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Consumer Health Digest #08-09
February 26, 2008
Current # of subscribers: 11,734
Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail
newsletter edited by Stephen Barrett, M.D., and
cosponsored by NCAHF and Quackwatch. It
summarizes scientific reports; legislative
developments; enforcement actions; news reports;
Web site evaluations; recommended and
nonrecommended books; and other information
relevant to consumer protection and consumer
decision-making.
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Quackwatch and Dr. Barrett need your help.
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a contribution to support our work.
###
More criticism of dubious home genetic testing.
Quackwatch has posted a dozen little-publicized
documents related to Internet-based offers of
genetic tests combined with guidance on diet,
supplement strategies, lifestyle changes, and/or
drug usage that they claim can improve health
outcomes. In 2002, Quackwatch explained why such
testing should be avoided. [Barrett S, Hall H.
Dubious genetic testing. Quackwatch, April 9,
2002]
http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Tests/genomics.html In 2006, the U.S. Senate Special Committee on
Aging held a hearing about such tests. The
highlight of the hearing was an undercover
investigation in which staff members of the U.S.
Government Accountability Office (GAO) submitted
DNA samples to four Web sites that offered
testing. The investigators submitted 12 samples
taken from a cheek swab of a 9-month-old female
and two from an unrelated 48-year-old man but
described the specimens as coming from adults of
various ages and lifestyle descriptions. Three of
the sites made different recommendations for nine
of the infant's samples. Since the DNA of these
samples was identical, this showed that these
recommendations were not actually based on the
sender's "unique genetic profile" as advertised.
Two of the sites recommended "personalized"
supplement regimens that, in addition to being
senseless, cost more than 30 times as much as
comparable products available at retail outlets.
Experts who reviewed the test reports concluded
that they made predictions that were medically
unproven, ambiguous, and provided no meaningful
information for consumers. This report and other
documents from the hearing can be accessed
through
http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Tests/genetic/index.html###
Unfounded vaccine lawsuit dismissed.A Maryland Circuit Court judge has dismissed the
lawsuit by parents who alleged that
thimerosal-containing vaccines caused their son
to become autistic. In December 2007, after
concluding that thimerosal in vaccines does not
cause or contribute to autism, the judge
precluded the testimony of five expert witnesses
offered to support the plaintiff's claim. [Berger
SR. Memorandum opinion. Blackwell v. Sigma
Aldrich, Inc. et al., Circuit Court for Baltimore
City, Case No. 24-C-04-004829, Dec 21, 2007]
http://www.casewatch.org/civil/blackwell/memo.pdf With no scientific testimony to support the
plaintiff's claim, dismissal was inevitable.
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Shantha and co-conspirator sentenced.Todata R. Shanthaveerappa, M.D. (also known as
T.R. Shantha, M.D.) and Dan U. Bartoli, have been
sentenced to serve probation and pay a
restitution to insurance companies that they have
defrauded. For several years, Shantha operated a
clinic in Stockbridge, Georgia under the names
"Integrated Medical Specialists" and "Integrated
Chemotherapy Specialists." Shantha was the
clinic's medical director, and Bartoli was his
medical assistant. Among other things, the
indictment alleges that the pair treated cancer
patients with dinitrophenol (DNP), Ukrain, and
hyperbaric oxygen, none of which have any value
against the conditions for which they were used.
http://www.casewatch.org/doj/shantha/indictment.shtml DNP is also extremely dangerous. The indictment
also stated that Shantha and Bartoli defrauded
health insurance companies by submitting claims
that disguised what treatments they were
providing at the clinic. Both settled their cases
with plea bargains.
**Shantha pled guilty to one count of health care
fraud, agreed to pay a total of $650,000 in asset
forfeiture plus restitution, and was sentenced to
serve five years' probation followed by three
years of supervised release.
http://www.casewatch.org/doj/shantha/shantha_plea.pdf **Bartoli pled guilty to one count of health care
fraud, was held jointly liable for about $66,000
in restitution, and was sentenced to two years of
supervised release.
http://www.casewatch.org/doj/shantha/bartoli_plea.pdfShantha's Georgia medical license was suspended
in in 2005, a few days after he was indicted. The
suspension order also expressed concern that he
had treated cancer patients inappropriately.
http://www.casewatch.org/board/med/shantha.shtml A government document filed in 2006 reveals some
of the sordid ways that he allegedly conducted
his business and jeopardized patients by using
DNP.
http://www.casewatch.org/doj/shantha/motion.pdf For additional information on DNP and Shantha,
see
http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Cancer/icht.html###
Supplements fail to help Down syndrome infants.A randomized, controlled clinical trial has found
no evidence that antioxidant or folic acid
supplements improve the language or motor
development of children with trisomy 21 (Down
Syndrome). The study involved 156 infants age
seven months or younger who were given daily oral
supplementation with antioxidants (selenium 10
µg, zinc 5 mg, vitamin A 0.9 mg, vitamin E 100
mg, and vitamin C 50 mg), folic acid (0.1 mg);
antioxidants and folic acid combined; or a
placebo. After 18 months, there were no
significant differences among the four groups.
[Ellis JM and others. Supplementation with
antioxidants and folinic acid for children with
Down's syndrome: randomised controlled trial.
British Medical Journal, Feb 25, 2008]
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/bmj.39465.544028.AEv1###
Congressional candidate linked to unethical experiments.
Dr. Robert Baratz has held a press conference in
Cincinnati to spotlight his view that Victoria
Wells Wulsin, M.D., Dr.P.H. had failed to report
misconduct by Dr. Henry Heimlich. [Baratz blasts
Wulsin: Malariotherapy compared to Tuskegee
experiments. Cincinnati Beacon, Feb 28, 2008]
http://www.cincinnatibeacon.com/index.php/content/comments/baratz_blasts_wulsin_malariotherapy_compared_to_tuskegee_experiments Wulsin is running for a seat in the U.S. House of
Representatives. In 2004, the Heimlich Institute
hired her to review Heimlich's work on
"malariotherapy" for HIV infections and to write
a business plan for promoting it. The experiment
involved infecting HIV patients with malaria and
letting the disease progress untreated for
several weeks. At the press conference, Baratz
likened this approach to the Nazi medical
experiments of World War II and the infamous
40-year Tuskegee Study in which poor black
sharecroppers with syphilis were left untreated.
[Baratz RS. Victoria Wulsin linked to unethical
"malariotherapy" experiments. Quackwatch, Feb 29,
2008]
http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/wulsin.html In 2006, Baratz asked the Ohio Medical Board to
investigate Wulsin's conduct. The investigation
is still active. A videotape of the press
conference can be viewed at
http://www.cincinnatibeacon.com/index.php/content/comments/baratz_speaks_full_coverage_of_press_conference_about_wulsin/###
Other issues of the Digest are accessible through
http://www.ncahf.org/digest08/index.html. For
information about the National Council Against
Health Fraud, see
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Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Board Chairman, Quackwatch, Inc.
Chatham Crossing, Suite 107/208
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