To the Editor of The Guardian: I am appalled by the insensitive, mean-spirited and factually incorrect opinion put forth by Andrew Goldacre in The Guardian (Saturday, June 02, 2007). His
premise, that patients suffering from symptoms of
electro-hypersensitivity are misinformed hypochondriacs, reeks of the
adage: “Those who are saying don’t know; and those who know, aren’t saying.” Goldacre does not know. It is time for those who know to speak up. For the past five years, through our Safe Wireless
Initiative project, we have operated the only post-market surveillance
database in the world systematically collecting symptom information
from thousands of patients suffering from the effects of various forms
of electro-magnetic radiation (EMR). In
addition, we coordinate a network of clinicians who regularly share
information about their experiences treating patients with these
conditions, another important and unique resource. Thus, we do not
rely solely on self-reported information but have corroboration from
treating doctors. It is noteworthy that our health concerns registry will open in the UK through a new local Safe Wireless Initiative branch within the month. This is an important public health step because in the UK , there are absolutely no reliable data on the incidence and prevalence of EMR-related conditions. Thus, Goldacre’s speculations are all the more misinformed, but clarity is forthcoming. In the Safe Wireless Initiative, we have a number of scientific papers in various stages of the peer-review process expected to be published by year’s
end addressing this emerging medical problem. However, in the interim
we continue to share summary information from our registry database in
various fora around the world, including a February
2007 presentation at the House of Commons, for the benefit of
clinicians and patients alike. Overall, our data show the following: - There
are symptom and pathology similarities among patients suffering from
electro-hypersensitivity, multiple chemical sensitivities,
alcohol-related disease as well as neuro-behavioral and learning
disorders. We refer to the symptom
constellations as Membrane Sensitivity Syndrome (MSS) and the increase
in reports of symptoms consistent with MSS associated by patients with
various EMR exposures has dramatically increased over the past 24 months.
- It
is noteworthy that concurrently in the past 24 months, the penetration
of mobile phones has tripled globally, from one billion to three
billion. WiFi has reached the highest penetration
in history. Satellite radio is not far behind. All of these
technologies rely on information-carrying radio waves, the trigger for
non-thermal adverse biological responses and the cascade toward MSS.
- In a majority of MSS cases, when EMR is removed from the patient’s environment, their acute symptoms subside. This is an important observation and indeed represents one of the Koch-Henle postulates for causation: If when the exposure is removed, the effect is diminished, there is evidence for cause and effect.
- Pathology
and experimental findings support a mechanistic underpinning: an
environmentally induced genetic change that renders daughter cells to
carry membrane sensitivity characteristics with most symptoms directly
or indirectly the result of consequent disrupt of intercellular
communication.
- Therapeutic intervention regimens designed around known EMR
mechanisms of harm have positively shown varying degrees of clinical
symptom amelioration, another support for the causal hypothesis, but
more importantly, a ray of hope for those afflicted and debilitated by
these conditions.
It
is a fact that every serious public health problem man has faced has
first been identified through clinical observations, the historically
confirmed first line of evidence for preventing epidemic spread of
disease. It is a disservice to the public when
uninformed speculation serves to lessen the acuity with which important
early signs that can save lives are seen and heeded. |