--- Maximus-CBCS v1.00
 * Origin: The Homestead * TORONTO, ONT * (416) 272-4067 * (1:259/415)

--
                Craig Werner   (future MD/PhD, 4.5 years down, 2.5 to go)

              (1935-14E Eastchester Rd., Bronx NY 10461, 212-931-2517)
"Comedy, like Medicine, was never meant to be practiced by the general public."

------------------------------
_The Chelation Way_   Dr. Morton Walker, Avery Publishing Group, Inc.
                                         Garden City Park, NY     c 1990
                                         Paperback, 303 pg.  $16.00

(book review in "Health and Nutrition Update" Vol. 5 No. 2, Summer 1990,p.12)

"The history of medicine is a history of conflict between medical societies
and their individual members.  I think a case can be made that one of the
worst things has been the formation of medical societies because they have
retarded medical discovery.  These societies have been given authority to
direct the practises of the members.  The reasons for granting broad powers
to these societies are laudatory:  to protect the public against the
ministrations of those who have no expertise in the field they profess to
practise.  When these powers were granted to medical socities, the general
populace was much more ignorant of medicine than it is today and tended to
trust anyone who professed to be an expert and had an endearing professional
manner.  Medical schools varied widely in their standards, and the quality
of their graduates varied even more.  There were, in fact, many graduates
with medical degrees who were more dangerous to their patients than the most
ignorant of charlatans.  Society needed a way to ensure a reasonable degree
of competence, but by eliminating the worst, they also eliminated some of
the best (i.e. the most creative).  Whenever standards are developed they
must be average standards.  Average standards cannot satisfy brilliant,
creative members who want to achieve much higher standards.  I define a
physician's competence by their loyalty to their medical societies, or to
the prevailing medical dogma.  These good physicians often run into major
difficulties with their associations.  If they value their patients above
their loyalty to their association, they must use every means at their
disposal to treat their patients.  They will be interested in tryin all
treatments that have been shown by other physicians to be helpful, provided
they do no harm.

"Sadly, many innovative physicians are using with great success, therapies
which their medical associations are doing their best to suppress.  This
they do by trying to take away the physician's license to practise, by
preventing their research communications from being published in medical
journals, and by public propaganda which is often false.  These tactics
are designed to prevent these heretical views from becoming public knowledge.
It is really a restraint of trade on a massive scale.

"An early excellent example of establishment oppression occurred 300 years
ago when Sir Thomas Sydenham discovered that the hoary theory of smallpox
could not be supported by his own observations.  The old therapy, in fact,
increased the death rate from smallpox by requiring the physician to increase
the fever in patients already feverish.  The death rate in England during
the summer was very high, and in winter it was very low, contrary to what
the theory called for.  Lack of central heating made it very difficult to
increase fever as much in winter.  Dr. Sydenham decreased the fever -- now
standard medical procedure -- and his summer death rate of patients fell
to the winter level.  His reward?  He was challenged to a duel and threatened
with expulsion from the medical association.  In desperation he turned to a
member of the nobility for relief and support.  Today he is honored as the
father of bedside medicine.

"What does this have to do with chelation therapy?  Well, chelation therapy
is to the medical profession today what Dr. Sydenham's use of decreasing
fever was to the profession 300 years ago.  However, I have not heard of
any chelation therapist being challenged to a duel with guns or swords. I
suppose this indicates we have made some progress.

"Morton Walker has become the main public supporter of chelation therapy.
This is his fourth book on the subject and provides a concise, accurate
account of this much maligned treatment.  It is practised by hundreds of
physicians on approximately 500,000 patients with great success and with
almost no toxicity when used in a medically responsible way.  At the
beginning of its use some years ago there were two deaths -- none since.
Two out of 500,000 compares favourably with the death rate from cardiovascular
surgery.

"Walker describes the history of chelation, how it is used, its benefits,
and its rare minor side effects.  Moreover, he adds a major discussion of
what is called {*filter*}chelation.  This is the use of nutrients and {*filter*} taken
orally which also combine or chelate and remove undesirable elements such as
excess calcium or lead.  Most nutrients can do some chelating, but a few have
a much greater affinity for the metallic atoms or can be used in much larger
quantities (i.e. ascorbic acid), so the net effect is greater.

