Boyd Haley

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Boyd Eugene Haley
Born (1940-09-22) September 22, 1940 (age 83)
Greensburg, Indiana
Alma mater Franklin College, University of Idaho, Washington State University
Known for Photoaffinity labeling Anti-vaccine activism
SpouseSandy Haley [1]
Awards Sigma Xi [2]
Scientific career
Institutions University of Wyoming, University of Kentucky
Thesis Gamma-fluoro-adenosinetriphosphate: I. Synthesis and properties; II. Interaction with myosin, heavy meromyosin, and fumarase.  (1971)

Boyd Eugene Haley (born September 22, 1940, Greensburg, Indiana) is an American anti-vaccine activist and retired professor of chemistry at the University of Kentucky.

Contents

Education and career

A native of Greensburg, Indiana, Haley graduated from its New Point High School in 1959. Four years later, he received a bachelor's degree from Franklin College in Franklin, Indiana, and then entered a teaching fellowship at Howard University. [3] Thereafter, he served as a U.S. Army medic a few years.

In 1967, Haley obtained an M.S. degree from the University of Idaho. He then entered a doctoral program at Washington State University, where he worked "to make chemical modifications on ATP to try to identify how and exactly where ATP binds to cause muscle movement." [4] In 1971, WSU granted him his Ph.D. degree in chemistry-biochemistry.

For three years, Haley served as a postdoctoral scholar at Yale University. From 1974 to 1985, he was a professor at the University of Wyoming. [2] hereafter, he was appointed professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Kentucky, whose chemistry department he became chairperson of in 1997. [2] He is now professor emeritus. [5]

Basic research

In 1992, Haley and a colleague, upon examining cerebrospinal fluid, reported levels of glutamine synthetase considerably higher in cases of Alzheimer's disease than in a control group, and suggested that this could be a biomarker to aid diagnosis. [6] [7]

In 2005, Haley reproduced findings of gold salt removing mercury from molecules, and inferred support for the possibility of gold salts removing mercury from biological proteins. [8] Yet Haley noted that the gold salts could themselves be toxic, and called for the extreme caution before applying gold salts in medical treatment. [8]

Thimerosal controversy

Haley argues that mercury exposure via dental amalgams and vaccinations may cause neurological impairments and diseases, such as autism and Alzheimer's disease. [9] The United States Public Health Service and the American Dental Association reject these claims. [10] [11]

Haley has appeared in court as an expert witness against vaccine manufacturers, stating his belief that thimerosal causes autism, but his testimony has not been accepted. [12] In 2008 a judge ruled that his "lack of expertise in genetics, epidemiology, and child neurology make it impossible for him to supply the necessary factual basis to support his testimony". [12]

Haley has labeled autism as "mad child disease" (akin to mad cow disease), which some autistic individuals and their parents have found highly offensive. [13] [14]

Supplement marketing

Haley is the founder of CTI Science, a Lexington, Kentucky-based biotechnology firm. CTI marketed a product, OSR#1, for human consumption; it was described as an "antioxidant" dietary supplement that is a powerful chelator from a family originally developed to remove heavy metals from soil and acid mine drainage. [15] In June 2008, an FDA toxicologist questioned [16] "on what basis the product could be expected to be safe and could be considered a dietary ingredient", but CTI Science and Haley had not responded as of January 2010. [15] The testing was described as incomplete and indicating toxicity. [17] On June 17, 2010, the FDA sent a warning letter noting five potential violations, expressing concern over the testing, and requiring a response in 15 days. [18] [19] Although Haley wrote an op-ed for the Lexington Herald-Leader , [20] [21] the FDA did not receive a formal response, and OSR#1 was withdrawn from the market. [22]

Related Research Articles

The National Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF) was a not-for-profit, US-based organization, that described itself as a "private nonprofit, voluntary health agency that focuses upon health misinformation, fraud, and quackery as public health problems."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercury poisoning</span> Poisoning caused by mercury chemicals

Mercury poisoning is a type of metal poisoning due to exposure to mercury. Symptoms depend upon the type, dose, method, and duration of exposure. They may include muscle weakness, poor coordination, numbness in the hands and feet, skin rashes, anxiety, memory problems, trouble speaking, trouble hearing, or trouble seeing. High-level exposure to methylmercury is known as Minamata disease. Methylmercury exposure in children may result in acrodynia in which the skin becomes pink and peels. Long-term complications may include kidney problems and decreased intelligence. The effects of long-term low-dose exposure to methylmercury are unclear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chelation therapy</span> Medical procedure to remove heavy metals from the body

