Killing Us Softly

by Dr Paul Offit

  203 Buttar regarding man-made harms: Ibid., 81.

  203 Risks of environmental toxins are overstated: G. Kabat, Hyping Health Risks: Environmental Hazards in Daily Life and the Science of Epidemiology (New York: Columbia University Press, 2011).

  203 Chelation studies fail to show effect: E. Ernst, “Chelation Therapy for Peripheral Arterial Occlusive Disease: A Systematic Review,” Circulation 96 (1997): 1031–33.

  204 Garcia testimony: In the Matter of Rashid Ali Buttar, D. O., Before the North Carolina Medical Board, April 24, 2008 (testimony by Jane Garcia).

  204 Buttar on son’s birth: Rashid A. Buttar, D. O., Know Your Options: Autism: The Misdiagnosis of Our Future Generations, DVD (Coral Gables, Fla.: Dolphin Entertainment, 2006).

  204 Buttar regarding mission from God: Buttar, 9 Steps, 264.

  205 Buttar on struggle with God: Ibid., 264–65.

  205 Buttar on son’s recovery: Ibid.

  205 Jennings’s symptoms: J. Avila and D. Cohen, “Medical Mystery or Hoax: Did Cheerleader Fake a Muscle Disorder?” ABC News, July 23, 2010; “Desiree Jennings,” RationalWiki, http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Desiree_Jennings.

  206 Jennings and Coldplay: Ibid.

  206 Jennings and British accent: “Flu Shot Woman,” Inside Edition, http://www.insideedition.com/headlines/159-flu-shot-woman.

  206 Jennings’s diagnostic tests: “The Flu, a Shot to the System,” www.louduntimes.com/index.php/archive/article/Column_The_flu_a_shot_to_the_system.

  206 Jennings and dystonia: Ibid.

  206 Inside Edition story: “Woman Says Flu Shot Triggered Rare Neurological Disorder,” www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=92345&catid=158.

  206 Jenny McCarthy directs Jennings to Buttar: “Desiree Jennings Update: Road to Recovery,” Planet Thrive, http://planetthrive.com/2009/11/desiree-jennings-update-road-to-recovery.

  207 Buttar diagnoses Jennings with mercury toxicity: C. Coffey, “Woman Disabled by Flu Shot Reaction,” www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/health/101309_woman_disabled_by_flu_shot_reaction_dystonia.

  207 Jennings on 20/20: Avila and Cohen, “Medical Mystery or Hoax.”

  207 Hopkins neurologist diagnoses psychogenic disorder: S. Novella, “Desiree Jennings: The Plot Thickens,” Neurologica blog, http://theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=1558; Orac, “Has Desiree Jennings VAERS Report Been Found?” ScienceBlogs, http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2009/11/05/has-desiree-jennings-vaers-report-been-f.

  207 Novella regarding Jennings: S. Novella, “Desiree Jennings on 20/20,” Neurologica blog, http://theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=2150.

  207 University of Maryland uses Jennings’s tape to train residents: “Desiree Jennings,” RationalWiki; http://www.foxnews.com/search-results/m/26952743/flu-shot-fears.htm.

  207 Inside Edition follow-up story: “Flu Shot Woman,” Inside Edition.

  208 Novella regarding Jennings: www.theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=1195.

  208 Jennings and China: Avila and Cohen, “Medical Mystery or Hoax.”

  208 Problems with provoked metals excretion testing: S. Barrett, “How the ‘Urine Toxic Metals’ Test Is Used to Defraud Patients,” QuackWatch, www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Tests/urine_toxic.html (italics mine).

  208 Buttar testifies at congressional hearing: Autism Spectrum Disorders: An Update of Federal Government Initiatives and Revolutionary New Treatments of Neurodevelopmental Diseases, Before the Subcommittee on Human Rights & Wellness Government Reform Committee, May 6, 2004 (testimony by Rashid A. Buttar).

  209 Heavy-metals test on autistic and normal children: S. E. Soden et al., “24-Hour Provoked Urine Excretion Test for Heavy Metals in Children with Autism and Typically Developing Children: A Pilot Study,” Clinical Toxicology 45 (2007): 476–81.

