Autism Vox

30 opinions for Charges Dropped Against Dr. Roy Kerry

• Regan
  May 6, 2008 at 5:46 pm

  “(…)Kerry, 70, still faces disciplinary action by the Department of State, which licenses physicians. Also, Nadama’s parents have filed a civil suit against the doctor (…)

  Attorney John Gismondi, who represents the family in the civil case, said, “I don’t agree with the decision and we’re disappointed. But I respect that the district attorney is the boss of the criminal case.”

  He maintains Kerry acted improperly. “It was the wrong drug, given the wrong way,” Gismondi said.

  Kerry (still!) practices out of his Advanced Integrative Medicine Centers in Greenville and Portersville.”

  Philly.com
  http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/pennsylvania/20080506_ap_chargesdroppedinautisticboysdeath.html

• liquid zeolite
  May 6, 2008 at 7:12 pm

  The marketplace, when allowed to work, weeds out the bad apples. In other words, if someone produces a product or administers a service that damages others, they’re litigated out of business. Others offering safer products or services survive. That’s how the marketplace is supposed to work. However, with the case of drug makers given immunity even if their product is not safe, pure, or if they knowingly poison the public, then the system fails and you suffer epidemics like autism. Case and point, the recent FDA warning letter to MERCK over their vaccine plant: http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/s6756c.htm

  Merck was shipping out defective product and violating numerous quality control measures. Why not, they can’t be sued! If people are killed or become ill, the gov. (you and I) will pay the families for their pain and suffering, not MERCK.

  Here is a good piece that points out how Mercury and Autism share the same characteristics:
  http://www.nationalautismassociation.org/thimerosal.php

  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the true cause of Autism. It does take someone with a financial agenda however to avoid or dismiss the unavoidable conclusions accepted by all non-biased observers.

• Kristina Chew, PhD
  May 6, 2008 at 7:41 pm

  One wonders if current and potential patients of Advanced Integrative Medicine Centers are informed of what happened to Nadama.

• Regan
  May 6, 2008 at 7:48 pm

  Liquid zeolite,
  Really nice the way that you gloss over the death of this little boy by malpractice, and segue straight into your personal agenda.

  Do you know anything about this case, or is it just that you don’t give a darn?

• Kristina Chew, PhD
  May 6, 2008 at 8:30 pm

  A pending civil suit has also been filed by Adubakar Tariq Nadama’s family.

• HCN
  May 6, 2008 at 8:33 pm

  Regan, Mike is spamming his own quackery. He does not give a darn.

  He is doing something straight out of something I found through Google: “Driving Traffic to Your Liquid Zeolite Web Store”

  Which recommends “One of the best methods to let everyone know that you have a new store is to include a link to the web store in your emails. After you sign your name, you can copy and paste your web store link into all of your emails.”

  Mike the Spammer does not care about the case, or that the chelation sucked calcium out of the little boy’s blood which made his heart stop working. He is continuing to show how clueless he is, just like he tried to “guess” that the MMR vaccine causes SIDS (even though SIDS is defined as the unexplained death of a child under the age of one, and the MMR vaccine is not given to children that young).

• liquid zeolite
  May 6, 2008 at 8:48 pm

  HCN, I’ve asked over 10 times now for you to comment on the Merck plant violations. If you do that, I’ll comment on any of the questions you ask. You don’t answer questions with a question unless you are trying to avoid the subject. Comment on my post or please, just kinda sorta do as the dice man would say and ….

• HCN
  May 6, 2008 at 9:08 pm

  I did… I told you that you did not read it very well, it was mostly book-keeping. Did you read this FDA warning letter I found (http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/s6412c.pdf )? Now go crawl back under the rock you came from, before some of us find a way to get you one of your very own personal FDA warning letters.

  Stop spamming.

• Ms. Clark
  May 6, 2008 at 9:10 pm

  Kristina, Please, delete “liquid zeolite’s” comments in this thread. It’s like he’s standing on Tariq’s lifeless body and trying to sell Zeolite by handing out samples.

  I wonder how many of the biomuddled will now go and ask for disodium EDTA chelation “push”. I wonder if the lawyer would allow it to be done on his small child or grandchild. I wonder if he’d stand by and watch it being done to any small child, just to prove that he believes that it’s the “right way” to treat anything. Surely the stuff is like mother’s milk and totally harmless. Let’s do it to all infants just for fun!!!!

