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Consumer Health Digest #24-14
April 7, 2024
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; other news items; Web site evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended books; research tips; and other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer decision-making. The Digest’s primary focus is on health, but occasionally it includes non-health scams and practical tips. Items posted to this archive may be updated when relevant information becomes available. To subscribe, click here
http://lists.quackwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/chd_lists.quackwatch.org.
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Complaint filed against physician promoting “holistic” cancer treatmentsOn May 11, 2023, the Indiana Attorney General’s office submitted a complaint to the Indiana Medical Licensing Board accusing Clifford W. Fetters, M.D., of false and misleading advertising, failing to inform patients of side effects of tests and treatments, and not providing a patient with a truthful account of her condition. The state reportedly started receiving complaints from patients’ families starting in 2017.
[Kenney K. “I’d like to see him lose his license”: Widowed man hopeful as state files complaint against Carmel doctor
https://www.wrtv.com/news/wrtv-investigates/id-like-to-see-him-lose-his-license-widowed-man-hopeful-as-state-files-complaint-against-carmel-doctor. WRTV Indianapolis, March 7, 2024]
The complaint
https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2024/03/06131925/complaint_2023.pdf stated:
Fetters started Health and Wellness of Carmel
https://web.archive.org/web/20220703044131/https:/hwofc.com/ (“H&W”) in 2006, owns it, and practices medicine there.
H&W provides holistic medical care for children and adults, offering “Alternative Cancer Treatments,” IV Nutritional Therapy, Integrative Medical Services, Health and Wellness Management, and Aesthetic Services.
“Alternative cancer treatments” at H&W include holistic cancer treatments, personalized cancer testing, tests for circulating tumor cells, RGCC cancer sensitivity tests, far infrared heat sauna, immune support therapy, supportive oligonucleotide technique (“SOT”), PrimeSPOT, sono- and photo-dynamic therapy, and Vaxo-Q-Re.
In May 2022, H&W began advertising:
“through the use of holistic cancer treatment,
[H&W]
can effectively boost the immune system of
[their]
patients, as well as eliminate toxins in their body”
several options for IV therapy for cancer treatment that include vitamin C, vitamin K3, IV ozone therapy, and hyperthermia
ozone has “many therapeutic properties” and “
[c]
an be used as part of a therapeutic plan for almost every disease,” including cancer
vitamin C “may work in killing cancer (chemotherapeutic action)” by “increased production of hydrogen peroxide production (prooxidant), anti-angiogenesis (stop the blood supply that feeds cancer), immune system support (interferon, interleukin, etc.), and anti-inflammatory.”
According to the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21: (a) “Ozone is a toxic gas with no known useful medical application in specific, adjunctive, or preventive therapy,” and (b) “A number of devices currently on the market generate ozone by design or as a byproduct. Since exposure to ozone above a certain concentration can be injurious to health, any such device will be considered adulterated and/or misbranded.”
Fetters authored a blog on the H&W website claiming IV therapy helps treat cancer.
Fetters engaged in misconduct in the treatment of four patients with a variety of treatments. Two of the patients died.
Fetters advertised tests and treatments not supported by current professional theory or practice and not indicated for specific patients.
Fetters failed to inform a patient of side effects of treatment offered.
Fetters failed to give a patient a truthful and candid account of her condition.
On July 23, 2021, the Indiana Medical Review Panel
https://www.in.gov/idoi/medical-malpractice/filing-a-medical-malpractice-complaint/medical-review-panel/ determined that the evidence supported the conclusion that Fetters failed to meet the applicable standard of care.
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Tainted red yeast rice supplements linked to serious complicationsKobayashi Pharmaceutical’s beni kōji red yeast rice supplements
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/03/29/japan/science-health/kobayashi-pharma-apologizes-in-presser/ have been linked to at least five deaths, 188 hospitalizations, and 1,058 doctor visits. The sicknesses have included kidney failure. Eleven people in Taiwan have reported feeling ill after consuming the supplements. The company has received around 40,000 inquiries from consumers. The cause of the illnesses has not been confirmed, but it is likely a potentially harmful substance derived from blue mold that entered the supplements during the manufacturing process in a batch of products made at the company’s Osaka factory.
