Bioresonance therapy

Bioresonance therapy (including MORA therapy) is a pseudoscientific medical practice in which it is proposed that electromagnetic waves can be used to diagnose and treat human illness.[1]

History and method

Bioresonance therapy was invented in Germany in 1977 by Franz Morell and his son-in-law, engineer Erich Rasche. Initially they marketed it as "MORA-Therapie", for MOrell and RAsche. Some of the machines contain an electronic circuit measuring skin-resistance, akin to the E-meter used by Scientology, which the bioresonance creators sought to improve; Franz Morell had links with Scientology.[2][3]

Practitioners claim to be able to detect a variety of diseases and addictions. Some practitioners also claim they can treat diseases using this therapy without drugs, by stimulating a change of "bioresonance" in the cells, and reversing the change caused by the disease. The devices would need to be able to isolate and pinpoint pathogens' responses from the mixture of responses the device receives via the electrodes.[4] Transmitting these transformed signals over the same electrodes is claimed by practitioners to generate healing signals that have the curative effect.[5]

Effectiveness

One placebo-controlled study of the effects of bioresonance therapy showed that "MORA bioresonance therapy can markedly improve non-organic gastro-intestinal complaints."[6] This research study, however, was conducted with a relatively small sample size of 20 people and published by a journal that exclusively publishes "alternative medicine" procedures. The bioresonance diagnosis was complemented by the practitioner's dietary suggestions, making for an uncontrolled experiment with no analytical methods. The only measuring methods present were the subjective analysis of the practitioner pre and post diagnosis.

Scientific criticism

Lacking any scientific explanation of how bioresonance therapy might work, researchers have classified bioresonance therapy as pseudoscience.[7] Some scientific studies did not show effects above that of the placebo effect.[8][9]

WebMD states: "There is no reliable scientific evidence that bioresonance is an accurate indicator of medical conditions or disease or an effective treatment for any condition."[10]

Proven cases of online fraud have occurred,[11] with a practitioner making false claims that he had the ability to cure cancer, and that his clients did not need to follow the chemotherapy or surgery recommended by medical doctors, which can be life-saving. Ben Goldacre ridiculed the BBC when it reported as fact a clinic's claim that the treatment had the ability to stop 70% of clients smoking, a better result than any conventional therapy.[12]

In the United States of America the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies "devices that use resistance measurements to diagnose and treat various diseases" as Class III devices, which require FDA approval prior to marketing. The FDA has banned some of these devices from the US market,[13] and has prosecuted many sellers of electrical devices for making false claims of health benefits.[14]

According to Quackwatch the therapy is completely senseless and the proposed mechanism of action impossible.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ernst E (June 2004). "Bioresonance, a study of pseudo-scientific language". Forsch Komplementärmed Klass Naturheilkd. 11 (3): 171–3. PMID 15249751. doi:10.1159/000079446.
  2. ↑ "FAQ". www.bioenergeticmedicine.org. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  3. ↑ "Scientology und die Bioresonanztherapie" [Scientology and the theory of bioresonance] (PDF). ABI INFO (in German). Stuttgart: Aktion Bildungsinformation e.V. 2003-11-14. p. 1. Retrieved 2010-01-03. Die Bioresonanztherapie geht auf eine angebliche Entdeckung des im Jahr 1990 verstorbenen Frankfurter Arztes und hochrangigen Scientologen Dr. Franz Morell zurück. [Translation: Bioresonance therapy dates from the alleged discovery made by the Frankfurt doctor and high-rank Scientologist Dr Franz Morell, who died in 1990.]
  4. ↑ "Efficacy Study into Bioresonance Therapy". Bioresonance.com. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  5. 1 2 Stephen Barrett, M.D. (6 November 2004). "BioResonance Tumor Therapy". Quackwatch. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  6. ↑ Nienhaus J, Galle M (2006). "[Placebo-controlled study of the effects of a standardized MORA bioresonance therapy on functional gastrointestinal complaints]". Forsch Komplementmed (in German). 13 (1): 28–34. PMID 16582548. doi:10.1159/000090134.
  7. ↑ Galle M (Oct 2004). "[Bioresonance, a study of pseudo-scientific language]". Forsch Komplementärmed Klass Naturheilkd (in German). 11 (5): 306; author reply 306. PMID 15580708. doi:10.1159/000082152.
  8. ↑ Wüthrich B (2005). "Unproven techniques in allergy diagnosis" (PDF). J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol. 15 (2): 86–90. PMID 16047707. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-05-12.
  9. ↑ Schöni MH, Nikolaizik WH, Schöni-Affolter F (Mar 1997). "Efficacy trial of bioresonance in children with atopic dermatitis". Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 112 (3): 238–46. PMID 9066509. doi:10.1159/000237460.
  10. ↑ "BIORESONANCE Overview Information". WeMD. WebMD, LLC. 2014. Retrieved 2017-05-31. There is no reliable scientific evidence that bioresonance is an accurate indicator of medical conditions or disease or an effective treatment for any condition.
  11. ↑ "BioResonance" Promoter Settles Charges
  12. ↑ Who's holding a smoking gun to bioresonance?
  13. ↑ Alan E. Smith (2007). "Bioresonance Therapy (BRT)". UnBreak Your Health: The Complete Guide to Complementary & Alternative Therapies. Loving Healing Press. p. 29. ISBN 1-932690-36-0.
  14. ↑ "BioResonance Therapy". Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2013.

Further reading

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