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| Richard Markoll - we couldn't locate anything verifiably Ernestine |
One would expect that quacks, frauds and
promoters of alternative medicine would have found ways to promote magnets as a miraculous cure for all
sorts of ailments, and sure they have. There is, of course, no scientific basis
or evidence to conclude that small, static magnets can relieve pain or
influence the course of disease, and the magnets suggested by promoters of
magnet therapy (a good survey here)
do not even produce any significant magnetic field at or (much less) beneath
the skin’s surface.
Richard Markoll and his wife Ernestine are,
together with one David H. Trock, M.D., central promoters of the nonsense known
as pulsed signal therapy (PST), through an outfit called Bio-Magnetic Treatment
Systems (BMTS). Or at least they used to be: in 2001 they pled guilty to
criminal charges in connection with a scheme involving pulsed magnetic therapy
and fraudulent billing codes to seek payment from Medicare and other insurance
plans for PST treatment with a device (Electro-Magnetic Induction Treatment
System) that did not have FDA approval; more details here.
The device in question was invented by Richard Markoll, who does not appear to
have a medical license but is a graduate of the Grace University School of
Medicine, a Caribbean medical school. Trock, who was formerly principal
investigator for the Magnetic Therapy Center, has co-authored studies claiming
that PST is effective for treating pain. It isn’t.
PST is still promoted, however, though
apparently mostly for pets. Quackery, once released, is rarely contained again.
Diagnosis: Well, they were convicted, so
that should be enough. Hopefully neutralized, but being convicted of a scam is
not always enough to keep suckers at bay.
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