"Dr. Walker also describes the politics of the therapeutic battle.  The
English medical association tried to eradicate Dr. Sydenham's views by
dismissing him.  The modern medical establishment has tried to eradicate
chelation therapy by expelling the doctors, threatening to expel them,
harrassing them, and using any underhanded methods including the invention
of evidence, following the principle that the end justifies the means.

"In my opinion, chelation therapy is winning the battle.  It is being accepted
more and more, and is being practised by an ever-increasing number of
physicians.

"If you wnat to learn about the benefit of chelation therapy for yourself
or your family, read the book, and join the chelation organizations lobbying
to have this treatment made more available.  It is important to permit
freedom of choice to patients and their physicians.  The population today
is not nearly as ignorant of medical matters as it was in the past.

 ---  A. Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D

.

Russell

Having a universal cause for all disease is one of the cardinal characteristics
of a quack theory.  Having a single treatment is another.

The author of this pamphlet is clearly far out of date in his understanding
of the pathophysiology of many diseases.  I would not trust his advice
if I were a patient.

--
Steve Dyer

Now there are many, many theories of healing which do not even pretend
to fall under such a rubrick, such as shamanism, faith healing,
Christian Science, and the like.  While most scientists do not
believe in such theories, they usually consider them to lie in the
realm of religion.  It is a political and not a scientific question
whether or not parents of minor children should be permitted to
exclusively use these forms of healing when their children are
seriously ill with life-threatening disease.  In most jurisdictions,
they are not.

Another set of alternative schools of healing is what I would call
"scientistic" or pseudoscientific.  These practioners use the language
of science and often believe that their theories are scientifically
grounded but they are not.  Some are remnants of 19th century medical
theories such as chiropractic and homeopathy, others such as herbalism
go back many centuries.  Others are the remains of theories once
part of orthodox medicine, but now discredited, such as Freudian
Psychoanalysis.  The hallmark of such systems is that they have
theories of disease which are often highly inductive (a few simple
principles explain almost everything; e.g. all disease is caused
by pinched nerves, or atherosclerosis, or repressed {*filter*} feelings
from infancy).  The proponents of these theories (with some
exceptions) rarely do research, and much of their "evidence" is
in the form of anecdotes and testimonials.  They are mostly practioners,
and if they are MDs they may be eccentric or unstable individuals,
often very bright and creative, but highly emotional and zealous.
A strong streak of paranoia runs through many of them, and they feel
that there is a {*filter*} to prevent their theories from making
them as famous as they deserve.  Rarely to they perform the kinds
of studies acceptable under the scientific method for validation
of data.  When these studies are done by scientists, the therapies
are usually found to be no better than placebo.

A recent book on Alternative Medicine discusses all these different
schools at length.  I forget the title, but Clark Glymour of CMU
is one of the authors, and you should be able to pull it up by that.
Glymour is a philosopher, not a doctor, incidentally.

Incidentally, why do chelation clinics charge so much?  It is a very
cheap drug.  Shouldn't cost that much.  Makes me wonder about the motives
of the advocates.

Letter from AIBR Life Sciences Division regarding the investigation of
Dr. Leo Bolles before the Washington State Medical Disciplinary Board:
----------------------------------------------------------------------

                          AIBR Life Sciences Division
                          American Institute for Biosocial Research
                          P.O. Box 1174
                          Tacoma, WA  98401 -- 1174  USA

Fr:   Alexander G. Schauss, Director

Date: February 28, 1990

To:   Medical Disciplinary Board
      P.O. Box 1099
      Olympia, WA  98507

Ref:  Dr. Leo Bolles, M.D., Bellevue

Dear Board:

   It has come to my attention that Dr. Bolles is to appear before your
Board in reference to questionable medical practice.  Although I have never
been a patient of Dr. Bolles, nor has this Institute utilized his services
or that of his staff for at least the ten year tenure I have been at this
Institute, I can comment on an experience that I had with him thir{*filter*} years
ago that may be relevant to this matter.

