Matthias Rath
Encyclopedia
Matthias Rath is a doctor, businessman, and vitamin entrepreneur. He earned his MD
degree in Germany. Rath claims that a program of nutritional supplements
(which he calls "cellular medicine"), including formulations that he sells, can treat or cure diabetes, cardiovascular disease
, cancer
, and HIV
/AIDS
. These claims are not supported by any reliable medical research. Rath runs the Dr. Rath Health Foundation, has been closely associated with Health Now, Inc., and founded the Dr. Rath Research Institute.
The Sunday Times (Johannesburg)
has described Rath as an "international campaigner for the use of natural remedies" whose "theories on the treatment of cancer have been rejected by health authorities all over the world." On HIV/AIDS, Rath has disparaged the pharmaceutical industry and denounced antiretroviral medication as toxic and dangerous, while claiming that his vitamin pills could reverse the course of AIDS. As a result, Rath has been accused of "potentially endangering thousands of lives" in South Africa, a country with a massive AIDS epidemic
where Rath was active in the mid-2000s. The head of Médecins Sans Frontières
said "This guy is killing people by luring them with unrecognised treatment without any scientific evidence"; Rath attempted to sue him.
Rath's claims and methods have been widely criticized by medical organizations, AIDS-activist groups, and the United Nations
, among others. Former South African President Thabo Mbeki
and former Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang
have also been criticized by the medical and AIDS-activist community for their perceived support for Rath's claims. According to doctors with Médecins Sans Frontières
, the Treatment Action Campaign
(a South African AIDS-activist group) and a former Rath colleague, unauthorized clinical trial
s run by Rath and his associates, using vitamins as therapy for HIV, resulted in deaths of some participants. In 2008, the Cape High Court found the trials unlawful, banned Rath and his foundation from conducting unauthorized clinical trials and from advertising their products, and instructed the South African Health Department to fully investigate Rath's vitamin trials. In 2008, Rath expanded his advertising to Russia, a country where the incidence of HIV/AIDS has been increasing.
After graduating from Hamburg, Rath began researching arteriosclerosis
at the University Clinic of Hamburg. He subsequently joined two-time Nobel Prize
laureate Linus Pauling
at his research institute in California
. Ultimately, Rath had a falling-out with the Linus Pauling Institute; after a series of lawsuit
s and countersuits, Rath was ordered in 1994 to pay the Institute $75,000 and was assigned several patent
s. Rath subsequently developed his own branded nutrient products, set up the Dr. Rath Health Foundation and Dr. Rath Research Institute, and funds nutrition research with patent development in what he calls "Cellular Medicine".
Rath has offices in California
, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and South Africa (Cape Town
). His foundation also advertises its products in Spain, France, and Russia. According to Eversheds, Rath's solicitor, the Dr. Rath Health Foundation is "a not-for-profit body which conducts research into science-based natural therapies," but the foundation is estimated to have earned "millions" through nutritional supplement sales.
do not suffer heart attacks
. Humans do not have this ability, and thus need to obtain vitamin C
from a balanced diet. Rath advocates increased intake of vitamin C to prevent atherosclerosis
, heart attack, and stroke
. In 1990, Rath and Linus Pauling
proposed that vitamin C deficiency in Western diets causes microscopic lesion
s in the artery walls, which instead of being repaired are filled up with fat
s. These deposits, according to the hypothesis, later harden through dystrophic calcification
, leading to typical symptoms of high blood pressure
(reduced artery wall elasticity) and heart disease
complications. Rath also believes that arrhythmias are primarily caused by nutritional deficiencies and can be prevented by optimizing the intake of such nutrients as vitamin C, coenzyme Q10, magnesium and vitamin B complex.
cells in laboratory conditions (called metastasis
when it occurs in the body). He argues that the growth and metastasis of cancer are facilitated when the balance between mechanisms breaking down and building the connective tissue
shifts towards breakdown. He points out that the body makes widespread use of these mechanisms during normal (physiological) conditions, e.g. a) during ovulation
, when egg cells migrate from the ovary
to the fallopian tube
; b) during the restructuring of the uterus
and the breast in pregnancy
and lactation
, when huge amounts of tissue have to be remodelled; c) during infections when white blood cells (leucocytes) migrate through the tissue to the site of infection. He argues that in case of cancer, normal control of these mechanisms fails and the tissue degradation continues uncontrolled.
Rath claims that the uncontrolled release of degrading enzymes in cancer can be blocked by the natural amino acid lysine
. He says that a high daily intake of lysine – in particular in combination with vitamin C
– can block cancer cells from spreading.
Rath has published a series of articles claiming in vitro
evidence that supplements can slow the spread of more than 30 cultured, immortalized cell lines derived from human cancers. These studies, Rath claims, have also identified in vitro synergism between lysine
, polyphenols present in green tea extract
s like EGCG and other micronutrients. Organized in vivo
clinical studies using this new approach to cancer have not been published. An independent review of Rath's claims by the Swiss Study Group for Complementary and Alternative Methods in Cancer (SKAK) in 2004 found "no proof that the vitamin preparations of Dr. Matthias Rath have any effect on human cancer" and advised against their use.
later than control animals.
