I attended the POA meeting and listened to Dr. Norman Anderson speak on medications. He is an entertaining speaker and spoke with great confidence on the topic. He is a radiation oncologist and his office is in competition for patients with the Moffitt facility that has recently opened here. I was most interested in his clear statements about the importance of everyone taking Coenzyme Q10 and that he had cured patients with Parkinson's disease. He claimed that not only could Q10 stop the progress of the disease but it would heal the damage to the areas of the brain involved. He left no doubt and took questions from the audience where he repeated his information.
However a simple Google search reveals that the medical evidence is contrary to his claim
National Parkinson Foundation - NINDS Stops Coenzyme Q10 Trial
The investigators of the trial determined that there was neither a neuroprotective nor a symptomatic benefit of Coenzyme Q10 for people with early Parkinson's disease.
The NINDS has stopped the QE3 Phase III study of Coenzyme Q10 for treatment of early Parkinson’s disease acting on the recommendation of the study’s Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB). At the time of the most recent DSMB review, the results of a preplanned interim analysis showed that it would be futile to complete the study because it would be very unlikely to demonstrate a statistically significant benefit of active treatment over placebo. To date, the investigators have not found any safety concerns related to Coenzyme Q10 at dosages of 1200mg/day and 2400mg/day for up to 16 months of treatment.
The other supplement he encouraged everyone to take is alpha Lipoic acid (ALA) which he claimed does everything from cure liver failure to stop breast cancer and remove wrinkles. He said he had cured patients with liver failure and reversed congestive heart failure with supplements. The American Cancer Society says:
There is no reliable scientific evidence at this time that lipoic acid prevents the development or spread of cancer.
I could find no references to support his claims of benefit from ALA for either cardiac or liver disease in the medical literature on PubMed or Google scholar. He presented his material as if it were well established medical information rather than speculation. The danger of such presentations is it makes patients question the skill and knowledge of their personal physicians who "don't know" about the huge benefits because, as Dr. Anderson alleged, no drug company is pushing the product. Or perhaps those huge benefits don't really exist.
I have no problem with speakers presenting information, but that information should be clearly balanced with statements clarifying that the information is not representative of the majority of doctors or specialty organizations nor is it supported by the preponderance of the medical literature. Just say it is his personal speculation, certainly shared by some others and I'd be ok. I did miss the first few minutes and perhaps he did say that disclaimer. If so I will take down the comments.