Chelation therapy is a medical procedure that involves the administration of chelating agents to remove heavy metals from the body. Chelation therapy has a long history of use in clinical toxicology and remains in use for some very specific medical treatments, although it is administered under very careful medical supervision due to various inherent risks, including the mobilization of mercury and other metals through the brain and other parts of the body by the use of weak chelating agents that unbind with metals before elimination, exacerbating existing damage. To avoid mobilization, some practitioners of chelation use strong chelators, such as selenium, taken at low doses over a long period of time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dental amalgam controversy</span> Debate about the effectiveness and safety of dental amalgam

This discussion of the dental amalgam controversy outlines the debate over whether dental amalgam should be used. Supporters claim that it is safe, effective and long-lasting, while critics argue that amalgam is unsafe because it may cause mercury poisoning and other toxicity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erethism</span> Neurological disorder

Erethism, also known as erethismus mercurialis, mad hatter disease, or mad hatter syndrome, is a neurological disorder which affects the whole central nervous system, as well as a symptom complex, derived from mercury poisoning. Erethism is characterized by behavioral changes such as irritability, low self-confidence, depression, apathy, shyness and timidity, and in some extreme cases with prolonged exposure to mercury vapors, by delirium, personality changes and memory loss. People with erethism often have difficulty with social interactions. Associated physical problems may include a decrease in physical strength, headaches, general pain, and tremors, as well as an irregular heartbeat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amalgam (dentistry)</span> Material used in dentistry for direct restorative procedures in the tooth

In dentistry, amalgam is a liquid mercury and metal alloy mixture used to fill cavities caused by tooth decay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercury (element)</span> Chemical element, symbol Hg and atomic number 80

Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver and was formerly named hydrargyrum from the Greek words hydro (water) and argyros (silver). A heavy, silvery d-block element, mercury is the only metallic element that is known to be liquid at standard temperature and pressure; the only other element that is liquid under these conditions is the halogen bromine, though metals such as caesium, gallium, and rubidium melt just above room temperature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amalgam (chemistry)</span> Alloy of mercury with another metal

An amalgam is an alloy of mercury with another metal. It may be a liquid, a soft paste or a solid, depending upon the proportion of mercury. These alloys are formed through metallic bonding, with the electrostatic attractive force of the conduction electrons working to bind all the positively charged metal ions together into a crystal lattice structure. Almost all metals can form amalgams with mercury, the notable exceptions being iron, platinum, tungsten, and tantalum. Silver-mercury amalgams are important in dentistry, and gold-mercury amalgam is used in the extraction of gold from ore. Dentistry has used alloys of mercury with metals such as silver, copper, indium, tin and zinc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hal Huggins</span> American dental campaigner

Hal Alan Huggins was an American alternative dentistry advocate and campaigner against the use of dental amalgam fillings and other dental therapies that he believed to be unsafe. Huggins began to promote his ideas in the 1970s and played a major role in generating controversy over the use of amalgam. Huggins's license to practice dentistry was revoked in 1996 after a panel found him guilty of gross negligence. Since then, he continued to publish on the topic of mercury and human health and believed that dental amalgam and other dental practices were responsible for a range of serious diseases. Many of Huggins' health claims have been criticized as pseudoscientific and quackery.

BDTH<sub>2</sub> Chemical compound

BDTH2 (also called BDET and BDETH2; trade names B9, MetX, and OSR#1) is an organosulfur compound that is used as a chelation agent. It is a colourless solid. The molecule consists of two thiol groups and linked via a pair of amide groups.

Holistic dentistry, also called biological dentistry, biologic dentistry, alternative dentistry, unconventional dentistry, or biocompatible dentistry, is the equivalent of complementary and alternative medicine for dentistry. Although the holistic dental community is diverse in its practices and approaches, common threads include strong opposition to the use of amalgam in dental fillings, nonsurgical approaches to gum disease, and the belief that root canal treatments may endanger systemic health of the patient through the spread of trapped dental bacteria to the body. Many dentists who use these terms also regard water fluoridation unfavorably.

Kathleen Seidel is an American researcher and weblog publisher from Peterborough, New Hampshire, best known for investigations and writing on autism. Her inquiries into the work and conduct of Mark Geier and his son David Geier regarding chelation therapy and a hormone-altering drug called Lupron, led to medical board actions in multiple states that suspended Mark Geier from medical practice, and caused David Geier to be arraigned for allegedly practising medicine without a license.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey Brent</span> Medical toxicologist

Jeffrey A. Brent is a medical toxicologist who is a distinguished clinical professor of medicine and emergency medicine at the University of Colorado, School of Medicine. In addition, he is a professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Colorado School of Public Health. He is also the past president of the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology, was editor in chief of the journal Toxicological Reviews, and was a member of the board of directors of the American College of Medical Toxicology. Previously, most of Brent's research focused on the use of fomepizole as a treatment for both methanol and ethylene glycol poisoning, and he led a trial of this drug which resulted in the FDA approving it in December 1997. Currently, Brent serves as Director of the Toxicology Investigators Consortium, an NIH and FDA supported multi center research and surveillance group. Brent is also a senior editor of "Critical Care Toxicology: Diagnosis and Management of the Critically Poisoned Patient," originally published in 2005, and now in its second edition, which was published in 2017.