In a special feature article published in the 2007 Commonwealth Health Ministers Book, Rath and colleagues claim that "studies conducted with both single and multiple nutritional supplements have shown that micronutrients act to control HIV infection and AIDS in three specific ways, which include: (i) suppression of virus multiplication and spread; (ii) restoration of cell-mediated immune responses and (iii) slowing the rate of AIDS progression and reducing the severity of AIDS-defining and disease-related symptoms."
was started and exploited by these interests. In court filings, Rath and his lawyers write that the pharmaceutical industry then started apartheid in South Africa as part of a global conspiracy to "conquer and control the entire African continent." Former Nazi officials and the German chemical company IG Farben
are specifically mentioned as playing a central role in the alleged conspiracy. In these documents, Rath also compares his adversaries in court to Hitler's storm troopers.
Rath suggests that the pharmaceutical industry continues to control international politics today, allowing 9/11 to occur and starting the Iraq War to divert attention from what Rath considers the failures of drug companies. On his website, Rath states that United States President George W. Bush
and Vice President Dick Cheney
, at the behest of what Rath calls the "pharmaceutical cartel", were planning a nuclear war in advance of the 4 November 2008 elections in the United States. Similar claims are made by Rath in the New York Times and other major newspapers around the world in the form of large advertisements reportedly designed to resemble newspaper editorials.
, Rath's foundation distributed tens of thousands of pamphlets in poor black South African townships
, such as Khayelitsha
, claiming that HIV medication was "poison" and urging HIV-positive people instead to use vitamins such as those Rath sells to treat HIV/AIDS. People with "advanced AIDS" were then recruited by the Rath Foundation and its surrogates for what the Rath Foundation called "a clinical pilot study in HIVpositive patients" Personnel of the South Africa National Civic Organisation (Sanco) administered the programme in Khayelitsha as "agents for the Rath foundation."
Patients were recruited for the study with offers of money or food, and were instructed to stop taking conventional HIV/AIDS medications. Luthando Nogcinisa, a local Communist Party official, said that Rath agents recruited known HIV-positive individuals, "often with a pack of groceries, and they encourage the person not to take the antiretrovirals, but to rather take the vitamins". Mike Waters, Democratic Alliance health spokesperson, states that Rath gave patients "food parcels to convince them to give up their antiretrovirals and take his vitamin C supplements instead."
Rath Foundation employees reportedly infiltrated HIV/AIDS clinics in Khayelitsha and paid clinic staff to provide them with names of patients. The Guardian
described a case in which a pregnant woman newly diagnosed with HIV was visited at home by Rath Health Foundation employees and convinced to stop taking her antiretroviral medication in favor of Rath's vitamins; she died 3 months later. The Rath Foundation disputed that patients were asked to stop taking effective antiviral medication. Rath's lawyers also claimed that the trial was actually a "community nutrition programme" to which Rath contributed vitamins.
Five trial participants stated in sworn affidavits that they were stripped to their underwear, photographed, and had blood drawn without their permission. They were told to take pills containing what were said to be high doses of vitamins, including Rath's VitaCell. Demetre Labadarios, who leads the Human Nutrition programme at Stellenbosch University
, questioned the safety of administering high doses of supplements to already-sick patients.
During and immediately following the vitamin trials, "many people died," deaths attributed by Rath's adversaries to a lack of effective medication. Sanco-Rath clinic workers reportedly instructed patients to return to the clinic in the event of medical emergency, rather than going to hospital.
The Treatment Action Campaign
(TAC) and the South African Medical Association (SAMA) took the Rath Foundation to court to prevent further unauthorized trials and to stop the foundation's claims that vitamins could treat or cure HIV/AIDS. Rath's lawyer however said that he had never claimed his vitamin products were a cure for HIV/AIDS, adding that Rath's only involvement in the affair was the donation of vitamins to the South African National Civics Organisation. TAC and SAMA prevailed in court over Rath and the Medicines Control Council on unauthorized trials and advertising of Rath's nutrients as a replacement therapy for HIV.
In September, 2008, Rath was ordered to pay court costs in an unsuccessful libel action against The Guardian
(UK) after the paper reported on his foundation's unauthorized drug trials in South Africa.
, examined Rath's vitamin preparations and the marketing claims made by Rath. The Study Group reported that they "found no proof that the vitamin preparations of Dr. Matthias Rath have any effect on human cancer" and "advise against their use in cancer prevention and treatment while recommending a diet rich in fruit and vegetables." Specifically, the Swiss Study Group report criticized Rath for:
The conclusion of the Swiss Study Group regarding Rath's vitamin formulations was:
, published in the New England Journal of Medicine
, suggesting that multivitamin supplementation slows the progression of HIV to AIDS.
