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Consumer Health Digest #23-08
February 19, 2023
Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by William M. London, Ed.D., M.P.H
http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/william-m-london., with help from Stephen Barrett, M.D
http://www.quackwatch.org/10Bio/bio.html. 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. Its primary focus is on health, but occasionally it includes non-health scams and practical tips. To subscribe, click here
http://lists.quackwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/chd_lists.quackwatch.org###
Simone Gold accused of unprofessional conductThe Medical Board of California has filed an unprofessional-conduct accusation
https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2023/02/18172329/ca_accusation_2023-1.pdfagainst Simone Melissa Gold, M.D., J.D., founder of America’s Frontline Doctors (AFLDS). Gold served a 60-day sentence and paid $10,025 in criminal penalties after pleading guilty to entering and remaining in the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The accusation states her activities on or around that day warrant disciplinary action for general unprofessional conduct and “conviction of a crime substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of a physician and surgeon.”
[Clark C. Simone Gold accused by California Medical Board
https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/103084. MedPage Today, Feb 13, 2023]
Quackwatch describes the legal challenges
https://quackwatch.org/11ind/a-skeptical-look-at-simone-gold-and-americas-frontline-doctors/Gold and AFLDS have faced and how they have misled consumers about COVID-19.
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“Healing magnet” device promoters indictedElberto Berdut-Teruel, Wanda L. Carballo-Cabrera, Maria Santos-Carballo, and Magnetic Healer of PR Inc., have been indicted on charges of illegally marketing devices in interstate commerce
https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2008/05/17191318/Magnetic-Healer-of-PR-Indictment.pdf. The defendants allegedly:
*** enriched themselves by selling unapproved devices containing “healing magnets” that were advertised as effective against COVID-19, migraines, depression, insomnia, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, autism, cancer, and other diseases
*** the devices on social media and websites, including
www.elbertoberdut.com and
www.magneticbiotherapy.com*** falsely claimed the devices did not require FDA approval, had been submitted for FDA approval, and were FDA-authorized
*** displayed an official-looking “FDA authorized” logo
Berdut-Teruel was the company’s president, secretary, treasurer, and resident agent. The others were employees of the company.
[Three individuals and one company indicted for introducing adulterated and misbranded devices into interstate commerce and mail fraud conspiracy
https://www.justice.gov/usao-pr/pr/three-individuals-and-one-company-indicted-introducing-adulterated-and-misbranded-devices. U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Puerto Rico news release, Feb 3, 2023]
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Postmenopausal hormone therapy to prevent chronic conditions discouragedFor the second time since 2017, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has recommended with moderate certainty against the use of:
*** combined estrogen and progestin for the primary prevention of chronic conditions in postmenopausal persons
*** estrogen alone for the primary prevention of chronic conditions in postmenopausal persons who have had a hysterectomy
The recommendations are based on updated reviews of clinical trial outcomes regarding coronary heart disease, breast cancer, fractures, diabetes, colorectal cancer, blood-clot obstructions, stroke, dementia, gallbladder disease, urinary incontinence, and all-cause mortality.
[Hormone therapy in postmenopausal persons: Primary prevention of chronic conditions
https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/menopausal-hormone-therapy-preventive-medication. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, Nov 1, 2022]
A JAMA Patient Page that discusses the USPSTF recommendations notes severe menopausal symptoms can be effectively treated with hormone therapy
[Jin J. Menopausal hormone therapy for prevention of chronic conditions
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2797872. JAMA, Nov 1, 2022]
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Pharmacists call for removal of phenylephrine from over-the-counter (OTC) decongestant productsPharmacy professors Randy Hatton and Leslie Hendeles of the University of Florida College of Pharmacy assert:
(a) phenylephrine is not effective as an orally administered nasal decongestant even though it is the number one ingredient in OTC oral nose and sinus products (found in 261 such products), and
(b) it doesn’t work because it is extensively metabolized in the gut wall so hardly any of the drug can act to constrict blood vessels in the nose or elsewhere.
They note the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been slow to respond to a citizen’s petition they filed in 2015
https://truthinadvertising.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Hatton-Hendeles-2015-Citizens-Petition-re-oral-phenylephrine.pdf[Hatton RC, Hendeles L. Why is oral phenylephrine on the market after compelling evidence of it ineffectiveness as a decongestant?
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35337187/Annals of Pharmacotherapy, Vol. 56, Issue 11, March 25, 2022]
Hatton told TruthInAdvertising.org: “Consumers should not waste their money on products that contain phenylephrine. Consumers should read labels, look for oral phenylephrine, and reject these products.”
[Researchers call on FDA (again) to remove ‘ineffective’ OTC cold and flu medicines
https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/researchers-call-on-fda-again-to-remove-ineffective-otc-cold-medicines/. TruthInAdvertising.org, Feb 9, 2023]
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Theranos executive receives long sentence for fraudRamesh Balwani was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison after a jury found him guilty on all 12 felony counts of defrauding investors in technology company Theranos and the patients who used the company’s unreliable blood tests. Former CEO Elizabeth Holmes previously received an 11-year sentence for her role in the fraud. Balwani and Holmes falsely claimed the tests could screen for hundreds of health problems using just a few drops of blood.
[Diaz J. Ramesh ‘Sunny’ Balwani is sentenced to nearly 13 years for his role in Theranos fraud
https://www.npr.org/2022/12/07/1141278121/theranos-sunny-balwani-sentencing-elizabeth-holmes. NPR, Dec 7, 2022]
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Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Consumer Advocate
7 Birchtree Circle
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
Telephone: (919) 533-6009
http://www.quackwatch.org (health fraud and quackery)
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