Psychology today: Dr Borigini health terrorists part 2

[Kati]

Strike 2:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...orists-health-part-ii-wake-call-the-jihadists

I would suggest that since Psychology Today is not going to remove this author- there is no point answering his blog. I would also suggest that since I gave you the full text here, there is no point giving the author and Psychology Today the pleasure of giving them traffic to their website.

The Terrorists Of Health Part II: Wake-Up Call To The Jihadists
Like some modern-day snake oil salesman.
Published on February 6, 2010
It was certainly satisfying to see the censure of Dr. Andrew Wakefield last month by the British General Medical Council. This man and his colleagues were one more example of the great harm the Terrorists of Health can visit upon the public. Whereas the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Jihadists hurt innocent patients with their selling of ineffective supplements and their advocating of costly lab analyses that have no basis in science (but both of which enhance the income of those who provide such things), the impact of a Dr. Wakefield is much more deadly.

Dr. Wakefield claimed that the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine could put children at risk of autism or bowel disease. His so-called "research", and of course the subsequent media coverage, resulted in many parents refusing to vaccinate their children, despite the fact that this vaccine has been given throughout the world for decades, accepted as a major tool in preventing childhood illness and death. His research, however, is now discredited; further studies have not been able to reproduce the original results.


Unfortunately, damage was done. Dr. Wakefield's comments over the years were widely publicized, and included statements that he could not recommend the MMR vaccine to parents. This resulted in a significant drop in vaccination rates across Great Britain, and the generation of a noisy anti-vaccination lobby here in the United States. This has also resulted in a surge in reported measles cases in Britain, with more than 1,300 in England and Wales in 2008: an increase from 57 in 1997. About a dozen deaths were linked to measles in 2008, and I am sure countless others have sustained disfiguring scars.

Of course, there was money involved. The British General Medical Council also found unethical behavior in the failure of Dr. Wakefield to disclose payments from attorneys representing parents who believed the MMR vaccine had harmed their children, describing this as a "fatal conflict of interest".

This sordid episode only reinforces the vigilance that patients and health care providers must maintain in this never-ending war on the Terrorists of Health, even if it means facing the internet IEDs these Terrorists place along the cyber highway. Because if people do not question the validity and reliability of, say, a test for XMRV, or the research of a Dr. Wakefield, other people are going to be harmed.

************************************************************************

I was more than a little disappointed by the response to a blog I wrote last month, the point of which was to question the reliability and meaning of the test for XMRV (as there are several different methods for testing XMRV, none of which are approved for diagnostic use). I was called a "c-nt", a not-so-nice reference to the female genitalia, and my last name was ridiculed. While I do not know if those who wrote such things suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome, it is clear they do suffer from sexism and racism. More sobering is the lack of reading comprehension. However, I take heart in knowing that those who responded in such a negative fashion are in the minority (literally, as my IT security buddy. Captain G., traced a majority of the responses to my blog to one individual).

I like to think I serve the silent majority, those who try their best every day to cope with the chronic fatigue and the chronic pain. They are the ones who just want answers to their misery, and not publicity, or fifteen minutes of internet fame. And I truly hope scientists do find the reason for chronic fatigue syndrome; more, I hope they find a cure. But I don't want this silent majority to have hopes raised at the expense of some researcher low on funding, or a so-called specialist selling unverified tests and "medicines" like some modern-day snake oil salesman.

Finally, I would like to thank my colleagues and patients for voting me one of the Southern California Super Doctors for 2009. I only found out about this last week, when a colleague of mine sent me the January issue of "Los Angeles Magazine", and I saw that I was included in their annual listing. Really, though, that honor should go to my Super Patients

 

[anne]

Yes. Agreed.

 

[hensue]

What is his IT buddy Captain G. going to do? Call out the Geek Patrol on all of us who comment! If he pats himself any harder on the back I think he will break his arm and back! Super Doctor 2009??? This guy is full of himself lol

 

[Esther12]

I was called a "c-nt", a not-so-nice reference to the female genitalia.

Kind of him to clarify.

The last article was clearly designed to try to get a heated response, and now he has something else to write about. Saves having to do any research or thinking for your piece.

 

[anne]

I was called a "c-nt", a not-so-nice reference to the female genitalia.

What a ridiculous thing to call him. That guy is clearly a WANKER.

 

[hensue]

He is a little Sensitive about someone ridiculing his last Name! Does he think someone hog tied us and made us take the xmrv test? I wonder how he feels about his 15 minutes of internet fame?

 

[Robin]

What a ridiculous thing to call him. That guy is clearly a WANKER.

:tear::tear::tear:

Please don't give the wanker page hits. Or there will be part III and so on...he could write about this all year!

 

[Frickly]

I just calmed down from the last article and am willing myself to stay calm right now. I agree...psychology today has made it perfectly clear that they support this docs views so I will steer clear. Again...Thank god this is not my doctor! I have to add that he is writing again without all the facts.