In May 2005, the study authors released a statement condemning Rath's "irresponsible and misleading statements, as in our view they deliberately misinterpret findings from our studies to advocate against the scale-up of antiretroviral therapy." The study authors felt that Rath had misused their study results to argue that multivitamins should be used in place of antiretroviral medication. In their statement, the study authors affirmed the central role of antiretroviral medication in the treatment of AIDS, and indicated that multivitamins should be, at most, a supplementary treatment.
examined some of the claims made by Rath and Health Now in support of Rath's multivitamin supplement blend. The authors found that Rath listed 40 citations to support his product; however, on examination, only 8 of these citations were of actual clinical trials. After examining these clinical trials, the authors concluded that despite Rath's claims to the contrary, "no general clinical benefit of vitamins C and E and carotene can be proved from the works cited by Health Now."
, UNICEF, and UNAIDS. However, these agencies issued a joint statement condemning Rath's advertisements as "wrong and misleading".
A lawyer representing Rath responded to the complaints by stating that the title 'Dr.' referred in Rath's case to "a PHD doctorate he had obtained and his position as a researcher, not a medical doctor."
Other sources, however, describe Rath as a "qualified doctor" and state that he "became a researcher first at the University Clinic in Hamburg and then, during 1989 and 1990, at the Berlin Heart Centre."
issued a statement that Rath's activities in South Africa "can only be interpreted as misguided strategies to promote Rath's own brand of nutritional supplements." The Council affirmed the importance of both antiretroviral medication and good nutrition for people with HIV, and pointed out that multivitamins are distributed by public health
services and need not be obtained from Rath's organization.
Other
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
degree in Germany. Rath claims that a program of nutritional supplements
Dietary supplement
A dietary supplement, also known as food supplement or nutritional supplement, is a preparation intended to supplement the diet and provide nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, fatty acids, or amino acids, that may be missing or may not be consumed in sufficient quantities in a person's diet...
(which he calls "cellular medicine"), including formulations that he sells, can treat or cure diabetes, cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular disease
Heart disease or cardiovascular disease are the class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels . While the term technically refers to any disease that affects the cardiovascular system , it is usually used to refer to those related to atherosclerosis...
, cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, and HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
/AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. These claims are not supported by any reliable medical research. Rath runs the Dr. Rath Health Foundation, has been closely associated with Health Now, Inc., and founded the Dr. Rath Research Institute.
The Sunday Times (Johannesburg)
The Sunday Times (South Africa)
The Sunday Times is a popular South African Sunday newspaper. It has an audited circulation of 504,000 and a weekly readership of 3.2 million, making it the largest weekly newspaper in South Africa. Recently it was involved in exposing a corruption scandal involving the South African government's...
has described Rath as an "international campaigner for the use of natural remedies" whose "theories on the treatment of cancer have been rejected by health authorities all over the world." On HIV/AIDS, Rath has disparaged the pharmaceutical industry and denounced antiretroviral medication as toxic and dangerous, while claiming that his vitamin pills could reverse the course of AIDS. As a result, Rath has been accused of "potentially endangering thousands of lives" in South Africa, a country with a massive AIDS epidemic
HIV/AIDS in South Africa
HIV/AIDS in South Africa is a prominent health concern because South Africa is believed to have more people with HIV/AIDS than any other country....
where Rath was active in the mid-2000s. The head of Médecins Sans Frontières
Médecins Sans Frontières
' , or Doctors Without Borders, is a secular humanitarian-aid non-governmental organization best known for its projects in war-torn regions and developing countries facing endemic diseases. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland...
said "This guy is killing people by luring them with unrecognised treatment without any scientific evidence"; Rath attempted to sue him.
Rath's claims and methods have been widely criticized by medical organizations, AIDS-activist groups, and the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, among others. Former South African President Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki is a South African politician who served two terms as the second post-apartheid President of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008. He is also the brother of Moeletsi Mbeki...
and former Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang
Manto Tshabalala-Msimang
Dr. Mantombazana 'Manto' Edmie Tshabalala-Msimang was a South African politician. She was Deputy Minister of Justice from 1996 to 1999 and controversially served as Minister of Health from 1999 to 2008 under President Thabo Mbeki...
have also been criticized by the medical and AIDS-activist community for their perceived support for Rath's claims. According to doctors with Médecins Sans Frontières
Médecins Sans Frontières
' , or Doctors Without Borders, is a secular humanitarian-aid non-governmental organization best known for its projects in war-torn regions and developing countries facing endemic diseases. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland...
, the Treatment Action Campaign
Treatment Action Campaign
The Treatment Action Campaign is a South African AIDS activist organization which was founded by the HIV-positive activist Zackie Achmat in 1998. TAC is rooted in the experiences, direct action tactics and anti-apartheid background of its founder...
(a South African AIDS-activist group) and a former Rath colleague, unauthorized clinical trial
Clinical trial
Clinical trials are a set of procedures in medical research and drug development that are conducted to allow safety and efficacy data to be collected for health interventions...
s run by Rath and his associates, using vitamins as therapy for HIV, resulted in deaths of some participants. In 2008, the Cape High Court found the trials unlawful, banned Rath and his foundation from conducting unauthorized clinical trials and from advertising their products, and instructed the South African Health Department to fully investigate Rath's vitamin trials. In 2008, Rath expanded his advertising to Russia, a country where the incidence of HIV/AIDS has been increasing.