  This is like saying, “Taking a butcher knife and shoving it into someone’s heart is a healthy thing to do. Doctors do it to autistic children all the time because it cures their autism.” And now we can expect DAN! parents to request it for their kids! And I have no doubt that there are plenty of DAN! quacks who would gladly snuff another child and blame a random lack of oxygen to the brain.

• Kristina Chew, PhD
  May 6, 2008 at 9:19 pm

  @Ms. Clark,

  I think I’m going to leave the comments that Mr Zeolite has so far made as they provide ample evidence for what is very troubling about the whole complementary-alternative medicine industry.

  @liquid zeolite,

  I am asking Mr. Zeolite to please refrain from commenting further on this thread. Also, I ask him to cease from mentioning his products. Comments referencing such will be held in moderation. This is a weblog for discussion of issues pertaining to autism, not for selling anything. Thank you very much.

• Kristina Chew, PhD
  May 6, 2008 at 9:20 pm

  From the New York Times:

  Kerry had surrendered his license pending the outcome of the case, but his license will be reinstated based on the withdrawal of the criminal charges, a Department of State spokeswoman said.

  The boy went into cardiac arrest in Kerry’s office on Aug. 23, 2005, immediately after receiving chelation therapy.

  The CDC, which investigated the boy’s death, has said the boy was given a synthetic amino acid called Disodium EDTA instead of Calcium Disodium EDTA. Both are odorless, colorless liquids and may have been confused, the CDC found.

  The Department of State also contended Kerry prescribed an IV push — giving the drugs in one dose intravenously instead of over a period of time — despite warnings that it could be lethal.

  Kerry’s attorney, Al Lindsay, denied that the drug caused the boy’s death. He said Tuesday that the drug given was not the wrong drug, as prosecutors contended, though he said it was not the ”preferred” drug. He also said it was not administered incorrectly.

  ”The administration by an IV push is the preferred method to do it,” Lindsay said.

  Lindsay said the boy died of a lack of oxygen to the brain, which was caused by a heart problem not associated with the drug. Lindsay commended the district attorney’s office for dropping the charges and said his client was relieved.

  ”There was a lot of misinformation that was out there and we were anxious to present it to a jury,” Lindsay said. ”But the truth of the matter is, we’re obviously grateful that the district attorney took this position.”

  The boy’s parents, Mawra and Rufai Nadama, had moved from Plymouth, England, to the Pittsburgh area to seek treatment for the boy’s autism. They have since returned to the United Kingdom.

  Attorney John Gismondi, who represents the family in the civil case, said, ”I don’t agree with the decision and we’re disappointed. But I respect that the district attorney is the boss of the criminal case.”

  He maintains Kerry acted improperly. ”It was the wrong drug, given the wrong way,” Gismondi said.

• HCN
  May 6, 2008 at 9:21 pm

  This is the FDA’s complaint form. Since Mike’s products claim to be medical devices it qualifies for complaint:
  http://www.fda.gov/oc/buyonline/buyonlineform.htm

• Ms. Clark
  May 6, 2008 at 9:21 pm

  Thank you, that’s reasonable.

• Ms. Clark
  May 6, 2008 at 9:26 pm

  disodium EDTA is the “preferred way” to make money off of stupid suckers. It is a method highly recommended by Dr. Garry Gordon the guy who supplied disodium EDTA and only disodium EDTA to Dr. Roy Kerry. There was no other EDTA with which to confuse this in Kerry’s office. Hence the defense is not that it was an error, but that Kerry knew exactly what he was doing and snuffed the boy in a manner that anyone who read the black box would know about. I mean. It’s like “Hey, you want to kill a five year old by administering a drug in a dangerous manner for absolutely no reason?? This is one way to do it!!”

  IV disodium EDTA push. It’s a child snuffing kit!!!!!!!

• Ms. Clark
  May 6, 2008 at 9:28 pm

  I mean the “push” is recommended by Garry Gordon. He has it on his website and after Tariq died his email said that it was an “exciting new technique” it’s also very painful!! Oh boy exciting!! They mix novocaine type stuff with it to kill the pain of this stuff eating up your veins! Oh yeah, what a blast!

