Hocum Locum

Last year there was an excellent article published in Metro magazine about a young boy, Kurt Boyle, with a mysterious illness causing paralysis. The family had featured earlier on the Holmes show when they alleged that their son had been mistreated by the Hospital staff, who were treating him for a psychological problem.

Dissatisfied with conventional medical treatment, the Boyles took their son to Dr Matt Tizard, who used Vega testing to diagnose "chemical poisoning by agricultural sprays" and who commented that "it was one of the worst cases I have seen." The same Dr Tizard diagnosed chemical poisoning in firemen after the ICI fire and refused to allow any testing of his methods. Dr Tizard was recently struck off the Medical Register, but is appealing the decision.

After nearly two years of Kurt suffering from fatigue, headaches, vomiting and muscular spasms in his legs, his doctors concluded that he had a conversion disorder — psychological stress producing physical symptoms. One of the doctors commented "in Kurt's case we excluded all known physical problems."

The family reacted defensively — "They said it was all in his head!" and felt insulted.

I saw Kurt on the Holmes show and was immediately skeptical of any organic cause for his symptoms. He appeared to be actively struggling with his attendants, and one of the key features of the conversion condition is that symptoms are inconsistently maintained.

Psychological Factors

Why did the family have so much trouble accepting the diagnosis? The father is a policeman and the mother a successful beautician with her own business. They are described as "expecting a great deal from their children." This, combined with an overly simplistic view of medicine, set the scene for Kurt's prolonged illness.

It should not have taken two years to discover that his illness had a psychological basis. All illnesses are a mixture of physical/psychological factors and a preoccupation by doctors with the "physical" causes of illness fosters an impression that psychological causes are a poor second best.

As I have commented before, in connection with chronic fatigue syndrome, clinical psychologists should be part of the medical team when dealing with any problematic or prolonged illness. The public must be educated that there is no stigma attached to having a psychological illness.

Vega Treatment

The Vega treatment is irrelevant in itself, being a quack treatment, but as it involved changes in management some improvement is to be expected, as with any placebo treatment. I have already given my opinion of Vega treatment but I will quote a doctor who tested one of these machines:

Six years ago I seriously attempted to use a Vega machine in my practice. Both I and another doctor experienced in the technique tested and retested patients in a double-blind fashion and then compared results. We could not get consistent results and abandoned the method. Error arose from small changes either in the application pressure of the electrical skin probe or its positioning at test acupuncture points, and from variability in the decay of electrical energy at acupuncture points during testing. It was easy for the operator to deliberately or inadvertently influence the results.

Refer also Skeptic 20, where I discussed the use of dental amalgameters and you will see a similar result from careful testing — variable and irreproducible results whose interpretation is dependent on delusion in the mind of the operator.

Dr Tizard was struck off the medical register because some patients were allegedly harmed as a result of his treatments.

The Medical Council made no judgement on the validity or otherwise of Vega testing. I find this disappointing. Possession of a medical degree implies a knowledge and understanding of basic science. Those doctors whose delusions involve the use of these Vega machines should be professionally disciplined.

Metro November 91; Skeptic 19 Vega testing in the diagnosis of allergic conditions. Medical Journal of Australia Vol 155 Sep 2, 1991.

Miraculous Healing

Reports of miraculous healing are not supported by a single piece of medical evidence, reports Dr Peter May, a GP from Southampton. One person who claimed to have been instantly cured of a neurological disease refused to co-operate in further tests, claiming that these would be "dishonouring to God". A charismatic Anglican bishop claimed that the effect of prayer could not be measured.

As psychologists have shown, people will go to any lengths to avoid subjecting their beliefs to testing and refutation.

Dr May has spent 20 years examining the phenomenon of charismatic healing, which has reached obscene proportions in the United States in conjunction with television evangelism.

Miracles challenged. Daily Telegraph

Japanese Gullibility

Jaded Japanese business people are resorting to tonic drinks, a market worth 100 billion yen this year. A pep drink costing Y300 ($2.25) contains about the same amount of caffeine as in a cup of coffee. Other possible ingredients are ginseng, royal jelly and tincture of viper.

What other foolishness could find a market niche in the world's premier economy? The answer is Wanbitan, a tonic said to make the family dog wag its tail with joy.

At a time when the world's forests are being felled to provide gift- wrapping for Japanese consumers, and with that nation persisting in "scientific whaling", it is rather appealing to see them wasting their money on quackery.

The Economist 28/09/91

Shrinking Penises

Koro is a fascinating condition characterised by panic attacks, along with fear of losing protruding parts of the body, in particular, penis, breasts and nipples. It has been described in China as "Suo Yang," literally "shrinking penis."

It has all the features of mass hysteria, occurring mainly in people who know about the disorder, and is highly transmissible.

In Nigeria, the media were largely responsible for the spread of a Koro epidemic. A doctor speculated that Koro was caused by an underlying social malaise associated with rapid urbanisation.

For readers lucky enough to see a case, the correct treatment is to pull the retracted part while others beat gongs and administer ginger soup.

Are we in any way superior to these hysterical cultures? As the author says "Our myths come cloaked in science.

Where less-developed societies have ghosts and penis snatchers we have substituted viruses. Some — not all — sufferers from chronic fatigue syndrome (Refer Skeptic 21) may be suffering from panic-related disorders that are the equivalent of Koro."

As the French say, plus ca change!

That shrinking feeling. GP Weekly

19 Feb 92 Koro victims need educational help. NZ Doctor 23 Oct 92.

Dr John Welch is a medical officer with the RNZAF.