Background
Rath studied at the Hamburg University Medical School in GermanyAfter graduating from Hamburg, Rath began researching arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis refers to a stiffening of arteries.Arteriosclerosis is a general term describing any hardening of medium or large arteries It should not be confused with "arteriolosclerosis" or "atherosclerosis".Also known by the name "myoconditis" which is...
at the University Clinic of Hamburg. He subsequently joined two-time Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
laureate Linus Pauling
Linus Pauling
Linus Carl Pauling was an American chemist, biochemist, peace activist, author, and educator. He was one of the most influential chemists in history and ranks among the most important scientists of the 20th century...
at his research institute in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Ultimately, Rath had a falling-out with the Linus Pauling Institute; after a series of lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
s and countersuits, Rath was ordered in 1994 to pay the Institute $75,000 and was assigned several patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s. Rath subsequently developed his own branded nutrient products, set up the Dr. Rath Health Foundation and Dr. Rath Research Institute, and funds nutrition research with patent development in what he calls "Cellular Medicine".
Rath has offices in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and South Africa (Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
). His foundation also advertises its products in Spain, France, and Russia. According to Eversheds, Rath's solicitor, the Dr. Rath Health Foundation is "a not-for-profit body which conducts research into science-based natural therapies," but the foundation is estimated to have earned "millions" through nutritional supplement sales.
Cardiovascular disease
In a self-published book, Why Animals Don't Get Heart Attacks...But People Do, Rath claims to have discovered through comparative studies that animals with the ability to synthesise vitamin CVitamin C
Vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. In living organisms ascorbate acts as an antioxidant by protecting the body against oxidative stress...
do not suffer heart attacks
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. Humans do not have this ability, and thus need to obtain vitamin C
Vitamin C
Vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. In living organisms ascorbate acts as an antioxidant by protecting the body against oxidative stress...
from a balanced diet. Rath advocates increased intake of vitamin C to prevent atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is a condition in which an artery wall thickens as a result of the accumulation of fatty materials such as cholesterol...
, heart attack, and stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
. In 1990, Rath and Linus Pauling
Linus Pauling
Linus Carl Pauling was an American chemist, biochemist, peace activist, author, and educator. He was one of the most influential chemists in history and ranks among the most important scientists of the 20th century...
proposed that vitamin C deficiency in Western diets causes microscopic lesion
Lesion
A lesion is any abnormality in the tissue of an organism , usually caused by disease or trauma. Lesion is derived from the Latin word laesio which means injury.- Types :...
s in the artery walls, which instead of being repaired are filled up with fat
Fat
Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure...
s. These deposits, according to the hypothesis, later harden through dystrophic calcification
Dystrophic calcification
Dystrophic Calcification is the calcification occurring in degenerated or necrotic tissue, as in hyalinized scars, degenerated foci in leiomyomas, and caseous nodules. This occurs as a reaction to tissue damage, including as a consequence of medical device implantation.Dystrophic calcification can...
, leading to typical symptoms of high blood pressure
Hypertension
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...
(reduced artery wall elasticity) and heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
complications. Rath also believes that arrhythmias are primarily caused by nutritional deficiencies and can be prevented by optimizing the intake of such nutrients as vitamin C, coenzyme Q10, magnesium and vitamin B complex.
Cancer
Rath claims to have discovered that high-dose nutritional supplements can block the spread of cancerCancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
cells in laboratory conditions (called metastasis
Metastasis
Metastasis, or metastatic disease , is the spread of a disease from one organ or part to another non-adjacent organ or part. It was previously thought that only malignant tumor cells and infections have the capacity to metastasize; however, this is being reconsidered due to new research...
when it occurs in the body). He argues that the growth and metastasis of cancer are facilitated when the balance between mechanisms breaking down and building the connective tissue
Connective tissue
"Connective tissue" is a fibrous tissue. It is one of the four traditional classes of tissues . Connective Tissue is found throughout the body.In fact the whole framework of the skeleton and the different specialized connective tissues from the crown of the head to the toes determine the form of...
shifts towards breakdown. He points out that the body makes widespread use of these mechanisms during normal (physiological) conditions, e.g. a) during ovulation
Ovulation
Ovulation is the process in a female's menstrual cycle by which a mature ovarian follicle ruptures and discharges an ovum . Ovulation also occurs in the estrous cycle of other female mammals, which differs in many fundamental ways from the menstrual cycle...
, when egg cells migrate from the ovary
Ovary
The ovary is an ovum-producing reproductive organ, often found in pairs as part of the vertebrate female reproductive system. Ovaries in anatomically female individuals are analogous to testes in anatomically male individuals, in that they are both gonads and endocrine glands.-Human anatomy:Ovaries...
to the fallopian tube
Fallopian tube
The Fallopian tubes, also known as oviducts, uterine tubes, and salpinges are two very fine tubes lined with ciliated epithelia, leading from the ovaries of female mammals into the uterus, via the utero-tubal junction...