[Inoue Y. Kobayashi Pharma’s wide supply chain complicates search for tainted products
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/04/04/japan/science-health/beni-koji-supply-chain/. The Japan Times, April 4, 2024]
The first report of illness linked to the supplement came in mid-January but the company didn’t issue a voluntary recall
https://apnews.com/article/japan-benikoji-health-pills-recall-deaths-kobayashi-fa3766d6b1113d0bb4a28d6b91d7c8bb until March 22.
[Kageyama Y. Japanese officials inspect 2 factories making health supplements linked to 5 deaths
https://apnews.com/article/japan-supplements-recall-benikoji-factory-raid-a6c881aff4c4cc67627d09af269a45a3. Associated Press, March 30, 2024]
The supplements were promoted for lowering blood cholesterol levels. According to the Mayo Clinic
https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-red-yeast-rice/art-20363074, while red yeast rice can lower cholesterol as statin drug products do, there’s less assurance regarding quality and how much active ingredient is actually in the product.
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Medical debt linked to worse population health in the U.S.American Cancer Society researchers have found “consistent associations between medical debt and worse population health across multiple measures, including self-reported unhealthy days, years of life lost due to premature death, and. . . mortality rates.” Their analysis was based on nationwide medical-debt data for U.S. counties from the Urban Institute Debt in America project and health surveillance data from the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps compiled by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. Data for a total of 2,943 counties—93% of all U.S. counties—were included in their analysis. The primary measure of medical debt for each county was the percentage of people with a credit bureau record who have any medical debt in collections. The secondary county measure was the median amount of medical debt among people with any medical debt in collections.
[Han X, and others. Associations of medical debt with health status, premature death, and mortality in the US
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2815530. JAMA Network Open 7(3):e2354766, March 4, 2024]
In a commentary about the study, physicians with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and the University of Washington, Seattle, concluded:
Surely, everyone can agree that a consequence of accessing health care should not be worse health. For those who incur medical debt, this unfortunately appears to be their reality. The authors’ findings suggest that investing resources into debt prevention and mitigation may ultimately conserve downstream medical costs by improving population-level health. This is a key implication of the study. Our collective action today to address unsustainable debt may pay off substantial dividends in the future with dollars and lives saved.
[Su CT, Ramsey SD. Medical debt—An iatrogenic epidemic with mortal consequences
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2815532. JAMA Network Open 7(3):e2354707, March 4, 2024]
Another recent article describes the struggles of people in the southwestern Denver neighborhood of Westwood. This area has some of the highest levels of medical debt in Colorado where more than 20% of adults have historically had unpaid medical bills on their credit reports.
[Bichell RE, Toomer L. Medical debt affects much of America, but Colorado immigrants are hit especially hard
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/medical-debt-colorado-immigrants-credit-reports/. KFF Health News, April 3, 2024]
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Food myths debunkedIn Does Coffee Cause Cancer? And 8 More Myths about the Food We Eat
https://ecwpress.com/products/does-coffee-cause-cancer (ECW Press, 2023), Dr. Christopher Labos, a health columnist, podcaster, Montreal resident, and cardiologist with a master’s degree in epidemiology, discusses how sloppy science perpetuates popular misconceptions about food. In his book, the author discusses, among other things, whether vitamin C prevents the common cold, whether hot dogs are as bad as cigarettes, and whether red wine is good for your heart. A recording of Dr. Labos’s Skeptical Inquirer Presents
https://skepticalinquirer.org/presents/ talk on April 4, 2024 is also available
https://skepticalinquirer.org/video/christopher-labos-does-coffee-cause-cancer-myths-about-the-food-we-eat-dr/.
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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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Author
Topic: Deaths, hospitalizations,... Red yeast rice supplements linked to serious conseq (Read 54 times)