   In 1977, I was brought to Pierce County, Washington, by the Pierce County
Board of Commissioners to head the County {*filter*} Probation Department.  My
prior position was that of State Assistant Administrator, Department of
Social Services, South Dakota.  In the spring of 1977, our court was
requested to examine an apparently psychotic patient who was charged with
the {*filter*} and attempted {*filter*} of a local police officer.  At the time
of his arraignment, two of my staff arranged for a thorough psychiatric
evaluation of this jail inmate, in addition to having a member of my staff
psychiatric social work examine the inmate.  One month later, three reports
recommended that the inmate, age 21, be remanded to the State Hospital in
Steilacoom as insane.  Two psychiatrists and our own psychiatric social
worker felt the patient was paranoid schizophrenic and extremely dangerous.
It was further recommended that given the patient's long standing criminal
and mental health record a lobotomy should be considered.  Having seen this
offender myself, I could not have disagreed, nor his family.

   It was one of our staff in the department that recommended that we
consider an outside medical evaluation of the defendant.  The court agreed
to this prior to ruling on a transfer to the State Hospital.  He was
referred to Dr. Leo Bolles by our department since physiological evidence
and symptom history existed that suggested lead poisoning.  Dr. Bolles saw
the patient, who was transferred by our County Sherrif's Department.  He
reserved any judgment about the patient until such time as laboratory work
was completed.

   Two weeks later Dr. Bolles advised the court and department that indeed
severe heavy metal poisoning was suspected based on hair trace element
analysis.  Later work of {*filter*} confirmed his finding, and he was given
permission by the court to continue to see the patient.  It took three and
a half weeks of chelation type treatments, combined with mega-vitamin and
mineral supplement, and instruction in dietary modification, for the patient
to show improvement.  As a psychologist I was quite frankly amazed at the
defendant's progress.  His progress continued through the spring and summer,
by which time he was admitted to Tacoma Community College as a student, and
accepted into an intensive probation supervision program with the support
of the County Prosecutor, the court, and our department.  By the fall of
1977, his progress was so impressive to everyone, including his family, who
had suffered years of psychiatric treatment, unproductive medication, of
their son, that it was agreed to present this case before the State's annual
corrections conference.

   At that meeting the family and friends of this patient described the
nightmare they had gone through with him.

   Thir{*filter*} years have now gone by and this same young man remains free of
any legal problems and is of sound mental and physical health.  He graduated
from college and remains regularly employed, and married.

   When I first agreed to have Dr. Bolles examine and test this boy, I
considered the whole matter of an alternative to lobotomy with great
skepticism.  However, in consultation with Professor Derek-Bryce Smith,
Chairman of the Department of Organic Chemistry at the University of Reading,
England, I agreed to the alternative.  It was Professor Bryce-Smith's
publication in a British journal on the role of lead in aberrant behavior,
particularly some forms of criminality, that led our department to consider
Dr. Bolles as the suitable referring physician.

   I have no knowledge whatsoever of the reasons for your Board's action
against Dr. Bolles, but I must say in all good consciousness, that he saved
one man's life that all other "experts" regarded as lost.  Had Dr. Bolles
not been so advanced in his practice as he was in 1977, we would have
possibly lost a productive and useful citizen to unnecessary brain surgery.

   Although I have been out of correctional administration for many years
now, I will never forget this most important application of medicine practiced
by a doctor of vision and skill.  Unfortunately, this was not at the time the
sentiment of other physicians I had contacted who had advised our department
not to "waste our time" on "unproven" medical practices.  Yet they offered
no viable alternative or insight into the cause of this man's illness, except
to say that a lobotomy seemed reasonable given the history.  I remain
grateful to Dr. Bolles making our department, staff, and court system look
so smart as to have considered other possibilities that most "experts"
believed false.

   I am sending a copy of this letter to Dr. Bolles, since I do not believe
I have ever adequately thanked him for the effort he made for little
compensation on our community's behalf.

                                   Sincerely,

                                   (signed)
                                   Alexander G. Schauss
                                   Research Psychologist
                                   Director, Life Sciences Division,
                                   American Institute for Biosocial Research,
                                                                          Inc.

.

