Bioresonance therapy comes to town

The Malay Mail did some investigating and found Something fishy going on at ‘healing centre’

The scent of suspicious activities reeked as we entered Bioresonance Health Solutions Center, operating in a three-storey building in Pekeliling Business Centre.

The signage was small and didn’t reflect a proper health facility where dozens of patients visit daily.

We took the elevator to the second floor where the Bioresonance treatment and consultation takes place. On the right was the room of the “mind-reading doctor” where a man probably — in his 40s — had wires and electron cables attached to him. A laptop seemed like it was reading the man’s “microwave pulse”.

The man, obviously a patient, looked like a lab rat but the only difference was he probably volunteered to do it.

In the waiting area there were about 10 people, some of whom came for treatment or consultation. There was another treatment room where another person was also strapped to another machine.

There was no business registration, doctor’s accreditation or certificates in the premises. Rates on the treatment and consultation were pasted on the wall on the second floor together with the Cool Sauna service rates which allegedly can cure skin diseases and helps with weight loss.

There were only three bioresonance machines, one which we were told was out of order. Staff-wise, there were two female front-desk employees and another man in his 20s who was manning the bioresonance machines.

During our 90-minute visit, we observed that some patients were strapped to the machine for 15 minutes while some were on for almost 40 minutes.

Conversations with several patients, who said they heard of the “magic healthcare centre” through word of mouth, added to our suspicions. Their testimonies of how they were speedily recovering from ailments such as cancer, stroke and ulcers were too good to be true.

Their tales left us thinking that some had been planted there to praise the treatment and the “doctor” to convince first-time visitors of the power of bioresonance.

What does the MOH have to say? Well, they say bioresonance treatment not recognised in Malaysia but when asked what action the T&CM Division could take against errant practitioners Dr Rimah said “they could only investigate and pass the information to the relevant authorities such as Companies Commission of Malaysia, Immigration Department and the police”.

When the MOH chooses to walk on the slippery slope of supporting TCM, you can expect all sorts of charlatans to walk the same path.
The only hope, I fear, is for the public to be aware that any “treatment” which claims to be effective for multiple ailments should immediately Raise the Red Flag (see The Red Flags of Quackery)

Quackwatch describes the therapy as completely senseless and the proposed mechanism scientifically “impossible”. The MSKCC website summarises Bioresonance therapy as such:

Bioresonance therapy, available in clinics in Europe, Mexico, Florida and elsewhere in the U.S., is used to diagnose and treat cancer, allergies, arthritis, and various chronic degenerative diseases. A variation known as electrodermal testing was developed as an aid in prescribing homeopathic remedies and is used in Europe for the diagnosis of allergies. Bioresonance is based on the claim that electromagnetic oscillations emitted by diseased organs and cancer cells vary from those emitted by healthy cells due to their differences in cell metabolism and DNA damage. No evidence supports these claims. Treatment may involve removal and replacement of dental alloys or amalgams, which are said to carry currents that “alter the body’s electromagnetic circulatory system.”
A randomized, double-blind trial of bioresonance in the treatment of atopic dermatitis in children showed no efficacy. Clinical trials evaluating electrodermal testing show no reliability in diagnosing allergies.
The Food and Drug Administration has prosecuted numerous purveyors of electrical devices for making unsubstantiated health benefit claims. The American Cancer Society advises patients not to seek treatment with unproved electronic devices.