Global InformationMatthias Rath information
Matthias Rath | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | German |
Matthias Rath (born 1955) is a doctor,[1] businessman, and vitamin salesman.[2][3][4][5] He earned his medical degree in Germany.[6] 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.[7][8] These claims are not supported by any reliable medical research.[9][10] Rath runs the Dr. Rath Health Foundation, has been closely associated with Health Now, Inc.,[11] and founded the Dr. Rath Research Institute.
The Sunday Times 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."[12] 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.[1] The head of Médecins Sans Frontières said of Rath, "This guy is killing people by luring them with unrecognised treatment without any scientific evidence"; Rath attempted to sue him.[9][10][13]
Rath's claims and methods have been widely criticised by medical organisations, AIDS-activist groups, and the United Nations, among others.[4][5][14][15] Former South African President Thabo Mbeki and former Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang have also been criticised by the medical and AIDS-activist community for their perceived support for Rath's claims.[14][16][17] According to doctors with Médecins Sans Frontières,[18] the Treatment Action Campaign (a South African AIDS-activist group)[19] and a former Rath colleague,[20] unauthorised clinical trials 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 unauthorised clinical trials and from advertising their products, and instructed the South African Health Department to fully investigate Rath's vitamin trials.[19][21] In 2008, Rath expanded his advertising to Russia, a country where the incidence of HIV/AIDS had been increasing.[1]
- ^ a b c Fall of the vitamin doctor: Matthias Rath drops libel action, by Sarah Boseley. The Guardian, UK, 12 September 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2008
- ^ S Africa bans Aids vitamin trials BBC News, UK. Published 13 June 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
- ^ BMJ pays out to doctor over 'child death' story. Archived 4 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine Press Gazette magazine. Published 5 June 2007. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
- ^ a b The Denialists: The dangerous attacks on the consensus about H.I.V. and AIDS, by Michael Specter. Published in The New Yorker on 12 March 2007. Retrieved 16 April 2007.
- ^ a b "Denying science". Nat. Med. 12 (4): 369. 2006. doi:10.1038/nm0406-369. PMID 16598265.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
business-guardianwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Articles coauthored by Rath on these topics include:
- Ivanov V, Ivanova S, Roomi MW, Kalinovsky T, Niedzwiecki A, Rath M (November 2007). "Extracellular matrix-mediated control of aortic smooth muscle cell growth and migration by a combination of ascorbic acid, lysine, proline, and catechins". J. Cardiovasc. Pharmacol. 50 (5): 541–7. doi:10.1097/FJC.0b013e318145148e. PMID 18030064. S2CID 37885340.
- Ivanov V, Roomi MW, Kalinovsky T, Niedzwiecki A, Rath M (March 2007). "Anti-atherogenic effects of a mixture of ascorbic acid, lysine, proline, arginine, cysteine, and green tea phenolics in human aortic smooth muscle cells". J. Cardiovasc. Pharmacol. 49 (3): 140–5. doi:10.1097/FJC.0b013e3180308489. PMID 17414225. S2CID 24773920.
- Ivanov V, Ivanova S, Roomi MW, Kalinovsky T, Niedzwiecki A, Rath M (2007). "Naturally produced extracellular matrix inhibits growth rate and invasiveness of human osteosarcoma cancer cells". Med. Oncol. 24 (2): 209–17. doi:10.1007/BF02698042. PMID 17848746. S2CID 2894009.
- Roomi MW, Roomi N, Ivanov V, Kalinovsky T, Niedzwiecki A, Rath M (2006). "Inhibition of pulmonary metastasis of melanoma b16fo cells in C57BL/6 mice by a nutrient mixture consisting of ascorbic Acid, lysine, proline, arginine, and green tea extract". Exp. Lung Res. 32 (10): 517–30. doi:10.1080/01902140601098552. PMID 17169857. S2CID 29037898.
- Role of micronutrients in the control of HIV and AIDS. Archived 1 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine Commonwealth Health Ministers Book 2007, pages 187–189. Published by Henley Media Group Ltd in association with the Commonwealth Secretariat.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
recklesswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Goldacre (2008). Bad Science. 4th Estate. pp. 181–197. ISBN 978-0-00-728487-0.
- ^ a b Kapp, Clare (2005). "SA health minister urged to stop vitamin-peddling doctor". The Lancet. 366 (9500): 1837–1838. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67739-2. PMID 16315355. S2CID 42106234.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
bmjwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Dissidents take their crusade to the streets Archived 24 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine, By Rowan Philip and Edwin Lombard. Published in the Sunday Times (Johannesburg) on 30 November 2004. Retrieved 9 May 2008.
- ^ "Wired UK magazine reports on the activities of Mathias Rath, who believes vitamins can cure HIV (Wired UK)". Wired UK. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
- ^ a b Kapp C (November 2005). "SA health minister urged to stop vitamin-peddling doctor". Lancet. 366 (9500): 1837–8. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67739-2. PMID 16315355. S2CID 42106234.
- ^ U.N. slams AIDS 'dissident' for attack on drugs Archived 18 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine, by Stephanie Nebehay. Published by Reuters on 12 May 2005. Retrieved 9 May 2008
- ^ 'Minister defends vitamin guru’s views on AIDS, nutrition’ Business Day newspaper, South Africa. Published 13 April 2005. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
- ^ TAC calls for Manto’s head over Rath Archived 14 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Published 13 June 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2008.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Denouncerwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b South Africa: TAC prevails over Rath. PlusNews Global, 13 June 2008. Archived 15 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
no-drugswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ South African court bans AIDS vitamin trials Archived 4 January 2013 at archive.today. Published by Reuters on 13 June 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2008.