David E. Root | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | March 1936 |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Detoxification, |
| Medical career | |
| Sub-specialties | Occupational and Environmental Medicine |
| Website | |
David Emerson Root (born March, 1936) is a United States Air Force physician known for promoting Niacin Protocol Sauna Detoxification to treat chemical exposure.
Root received his medical degree from Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Bowman Gray Campus, Winston-Salem, NC, in 1962. He served 20 years in the United States Air Force before retiring in 1980 with the rank of Colonel [1] as Chief Flight Surgeon and Senior Pilot.
In 1982 Root began implementing the Niacin Sauna detoxification method, based loosely on a protocol created L. Ron Hubbard, from his Sacramento, California, practice in a joint venture with the HealthMed Clinic, run by two environmental medicine doctors and an organization named "Foundation for Advancements in Science and Education" (FASE). Root is listed as the medical director of HealthMed and the Senior Medical Advisor of FASE. [2]
He was the Senior Medical Advisor to the "International Academy of Detoxification Specialists", a subsidiary of New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project. [3] The program was supported by NYC Council member, Margarita Lopez(also a patient), Senator Charles Schumer, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Congressman Vito Fossella and former Congressman and Vice Presidential Candidate, Jack Kemp. It received three rounds of public funding.
Scientists independent of Scientology describe the Hubbard Method as quackery, [3] [4] unproven [5] and medically unsafe. [6] The Scientology operated Narconon drug rehabilitation centers, for which Root is a member of the Science Advisory Board, [7] has garnered considerable controversy as a result of its origins in Scientology and its methods. After reviewing materials published by Narconon, University of Oklahoma biochemistry professor Bruce Roe described the program as "a scam" based on "half-truths and pseudo-science." [8]
In a 1987 California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board award, Root's testimony helped annul a 1986 denial of insurance on a claimed injury to the petitioner's skin, gastrointestinal tract, and other organs from cumulative exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the course of his employment. The petitioner recovered his detoxification costs, [9] and this ruling paved the way for other workers' compensation cases involving Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, a controversial diagnosis which is not generally accepted by medical science. [10]
Claimed positive subjective results from the New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project convinced Utah State Attorney General Mark Shurtleff to fund the Utah Meth Cops Project with over $440,000 in taxpayer dollars to treat police who complain of health effects from exposure to meth lab toxins. [11]
In an effort to validate their subjective detoxification results while providing relief to the American vets suffering from Gulf War Syndrome, FASE set out to secure funding for a comprehensive research study through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). Root's testimony in 1998 to the Presidential Special Oversight Board For Department of Defense Investigations of Gulf War Chemical & Biological Incidents, [12] and to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), led to an official recommendation by CDC that detoxification be studied as a treatment option for Gulf War veterans. The $633,677.00 grant, titled "Gulf War Illness: Evaluation of an Innovative Detoxification Program" was awarded in September, 2010. [13]
In 2012, a peer-reviewed report of the findings from the Utah Meth Cops Project study was published on PubMed.Gov of the US National Library of Medicine for the National Institute of Health. [14]
The report concludes, "This investigation strongly suggests that utilizing sauna and nutritional therapy may alleviate chronic symptoms appearing after chemical exposures associated with methamphetamine-related law enforcement activities. This report also has relevance to addressing the apparent ill effects of other complex chemical exposures. In view of the positive clinical outcomes in this group, broader investigation of this sauna-based treatment regimen appears warranted." [14]
Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating exposures to toxins and toxicants. The relationship between dose and its effects on the exposed organism is of high significance in toxicology. Factors that influence chemical toxicity include the dosage, duration of exposure, route of exposure, species, age, sex, and environment. Toxicologists are experts on poisons and poisoning. There is a movement for evidence-based toxicology as part of the larger movement towards evidence-based practices. Toxicology is currently contributing to the field of cancer research, since some toxins can be used as drugs for killing tumor cells. One prime example of this is ribosome-inactivating proteins, tested in the treatment of leukemia.
Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), also known as idiopathic environmental intolerances (IEI), is an unrecognized and controversial diagnosis characterized by chronic symptoms attributed to exposure to low levels of commonly used chemicals. Symptoms are typically vague and non-specific. They may include fatigue, headaches, nausea, and dizziness.
Narconon International is a Scientology organization which promotes the theories of founder L. Ron Hubbard regarding substance abuse treatment and addiction. Its parent company is the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE), which is owned and controlled by the Church of Scientology. Headquartered in Hollywood, California, United States, Narconon operates several dozen residential centers worldwide, chiefly in the U.S. and western Europe. The organization was formed in 1966 by Scientologist William Benitez with Hubbard's help, and was incorporated in 1970.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is a federal public health agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The agency focuses on minimizing human health risks associated with exposure to hazardous substances. It works closely with other federal, state, and local agencies; tribal governments; local communities; and healthcare providers. Its mission is to "Serve the public through responsive public health actions to promote healthy and safe environments and prevent harmful exposures." ATSDR was created as an advisory, nonregulatory agency by the Superfund legislation and was formally organized in 1985.
Detoxification or detoxication is the physiological or medicinal removal of toxic substances from a living organism, including the human body, which is mainly carried out by the liver. Additionally, it can refer to the period of drug withdrawal during which an organism returns to homeostasis after long-term use of an addictive substance. In medicine, detoxification can be achieved by decontamination of poison ingestion and the use of antidotes as well as techniques such as dialysis and chelation therapy.
Clandestine chemistry is chemistry carried out in secret, and particularly in illegal drug laboratories. Larger labs are usually run by gangs or organized crime intending to produce for distribution on the black market. Smaller labs can be run by individual chemists working clandestinely in order to synthesize smaller amounts of controlled substances or simply out of a hobbyist interest in chemistry, often because of the difficulty in ascertaining the purity of other, illegally synthesized drugs obtained on the black market. The term clandestine lab is generally used in any situation involving the production of illicit compounds, regardless of whether the facilities being used qualify as a true laboratory.
The Purification Rundown, also known as the Purif or the Hubbard Method, is a pseudoscientific procedure that advocates of Scientology claim is a detoxification program. There is no evidence for its efficacy in detoxification, and significant evidence from clinicians that it is dangerous. It involves heat exposure for up to 5 hours a day and can exceed 4 weeks in length. It can potentially cause heatstroke damage, which includes brain injury, heart problems, organ failure, and death. It was developed by Scientology's founder L. Ron Hubbard and used by the Church of Scientology as an introductory service. Numerous individuals have been hospitalised as a result of taking part in the process.
A Volunteer Minister (VM) is a member of Scientology sent to a disaster zone to spread the doctrine of Scientology and provide disaster relief. The program was created in the 1970s by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.
Clear Body, Clear Mind is a pseudoscience book published in 1990 by the Church of Scientology's publishing house Bridge Publications. It is credited to L. Ron Hubbard who died four years earlier, and is largely a compilation of material he wrote in the 1960s. It is one of the canonical texts of Scientology and mainly deals with the Purification Rundown ("Purif"). Scientologists believe this "detoxification" program, created by Hubbard, has unique medical and spiritual benefits, but has been criticized by medical professionals as "dangerous", "quackery," and "in some cases lethal".
Methamphetamine is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamphetamine was discovered in 1893 and exists as two enantiomers: levo-methamphetamine and dextro-methamphetamine. Methamphetamine properly refers to a specific chemical substance, the racemic free base, which is an equal mixture of levomethamphetamine and dextromethamphetamine in their pure amine forms, but the hydrochloride salt, commonly called crystal meth, is widely used. Methamphetamine is rarely prescribed over concerns involving human neurotoxicity and potential for recreational use as an aphrodisiac and euphoriant, among other concerns, as well as the availability of safer substitute drugs with comparable treatment efficacy such as Adderall and Vyvanse. Dextromethamphetamine is a stronger CNS stimulant than levomethamphetamine.
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) is a nonprofit organization established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist Thomas Szasz, headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Its stated mission is to "eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health and enact patient and consumer protections." Many critics regard it as a Scientology front group whose purpose is to push the organization's anti-psychiatric agenda.
