*****Dr. Stephen Barrett up to his dirty tricks again*****

Doctor's methods bring complaint

He calls medical board's charges 'totally bogus'

12:12 AM CDT* on Tuesday, October 30, 2007
By KIM HORNER / The Dallas Morning News
khorner@dallasnews. com

http://www.dallasne ws.com/sharedcon tent/dws/ news/localnews/ stories/10
2907dnmetdrrea. 36c57af.html

Patients come from all over the world to Dr. William J. Rea's Dallas
clinic, where porcelain-coated walls and elaborate ventilation
systems offer protection from an environment the doctor says has
made them ill.

There he treats Gulf War veterans, Sept. 11 responders and patients
he says have been sickened by lower levels of chemicals and
pollution encountered in everyday life.

Dr. Rea (pronounced Ray) opened his Environmental Health Center-
Dallas in 1974. He is considered by supporters a pioneer in treating
environmental illnesses and has written several books on the
subject. He has trained doctors around the globe.

He's often seen as the last hope for patients suffering from
sensitivity to chemicals, many of whom have been to a number of
doctors, to no avail.

But now, after treating patients for decades, Dr. Rea is at risk of
losing his medical license.

The Texas Medical Board filed a complaint on Aug. 24, saying that
Dr. Rea's testing methods are unproven and "pseudoscience. " And, the
complaint says, his treatments including injecting chemicals such
as jet fuel and natural gas into patients are inappropriate, not
based on evidence and potentially harmful.

A spokeswoman for the board would not elaborate on the complaint.

Dr. Rea, who says he has treated more than 30,000 patients and
suffered from chemical sensitivity himself, calls the
charges "totally bogus." He denies that he has injected jet fuel or
other harmful substances into patients.

"It's got to be dropped because I'm innocent," said Dr. Rea, a soft-
spoken 72-year-old in a cardigan and tie. "I get patients well.
That's what you're supposed to do in medicine."

Sterile atmosphere

Dr. Rea's clinic, in an office complex across from Presbyterian
Hospital of Dallas, looks like any doctor's office from the outside.

But behind the doors with signs asking that no one wearing fragrance
enter, the clinic has a stark atmosphere, with its tile floors and
metal examination tables without the usual cushions. Computers are
encased so they don't give off chemicals. Despite these precautions,
some patients wear masks.

Dr. Rea's treatment often includes diet changes, supplements and
saunas, in addition to antigen shots. The center offers "less toxic"
apartments that rent for $770 a week for those who travel to Dallas
for treatment. In the most extreme cases, patients live in an
independently run trailer park in Seagoville to avoid exposure to
harmful chemicals.

Treatment and housing during a stay can cost $5,000 to $10,000 a
month, one patient wrote on a Web site linked from the environmental
health center's site.

Among some of his colleagues, Dr. Rea is considered a visionary.

"Dr. Rea is brilliant. He should have a Nobel Prize," said Dr.
Steven Hotze of Houston, a member of the American Academy of
Environmental Medicine, which is made up of doctors who use similar
treatments and is based in Wichita, Kan.

Dr. Gerald D. Natzke, president of the academy's board of directors,
said there is a "great deal of science" to back up the field of
medicine and he said much of it comes from Dr Rea.

"He's been one of the most well-known figures in environmental
medicine in the world," said Dr. Natzke, who practices in Flint,
Mich. "One might say he's a legend within our ranks."

Dr. Rea's clinic tests and treats sensitivities to pollens, molds,
dust, foods, chemicals, air, water, electromagnetic fields and other
health problems related to the environment. He has written four
books on multiple chemical sensitivity, sometimes called idiopathic
environmental intolerance.

Doctors are divided on what causes multiple chemical sensitivity or
whether it's a legitimate diagnosis. Some believe the symptoms
described by sufferers including headaches and dizziness when
exposed to perfumes or other odors are psychological. An American
Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology position paper on the
topic states that there is no proof that the symptoms are caused by
exposure to chemicals.

"We don't have evidence that people are allergic or hypersensitive
to chemicals," said Dr. David A. Khan, an associate professor of
internal medicine at UT Southwestern who heads the asthma clinic at
Parkland Memorial Hospital.

He said studies by Dr. Rea and his fellow practitioners have not
been printed in reputable journals.

"If you look into it, nothing they have published has been in peer-
reviewed medical literature," Dr. Khan said.

Dr. Khan said he has seen people show up at Parkland for treatment
because they ran out of money after spending their life savings at
Dr. Rea's clinic.

Dr. Stephen Barrett, a retired psychiatrist in North Carolina,
features information on Dr. Rea and the illnesses he treats on his
Web site, www.quackwatch. org. He applauds the Texas Medical Board
for investigating the physician.

"Dr. Rea is the hub of a network of doctors who I believe are
misdiagnosing and mistreating patients," he said, adding that the
doctors are also financially exploiting those in their care.

Dr. Barrett said that Dr. Rea has served as an expert witness in
court cases involving chemical sensitivity based on what he
considers "bad science."

