Micro Trace Minerals – Response to Dr. Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch

Micro Trace Minerals – Response to Dr. Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch

From: Eleonore Blaurock-Busch [mailto:ebb. *****@***de]

Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2014 4:02 AM

To: James Siow MD; 'P. J. VanDerSchaar'; Grace Claus

Cc: 'Micro Trace Minerals - Y. Busch'; *****@***com

Subject: Quackwatch

Hello IBCMT members,

I had promised IBCMT board member Dr. James Siow with whom I communicate on educational matters an update of my correspondence with Dr. Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch. Here it is.

It started with the recommendation of our chairman Dr. VanderSchaar. He asked me to address Dr. Barrett of Quackwatch about the urine test issues. I am grateful that Dr. vanderSchaar thought I would be the best to discuss the issue about ‘urine tests being wrongfully used to get patients to agree to chelation.’ What I learned since is this: The Quackwatch website comes across as anti-alternative, and it probably is. Dr. Barrett is not pro chelation, but he is a sharp thinker and some of his points were/are justified.

These are points of our communication:

1. He says it is wrong to compare test values of provoked urine with reference ranges of unprovoked urine.

He is right. If we compare a serum glucose level taken after a meal of sweets, it would be wrong to compare that result with a fasting glucose level. We all know that.

Similarly, no good doctor would draw blood for cholesterol levels after the patient had a sumptuous meal. Such a test would only provide information for speculation - a diagnostically wasted effort, a waste of time and money.

2. At the 2013 ICIM meeting in Washington, I discussed this point (not yet knowing about the Quackwatch notice), introducing our concept of applying chelator-specific reference ranges. Interestingly, this concept is not new to German laboratories, simply because it is a logical and analytically correct concept and has been introduced back in the 70s by the German toxicologist Dr. Daunderer. While I introduced this concept to ICIM members and attending representatives of US laboratories, it was clear that the concept seemed foreign to them (and indeed it was).

3. Dr. Barrett understood. Our conversation was polite and direct. He asked questions about laboratory practices and logistics and I answered. I explained details regarding the development of chelator-specific ranges, that it took years of tedious and time consuming research, and that in fact we have used these chelator-specific ranges since 2011.

4. The Quackwatch web had Micro Trace Minerals Laboratory of Germany listed among the culprits, and since we are not ‘comparing apples and oranges’, I asked him to remove us from his website. He did.

5. Our daughter company Trace Minerals International of Boulder, Colorado is still listed. I assume we are wrongly confused with the Trace Element Lab of Texas, with which we have little in common. I will try to correct this matter in time, I hope.

Page Two

6. I may seem naïve, but I do not consider that Dr. Barrett is a foe of chelation treatment, he is simply ill-informed. Therefore and with the consent of a) the treating physician Dr. Strey of Bonn, Germany, and b) his patient, I provided Dr. Barrett with data that clearly indicate the benefits of NaMgEDTA chelation. In this case, a male patient suffering from severe muscle and skeletal pain, headaches and insomnia came to Dr. Strey who practices internal and occupational medicine. After history taking etc. a spot urine (unprovoked) was taken. It showed a urine lead level of 7.9mcg/g crea compared to a reference range of 5mcg/g crea (and this range is provided by the German Environmental Agency). Another urine sample was taken after the first NaMgEDTA iv chelation treatment (3g administered iv in 3hrs). The lead level of this provocation urine was 456mcg/g creatinine and we confirmed this extreme value through multiple testing. Interestingly, after the first treatment and on the following day the patient was pain free for the first time in a long time. After 20 treatments, he was completely pain free, did no longer suffer insomnia or headaches. The follow-up provocation test showed a urine lead concentration of 32.5mcg/g crea. This level is still high compared to our chelator-specific range of 22mcg/g crea, and the patient still receives treatment but more infrequently.

By German medical insurance laws, this patient would have been entitled to free pain medication, sleeping pills, physiotherapy, psychotherapy and spa visits (up to 6 weeks every other year). I suppose I don’t need to explain how insurances saved money on this patient.

7. It would be very naïve to think that I convinced Dr. Barrett that chelation has a place in medicine. However, I believe he is conscientious and open to reason.

Therefore I would recommend that IBCMT members send me patient histories, similar to the one above. Be brief and clear, provide history, laboratory results before and after, just as I did above. I will place them into a case history article or book, depending on the response I get and get it published. Because every research article or book published provides important proof.

8. Histories may be e-mailed to me at *****@***de or *****@***com The German mailing address is below or contact http://www. /en/contact/

Most sincerely,

Dr. E. Blaurock-Busch PhD / Research Direktor

Labor f. umweltmedizinische Untersuchungen / Laboratory f. Clinical and Environmental Analysis

MTM Micro Trace Minerals GmbH - Amtsgericht Nuernberg: HRB 21937

Director/Geschaeftsfuehrerin: Yvette Busch

Mitglied/member: British Society of Ecological Medicine

Wissenschaftl. Berater / Scientific Advisor:

Deutsche Ärztegesellschaft für Klinische Metalltoxikologie / German Medical Association of Clinical Metal Toxicology

International Board of Clinical Metal Toxicology (IBCMT)

Röhrenstr. 20

D-91217 Hersbruck

Tel: ++49

Fax ++49

www. microtrace. de

www.

Filename: MicroTraceMinerals-ResponseToStephenBarrett-Quackwatch. doc