  209 Novella regarding Jennings: S. Novella, “Well That Didn’t Take Long—Another Dystonia Case Follow Up,” Neurologica blog, www.theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=1195.

  209 Buttar regarding testing of TD-DMPS: Estherar, “The Allure of Biomedical Treaments [sic] for Autism,” Mainstream Parenting Resources, http://mainstreamparenting.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/the-allure-of-biomedical-treaments-for-autism.

  211 Buttar regarding the value of TD-DMPS: Ibid.

  211 Buttar warns against using other transdermal chelation therapies: Rashid A. Buttar, “Buttar Autism Treatment Protocol: Advanced Concepts in Medicine/Center for Advanced Medicine,” Center for Advanced Medicine (August 2004).

  211 Buttar regarding Trans-D: Buttar, 9 Steps, 254.

  211 Older cure-alls: Anonymous, Nostrums, 436–53.

  212 Sales of Trans-D: Buttar, 9 Steps, 238.

  212 Buttar regarding pharmaceutical companies: Rashid A. Buttar, D.O., Know Your Options: Sudden Cardiac Death, #1 Symptom of Heart Disease, DVD (Coral Gables, Fla.: Dolphin Entertainment, 2007).

  212 Specter on Big Placebo: “Michael Specter: The Danger of Science Denial,” YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OMLSs8t1ng.

  212 Buttar’s oath: Buttar, 9 Steps, xvii.

  212 Buttar warns against medical doctors: Ibid., 10.

  213 Buttar insists on unquestioning compliance: Rashid A. Buttar, D.O., Know Your Options: Cancer, The Untold Truth, DVD (Coral Gables, Fla.: Dolphin Entertainment, 2007).

  213 Buttar claims that doctors don’t follow their own advice: Ibid.

  213 Buttar and CDC conspiracy: Rashid A. Buttar, D. O., Know Your Options: Heavy Metal Toxicity: The Hidden Killer, DVD (Coral Gables, Fla.: Dolphin Entertainment, 2007).

  214 CDC warning about chelation therapy: “Deaths Associated with Hypocalcemia from Chelation Therapy—Texas, Pennsylvania, and Oregon, 2003–2005,” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 55 (2006): 204–7 (italics mine).

  215 Buttar on how his son became autistic: Buttar, 9 Steps, 263.

  215 Buttar regarding thimerosal: Rashid A. Buttar, D. O., Know Your Options: Heavy Metal Toxicity.

  215 Buttar on not vaccinating his child: Ibid.

  215 Studies showing that thimerosal in vaccines didn’t cause autism or mercury toxicity: Institute of Medicine, Immunization Safety Review: Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines and Neurodevelopmental Disorders (Washington, D. C.: National Academies Press, 2001); K. M. Madsen, M. B. Lauritsen, C. B. Pedersen, et al., “Thimerosal and the Occurrence of Autism: Negative Ecological Evidence from Danish Population-Based Data,” Pediatrics 112 (2003): 604–6; A. Hviid, M. Stellfeld, J. Wohlfahrt and M. Melbye, “Association Between Thimerosal-Containing Vaccine and Autism,” Journal of the American Medical Association 290 (2003): 1763–66; J. Heron and J. Golding, “Thimerosal Exposure in Infants and Developmental Disorders: A Prospective Cohort Study in the United Kingdom Does Not Support a Causal Association,” Pediatrics 114 (2004): 577–83; N. Andrews, E. Miller, A. Grant, et al., “Thimerosal Exposure in Infants and Developmental Disorders: A Retrospective Cohort Study in the United Kingdom Does Not Support a Causal Association,” Pediatrics 114 (2004): 584–91; P. Stehr-Green, P. Tull, M. Stellfeld, et al., “Autism and Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines: Lack of Consistent Evidence for an Association,” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 25 (2005): 101–6; E. Fombonne, R. Zakarian, A. Bennett, et al., “Pervasive Developmental Disorders in Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Prevalence and Links with Immunization,” Pediatrics 118 (2006): 139–50; W. W. Thompson, C. Price, B. Goodson, et al., “Early Thimerosal Exposure and Neuropsychological Outcomes at 7 to 10 Years,” New England Journal of Medicine 357 (2007): 1281–92; R. Schechter and J. Grether, “Continuing Increases in Autism Reported to California’s Development Services System,” Archives of General Psychiatry 65 (2008): 19–24; E. Fombonne, “Thimerosal Disappears but Autism Remains,” Archives of General Psychiatry 65 (2008): 15–16.