• HCN
  May 6, 2008 at 9:46 pm

  For those new to this situation, here is some classic Respectful Insolence explaining much more (the lawyer quotes in the newspaper articles are worthless):
  http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2006/08/one_year_later_the_cdc_flubs_it.php …. “He definitely died of hypocalcemia, which is what I’ve been saying all along. Indeed, a Ca++ level of less than 5 mg/dL is critically low (normal is between 8.5 and 10.2 mg/dL) and will very frequently lead to severe cardiac arrhythmias, with a dangerously high likelihood of progressing to cardiac arrest. Such profound hypocalcemia is a medical emergency.”

• C. S. Wyatt
  May 6, 2008 at 10:51 pm

  When I moved to Minn., a local physician told me the treatment I had received in California for a medical issue could not be used here. I was curious, so I contacted the state AG’s office and the U. of Minn’s law library for more information. I found it strange that a doctor was worried about a treatment mentioned in several journals.

  In Minnesota, there is actually a legal precedence for doctors facing additional sanctions for an off-label or extra-protocol procedure that injures a patient.

  Minnesota law, as of 2005, states:

  A (doctor) (dentist) is negligent if: 1. The drug manufacturer gave clear and explicit recommendations (and) (or) instructions for use of the drug, and; 2. The (doctor) (dentist) did not follow these recommendations (and) (or) instructions. (288 Minn. 332, 181 N.W.2d 882)

  This limitation was imposed after Mayo Clinic doctors used several Parke Davis medications for “off label” purposes with negative results in one case that went to court.

  Also, many people in the “autism debates” do not understand that while companies are not liable for vaccine-related issues, they can be sued for incorrect protocols. For example, Homeland Security Act - 17 Nov 2002, revised 19 Nov 2002, 9 Dec 2002, 14 Dec 2002, offers smallpox vaccine manufacturers immunity *as long as all FDA and CDC procedures are followed in good faith.* (Break manufacturing rules and your liability goes away.) The manufacturers are offered “limited liability” protection because the government requires the vaccines be given to some people.

• Kristina Chew, PhD
  May 7, 2008 at 12:42 am

  very interesting—-might what you note about Minnesota be a reason that families might take their children out of state for certain treatments?

• Regan
  May 7, 2008 at 2:34 am

  Edetate Disodium was (FDA) approved many years ago as an emergency treatment for certain patients with a condition called hypercalcemia (very high levels of calcium in the blood) or certain patients with heart rhythm problems as a result of very high amounts of digitalis in the blood. However, there are newer drugs that have been approved since that time that treat these conditions.

  Chelation drug withdrawn. Hospira, Inc., has announced that it will no longer market Endrate, a disodium edetate product used by chelation therapists. In a recall notice, the company stated: Hospira is aware of published reports of fatal medication errors associated with the off-label use of Edetate Disodium. Based on the limited indications for Endrate and the availability of alternate medical products, the product is no longer medically necessary.” One other manufacturer (Bioniche) markets a generic version of disodium edetate that is listed in the FDA’s Orange Book as an approved drug that is legal to market. However, most of the preparations used by chelation therapists are sold by compounding pharmacies that cater to “alternative” practitioners. Some of these vendors appear to selling “house brands” of disodium edetate that lack FDA approval. Chelation therapy critics believe that all sales of disodium edetate should be stopped. [Barrett S. Baratz RS. FDA issues chelation therapy warning. Chelation Watch, March 30, 2008]
  http://www.chelationwatch.org/reg/fda_warning.shtml

• Regan
  May 7, 2008 at 2:42 am

  Deaths Resulting From Hypocalcemia After Administration of Edetate Disodium: 2003-2005. PEDIATRICS Vol. 118 No. 2 August 2006, pp. e534-e536 (doi:10.1542/peds.2006-0858)

  (…)In August 2005, a boy aged 5 years died while receiving 990 mg of Na2EDTA IV pushed over 5 to 10 minutes in a physician’s office. The child was receiving chelation as treatment for autism. The mother noted that the child was limp, and the physician initiated resuscitation. Emergency services were contacted to transport the child to the hospital. At the emergency department (ED), additional resuscitation efforts were attempted, including 320 mg of IV calcium chloride. The boy’s blood calcium level was recorded in the ED as 6.9 mg/dL. The child did not regain consciousness. The coroner examination indicated the cause of death as diffuse, acute cerebral hypoxic-ischemic injury secondary to diffuse subendocardial necrosis. The myocardial necrosis resulted from hypocalcemia associated with administration of Na2EDTA. This case is under investigation by the Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine. (…)