; b) during the restructuring of the uterus
Uterus
The uterus or womb is a major female hormone-responsive reproductive sex organ of most mammals including humans. One end, the cervix, opens into the vagina, while the other is connected to one or both fallopian tubes, depending on the species...
and the breast in pregnancy
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
and lactation
Lactation
Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process occurs in all female mammals, however it predates mammals. In humans the process of feeding milk is called breastfeeding or nursing...
, when huge amounts of tissue have to be remodelled; c) during infections when white blood cells (leucocytes) migrate through the tissue to the site of infection. He argues that in case of cancer, normal control of these mechanisms fails and the tissue degradation continues uncontrolled.
Rath claims that the uncontrolled release of degrading enzymes in cancer can be blocked by the natural amino acid lysine
Lysine
Lysine is an α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCH4NH2. It is an essential amino acid, which means that the human body cannot synthesize it. Its codons are AAA and AAG....
. He says that a high daily intake of lysine – in particular in combination with vitamin C
Vitamin C
Vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. In living organisms ascorbate acts as an antioxidant by protecting the body against oxidative stress...
– can block cancer cells from spreading.
Rath has published a series of articles claiming in vitro
In vitro
In vitro refers to studies in experimental biology that are conducted using components of an organism that have been isolated from their usual biological context in order to permit a more detailed or more convenient analysis than can be done with whole organisms. Colloquially, these experiments...
evidence that supplements can slow the spread of more than 30 cultured, immortalized cell lines derived from human cancers. These studies, Rath claims, have also identified in vitro synergism between lysine
Lysine
Lysine is an α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCH4NH2. It is an essential amino acid, which means that the human body cannot synthesize it. Its codons are AAA and AAG....
, polyphenols present in green tea extract
Green tea extract
A green tea extract is a herbal derivative from green tea leaves . Containing antioxidant ingredients – mainly green tea catechins – green tea and its derivatives are sought-after amongst people who pursue health....
s like EGCG and other micronutrients. Organized in vivo
In vivo
In vivo is experimentation using a whole, living organism as opposed to a partial or dead organism, or an in vitro controlled environment. Animal testing and clinical trials are two forms of in vivo research...
clinical studies using this new approach to cancer have not been published. An independent review of Rath's claims by the Swiss Study Group for Complementary and Alternative Methods in Cancer (SKAK) in 2004 found "no proof that the vitamin preparations of Dr. Matthias Rath have any effect on human cancer" and advised against their use.
Immune deficiencies
Rath and his research team advocate the use of micronutrients to improve the immune response against infections and help fight immune deficiencies. Rath and his colleagues report that chicks infected with avian flu and given a mixture of micronutrients develop audible pulmonary symptomsRales
Crackles, crepitations, or rales are the clicking, rattling, or crackling noises that may be made by one or both lungs of a human with a respiratory disease during inhalation. They are often heard only with a stethoscope...
later than control animals.
In a special feature article published in the 2007 Commonwealth Health Ministers Book, Rath and colleagues claim that "studies conducted with both single and multiple nutritional supplements have shown that micronutrients act to control HIV infection and AIDS in three specific ways, which include: (i) suppression of virus multiplication and spread; (ii) restoration of cell-mediated immune responses and (iii) slowing the rate of AIDS progression and reducing the severity of AIDS-defining and disease-related symptoms."
International politics
According to Rath, events of the last century in the international arena have been driven by pharmaceutical and oil companies. Rath claims that World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was started and exploited by these interests. In court filings, Rath and his lawyers write that the pharmaceutical industry then started apartheid in South Africa as part of a global conspiracy to "conquer and control the entire African continent." Former Nazi officials and the German chemical company IG Farben
IG Farben
I.G. Farbenindustrie AG was a German chemical industry conglomerate. Its name is taken from Interessen-Gemeinschaft Farbenindustrie AG . The company was formed in 1925 from a number of major companies that had been working together closely since World War I...
are specifically mentioned as playing a central role in the alleged conspiracy. In these documents, Rath also compares his adversaries in court to Hitler's storm troopers.
Rath suggests that the pharmaceutical industry continues to control international politics today, allowing 9/11 to occur and starting the Iraq War to divert attention from what Rath considers the failures of drug companies. On his website, Rath states that United States President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and Vice President Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
, at the behest of what Rath calls the "pharmaceutical cartel", were planning a nuclear war in advance of the 4 November 2008 elections in the United States. Similar claims are made by Rath in the New York Times and other major newspapers around the world in the form of large advertisements reportedly designed to resemble newspaper editorials.
Awards
In 2001, Rath was presented the Bulwark of Liberty Award by the health freedom advocacy groups the American Preventive Medical Association and the National Foundation for Alternative Medicine.Controversies
Rath's theories, claims, and research, particularly his efforts to persuade South Africans to use his vitamin supplements to treat HIV/AIDS, have been controversial.Illegal AIDS trials in South Africa
In 2005, according to ReutersReuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
, Rath's foundation distributed tens of thousands of pamphlets in poor black South African townships
Township (South Africa)
In South Africa, the term township and location usually refers to the urban living areas that, from the late 19th century until the end of Apartheid, were reserved for non-whites . Townships were usually built on the periphery of towns and cities...