  215 Smallpox epidemiology: S. Plotkin, W. Orenstein, and P. Offit, eds., Vaccines, 6th ed. (Philadelphia: Saunders, 2012), 719–22.

  215 Polio epidemiology: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: “Outbreaks Following Wild Poliovirus Importations—Europe, Africa, and Asia, January 2009–September 2010,” Mo
rbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 59 (2010): 1393–99.

  216 Hepatitis B virus epidemiology: G. L. Armstrong, E. F. Mast, M. Wojczynski and H. S. Margolis, “Childhood Hepatitis B Virus Infections in the United States Before Hepatitis B Immunization,” Pediatrics 108 (2001): 1123–28.

  216 Buttar warns against swine flu vaccine: “Dr. Rashid A. Buttar Speaks on the N1H1 [sic] Swine Flu Vaccine,” www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcclPdWmzmk, October 5, 2009.

  216 Swine flu epidemiology: “2009 H1N1 Flu: Situation Update,” May 28, 2010, CDC.gov, http://cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm.

  216 Swine flu vaccine safety: “Safety of Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccines—United States, October 1–November 24, 2009,” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 58 (2009): 1–6.

  217 Buttar trial before North Carolina Board of Medical Examiners: In the Matter of Rashid Ali Buttar, D. O., Before the North Carolina Medical Board, April 24, 2008 (testimony by Rashid Buttar).

  218 Buttar asked to change consent form: S. Barrett, “Rashid Buttar Reprimanded,” Casewatch, www.casewatch.org/board/med/buttar/consent_2010.shtml.

  CHAPTER 11: THE REMARKABLY POWERFUL, HIGHLY UNDERRATED PLACEBO RESPONSE

  224 Acupuncture studies: Singh and Ernst, Trick or Treatment, 77–88; P. White, F. L. Bishop, P. Prescott, et al., “Practice, Practitioner, or Placebo? A Multifactorial, Mixed-Methods Randomized Controlled Trial of Acupuncture,” Pain: Journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain, December 12, 2011, doi: 10.1016/jpain 2011.11.007.

  224 Novella background: D. Gorski, “The Trouble with Dr. Oz,” Science-Based Medicine blog, www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=12208.

  224 Oz regarding Novella’s opinions on acupuncture: “Controversial Medicine: Alternative Health,” The Dr. Oz Show, www.doctoroz.com/videos/alternative-medicine-controversy-pt-1.

  224 Novella regarding acupuncture: Ibid.

  225 Nurse and morphine: D. A. Lessing, K. Madden, S. Marlan, eds., Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion (New York: Springer Publishing Co., 2009).

  225 Unicorn horns: A. Shapiro and E. Shapiro, The Powerful Placebo: From Ancient Priest to Modern Physician (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997), 14.

  225 Vitamin O: R. Park, Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), 46–49.

  227 Therapist’s attitude and placebo effect: W. G. Thompson, The Placebo Effect and Health: Combining Science and Compassionate Care (Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 2005), 182.

  227 Kaptchuk regarding personality: M. Specter, “The Power of Nothing,” The New Yorker, December 12, 2011.

  227 Blau regarding pathologist: Park, Voodoo Science, 49.

  228 John Diamond regarding alternative medicine: Diamond, Snake Oil, 34.

  229 Postcards from the Edge quote: Postcards from the Edge, directed by Mike Nichols (1990; Culver City, Calif.: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2001).

  230 Levine study: J. D. Levine, N. C. Gordon, and H. L. Fields, “The Mechanism of Placebo Analgesia,” Lancet 312 (1978): 654–57.

  230 Endorphin findings reproduced: F. Benedetti, Placebo Effects: Understanding the Mechanisms in Health and Disease (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), 63–98.

  231 Acupuncture and endorphins: V. Clement-Jones, L. McLoughlin, S. Tomlin, et al., “Increased Beta-Endorphin But Not Met-Enkephalin Levels in Human Cerebrospinal Fluid After Acupuncture for Recurrent Pain,” Lancet 2 (1980): 946–49.