CHELATION THERAPY

Somehow, whether through the guidance of a well-informed friend or relative,
or through information obtained from the media, you have become curious
about chelation therapy.  With the alarming epidemic of degenerative diseases,
particularly of heart and {*filter*} vessel disease, and with an increasing
awareness of the shortcomings of conventional medical treatment for these
diseases, more and more people are seeking out information about chelation
therapy and wondering whether this form of treatment could be beneficial
to them.  It is the purpose of this pamphlet to provide you with the
information necessary for you to make an informed decision on just that
matter.

ARTERIOSCLEROSIS

Arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, is one of the most serious
diseases afflicting humankind.  In the United States, arteriosclerosis is
the most frequently encountered chronic disease and is implicated in the
death of over 52% of the population.  Its early onset in over 60% of 21 year
old men has been well documented by autopsy findings in Korea and Vietnam
casualties.

Arteriosclerosis begins with degeneration in the interior structure of the
artery wall and eventually results in a closing off of {*filter*} vessels,
decreasing the diameter of the inside of the arterial wall.

An artery is comprised of three basic layers:  an inner layer, the intima;
a middle muscular layer, the media; and an outer layer, the adventitia.
The area through which the {*filter*} flows is the lumen of the artery.

It is not until the lumen of the {*filter*} vessel is reduced by more than 50%
of normal that significant changes are noted; even a 70% reduction is
sometimes tolerated fairly well.  But with the increased scaling of the
inside of the vessels, the heart has to work much harder and {*filter*} pressure
must rise.  There is a reduction of {*filter*} supply to the body's vital organs.
Nutrient transfer to cell tissue is impeded.  Vitamins, minerals, hormones,
enzymes and oxygen gradually lose vital pathways and degeneration occurs in
that tissue or cell mas that cannot get the raw materials necessary for
normal function.  The resulting problems include coronary heart disease,
stroke, high {*filter*} pressure, diabetes, kidney disorders, senility, thyroid
and adrenal disturbances, emphysema, and Parkinson's disease.  It has been
said that you are only as old as your {*filter*} vessels -- "the rule of the
artery is supreme."

THE CHELATION PROCESS

Chelation therapy is a treatment for arteriosclerosis.  Its aim is to reduce
calcium deposits in the arteries and other parts of the body.  The word
chelate is derived from the Greek "chele" which refers to the claw of a crab,
implying the pincerlike binding of certain chemical substances to a bi-valent
metal or mineral.  Chelation is defined as the incorporation of a metal or
mineral ion into a heterocyclic ring structure.  Actual treatment involves
the intravenous infusion of small amounts of an amino acid, "disodium ethylene
diamene tetracetic acid" (EDTA), into the {*filter*} stream.  This amino acid has
the property of being chemically attracted to ionic calcium.

Calcium in the body exists in several forms.  In the bones and teeth, calcium
is firmly bound to protein and other molecules.  Calcium is also present in
the {*filter*}, part of which is bound to protein, and part of which is in ionic
form.  The level of ionic calcium in the {*filter*} serum is rigidly controlled by
the parathyroid glands.  With degeneration in the interior of the arteries,
excess ionic calcium, as well as smaller amounts of magnesium, manganese,
phosphorus, iron, and cadmium, are drawn from the {*filter*} nad deposited on the
inner walls of the arteries.  The minerals act as a cement binder with
cholesterol, fatty materials (lipids), proteins, and mucopolysaccharides in
the formation of plaques, or atheroma, within the intima and medial layers
of the arteries.

When EDTA comes in contact with ionic calcium in the body, it binds or
chelates itself with it.  In doing so, the calcium is "encircled," or
sequestered by a complex ring structure, in such a way that it loses its
physiologic and toxic properties.  The resulting "chelate" is now inactivated
from any further activity.  When the calcium is removed from the atheroma in
the arteries, the remaining materials begin to break down and slowly go to
solution.  The calcium and other minerals which are bound to the EDTA pass
through the {*filter*}stream and are excreted with the urine by the kidneys.
Microscopic particles and molecules of the other portions of the atheroma
are consumed by the macrophages in the {*filter*} stream, or filtered out by the
liver, converted into bile and excreted through the intestinal tract.  Thus,
the lumen of the {*filter*} vessel is enlarged, {*filter*} flow increases, and general
circulation is improved.  A single fold increase in vessel diameter results
in four fold increase in {*filter*} flow.  Calcium when normally deposited is not
easily removed by chelation.  The most accessible form of calcium is in those
areas where it has been abnormally deposited, namely in the inner walls of
the arteries.  But excess calcium is also deposited around the tendons,
joints, ligaments, kidneys, pancreas and skin.  These abnormal deposits
are referred to as metastatic or dystrophic calcium deposits and consist
largely of ionic calcium, a form similar to that found in plaque.  Thus,
with chelation therapy, abnormal areas of calcification can be gradually
reduced.