A rolling meth lab is a transportable laboratory that is used to illegally produce methamphetamine. Rolling meth labs are often moved to a secluded location where the strong, toxic fumes of methamphetamine manufacture cannot be detected and where the toxic manufacturing byproducts can be discarded. They are sometimes designed to manufacture the drug while the lab is traveling.
The Gulf War syndrome (GWS) is a chronic and multi-symptomatic disorder affecting military veterans of both sides of the Gulf War (1990–1991). A wide range of acute and chronic symptoms have been linked to it, including fatigue, muscle pain, cognitive problems, insomnia, rashes and diarrhea. Approximately 250,000 of the 697,000 U.S. veterans who served in the Gulf War have enduring chronic multi-symptom illness, a condition with serious consequences.
The Second Chance Program is a controversial detoxification and rehabilitation program based on the ideas of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology. It focuses on individuals convicted of substance abuse offenses. The program utilizes a combination of saunas, vitamins, minerals and oils to tackle the effects of drug addiction. Other elements of the program aim to improve the educational and social abilities of inmates, and to instil a moral code for them to live by. First established in Baja California, Mexico, in 1995, Second Chance has attracted controversy over its methods and claimed success rates.
The New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project was founded in New York City in 2003 with the stated purpose of treating rescue workers for toxins inhaled from the smoke of the September 11 attacks. It has two clinics: Downtown Medical on Fulton Street, two blocks from the site of the World Trade Center, and another at Williston Park, Long Island. The project's co-founder and top fundraiser is actor Tom Cruise. It uses the Purification Rundown, a "detoxification" program invented by L. Ron Hubbard as part of Scientology's Bridge to Total Freedom. This rundown has been criticized by many doctors as pseudoscientific and medically dangerous. It was reported in October 2007 that 838 people had completed the program.
Claudia S. Miller, an allergist and immunologist, is an author, instructor, and scientist noted for research in chemical intolerance, and development of tools for its diagnosis. Miller is a professor of occupational and environmental medicine in the School of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. She also is assistant dean for the school's M.D.-M.P.H. program, and vice chair of community medicine in the school's Department of Family and Community Medicine.
The Health consequences of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill are health effects related to the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010. An oil discharge continued for 84 days, resulting in the largest oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry, estimated at approximately 206 million gallons. The spill exposed thousands of area residents and cleanup workers to risks associated with oil fumes, particulate matter from Controlled burns, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and heavy metals.
Amphetamine and methamphetamine are central nervous system stimulants used to treat a variety of conditions. When used recreationally, they are colloquially known as "speed" or sometimes "crank". Amphetamine was first synthesized in 1887 in Germany by Romanian chemist Lazăr Edeleanu, who named it phenylisopropylamine. Around the same time, Japanese organic chemist Nagai Nagayoshi isolated ephedrine from the Chinese ephedra plant and later developed a method for ephedrine synthesis. Methamphetamine was synthesized from ephedrine in 1893 by Nagayoshi. Neither drug had a pharmacological use until 1934, when Smith, Kline & French began selling amphetamine as an inhaler under the trade name Benzedrine for congestion.
Elizabeth M. Ward is an American scientist and researcher for the American Cancer Society. She received her PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania. Ward serves as the National Vice President of Intramural Research for the American Cancer Society and Chair of the World Trade Center Health Program Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee. She has held many positions in various cancer research organizations including a position on the National Cancer Institute's Board of Scientific Counselors for Clinical Sciences and Epidemiology. In recognition for her prominent work in the medical research field, she has received two different awards: U.S. Public Health Service Meritorious Service Medal and the Calum S. Muir Memorial Award. Ward's work is heavily centered around "cancer disparities, cancer treatment and outcomes, cancer surveillance, occupational cancer and environmental cancer."
Scientology front groups are those groups named or operated in such a way as to disguise their association with the Church of Scientology (COS). COS uses front groups to promote its interests in politics, to make itself appear legitimate, and to recruit. Many of the groups are founded on pseudoscience, named disingenuously, and underplay their links to Scientology.