, such as Khayelitsha
Khayelitsha
Khayelitsha is a partially informal township in Western Cape, South Africa, located on the Cape Flats in the City of Cape Town. The name is Xhosa for New Home...
, claiming that HIV medication was "poison" and urging HIV-positive people instead to use vitamins such as those Rath sells to treat HIV/AIDS. People with "advanced AIDS" were then recruited by the Rath Foundation and its surrogates for what the Rath Foundation called "a clinical pilot study in HIVpositive patients" Personnel of the South Africa National Civic Organisation (Sanco) administered the programme in Khayelitsha as "agents for the Rath foundation."
Patients were recruited for the study with offers of money or food, and were instructed to stop taking conventional HIV/AIDS medications. Luthando Nogcinisa, a local Communist Party official, said that Rath agents recruited known HIV-positive individuals, "often with a pack of groceries, and they encourage the person not to take the antiretrovirals, but to rather take the vitamins". Mike Waters, Democratic Alliance health spokesperson, states that Rath gave patients "food parcels to convince them to give up their antiretrovirals and take his vitamin C supplements instead."
Rath Foundation employees reportedly infiltrated HIV/AIDS clinics in Khayelitsha and paid clinic staff to provide them with names of patients. The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
described a case in which a pregnant woman newly diagnosed with HIV was visited at home by Rath Health Foundation employees and convinced to stop taking her antiretroviral medication in favor of Rath's vitamins; she died 3 months later. The Rath Foundation disputed that patients were asked to stop taking effective antiviral medication. Rath's lawyers also claimed that the trial was actually a "community nutrition programme" to which Rath contributed vitamins.
Five trial participants stated in sworn affidavits that they were stripped to their underwear, photographed, and had blood drawn without their permission. They were told to take pills containing what were said to be high doses of vitamins, including Rath's VitaCell. Demetre Labadarios, who leads the Human Nutrition programme at Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University is a public research university situated in the town of Stellenbosch, South Africa. Other nearby universities are the University of Cape Town and University of the Western Cape....
, questioned the safety of administering high doses of supplements to already-sick patients.
During and immediately following the vitamin trials, "many people died," deaths attributed by Rath's adversaries to a lack of effective medication. Sanco-Rath clinic workers reportedly instructed patients to return to the clinic in the event of medical emergency, rather than going to hospital.
The Treatment Action Campaign
Treatment Action Campaign
The Treatment Action Campaign is a South African AIDS activist organization which was founded by the HIV-positive activist Zackie Achmat in 1998. TAC is rooted in the experiences, direct action tactics and anti-apartheid background of its founder...
(TAC) and the South African Medical Association (SAMA) took the Rath Foundation to court to prevent further unauthorized trials and to stop the foundation's claims that vitamins could treat or cure HIV/AIDS. Rath's lawyer however said that he had never claimed his vitamin products were a cure for HIV/AIDS, adding that Rath's only involvement in the affair was the donation of vitamins to the South African National Civics Organisation. TAC and SAMA prevailed in court over Rath and the Medicines Control Council on unauthorized trials and advertising of Rath's nutrients as a replacement therapy for HIV.
In September, 2008, Rath was ordered to pay court costs in an unsuccessful libel action against The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
(UK) after the paper reported on his foundation's unauthorized drug trials in South Africa.
SKAK
In 2004, the Swiss Study Group for Complementary and Alternative Methods in Cancer (SKAK), an independent group which evaluates alternative medical treatmentsAlternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any healing practice, "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine." It is based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence....
, examined Rath's vitamin preparations and the marketing claims made by Rath. The Study Group reported that they "found no proof that the vitamin preparations of Dr. Matthias Rath have any effect on human cancer" and "advise against their use in cancer prevention and treatment while recommending a diet rich in fruit and vegetables." Specifically, the Swiss Study Group report criticized Rath for:
- Making sweeping, unsubstantiated claims of efficacy. Rath has claimed that his vitamin treatments can cure all forms of cancer, as well as most infectious diseaseInfectious diseaseInfectious diseases, also known as communicable diseases, contagious diseases or transmissible diseases comprise clinically evident illness resulting from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic biological agents in an individual host organism...
s, including AIDSAIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
.
- Citing anecdotal reports of success which could not be confirmed. In the case of one patient allegedly "cured" by Rath's methods, the Study Group found that "it is not even certain from a medical perspective if cancer was present."
- Using a self-developed test of efficacy, rather than using widely accepted and verified tests and endpoints.
The conclusion of the Swiss Study Group regarding Rath's vitamin formulations was:
A cancer-curing effect has not been documented for any of these substances. Nor is there any proof that the preparations sold by Matthias Rath, some with high dosages, are useful in cancer prevention – leave alone curing cancer. Rath still owes proof regarding the correctness of his claims. Proof of effect cannot be provided by analogy with in vitro, animal or cell experiments. Because there is no proof for effect nor for the harmlessness of the preparations, SKAK advises against their use.