EDTA also assists the body in retarding a certain degenerative process
attacking the cells comprising the arterial wall.  This degeneration process
is known as lipid peroxidation and affects the various intracellular membranes
of the cell.  When these membranes are destroyed, enzymes are released, the
cell is injured and disease develops.  EDTA tends to protect these intra-
cellular membrances by removing certain metallic ions involved in peroxidation.

CLINICAL APPLICATION

The original use of EDTA in the United States was for the treatment of heavy
metal poisoning.  It was first used to treat lead poisoning in a battery
factory.  Then the U.S. Navy applied it for sailors who had absorbed lead
while painting ships and dock facilities.

Physicians began to notice that patients who had arteriosclerosis as well
as lead poisoning improved markedly in both areas with EDTA chelation
therapy.  The improvements were related to the symptoms of arteriosclerosis
in addition to those that resulted from lead poisoning.  These findings
were first reported in the American Medical literature in 1950 by a group
of physicians in Detroit, Michigan.

Experimentation and usage resulted in the development of techniques for the
successful treatment of {*filter*} vessel disease exclusively.  Since that time,
thousands and thousands of patients have undergone chelation therapy without
a single fatality due directly to the treatment.  Near miraculous results
have been obtained in the treatment of arteriosclerosis, scl{*filter*} heart
valves, coronary heart disease, intermittent claudication (leg pain due to
inadequate circulation), gangrene, angina pectoris, heart attack, stoke,
senility, scleroderma, degenerative joint disease, and psoriasis.  Chelation
therapy generally results in a significant improvement in coronary circulation,
in many cases to the extent that the patient is able to discontinue the use of
nitroglycerine and similar {*filter*}.  In a large number of cases, chelation
therapy  has been found to improve kidney function, reduce prostatic
obstruction, decrease the amount of insulin required by diabetics, allow
significant improvement in arthritis and in some cases of Parkinson's
disease.  Recent studies have even shown chelation therapy to be beneficial
in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis.

EDTA is somewhat like aspirin in that all of the mechanisms by which it
exerts its beneficial effects are presently unknown.  In addition to the
simple chemical capture of heavy metals and calcium ions, it appears that
other systems and processes are affected.  The quick response of angina
pectoris patients, the relief of stroke-paralyzed victims within days, the
delay of beneficial results of up to several months after treatment, the
improvement in {*filter*} lipid levels and many other restorative improvements,
strongly suggest that EDTA may have a greater spectrum of useful therapeutic
activity than is presently understood.

Chelation therapy is not, however, a cure-all.  It is a specific therapy aimed
at the removal of abnormal deposits of calcium which are the result of the
disease state arteriosclerosis.  The result is improved circulation.  And
since the basis of most of the health problems chelation therapy has been
found to treat effectively is poor circulation, we can understand why it
brings relief to such a variety of diseases.  The fact that chelation therapy
improves circulation regardless of the disease being treated is evidenced
independently by improvement in skin color, improvement of artery pulsation
in the extremities, return of normal temperature to the hands and feet, the
regaining of an ability to walk long distances comfortably, improvement of
brain function and improvement of muscular coordination.

EXAMINATION PROCEDURE

Before a decision can be made to begin chelation therapy, the patient must be
carefully evaluated.  This generally includes extensive laboratory and
cardiovascular procedures, as well as a physical examination by a doctor.

The laboratory work entails a very thorough medical history questionnaire
and dietary analysis.  This questionnaire is fed through a computer which
prints all significant health findings, system by system and gives an overall
summary.  It also includes a complete {*filter*} analysis and a urinalysis.  
Particular attention is directed at the lungs, kidneys and liver.  Patients
who have old tubercular calcified lesions in the lungs are generally not
acceptable for chelation therapy.  Similarly, the kidneys and liver
...

read more »

--------------------------------------------------------------

"Medical Care:  Where's the Choice?"  by Lucy Moll
(_Vegetarian Times_, December 1988, p. 45-- )

QUESTION:  Do you have the freedom to choose the type of medical care  
            you desire?