"The harm he's done is incalculable. "

Believers

Attacks on Dr. Rea's credibility frustrate patients like Alan
Ritson.

Like many who receive treatment at the Environmental Health Center,
Mr. Ritson had been to several doctors before Dr. Rea.

Mr. Ritson, director of disaster services at the Salvation Army for
Texas, spent more than six weeks working at Ground Zero after the
Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Two years after his service, the
68-year-old developed oozing blisters all over his body.

"I just kept getting worse and worse," he said, describing blisters
and shedding skin. "Dr. Rea said you've got chemicals all through
your body. ... It affected me so bad I couldn't walk in a straight
line."

He said Dr. Rea has been working to detoxify him. He said a brain
scan showed his brain was "fogged with chemicals."

"He's the only doctor who's been able to help me," Mr. Ritson
said. "If they shut him down they're going to kill a lot of people."

Doug Dromey, an Atlanta real estate broker who visited the clinic in
September, also credits Dr. Rea with helping him work again.

Before Mr. Dromey started coming to Dr. Rea, he said, he was
so "brain fogged" he could not function.

"If he goes, there will be a public health crisis in chemical
sensitivity, " Mr. Dromey said. "He is our saving grace."

Dr. Don Jewett, professor emeritus at the University of California,
San Francisco, also was impressed with his treatment from Dr. Rea in
the late 1970s. Dr. Jewett, who was then on the faculty of the
university's orthopedic surgery department, was found to be
a "universal reactor," meaning he was sensitive to everything.

He followed Dr. Rea's advice and ripped out his carpet to remove
potential irritants. He also changed his diet.

Dr. Jewett returned to work wanting to do research that proved that
low levels of chemicals were affecting people's health. But he
conducted a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine
in 1990 that showed that testing procedures for food sensitivities
used by clinical ecologists like Dr. Rea failed to work.

"I think that the symptoms are real, but the diagnoses and
treatments that are offered using chemicals and foods as causative
agents are probably misdirected or inappropriate based on the
science that I know," he said.

Dr. Jewett now attributes his symptoms to stress and said they
cleared after he worked through a midlife crisis.

5 patients

The complaint before the state medical board and the alleged
violations of the Medical Practice Act are based on Dr. Rea's care
of five unidentified patients, one of whom suffered lethargy, joint
pain and "brain fog" after exposure to fallout from the World Trade
Center.

That patient, identified in the complaint by the initials J.S.,
received injections of various antigens, which cause the body to
produce antibodies. The patient also was given "heat depuration
therapy," which the complaint says is simply a sauna.

The complaint states there is no evidence that any of these
therapies works. It also states that Dr. Rea is unqualified to
practice this type of medicine because he is not certified or
trained as an allergist.

Jill Wiggins, spokeswoman for the medical board, said she could not
comment on the allegations or reveal who made the complaint.

Dr. Rea denies the charges and dismisses them as an attempt by an
insurance company to avoid paying for treatment. His clinic does not
accept insurance, but patients can file directly with their
insurers.

In a Sept. 14 letter to patients, Dr. Rea said the complaint was
part of a nationwide effort to destroy the specialty of
environmental medicine and physicians who treat chemical
sensitivities.

"Insurance carriers and a small group of 'Quack busters' should not
be allowed to decide what type of health care is available in this
country," he wrote. "It is unconscionable that the Texas Medical
Board would want to limit freedom of choice in health care, and
allow insurance carriers to interfere with the doctor-patient
relationship. "

Dr. Rea, in the letter, urged patients to ask state officials to
dismiss the claim and request that the Legislature hold hearings on
the board's investigation methods. He takes issue with the fact that
the complaint was anonymous and that the physician who reviewed the
patient's cases does not specialize in environmental medicine.

A date has not been set for a hearing to be conducted by the State
Office of Administrative Hearings. An administrative law judge will
review the allegations and make a recommendation to the medical
board, which could take up to a year or more. If the board decides
that a violation has occurred, Dr. Rea could appeal the decision to
district court.

Dr. Rea could face sanctions including revocation, suspension,
probation, public reprimand, limitation or restriction on his
practice, counseling or treatment, monitored practice, public
service and an administrative penalty, according to the complaint.

Past criticism

This is not the first time Dr. Rea, who was trained in thoracic
surgery at UT Southwestern Medical School, has run into criticism
over his unorthodox practice.

The medical board investigated malpractice complaints against him in
1990 and in 1997 but dismissed the cases. He also has faced a few
malpractice lawsuits over the years that were either dismissed or
dropped.

As the Texas Medical Board pursues its complaint, Dr. Rea plans to
continue to see patients and fight for what he calls freedom of
choice in health care.

"I've been practicing in Texas for over 40 years, and I want the
best care I can give to Texans and our patients throughout the
country," Dr. Rea said. "As long as we're not hurting anybody, as
long as we're not dope addicts or child molesters, we should be able
to do that."

Staff writer Doug J. Swanson contributed to this report.
__._,_.___
Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new