info-aids@apple.com (INFO-AIDS MAILER) (09/21/89)
My comment: After almost 8 years, the AIDS spectre has been
fairly lucky in that few "snake oil doctors" have been
previlent on the scene. This article deals with one of the
most publicized treatments, CARRISYN, an aloe vera mixture
containing aloe juice, fish oil and vitamins. No outside
testing has been done to date except by the manufactorer.
Judge for yourself.
This article has been condensed - and is rebroadcast with
Sherry's permission.
-----------------------------
Regulators continue to question doctor's recent AIDS study
By Sherry Jacobson
Dallas Morning News
DALLAS -- It should have been Dr. Terry Pulse's proudest moment.
The news conference in suburban Grand Prairie, Texas, was crowded that
afternoon in July. TV cameras were trained on the 38-year-old doctor's face in
anticipation of the announcement of a promising new AIDS treatment.
But within 20 minutes, reporters began to question Pulse's research,
wondering how valid the results could be with only 30 patients on the treatment
for 90 days.
"Why wasn't the U.S. Food and Drug Administration involved?" he was asked.
And there was the issue of the treatment's cost -- $400 a month -- for a
nutritional supplement made of aloe vera juice, vitamins and fish oil.
Six weeks later, the questions remain and the paradox of Pulse's medical
career has emerged. In court documents stemming from several
multimillion-dollar lawsuits that Pulse has filed in the past five years, he
acknowledged that he has been fired from two medical positions and has been
accused of illegal drug use by his former employers.
He has been investigated at least three times by the Texas State Board of
Medical Examiners, which licenses and disciplines physicians statewide. In May,
according to documents obtained by The Dallas Morning News, the board ordered
Pulse to undergo three years of psychiatric counseling.
Pulse has declined to comment on his medical career.
Although Pulse has an active medical practice in Grand Prairie, a number of
his patients have complained that he abandoned them in recent months. Since
1986, Pulse has built a sizable medical practice with a specialty in AIDS
treatment.
He gained a reputation for prescribing experimental treatments for sufferers
of the fatal disease. In April 1988, Pulse told The Dallas Morning News that he
was treating 60 AIDS patients, which would have made his one of the largest
AIDS practices in the Dallas area.
Last year, Pulse became involved in the study of an experimental AIDS drug,
CARRISYN, being developed by CARRINGTON LABORATORIES of Grand Prairie. Based in
part on Pulse's work, carrisyn was approved by the Food and Drug Administration
for testing in humans.
After Pulse's statement about carrisyn, Carrington's stock went up 39 percent
in a single day, a record-breaking pace. The company was criticized by federal
regulators for making statements to attract more investors.
Earlier this year, Pulse set up the AIDS patient study for TRUE HEALTH Inc.,
a Dallas-based company that sells nutritional products. The study was to
involve 30 AIDS patients over six months. In July, after 90 days of study,
Pulse and TRUE HEALTH called the news conference to announce "promising"
preliminary results. They said that most of the patients showed improved health.
FDA officials and investigators with the Texas Department of Health asked to
review Pulse's research. In late August, the FDA informed True Health that it
would need to apply for permission to continue its study of the nutritional
product. Normally, a product must be designated an "investigational new drug"
before any study gets under way, said FDA spokesman Brad Stone.
"We have an understanding with True Health that there will be no further
promotional activities for the treatment until studies are done under our
sanction," Stone said. "Now, it's up to them to apply for it."
Ken Davis, chief of drug investigations in the state Health Department, said
his office continued to be "concerned about the safety and efficacy of the
product and whether people are being ripped off."
Jones, Pulse's attorney, said there would be no further comment about the
AIDS study. "For him, or any other doctor, to go around making statements in
the middle of an experiment would be wrong."
TRUE HEALTH officials said in late August that they intended to continue
studying the treatment. It will be named NUTRA-PULSE, according to a company
newsletter dated Aug. 28.
In reaction to news media accounts that his research project was being
questioned, Pulse lost his supervisory position with BaylorFast, a weight
management program operated by Baylor Health Care System. A spokeswoman for the
program said there was concern that Pulse's work for TRUE HEALTH could have an
adverse effect on BaylorFast.
-------
Scotty
AIDS INFORMATION EXCHANGE BBS (214) 247-2367/247-5609
"Education is the best weapon"
{ames,rutgers,texsun,smu}!attctc!ozdaltx!sysop
--
To submit articles mail to ..!{apple, pacbell, netsys}!lamc!info-aids
Administravia (subscribe/unsubscribe) to info-aids-request@lamc.
