If you look at the guy's website there are a lot of letters from various physical therapists and such who have supposedly examined his patients. All of these are on letterhead with phone numbers. Those are the numbers I was saying I would call if I were in the situation for real. I am not volunteering to call them on spec right now -- I do have a life :)
But nope, not published in a journal journal. The "journal" he says he has been published in, he is one of the reviewers for neurology. And his titles indicate that he's be looking at this as a sort of stroke. For all we know it is, though, Larry. Has a CAT scan ever been done? I didn't see any indication of this. Still. I know that a chiropractor has helped my back pain, which does not happen according to conventional medecine, and the doctor of oriental medecine I used to share an office with cured me of a really nasty respitatory infection with a concoction made of some sort of rhizome, which should not have happened according to conventional medecine. So while I respect conventional medecine I also perceive its limitations. Bottom line, you can question his credentials, sure. But you might not be right to do so. Dana On Thu, 27 Jan 2005 09:53:29 -0500, Larry C. Lyons <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Have these successful so-called rehab cases of PVS patients ever been > published? We only have his word of it that the treatments are > successful. If he had such a treatment, and it was as successful as he > claimed, then why hasn't it been in the journals. I still keep up > somewhat with the current neuropsych journals and have not seen > anything about this. Given the dismal state of current therapies of > PVS, a successful case of someone who has been in this condition for a > year or more would have been major news. The medical consensus is that > durations of 12 months or more means that the individual will never > recover from this state. Accordingly, Ms. Shaivo will most likely > never recover from her current state. > > larry > > On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 22:28:26 -0700, Dana <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > OK Larry. I see your quote and raise you the two paragraphs before it: > > > > "Schiavo's attorney, George Felos, raised questions about Hammesfahr's > > credibility by pointing out the state board of medicine had accused > > him of falsely advertising his treatment. > > > > This week, though, an administrative judge rejected the board's > > accusations and, based on testimony from several satisfied customers, > > called Hammesfahr "the first physician to treat patients successfully > > to restore deficits caused by stroke." " > > > > The above is from the link you proided to the St Petersburg paper. > > > > > -- > > > In Greer's order, the Pinellas probate judge labeled Hammesfahr a > > > "self-promoter," who testified that he had treated patients worse off > > > than Mrs. Schiavo yet "offered no names, no case studies, no videos > > > and no test results to support his claim." > > > > > > In short, the judge wrote in the nine-page order, he needed "something > > > more than a belief" that some new treatment could restore Mrs. > > > Schiavo's faculties "so as to significantly improve her quality of > > > life. There is no such testimony, much less a preponderance of > > > evidence to that effect." > > > -- > > > taken from the St. Petersburg Fl. Times online edition > > > http://www.sptimes.com/2002/11/23/TampaBay/Judge__Schiavo_can_t_.shtml > > > > In the link below there is also a discussion of the difficulty of > > being sure about a diagnosis of persistent vegetative state. For > > example, this is part of the conclusion: > > > > It is certainly not a diagnosis which can be made on a one-off > > assessment at the bedside without a considerable amount of supportive > > evidence from a multidisciplinary team experienced in the management > > of severe brain damage. So far, neurophysiological investigations can > > at best be supportive, rather than diagnostic. > > > > And the parents say Schiavo's doctors each spent less than an hour > > with Terri. Your link below also says: > > > > "The study by Andrews et al15 highlights some of the major problems in > > making a diagnosis of the vegetative state. They reviewed the records > > of 40 consecutive patients admitted to their specialist profound brain > > injury unit at least 6 months following their brain injury (a period > > after which spontaneous recovery is generally regards as limited) with > > a referral diagnosis of vegetative state. They found that whilst 25% > > remained vegetative, 33% emerged during the rehabilitation programme, > > and 43% had been misdiagnosed (41% of these for more than a year > > including three for more than 5 years). The level of cognitive > > functioning present in this misdiagnosed group at the time of > > discharge was considerable: 60% were orientated in time, place and > > person, 75% were able to recall a name after 15 minutes delay, 69% > > were able to carry out simple mental arithmetic, 75% were able to > > generate words to communicate their needs and 86% were able to make > > choices about their daily social activities. > > (snip) > > The ability to generate a behavioural response fluctuates from day to > > day and hour to hour, and even minute to minute, depending on fatigue > > factors, general health of the patient and the underlying neurological > > condition. > > Observation needs to take into account delayed responses. Assimilation > > of even basic information is often slow and therefore response time > > may be delayed. Because of this, information provided at any one time > > should be simple, consistent, repeated after a period of rest and > > allow for a delayed response. > > Communication requires skilled techniques and a sensitivity for the > > method by which the patient wants to communicate. > > Families and other carers have a very important role in identifying > > the best responses and the optimal conditions for assessment. Whilst > > there are some relatives who interpret reflex responses as being > > meaningful, there is no doubt that members of the family are often > > more sensitive to early changes than even experienced clinical staff." > > > > > Moreover many of the involuntary behaviors you characterize are simply > > > that involuntary, non-intentional behaviors (for a full definition see > > > http://pmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/75/884/321). When you > > > strongly want to believe otherwise, frequently these behaviors are > > > often cited as evidence that the person is aware. With Ms. Shaivo's > > > parents this would appear to be the case. > > > > I haven't yet found any mention of CAT scans or MRIs in this case. > > > > > However such belief doesn't explain the atrophy in the cortex as shown > > > in CAT scans and MRI's. > > > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Sams Teach Yourself Regular Expressions in 10 Minutes by Ben Forta http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=40 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:144810 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
