As such, it might seem immediately reasonable to think that “anyone exposed to mold should consider being tested even if the symptoms have yet to be experienced”, as stated by the website of the Texas-based company RealTime Laboratories, Inc. (RTL), which offers a Mycotoxin Panel that is allegedly “unique in its ability to determine if a patient’s health problems are associated with toxic mold exposure”. Of course, in real life, and despite the popularity of blaming molds for health consequences, there is no reference range for the levels present in a person’s urine of the mythotoxins they claim to identify and no established level that is associated with harmful effect, RTL’s methods have not been scientifically validated, and no causal relationship between inhaled mycotoxins and adverse human health effects has been demonstrated (and the half-life of such mycotoxins is short enough that a test conducted a week after exposure would be meaningless) – it is also telling that whereas in reality, when a toxic dose of specific mycotoxins is achieved (e.g, through ingestion of spoiled foods), there is a very specific pattern of illness; RTL’s list, on the other hand, consists of a panoply of nonspecific complaints unrelated to what we, in fact, know about the health effects of mycotoxins – the kind that provides e.g. a useful palette for scrupulous (‘alternative-minded’) wellness providers to offer a large group of patients with different health complaints some lucrative nonsense treatment regimes; RTL’s test will also depart anyone interested with what is just a bit shy of a 1000$. The whole test might by some be characterized as an obvious scam, but we choose to assume that RTL and its president, Dennis Hooper, believe what they claim to believe. Hooper does point out that RTL [as opposed to some of his earlier ventures] is certified by CLIA, the federal agency that certifies laboratories; of course, CLIA examines how tests are performed, but does not consider how their results are interpreted; one suspects that Hooper knows this.
Hooper himself has a colorful history, though, of the kind that some might think fails to provide the sort of trustworthiness someone in his position ought to have, and yes: his background involves several run-ins with various medical boards. Nevertheless, he has apparently served as an ‘expert witness’ in court cases (though some courts have, at least, recognized the problem). And RTL’s tests are used by scrupulous (‘alternative-minded’) providers in precisely the manner we suggested above: a major customer of RTL’s tests is Marvin Sponaugle, who operates a “Wellness Institute” in Florida treating “patients who unknowingly were suffering from Mold Toxicity!”; indeed, according to Sponaugle, “[e]very patient suffering neurodegenerative disorders, Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis, ALS, Parkinson’s, and Autism, that we have treated at Sponaugle Wellness Institute, has proven to have HLA DRBQ genetics and undiagnosed mold toxicity” (Hooper, on his side, has ostensibly described Sponaugle “the top mold doctor in North America utilizing their mold toxin testing”). Needless to say, Sponaugle has had multiple run-ins with authorities, too.
Diagnosis: Again, some might be quick to characterize the whole thing as a straight-out scam, but we prefer to go with ‘dangerously delusional’. And though the mold-fad was more prominent some years ago, it hasn’t disappeared. In any case, you’d better stay far away.
Hat-tip: Stephen Barrett @ Quackwatch
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