Geier family

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Mark Geier and David Geier are a couple of vultures[note 1] father-son team of American anti-vaccine advocates who specialize in quack cures for autism.

The Geiers are perhaps best known for their truly bizarre theories regarding androgens and mercury. In 2004, Geier advanced a hypothesis that testosterone increases the potency of mercury.[1] This led the Geiers to invent and patent a therapy regimen of chelation and Lupron,[2] an anti-androgen. Lupron is normally only given to children who show signs of precocious puberty,[3] so what the Geiers suggested was way off-label.[note 2] Their solution? Declare that all the children in their studies had precocious puberty.[4]

This regimen is, to put it mildly, controversial among actual scientists in relevant fields.[5] Fortunately, as of 2009 they no longer have access to Lupron,[6] so no more chemically castrating kids for them.

As of early May 2011, the Geiers' controversial "therapy" has been found to be a concern by the Maryland State Board of Physicians.[7] Fortunately, they have also decided that Mark Geier's therapies pose such a threat to children with autism that he was stripped of his medical license.[8] David Geier, his son, is not and has never been a doctor of any kind, and in the same case was charged with practising medicine without a license.

Publications

  • Geier DA, Geier MR (2004): "A comparative evaluation of the effects of MMR immunization and mercury doses from thimerosal-containing childhood vaccines on the population prevalence of autism",[9] Medical Science Monitor

See also

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ "Geier" is German for "vulture" and the behavior of these two practically forces this association upon any German-speaker and the unfortunate birds who are dragged into this.
  2. ↑ Not to mention incredibly unethical.

References

  1. ↑ The potential importance of steroids in the treatment of autistic spectrum disorders and other disorders involving mercury toxicity. Note that the organization that published this nonsense is not peer reviewed.
  2. ↑ The patents are here and here
  3. ↑ http://www.drugs.com/lupron.html
  4. ↑ Autism & Lupron: Playing With Fire
  5. ↑ 'Miracle drug' called junk science
  6. ↑ Physician team's crusade shows cracks
  7. ↑ The State of Maryland finally takes "emergency action" against Mark Geier and his Lupron protocol for autism
  8. ↑ Court filing of suspension
  9. ↑ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14976450
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