Hurair Vasken Aposhian was a Ph.D. toxicologist and an emeritus professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of Arizona, a post he held beginning in 1975. He is also a former professor of pharmacology at the medical school at said university. He received his bachelor's degree in chemistry, at Brown University, 1948. He received a master's degree and a PhD in physiological chemistry at the University of Rochester, where he published some scientific studies about the synthesis of isoalloxazine ring-containing compounds. He did a postdoctoral with Nobel Laureate Arthur Kornberg in the department of biochemistry at Stanford University School of Medicine. He has done sabbatical scholar-in-residence at MIT and at the University of California at San Diego. He is best known for his pioneering work on Succimer and Unithiol in the treatment of arsenic, mercury, lead and other heavy metals leading to FDA approval of succimer in childhood lead poisoning at levels over 40 ug/dl. Previous posts he had held include at Vanderbilt, Tufts University, and the University of Maryland. His views about mercury in vaccines and in dental amalgams go against the consensus of the medical community and are controversial.

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References

  1. ↑ "James "Jim" Haley". Muskogee Phoenix . 4 September 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). Food and Drug Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  3. ↑ "Boyd Eugene Haley". Greensburg Daily News. 13 June 1963.
  4. ↑ Worley, Jeff (25 September 2003). "Boyd Haley: Tagging toxins for better health". University of Kentucky. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  5. ↑ "Adjunct & emeritus faculty" Archived 2017-10-09 at the Wayback Machine , College of Arts & Sciences—Chemistry wepbage, University of Kentucky website, accessed 13 Jun 2017.
  6. ↑ Gunnersen D, Haley B (December 1992). "Detection of glutamine synthetase in the cerebrospinal fluid of Alzheimer diseased patients: A potential diagnostic biochemical marker". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89 (24): 11949–53. Bibcode:1992PNAS...8911949G. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.24.11949 . PMC   50675 . PMID   1361232.
  7. ↑ "A possible Alzheimer marker is found". The New York Times . 15 December 1992. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  8. 1 2 Olmsted, Dan (2005-12-30). "The Age of Autism: Gold standards". United Press International. Archived from the original on 20 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
  9. ↑ Rockmarch, Andrea. (April 2004). "Toxic Tipping Point", Mother Jones . Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Questions and Answers on Dental Amalgam". Food and Drug Administration. 2006-10-30. Archived from the original on 2007-10-19. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
  11. ↑ "ADA Statement on Dental Amalgam". American Dental Association. 2007-04-06. Archived from the original on 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
  12. 1 2 Offit PA (2010). "Behind the Mercury Curtain". Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure. Columbia University Press. pp. 132–133. ISBN   978-0-231-14637-1.
  13. ↑ Paul A. Offit (2 April 2010). Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure. Columbia University Press. p. 132. ISBN   978-0-231-14637-1.
  14. ↑ "Petition to Defend the Dignity of Autistic Citizens". neurodiversity.com. July 2005. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
  15. 1 2 "OSR#1: Industrial chemical or autism treatment?", Chicago Tribune , January 17, 2010
  16. ↑ FDA letters and documents
  17. ↑ "FDA warns maker of autism supplement". UPI. June 24, 2010. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  18. ↑ Warning letter CIN-10-107927-14 from US FDA, June 17, 2010
  19. ↑ Tsouderos, Trine (June 23, 2010). "FDA warns maker of product used as alternative autism treatment". Chicago Tribune . ISSN   1085-6706 . Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  20. ↑ Haley, Boyd (June 26, 2010). "Dietary supplement safe for right use". Lexington Herald-Leader . ISSN   0745-4260. Archived from the original on September 4, 2012. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  21. ↑ Tsouderos, Trine (July 12, 2010). "Supplement seller says FDA may be 'confused'". Chicago Tribune . ISSN   1085-6706 . Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  22. ↑ Tsouderos, Trine (July 26, 2010). "Controversial supplement to come off shelves". Chicago Tribune . ISSN   1085-6706 . Retrieved September 12, 2011.
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