Evening star., 1954-10-14
Full Probe Needed
Before Science Can
Prove Cure Is Silly
BY John McKeIwoy

BY John McKeiwoy
Some idea OF the time and
effort the Food and E:rug ADJ
ministration spends in proving
an obviously silly and worthless
gadget Of medical quackdom to
be worthless was provided Dis
trict doctors last night.
Food and Drug authorities,
reporting to the District Medical
Society. described some of the
weird objects dreamed up by
ouacks looking for fast dollar.
But they also showed that it
takes a full-scale scientific in
vestigation to prove that a quack
Is quack and make it stick in
court.
DR.. Kenneth Campbell, med
ical officer. described what went
into exposing a gadget called the
"zerrett Applicator" which
claimed to give of an energy to
expand the atoms Of the body.
The gadget reSembled a plas-
tic dumbell, consisting of two
plastic water tumblers filled
partly with water. sealed with
paraff1n and joined by Scotch
tape. It was claimed to intro
duce into the human body the
energy given of by expanded
hydrogen atoms" alleged to be
present in the liquid within the
tumblerS.
Cure All for $50.
The user held the gadget in
his hands and kept his feet fatty
on the floor without crossing
the legs" BY doing this, it was
claimed atoms of the body would
expand and bring health"
through the hands. It's cost was
$50, and claimed to correct fat
ness. abnormal thinness and. in
cidentally. cure "any disease |
known to mankind"
Presentation of this case in
court" DR.. Campbell said. 'neces-
STATED extensive preparation on !
the part of the FDA, since the
burden of proof is on the Gov
ernment in any action it brings.
Physicists were engaged to
test the physical properties of
the device for its energy output.
Persons with diseases diagnosed
and treated by physicians who
had. on their own. used the de-
vice were sought out to testify |
on the inefectiveness of the de-
vice.
- A jury returned a verdict OF |
guilty against the defendants |
after a weeks trial in Federal |
district court.
; Another Case.
In another case which DR.. |
Campbell described the "Elec-
tronic Medical Foundation Of |
San Francisco" was enjoined
from shipping in interstate COM |
merce 13 types of electronic de-
vices allegedly used for diagnosis |
and treatment of a multitude of |
diseases. Il
According to the injunction
complaint the foundations ac-
tivities were split in two parts. |
One was the sale of a blood |
''diagnostic" service and the |
other the distribution of "ther- |
apeutic" devices. The diagnos-
tic service held that any ail-
ment can be diagnosed by meas
uring emanations from a dried |
blood spot on sterile paper.
Investigating the service FDA |
inspectors found it was incapable |
of distinguishing the blood of |
animals or birds from that of |
man, DR.. Campbell said. At one |
point. the doctor said, inspectors
arranged to submit blood from
an amputee and got back re-
port from the foundation that |
the "arthritic involvement of the
right foot and ankle was pres
ent-but in the right foot and |
ankle the man had lost several
years previously.
Dead Man Test.
"The blood of a dead man."
the doctor continued. brought
q diagnosis of colitis, while a
sample from a rooster submitted
for a 'recheck' on a previous
diagnosis of a man, resulted in
q report Of sinus infection and
dental cavities"
The speaker emphasized that
the fight against medical quack-
cry is a continuous one.
"Only with the full co-opera-
ton of physicians can the FDA
maintain proper labelling Of de-
vices in the interest of public
welfare" he said.