Bismacine
| Against allopathy Alternative medicine |
|
| Clinically unproven |
| Woo-meisters |
Bismacine, occasionally known as Chromacine[1] (though Chromocine might be a different drug),[2] is an alternative medicine sold to treat Lyme disease that involves the injection of the metal bismuth. Bismacine was invented by Robert Bradford, who is not a medical doctor,[3] in 2004.[4] In 2006, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning against Bismacine,[5] as bismuth is ineffective and dangerous neither approved for injection and can lead to heart and kidney problems.[1] Bradford pled guilty in 2010 to charges that Bismacine caused the death of a woman in Kansas.[6] Bradford and business partners also admitted that they inflated fears of Lyme disease as part of a marketing campaign to increase sales of Bismacine,[7] calling Lyme disease a "potential plague of the 21st century."[4]
In an article for the Townsend Letter, an alternative health magazine, Bradford claimed that when using Bismacine, all patients had little-to-no adverse effects known as Herxheimer reactions.[2] This is not surprising, as Herxheimer reactions occur in at most 15% of all Lyme disease patients,[8] and would occur in even fewer if Bismacine was failing to kill the Lyme-causing spirochetes.
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References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mayo Clinic: Lyme Disease
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Biochemistry of Lyme Disease. Townsend Letter
- ↑ A Dubious Diagnosis. Chicago Tribune
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lyme disease, potential plague of the 21st century. Townsend Letter
- ↑ Quackwatch: Lyme disease
- ↑ Casewatch: Robert W. Bradford Pleads Guilty (2010)
- ↑ Ex-Physician Convicted of Fraud Topeka Capital-Journal
- ↑ IDSA Lyme disease guidelines