Harvard multivitamin study
To support the use of multivitamins in HIV/AIDS, Rath has cited a study conducted by the Harvard School of Public HealthHarvard School of Public Health
The Harvard School of Public Health is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Area of the Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Mission Hill, which is next to Harvard Medical School. HSPH is considered a significant school focusing on health in the...
, published in the New England Journal of Medicine
New England Journal of Medicine
The New England Journal of Medicine is an English-language peer-reviewed medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It describes itself as the oldest continuously published medical journal in the world.-History:...
, suggesting that multivitamin supplementation slows the progression of HIV to AIDS.
In May 2005, the study authors released a statement condemning Rath's "irresponsible and misleading statements, as in our view they deliberately misinterpret findings from our studies to advocate against the scale-up of antiretroviral therapy." The study authors felt that Rath had misused their study results to argue that multivitamins should be used in place of antiretroviral medication. In their statement, the study authors affirmed the central role of antiretroviral medication in the treatment of AIDS, and indicated that multivitamins should be, at most, a supplementary treatment.
Use of published medical literature
A 1998 article in the British Medical JournalBritish Medical Journal
BMJ is a partially open-access peer-reviewed medical journal. Originally called the British Medical Journal, the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988. The journal is published by the BMJ Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Medical Association...
examined some of the claims made by Rath and Health Now in support of Rath's multivitamin supplement blend. The authors found that Rath listed 40 citations to support his product; however, on examination, only 8 of these citations were of actual clinical trials. After examining these clinical trials, the authors concluded that despite Rath's claims to the contrary, "no general clinical benefit of vitamins C and E and carotene can be proved from the works cited by Health Now."
Claims of WHO and UN support
Rath's advertising material has suggested that his nutritional supplements are superior to antiretroviral therapy in the treatment of HIV/AIDS and implied that his claims were endorsed by the World Health OrganizationWorld Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
, UNICEF, and UNAIDS. However, these agencies issued a joint statement condemning Rath's advertisements as "wrong and misleading".
Credentials
The Democratic Alliance (DA), official opposition party in South Africa, said Rath was representing himself as a medical doctor in his literature distributed in South Africa, and claimed that this was against the law since he was not registered as a doctor in South Africa. The DA filed complaints with the Health Professions Council of South Africa and the police. The Health Professions Council said it could not discipline Rath since its jurisdiction is restricted to registered doctors.A lawyer representing Rath responded to the complaints by stating that the title 'Dr.' referred in Rath's case to "a PHD doctorate he had obtained and his position as a researcher, not a medical doctor."
Other sources, however, describe Rath as a "qualified doctor" and state that he "became a researcher first at the University Clinic in Hamburg and then, during 1989 and 1990, at the Berlin Heart Centre."
South African Council of Churches
To address the "confusion" created by Rath's advertising campaign, the South African Council of ChurchesSouth African Council of Churches
The South African Council of Churches is an interdenominational forum in South Africa. It was a prominent anti-apartheid organisation during the years of apartheid in South Africa. Its leaders have included Desmond Tutu, Beyers Naudé and Frank Chikane....
issued a statement that Rath's activities in South Africa "can only be interpreted as misguided strategies to promote Rath's own brand of nutritional supplements." The Council affirmed the importance of both antiretroviral medication and good nutrition for people with HIV, and pointed out that multivitamins are distributed by public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
services and need not be obtained from Rath's organization.
Legal cases
Rath has been involved in a number of legal cases.- In 2000, the Court of Almelo in the Netherlands ordered Rath to stop making unfounded, false, and defamatory statements about the Dutch pharmaceutical companyPharmaceutical companyThe pharmaceutical industry develops, produces, and markets drugs licensed for use as medications. Pharmaceutical companies are allowed to deal in generic and/or brand medications and medical devices...
NumicoNumicoNumico , is a specialist baby food and clinical nutrition subsidiary of Groupe Danone. Products range from infant formula to specialised nutrition for babies with specific needs and for breastfeeding mothers. It also produces and markets special clinical nutrition, diet products and...
.
- In 2002, the British Advertising Standards AuthorityAdvertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom)The Advertising Standards Authority is the self-regulatory organisation of the advertising industry in the United Kingdom. The ASA is a non-statutory organisation and so cannot interpret or enforce legislation. However, its code of advertising practice broadly reflects legislation in many instances...
found that advertisements by Rath contained a series of misleading and false claimsFalse advertisingFalse advertising or deceptive advertising is the use of false or misleading statements in advertising. As advertising has the potential to persuade people into commercial transactions that they might otherwise avoid, many governments around the world use regulations to control false, deceptive or...
and ordered the claims removed.
- In 2002, the United States Food and Drug AdministrationFood and Drug AdministrationThe Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
notified Rath that he was promoting his supplements in a manner that violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic ActFederal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic ActThe United States Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act , is a set of laws passed by Congress in 1938 giving authority to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to oversee the safety of food, drugs, and cosmetics. A principal author of this law was Royal S. Copeland, a three-term U.S. Senator from...