Coordinator: kdavis@lamc (Ken Davis) INTERNET: lamc!info-aids@apple.cominfo-aids@apple.com (10/03/89)
My comment: After almost 8 years, the AIDS spectre has been
fairly lucky in that few "snake oil doctors" have been
previlent on the scene. This article deals with one of the
most publicized treatments, CARRISYN, an aloe vera mixture
containing aloe juice, fish oil and vitamins. No outside
testing has been done to date except by the manufactorer.
Judge for yourself.
This article has been condensed - and is rebroadcast with
Sherry's permission.
-----------------------------
Regulators continue to question doctor's recent AIDS study
By Sherry Jacobson
Dallas Morning News
DALLAS -- It should have been Dr. Terry Pulse's proudest moment.
The news conference in suburban Grand Prairie, Texas, was crowded that
afternoon in July. TV cameras were trained on the 38-year-old doctor's face in
anticipation of the announcement of a promising new AIDS treatment.
But within 20 minutes, reporters began to question Pulse's research,
wondering how valid the results could be with only 30 patients on the treatment
for 90 days.
"Why wasn't the U.S. Food and Drug Administration involved?" he was asked.
And there was the issue of the treatment's cost -- $400 a month -- for a
nutritional supplement made of aloe vera juice, vitamins and fish oil.
Six weeks later, the questions remain and the paradox of Pulse's medical
career has emerged. In court documents stemming from several
multimillion-dollar lawsuits that Pulse has filed in the past five years, he
acknowledged that he has been fired from two medical positions and has been
accused of illegal drug use by his former employers.
He has been investigated at least three times by the Texas State Board of
Medical Examiners, which licenses and disciplines physicians statewide. In May,
according to documents obtained by The Dallas Morning News, the board ordered
Pulse to undergo three years of psychiatric counseling.
Pulse has declined to comment on his medical career.
Although Pulse has an active medical practice in Grand Prairie, a number of
his patients have complained that he abandoned them in recent months. Since
1986, Pulse has built a sizable medical practice with a specialty in AIDS
treatment.
He gained a reputation for prescribing experimental treatments for sufferers
of the fatal disease. In April 1988, Pulse told The Dallas Morning News that he
was treating 60 AIDS patients, which would have made his one of the largest
AIDS practices in the Dallas area.
Last year, Pulse became involved in the study of an experimental AIDS drug,
CARRISYN, being developed by CARRINGTON LABORATORIES of Grand Prairie. Based in
part on Pulse's work, carrisyn was approved by the Food and Drug Administration
for testing in humans.
After Pulse's statement about carrisyn, Carrington's stock went up 39 percent
in a single day, a record-breaking pace. The company was criticized by federal
regulators for making statements to attract more investors.
Earlier this year, Pulse set up the AIDS patient study for TRUE HEALTH Inc.,
a Dallas-based company that sells nutritional products. The study was to
involve 30 AIDS patients over six months. In July, after 90 days of study,
Pulse and TRUE HEALTH called the news conference to announce "promising"
preliminary results. They said that most of the patients showed improved health.
FDA officials and investigators with the Texas Department of Health asked to
review Pulse's research. In late August, the FDA informed True Health that it
would need to apply for permission to continue its study of the nutritional
product. Normally, a product must be designated an "investigational new drug"
before any study gets under way, said FDA spokesman Brad Stone.
"We have an understanding with True Health that there will be no further
promotional activities for the treatment until studies are done under our
sanction," Stone said. "Now, it's up to them to apply for it."
Ken Davis, chief of drug investigations in the state Health Department, said
his office continued to be "concerned about the safety and efficacy of the
product and whether people are being ripped off."
Jones, Pulse's attorney, said there would be no further comment about the
AIDS study. "For him, or any other doctor, to go around making statements in
the middle of an experiment would be wrong."
TRUE HEALTH officials said in late August that they intended to continue
studying the treatment. It will be named NUTRA-PULSE, according to a company
newsletter dated Aug. 28.
In reaction to news media accounts that his research project was being
questioned, Pulse lost his supervisory position with BaylorFast, a weight
management program operated by Baylor Health Care System. A spokeswoman for the
program said there was concern that Pulse's work for TRUE HEALTH could have an
adverse effect on BaylorFast.
-------
Scotty
AIDS INFORMATION EXCHANGE BBS (214) 247-2367/247-5609
"Education is the best weapon"
{ames,rutgers,texsun,smu}!attctc!ozdaltx!sysop
--
To submit articles mail to ..!{apple, pacbell, netsys}!lamc!info-aids
Administravia (subscribe/unsubscribe) to info-aids-request@lamc.
Coordinator: kdavis@lamc (Ken Davis) INTERNET: lamc!info-aids@apple.com