  232 Caplan regarding ethics of deception in medicine: Art Caplan, interviewed by the author, September 20, 2011.

  232 Caplan regarding deceptions by mainstream clinicians: Ibid.

  233 Racetrack study: R. E. Knox and J. A. Inkster, “Postdecision Dissonance at Post Time,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 8 (1968): 319–23.

  233 JAMA pain study: R. L. Waber, B. Shiv, Z. Carmon, and D. Ariely, “Commercial Features of Placebo and Therapeutic Efficacy,” Journal of the American Medical Association 299 (2008): 1016–17.

  233 Caplan on cost of placebo response: Art Caplan, interviewed by the author, September 20, 2011.

  233 South Korean president: “Acupuncture Needle Removed from Lung of Former South Korean President,” The Telegraph, May 3, 2011.

  233 Dangers of acupuncture: E. Ernst, “Deaths After Acupuncture: A Systematic Review,” International Journal of Risk and Safety in Medicine 22 (2010): 131–36; “Acupuncture Can Spread Serious Diseases: Experts,” Reuters, March 18, 2010, www.reuters.com/article/2010/03/19/us-acupuncture-infection-idUSTRE62I00220100319; I. Sample, “Dozens Killed by Incorrectly Placed Acupuncture Needles,” The Guardian, October 18, 2010.

  234 Ader-Cohen study: R. Ader and N. Cohen, “Behaviorally Conditioned Immunosuppression,” Psychosomatic Medicine 37 (1975): 333–40.

  235 MacKenzie study: J. N. MacKenzie, “The Production of the So-Called ‘Rose-Cold’ by Means of an Artificial Rose,” American Journal of the Medical Sciences 91 (1886): 45–57.

  235 Imboden study: J. B. Imboden, A. Canter and L. E. Cluff, “Convalescence from Influenza: A Study of the Psychological and Clinical Determinants,” Archives of Internal Medicine 108 (1961): 393–99.

  236 Ader lupus study: K. Olness and R. Ader, “Conditioning as an Adjunct in the Pharmacotherapy of Lupus Erythematosis,” Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics 13 (1992): 124–25.

  236 Sabbioni study: M. E. E. Sabbioni, D. H. Bovbjerg, S. Mathew, et al., “Classically Conditioned Changes in Plasma Cortisol Levels Induced by Dexamethasone in Healthy Men,” FASEB Journal 11 (1997): 1291–96.

  236 Enhancing immune response study: D. L. Longo, P. L. Duffy, W. C. Koop, et al., “Conditioned Immune Response to Interferon-Gamma in Humans,” Clinical Immunology 90 (1999): 173–81.

  236 Benefits of placebo for variety of diseases: Benedetti, Placebo Effects; S. S. Wang, “Why Placebos Work Wonders,” Wall Street Journal, January 3, 2012.

  237 Homeopathy on Oz show: “Alternative Pain Treatments, Part 1,” The Dr. Oz Show, www.doctoroz.com/videos/Alternative-Pain-Treatments-Pt-1.

  238 Studies of homeopathic remedies: E. Ernst, “Homeopathy: What Does the ‘Best’ Evidence Tell Us?” Medical Journal of Australia 192 (2010): 458–60.

  239 Harm caused by over-the-counter cough-and-cold preparations: D. Childs, “Docs Support FDA Cough Medicine Warning,” ABC News, August 16, 2007, http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Drugs/story?id=3488351&page=1.

  239 Ebers Papyrus: Shapiro and Shapiro, Powerful Placebo, 4.

  240 Norman Cousins quote: N. Cousins, Anatomy of an Illness (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1979), 76–78.

  CHAPTER 12: WHEN ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE BECOMES QUACKERY

  241 Childhood deaths and prayer: C. Fraser, God’s Perfect Child: Living and Dying in the Christian Science Church (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1999).

  241 Weil regarding HIV treatments: A. Weil, Spontaneous Healing: How to Discover and Enhance Your Body’s Natural Ability to Maintain and Heal Itself (New York: Balantine Books, 1995), 4.

