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Osteopathy is a type of alternative medicine that emphasizes physical manipulation of the body's muscle tissue and bones. Practitioners of osteopathy are referred to as osteopaths. Its name derives from Ancient Greek "bone" and "pain, suffering".
Quackery, often synonymous with health fraud, is the promotion of fraudulent or ignorant medical practices. A quack is a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, knowledge, qualification or credentials they do not possess; a charlatan or snake oil salesman". The term quack is a clipped form of the archaic term quacksalver, from Dutch: kwakzalver a "hawker of salve". In the Middle Ages the term quack meant "shouting". The quacksalvers sold their wares on the market shouting in a loud voice.
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.
Stephen Joel Barrett is an American retired psychiatrist, author, co-founder of the National Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF), and the webmaster of Quackwatch. He runs a number of websites dealing with quackery and health fraud. He focuses on consumer protection, medical ethics, and scientific skepticism.
Quackwatch is a United States–based website, self-described as a "network of people" founded by Stephen Barrett, which aims to "combat health-related frauds, myths, fads, fallacies, and misconduct" and to focus on "quackery-related information that is difficult or impossible to get elsewhere". Since 1996 it has operated the alternative medicine watchdog website quackwatch.org, which advises the public on unproven or ineffective alternative medicine remedies. The site contains articles and other information criticizing many forms of alternative medicine.
Anthroposophic medicine is a form of alternative medicine based on pseudoscientific and occult notions. Devised in the 1920s by Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925) in conjunction with Ita Wegman (1876–1943), anthroposophical medicine draws on Steiner's spiritual philosophy, which he called anthroposophy. Practitioners employ a variety of treatment techniques based upon anthroposophic precepts, including massage, exercise, counselling, and substances.
William Donald Kelley was an American orthodontist who developed "non-specific metabolic therapy," an alternative cancer treatment, now known to be ineffective, which he based on the unsubstantiated belief that "wrong foods [cause] malignancy to grow, while proper foods [allow] natural body defenses to work."
Lorraine Jeanette Day is an American author, former orthopedic trauma surgeon and Chief of Orthopedic Surgery at San Francisco General Hospital and promoter of alternative cancer treatments.
Robert Oldham Young is an American naturopathic practitioner and author of alternative medicine books promoting an alkaline diet. His most popular works are the "pH Miracle" series of books, which outline his beliefs about holistic healing and an "alkalarian" lifestyle. Young came to prominence after appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show featured his treatment of Kim Tinkham for breast cancer. Tinkham and Young both claimed that he had cured her, but she died of her disease shortly afterwards. He was arrested in January 2014 and convicted in 2016 on two out of three charges of theft and practicing medicine without a license. He spent several months in jail in 2017.
The National Health Federation (NHF) is a lobbying group which promotes natural medicine. The NHF is based in California and describes its mission as protecting individuals' rights to use dietary supplements and alternative therapies without government restriction. The NHF also opposes mainstream public-health measures such as water fluoridation and compulsory childhood vaccines.
The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering alternative medicine published by Mary Ann Liebert. It was established in 1995 and is the official journal of the Society for Acupuncture Research. The editor-in-chief is John Weeks, who succeeded the founding editor, Kim A. Jobst.
The Issels treatment, or Issels combination therapy, is an alternative cancer treatment based on the ideas of Josef Issels. The treatment is considered ineffective against cancer by the American Cancer Society, and is listed as a "Dubious Treatment" by the alternative medicine watchdog website Quackwatch.
Conservatives for Patients' Rights (CPR) is a health care pressure group founded by Rick Scott in February 2009. Scott has stated that CPR has an intention of putting pressure on U.S. Democrats to enact health care legislation based on free-market principles. CPR opposes the broad outlines of President Obama's health care reform plan, and has hired Creative Response Concepts, a public relations firm which previously worked with the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
Harriet A. Hall is a U.S. retired family physician, former U.S. Air Force flight surgeon and skeptic who writes about alternative medicine and quackery for Skeptic and Skeptical Inquirer. She writes under the name The SkepDoc.
Electro Physiological Feedback Xrroid (EPFX), also known as Quantum Xrroid Consciousness Interface (QXCI), is a radionics device which claims to read the body's reactivity to various frequencies and then send back other frequencies to make changes in the body. It is manufactured and marketed by self-styled "Professor Bill Nelson," also known as Desiré Dubounet. He is currently operating in Hungary, a fugitive from the US following indictment on fraud charges connected to EPFX.
Black salve, also known by the brand name Cansema, is pseudoscientific alternative cancer treatment. The product is commonly classified as an escharotic—a topical paste which destroys skin tissue and leaves behind a scar called an eschar. Escharotics were widely used to treat skin lesions in the early 1900s, but have since been replaced by safer and more effective treatments. Escharotics, such as black salves, are currently advertised by some alternative medicine marketers as treatments for skin cancer, often with unsubstantiated testimonials and unsupported claims of effectiveness.
Eric R. Braverman is an American physician. He is the medical director of PATH Medical and coordinator of clinical research for PATH Foundation NY, both of which are located in New York City. PATH has filed for bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
The Oasis of Hope Hospital is a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico providing alternative cancer treatments to its customers. The clinic was founded by the physician Ernesto Contreras. After his death in 2003, the management of the hospital was taken over by his son, Francisco Contreras, and nephew, Daniel Kennedy.
Tullio Simoncini is a former Italian physician known for alternative medicine advocacy. He is known for the claim that cancer is caused by the fungus Candida albicans, and has argued that cancer is a form of candida overgrowth. He also is known for claims that cancer can be cured with intravenous sodium bicarbonate. On his website, Simoncini says that he was formerly an oncologist but that designation has been challenged by the medical community because of his use of sodium bicarbonate in the treatment of cancer.
Rashid Ali Buttar is a British-born American conspiracy theorist and licensed osteopathic physician in Charlotte, North Carolina, who is a known anti-vaxxer. He is known for his controversial use of chelation therapy for numerous conditions, including autism and cancer. He has twice been reprimanded by the North Carolina Board of Medical Examiners for unprofessional conduct and cited by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for illegal marketing of unapproved and adulterated drugs.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Feuerman, Francine; Handel, Marsha J. (1997). Alternative Medicine Resource Guide. Medical Library Association. p. 224. ISBN 978-0-8108-3284-8.
- 1 2 "Townsend Letter". Ulrichsweb . ProQuest LLC. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
- ↑ "Quick Search – Townsend letter for doctors & patients [electronic resource]". London South Bank University Library. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
- ↑ Nonrecommended Periodicals, from Quackwatch. Accessed August 21, 2008.