  Deaths Associated With Hypocalcemia From Chelation Therapy—Texas, Pennsylvania, and Oregon, 2003-2005. JAMA, 2006, 295, 2131-2133.
  (…) According to FDA and CDC, the safety and effectiveness of Na2EDTA in pediatric patients has not been established, and its use is not recommended because it induces hypocalcemia and possibly fatal tetany.1 (…)

• Regan
  May 7, 2008 at 2:47 am

  Sorry about the multiple comments, but the circumstances of Tariq’s death upset me greatly at the time it occurred, and does today.
  There were so many kinds of wrong in this situation, and it is unfortunate that prosecution was dropped so close to jury selection.

• Emily
  May 7, 2008 at 9:43 am

  Just reading all of that all over again makes me ill. Just sponged the calcium out of that child’s body and his life along with it.

• C. S. Wyatt
  May 7, 2008 at 12:47 pm

  People think that medicine is like “House” and a brilliant doctor can disregard protocols for miraculous cures.

  I realize that no accepted medication, protocol, vaccine, etc, is every 100 percent — things are done based on risk-benefit analysis based on what is best for the majority of patients.

  Doctors willing to “try anything” might seem like heros when things go right, but they should also be held to account when things go wrong. I would rather doctors be cautious and follow tested protocols.

  For what it is worth, since switching to doctors in MN who follow strict rules… I’m off four medications, reduced another to 25% of its original dosage, and feel a lot better having realized I can eat whatever I happen to like, except high levels of caffeine (migraines / seizures).

  In California, doctors can and did try everything. Seemed like a great thing to me. Upset me when the doctors here in MN wouldn’t keep up the medications. I was sure they were essential.

  The list of things I have taken… wow. Now, I’m not prisoner to stupid diets, pill alarms, or other leashes. Trust me, life is much, much better.

• Kristina Chew, PhD
  May 7, 2008 at 4:05 pm

  Tough read, Regan, but I think it’s important that you posted that. From today’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

  A Butler County doctor who had been charged in the death of a 5-year-old autistic boy almost three years ago says he wants to continue his work now that prosecutors have dropped the criminal case against him.
  Dr. Roy Kerry, 70, of Sharpsville, read from a prepared statement today at the Butler offices of his attorney, Al Lindsay, but would not answer questions on the advice of his other lawyers. Kerry still faces a civil suit over the death of Abubaker Tariq Nadama, and a hearing on the future of his medical license.

  “I plan to continue my life’s work helping many patients with serious illnesses with the highest quality of advanced integrative medical care that I can offer,” Kerry said.

• ebohlman
  May 7, 2008 at 5:04 pm

  ”There was a lot of misinformation that was out there and we were anxious to present it to a jury,” Lindsay said.

  While I’m sure that’s not what he meant to say, it’s certainly an accurate description of what he was planning to do. Reminds me of the sportscaster describing a football player who tried to come back too quickly from an injury: “he wants to play this game in the worst way possible, and that’s exactly what he’s doing.”

• Emily
  May 7, 2008 at 8:42 pm

  “I plan to continue my life’s work helping many patients with serious illnesses with the highest quality of advanced integrative medical care that I can offer,” Kerry said.

  Even if some of them have to die for his trying.

• Matt
  May 8, 2008 at 12:49 am

  The only thing harder to read in recent history is the Katie McCarron story.

  Rest well, little ones. I never should have heard your names.

• The Autism Treatment Subculture
  May 9, 2008 at 1:05 am

  […] thereby to “detoxify” his or her system. Dr. Novella discusses the recent dropping of charges against Dr. Roy Kerry, who was accused of causing the death of 5-year-old Abubakar Tariq Nadama. In 2005 Nadama went into […]

• The Autism Treatment Subculture
  May 9, 2008 at 1:05 am

  […] thereby to “detoxify” his or her system. Dr. Novella discusses the recent dropping of charges against Dr. Roy Kerry, who was accused of causing the death of 5-year-old Abubakar Tariq Nadama. In 2005 Nadama went into […]

• The Autism Treatment Subculture
  May 9, 2008 at 1:05 am

  […] thereby to “detoxify” his or her system. Dr. Novella discusses the recent dropping of charges against Dr. Roy Kerry, who was accused of causing the death of 5-year-old Abubakar Tariq Nadama. In 2005 Nadama went into […]

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