  242 Benefit of anti-AIDS drugs: M. A. Fischl, D. D. Richman, M. H. Grieco, et al., “The Efficacy of Azidothymidine (AZT) in the Treatment of Patients with AIDS and AIDS-Related Complex,” New England Journal of Medicine 317 (1987): 185–91.

  242 Harvard study of asthmatics: M. E. Wechsler, J. M. Kelley, I. O. E. Boyd, et al., “Active Albuterol or Placebo, Sham Acupuncture, or No Intervention in Asthma,” New England Journal of Medicine 365 (2011): 119–26.

  242 Homeopathy and asthma death: Dr. Robert Baratz, personal communication.

  242 Linda Epping: Barrett and Jarvis, Health Robbers, 83–84.

  243 Harm from unpasteurized products: Food and Drug Administration, “The Dangers of Raw Milk: Unpasteurized Milk Can Pose Serious Health Risk,” www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm079516.htm.

  243 Mercola and Jumbotron: B. Smith, “Dr. Mercola: Visionary or Quack?” Chicago, February 2012.

  243 Mercola doesn’t believe HIV causes AIDS: Ibid.

 
; 243 Mercola, coffee enemas, baking soda: “The Cancer Treatment So Successful—Traditional Doctors Shut It Down,” April 23, 2001, http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/04/23/dr-nicholas-gonzalez-on-alternative-cancer-treatments.aspx; D. Gorski, “For Shame, Dr. Oz, for Promoting Joseph Mercola on Your Show,” Science-Based Medicine blog, www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/for-shame-dr-oz; Orac, “Dr. Oz: America’s Doctor and the Abdication of Professional Responsibility,” ScienceBlogs, April 13, 2010, http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2010/04/dr_oz_americas_doctor_and_the_abdication.php; T. Tsouderos, “Questioning Dr. Oz,” Chicago Tribune, April 9, 2010.

  243 Mercola and FDA: T. Tsouderos, “FDA Warns Doctor: Stop Touting Camera As Disease Screening Tool,” Chicago Tribune, April 25, 2011.

  243 Mercola regarding his medical model: “The Alternative Health Controversy,” The Dr. Oz Show, www.doctoroz.com/videos/alternative-health-controversy-pt.1.

  244 Andrew Weil regarding kava: Weil, Spontaneous Healing, 321.

  244 FDA warning against kava: Food and Drug Administration, “Consumer Advisory: Kava-Containing Dietary Supplements May Be Associated with Severe Liver Injury,” March 25, 2002.

  244 Baby dies from asphyxiation: Butler, Consumer’s Guide, 82–83.

  244 Neural Organization Technique: Ibid., 171–72.

  244 Ernst study regarding harm from chiropractic: E. Ernst, “Deaths After Chiropractic: A Review of Published Cases,” International Journal of Clinical Practice 64 (2010): 1162–65.

  245 Edzard Ernst: R. Booth, “Prince Charles Health Charity Accused of Vendetta Against Critic,” The Guardian, March 19, 2010; I. Sample, “Prince Charles Branded a ‘Snake Oil Salesman’ by Scientist,” The Guardian, July 25, 2011; K. Kelland, “Professor Calls Prince Charles, Others ‘Snake Oil Salesmen’,” Reuters, July 25, 2011; J. Hope, “Charles? He’s Just a Snake-Oil Salesman: Professor Attacks Prince on ‘Dodgy’ Alternative Remedies,” Mail Online, July 26, 2011; S. Rustin, “Edzard Ernst: The Professor at War with the Prince,” The Guardian, July 29, 2011; C. Jardine, “Who We Gonna Call? Quackbuster!” Telegraph, August 22, 2011.

  246 Simon Singh: S. Singh, “Beware the Spinal Trap,” The Guardian, April 19, 2008; M. Robbins, “Furious Backlash from Simon Singh Libel Case Puts Chiropractors on Ropes,” The Guardian, March 1, 2010; S. Boseley, “Simon Singh Libel Case Dropped,” The Guardian, April 15, 2010; P. Ghosh, “Chiropractors’ Libel Case Dropped Against Simon Singh,” BBC News, April 15, 2010; A. Coghlan, “Simon Singh Wins Libel Battle Against Chiropractors,” New Scientist, April 15, 2010.