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.