    ___ Yes     ___ No

If you checked yes, answer this question:  Do you live in the United States?
Another yes?  Then this report is just what the doctor should have ordered --
because in the Land of the Free, choices are restricted where medical care
is concerned.

You didn't realize there was a restriction?  Not many people do.  But from
your first breath to your last, the physicians you entrust with your body
are of one ilk:  products of a medical system that has become a megabillion-
dollar business, second only to defense.  As the most powerful illness-care
system in the world, it's hottest weapons are surgery, {*filter*} and other
high-tech interventions.  If you've got a broken leg, an inflamed appendix
or a fractured skull, you're in luck because physicians can help you.  But
when it comes to effective and safe treatment of the most lethal and
debilitating diseases -- heart disease, AIDS and cancer, to name a few --
you may want to choose another route.  If only you could.

The system in control is called allopathy, often referred to as "conventional
medicine" or "orthodox medicine."  Those who run the system -- physicians,
pharmaceutical giants, insurance companies, hospitals, government agencies
and organizations such as the American Medical Association -- would prefer
if you called it simply "medicine," because they want you to believe that
there are no alternatives, at least no _legitimate_ alternatives.

Branding nearly all competitors as quacks, without fairly determining who
is and who isn't, some very influential members of the medical establishment
have put the squeeze on alternative forms of medicine such as homeopathy,
naturopathy and acupuncture, and have run many other controversial therapies
out of the country.  But this campaign hasn't scared off health-care consumers.
A survey reported this year by the U.S. cooking.net">food and Drug Administration shows
that "63 percent of college graduates had recently used a questionable [sic]
therapy" -- that is, some form of treatment other than conventional medicine.

Bugged by news like that, the medical establishment is doing all it can to
prevent people from choosing the alternatives.  Just look at the Caleb Loverro
case.

Caleb is a 5-year-old boy suffering from leukemia.  After a month of
conventional treatment with powerful and toxic cancer-killing {*filter*}, the
disease was in remission.  His parents, Joseph and Gillian Loverro, both
vegetarians, decided the time was right to stop the {*filter*} and put their son
on a more gentle holistic therapy that included a macrobiotic diet, emphasizing
whole grains, vegetables, beans and other non-{*filter*}erated foods.  Joseph
Loverro is a chiropractor, and the couple has spent thousands of dollars
investigating possible treatments, both orthodox and non-conventional.  Their
conclusion was that, at that point, continued chemotherapy would be harmful
and holistic therapy would be more effective.

When the physician got wind of their plan, however, he dialed a child-abuse
hotline, Joseph Loverro says.  As a result, the Loverros lost legal custody
of Caleb (who, by agreement with a social-services agency, lives at home).
In court, the judge dismissed child-abuse charges but found the Loverros
guilty of child neglect.  Though siding with conventional medical wisdom,
the judge admitted the Loverros were "uniquely qualified" to make health
decisions for their son.

"This is really a case of the medical establishment versus my clients' rights
of free choice of medical care for their child," says Samuel A. Abady, the
Loverro's attorney.  The parents are allowed to continue holistic therapy
for Caleb, but against their wishes, he must undergo postchemotheraphy
treatment.

Interference with choices as personal as health brings up profound questions:
How did this medical monopoly come about anyway?  Does the U.S. Constitution
imply we should have greater medical freedom?  What's wrong with the
alternatives?  How do you tell the difference between legitimate alternatives
and out-and-out quackery?  And so on.

The answers aren't so easy to figure out.  With the medical establishment
and the alternative boosters flinging mud at the other, the truth gets
covered with a muck so insidious that even basic definitions of words become
impossible.  Clues are found in government reports, transcripts of
congressional hearings, court decisions, books and journals, and in interviews.
As the facts are put together, what emerges is something like an out-of-focus
photograph:  The image is there but the eyes have trouble making it out.

But ask the interested parties for their appraisal and they'll say everything
is crystal clear.

