent, the chiropractic profession would cease to exist; they would become a limited version of physiotherapists. There is simply not enough positive evidence to justify chiropractic. In other words, as chiropractic wants to survive, it has little choice other than remaining ignorant of the current best evidence.
