Natural Living Newsletter

Conspiracy, bias, or just plain stupidity?

Michael T. Murray, N.D.

Introduction

Over the years though many of us in the natural health field have continued to see research studies in major medical journals that are held up as “proof” that the public is being duped into spending money on worthless natural products. Of course, those of us knowledgeable on the merits of these same natural products try to mobilize the resources that we have available to counteract these negative statements, but let’s face it a research article published in a respected journal like the New England Journal of Medicine, the Lancet, British Medical Journal, or the Journal of the American Medical Association is seemingly much more credible than even the natural product industry’s most reputable organizations, companies, and experts. However, are these journals truly presenting accurate information or are they simply a marketing arm for the pharmaceutical industry?

According to Richard Smith, editor for the British Medical Journal for 25 years, these major medical journals are just an extension of the marketing departments of major drug companies.1 Smith is not alone in this opinion, “Journals have devolved into information laundering operations for the pharmaceutical industry”, wrote Richard Horton, editor of the Lancet, in March 2004.2 In addition, Marcia Angell, former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, lambasted the drug industry for becoming “primarily a marketing machine” and co-opting “every institution that might stand in its way.”3 These opinions are not the rantings of someone in the alternative medicine community; they represent people within the very inner circle of conventional medicine.

The recent evidence of conspiracy, bias, or stupidity

O.K., so what is my point here? Well, a recent double-blind study published in the New England Journal of Medicine 4 is being presented as evidence that saw palmetto extract does not work in relieving the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The propaganda included the Associated Press reporting that “A popular herbal pill used by millions of men doesn’t reduce the frequent urge to go to the bathroom or other annoying symptoms of an enlarged prostate.” That is not true at all. I have been writing about the benefits of saw palmetto extract in the treatment of BPH for over 20 years. In my major publications on the subject I have pointed out that the success of saw palmetto extract is most obvious in the early stages of BPH, i.e., mild to moderate cases. Most natural products are simply not powerful enough to overcome advanced stages of disease, e.g., Ginkgo biloba extract in severe Alzheimer’s, CoQ10 in severe heart failure, St. John’s wort in severe depression, etc. Nonetheless, researchers seem to want to set the stage so that no observable effect is seen with these natural products by studying them in cases severely advanced. That is exactly how this latest study was designed as it was conducted on men with severe cases of BPH.

Proper conclusions

All this new study of saw palmetto extract tells us is that it is important to use it early in the disease process. It tells us nothing new as detailed double-blind studies have clearly shown that roughly 90% of men with mild to moderate BPH experience improvement in symptoms during the first 4 to 6 weeks after starting saw palmetto extract (320 mg per day of the liposterolic extract). The key is to start saw palmetto as soon as symptoms of BPH appear (e.g., progressive urinary frequency, urgency and increased nighttime urination, hesitancy and intermittency with reduced force and caliber of urine). If a man waits until his prostate has enlarged so severely that it results in significant obstruction of the bladder, saw palmetto is simply not likely to work. But, if he starts it early enough it actually works as or more effectively than popular prescription drugs without the side effects (perhaps that is what makes the drug companies nervous).5,6 Presumably, the drug companies are upset that over 2 million men in the U.S. use saw palmetto extract to effectively control their symptoms of BPH.

The fact that previous studies have shown that saw palmetto and other herbal treatments for BPH are not likely to produce any significant improvement in advanced cases makes me question the motive of the study. Why conduct a study to prove something that has already been demonstrated unless to create some sort of media play. I also wonder why it seems that only the negative studies with natural medicines get picked up by the media. It frustrates me that there are so many potentially life-saving and quality of life enhancing natural approaches that remain absolutely unknown by a large portion of the American population. Truth will prevail and I have no doubt that the medicine of the future will incorporate to a very significant degree the medical wonders from nature.

Key References

1. Smith R. Medical journals are an extension of the marketing arm of pharmaceutical companies. Public Library of Science 2005;2:0364-6.

2. Horton R. The dawn of McScience. New York Rev Books 2004;51: 7–9.

3. Angell M. The truth about drug companies: How they deceive us and what to do about it. Random House, New York. 2005 p.336.

4. Bent S, Kane C, Shinohara K, Neuhaus J, Hudes ES, Goldberg H, Avins AL. Saw Palmetto for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. N Engl J Med. 2006;354(6):557-566.

5. Wilt T, Ishani A, Mac Donald R. Serenoa repens for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2002;(3):CD001423

6. Boyle P, Robertson C, Lowe F, Roehrborn C. Updated meta-analysis of clinical trials of Serenoa repens extract in the treatment of symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia. BJU Int. 2004;93(6):751-6