The proponents of medical choice (let's call them freedom fighters) see
themselves as Davids fighting a Goliath of conventional medicine and its
representatives.  Their goal is straightforward:  to gain the freedom to
choose (and dispense) the medical care they desire.  For instance, if they
want to be needled by an acupuncturist, see a psychic healer or try a cancer
treatment opposed by the American Cancer Society, they believe that choice
is theirs to make.

Standing firmly in their way is the formidable National Council Against Health
Fraud (let's call them quack-busters), with governmental agencies, pharma-
ceutical giants and the rest of the medical establishment in its cheering
section.  The council's upmost goal:  to stamp out quacks, charlatans,
snake-oil salesman -- whatever showy term it chooses at the moment.

Certainly hucksters, another favored word, are out there.  With a hand out
for profit, irreputable practitioners have advised arthritics to stand {*filter*}
under 1,000-watt light bulbs during a full moon and have promised to cure
cancer victims by treating them with ground warts from horses.  Sometimes,
such seemingly innocuous treatments can have disastrous consequences.  For
example, a woman fearing minor surgery for an easily removed skin cancer
delayed the operation and used instead an "anticancer cream" to hide the
problem.  IN the end, the woman faced extensive surgery, including plastic
surgery that didn't quite recapture her original appearance.

The mission to reveal frauds and bring them to justice seems beyond
question.  No one wants to be sucked in by money-making ploys that don't
work or can cause harm.  And preying on people weakened by illnesses is
pitiful indeed.

But a fundamental problem lies in the definition of quackery.  According to
a glossy pamphlet put out by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
and the Pharmaceutical Advertising Council, quackery is "the promotion of a
medical remedy that doesn't work or hasn't been proven to work."  This
definition casts a wide net, pulling together out-and-out quackery with all
types of "nonscientific" medicine.  The catch word here is nonscientific.
Very few alternatives have undergone testing considered acceptable by
conventional medicine, and this lack of scientific support finds them
automatically guilty, no questions asked.

With whom should you side?  The freedom fighters whose quest for medical
choice would also allow quackery to flourish?  Or the quackbusters whose
tactics knock many legitimate alternatives out of the marketplace?  Perhaps
a closer look at some facts will help.

FACT:  In determining effectiveness, it's science or nothing -- or so it seems.

It is true that alternative therapies are _unproven_ by scientific standards
acceptable to the medical establishment.  If the therapies were acceptable,
they wouldn't be alternatives.  But many therapies haven't been _disproven_
either.  They have yet to be subjected to careful study as specified by
allopathic medicine.  But even when they have been studied, the medical
establishment closes the gates to them.  Therein lies the rub.

To be proven, a drug or therapy must fit the scientific mold, or it is
discounted.  Proponents of many alternative treatments say this process is
unfair.  They emphasize that to be fairly judged, a treatment must be
evaluated according to its own scientific principles.  In many cases, these
practitioners have amassed evidence demonstrating safety and effectiveness
and have logical theoretical bases for their treatments.

An example is acupuncture.  Acupuncture is traditionally practiced by the
insertion of very fine needles into specific body points determined by
Oriental medicine.  The system is impossible to explain in conventional
scientific terms.  By stimulating these points, the flow of body energy,
called _chi_, is redirected to provide internal harmony and health.  In
the Orient, acupuncture is recognized as primary health care and is used to
treat everything from kidney stones to the common cold; sometimes it's
coupled with other forms of medicine.

"Many Westerners have strange notions about Chinese medicine," acupuncturist
Ted J. Kaptchuk, O.M.D., writes in _The Web That Has No Weaver_.  "Some of
them see it as hocus-pocus -- the product of primitive or magical thinking.
If a patient is cured by means of herbs or acupuncture, they see only two
possible explanations:  Either the cure was psychosomatic, or it was an
accident, the happy result of hit-or-miss pin-sticking which the practitioner
did not understand.  They assume that current Western science and medicine
have a unique handle on Truth -- all else is superstition."

Even when Western science takes a narrow look at acupuncture, there's every
indication it works -- at least for some people, in certain situations.  For
instance, writes author Hank Pizer in _Guide to the New Medicine_, a study at
the Hawaii School of Medicine showed that electro-acupuncture was helpful
in inducing labor in 78 percent of women with delayed ...

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