, by making claims of efficacy without undergoing the appropriate scientific and regulatory review.
- In 2005, the Advertising Standards Association of South Africa (ASASA) issued three separate rulings against Rath, finding that he had made false and misleading claims regarding the effectiveness of his supplements and describing his advertisements as "reckless in the extreme". Rath continued the advertisements, leading the ASASA to rule that, "in light of the gravity of [Rath's] breaches", he was required to submit all further advertising to the ASASA for prior approval.
- In 2006, the High Court of South AfricaHigh Court of South AfricaThe High Courts are superior courts of law in South Africa. The courts were created in 1996 on the adoption of the Constitution of South Africa, and inherited the jurisdiction of the provincial and local divisions of the former Supreme Court of South Africa...
found that Rath had defamed the Treatment Action CampaignTreatment Action CampaignThe Treatment Action Campaign is a South African AIDS activist organization which was founded by the HIV-positive activist Zackie Achmat in 1998. TAC is rooted in the experiences, direct action tactics and anti-apartheid background of its founder...
(TAC), an AIDS non-profit organization, by publicly making false and misleading statements about the TAC. Rath was ordered to cease his defamatory remarks "to ensure that the TAC's continued participation in the debate is not hamstrung by defamatory and unfounded allegations."
- In 2006, the July 22 issue of the British Medical JournalBritish Medical JournalBMJ is a partially open-access peer-reviewed medical journal. Originally called the British Medical Journal, the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988. The journal is published by the BMJ Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Medical Association...
(BMJ) published a news item reporting that Rath had gone on trial in Hamburg, Germany "for fraud" in relation to the death of Dominik Feld. However, the BMJ subsequently retracted the news item "on legal advice" and issued an apology to Rath, stating that the BMJ accepted that "the allegations we published were without foundation." A subsequent libel claim by Rath was settled by the BMJ for ₤100,000.
- In 2006, Rath was prosecuted in Germany for distributing vitamins over the internet without a pharmaceutical licence, and for claiming on the website that the vitamins could cure cancer. Rath settled the case with a EUR33,000 fine, paid to an organisation helping disabled children, and amended the website. The judge noted that the case had not given an impression of "charlatanry", but rather of excessively aggressive marketing.
- In 2007, the German Federal Constitutional Court issued a ruling in favour of Rath. The Federal Constitutional Court found that the prohibition of the brochure and poster "Stop the pharmacartel" and "Stop the codexCodex AlimentariusThe Codex Alimentarius is a collection of internationally recognized standards, codes of practice, guidelines and other recommendations relating to foods, food production and food safety. Its name derives from the Codex Alimentarius Austriacus...
-plans of the pharmacartel" by judgements of courts in Berlin in 2000/2001 was unjustified as it violated Rath's fundamental rights, e.g. the right of free speech.
- In 2008, the Cape Town High Court issued an interdict barring Rath from advertising his products as a treatment for AIDS, and stating that the clinical trials he has been running in black townships are illegal. The ruling also found that "Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and her department had a duty to investigate Rath's activities."
- In 2008 Ben GoldacreBen GoldacreBen Michael Goldacre born 1974 is a British science writer, doctor and psychiatrist. He is the author of The Guardian newspaper's weekly Bad Science column and a book of the same title, published by Fourth Estate in September 2008....
and The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
were sued for libel by Matthias Rath for the content of three articles describing Rath's activities in South Africa. In September 2008, Rath dropped his suit and was ordered to pay costs, an interim amount of about £220,000. Goldacre has expressed interest in writing a "meticulously referenced" work on Rath, and South African AIDS denialism in general, based on material which had been excised from his column during the litigation. A chapter of Goldacre's Bad Science, omitted from the first edition due to the litigation, was reinstated in the paperback edition in early 2009, made available on his website, and licenced for free distributionCreative CommonsCreative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
.http://badscience.net/files/The-Doctor-Will-Sue-You-Now.pdf
External links
Associated with Matthias RathOther
- Articles, video, and news reports on Matthias Rath's activities from The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Skeptic's Dictionary: Matthias Rath
- Treatment Action Campaign site on Rath Foundation, critical of Rath's activities
- Matthias Rath's Cancer Treatment Criticized by Stephen BarrettStephen BarrettStephen Joel Barrett is a retired American psychiatrist, author, co-founder of the National Council Against Health Fraud , and the webmaster of Quackwatch. He runs a number of websites dealing with quackery and health fraud. He focuses on consumer protection, medical ethics, and scientific...
, a 2005 article on QuackwatchQuackwatchQuackwatch is an American non-profit organization founded by Stephen Barrett with the stated aim being to "combat health-related frauds, myths, fads, fallacies, and misconduct" and with a primary focus on providing "quackery-related information that is difficult or impossible to get elsewhere."... - The Doctor Will Sue You Now by Ben GoldacreBen GoldacreBen Michael Goldacre born 1974 is a British science writer, doctor and psychiatrist. He is the author of The Guardian newspaper's weekly Bad Science column and a book of the same title, published by Fourth Estate in September 2008....
, a chapter on Matthias Rath from the book, Bad Science.