"Dr. Wakefield claimed that the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine could put children at risk of autism or bowel disease. His so-called "research", and of course the subsequent media coverage, resulted in many parents refusing to vaccinate their children, despite the fact that this vaccine has been given throughout the world for decades, accepted as a major tool in preventing childhood illness and death. His research, however, is now discredited; further studies have not been able to reproduce the original results."

His research is not discredited. The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a Recommendations for Evaluation and Treatment of Common Gastrointestinal Problems in Children With ASDs so he is not the only person that beleives autistic children commonly have GI issues.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/125/Supplement_1/S19

Generation Rescue issued this statement:

"Few people are aware that this extremely important work has not only begun, but that a study using an animal model has already been completed exploring this topic in great detail.

Dr. Wakefield is the co-author, along with eight other distinguished scientists from institutions like the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Kentucky, and the University of Washington, of a set of studies that explore the topic of vaccinated versus unvaccinated neurological outcomes using monkeys.

The first phase of this monkey study was published three months ago in the prestigious medical journal Neurotoxicology, and focused on the first two weeks of life when the vaccinated monkeys received a single vaccine for Hepatitis B, mimicking the U.S. vaccine schedule. The results, which you can read for yourself HEREhttp://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/125/Supplement_1/S19, were disturbing. Vaccinated monkeys, unlike their unvaccinated peers, suffered the loss of many reflexes that are critical for survival.

Dr. Wakefield and his scientific colleagues are on the brink of publishing their entire study, which followed the monkeys through the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule over a multi-year period. It is our understanding that the difference in outcome for the vaccinated monkeys versus the unvaccinated controls is both stark and devastating."

Ok...I'm venting...I know it is useless to give this info to the "doctor" so feel better that I could post it here. He is a wanker...

 

[cinderkeys]

That's disappointing. Pamela Weintraub is also a blogger for Psychology Today, and she had a post criticizing the CDC study linking ME with childhood sexual abuse. She's written a book about the politics behind Lyme disease -- Hilary Johnson wrote her foreword -- so she smelled a rat right away.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...child-abuse-disordered-patients-or-disordered

It's possible that both bloggers represent their own views only, and not that of PT.

 

[Nina]

First of all, Kati, great idea to post this here, I don't want to give this two-faced liar any more clicks.

I was more than a little disappointed by the response to a blog I wrote last month, the point of which was to question the reliability and meaning of the test for XMRV (as there are several different methods for testing XMRV, none of which are approved for diagnostic use).

The point of his last blog post was NOT to question the reliability of available tests for XMRV. The point was to raise as much attention as possible and get HIS 15 or more minutes of fame. If that would have been his point, why not chose a title that represented this? No, Mr. B. choses a headline that is insulting, totally off the alleged subject and guaranteed to generate thousands of clicks.

I was called a "c-nt", a not-so-nice reference to the female genitalia, and my last name was ridiculed. While I do not know if those who wrote such things suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome, it is clear they do suffer from sexism and racism. More sobering is the lack of reading comprehension. However, I take heart in knowing that those who responded in such a negative fashion are in the minority (literally, as my IT security buddy. Captain G., traced a majority of the responses to my blog to one individual).

Umm, Mr. B., how about a little reality check here?? There were more than 80 comments, only very few of which were actually insulting. The rest very well represented the "silent majority". I strongly suspect this man has some issues, maybe he could ask for help from one of his collegues from the psychological field?

I like to think I serve the silent majority, those who try their best every day to cope with the chronic fatigue and the chronic pain. They are the ones who just want answers to their misery, and not publicity, or fifteen minutes of internet fame. And I truly hope scientists do find the reason for chronic fatigue syndrome; more, I hope they find a cure. But I don't want this silent majority to have hopes raised at the expense of some researcher low on funding, or a so-called specialist selling unverified tests and "medicines" like some modern-day snake oil salesman.

Well, last time I checked in his last post he said nothing about modern-day snake oil salesmen, most if not all of his assaults were clearly pointed at patients and advocates.

Finally, I would like to thank my colleagues and patients for voting me one of the Southern California Super Doctors for 2009. I only found out about this last week, when a colleague of mine sent me the January issue of "Los Angeles Magazine", and I saw that I was included in their annual listing. Really, though, that honor should go to my Super Patients

Does anyone else get the feeling he knows he crossed the line and that most of his patients, or patients-to-be would probably think twice about consulting him after reading what he had to say? Sounds like he is trying to make nice.

This one sure knows how to twist things in his favor. But the damage is done, and this article is far from being an apology. We won't give him any more clicks, but we will find other ways to let the world know about the strange attitude of Mr. B. towards CFS patients and those who care about them.

 

[Roy S]

Nina,
Yes, I also got the feeling he knows he crossed the line.

 

[thefrug]

What a ridiculous thing to call him. That guy is clearly a WANKER.

Exactly. I can't even take his article seriously enough to be offended. He covered pretty much every internet cliche out there. The thing that was most hilarious to me was the crying about racism because someone made fun of his last name. Really, guy? After you wrote an article comparing severely ill people to terrorist jihadists? Someone needs to get a thicker skin. Here, fill out this form and have your IT guy file it with the proper authorities.

^^Link above is to humorous website, language may be offensive to some.