Edzard Ernst
Edzard Ernst | |
---|---|
Born | Wiesbaden, Germany | 30 January 1948
Alma mater | Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich |
Known for | Scientific study of alternative medicine |
Awards | John Maddox Prize 2015 |
Scientific career | |
Institutions | University of Exeter |
Website | edzardernst |
Edzard Ernst (born 30 January 1948) is a retired British-German academic physician and researcher specializing in the study of
Ernst served as chairman of
and since 1999 has been a British citizen.Ernst is the founder of two medical journals: Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies (of which he was editor-in-chief until it was discontinued in 2016) and Perfusion.[3] Ernst's writing appeared in a regular column in The Guardian, where he reviewed news stories about complementary medicine from an evidence-based medicine perspective.[4] Since his research began on alternative modalities, Ernst has been seen as "the scourge of alternative medicine" for publishing critical research that exposes methods that lack documentation of efficacy.[5] In 2015 he was awarded the John Maddox Prize, sponsored jointly by Sense about Science and Nature, for courage in standing up for science.[6]
Early life
Ernst was born in Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1948. As a child, his family doctor was a homeopath, and at the time he saw it as part of medicine.[7] His father and grandfather were both doctors, and his mother was a laboratory assistant. Ernst originally wanted to be a musician, but his mother persuaded him that medicine might be a good "sideline" career for him to pursue.[1]
Training and early career
Ernst qualified as a
Work in complementary medicine
The world's first professor of complementary medicine,
Ernst's department at Exeter defined complementary medicine as "diagnosis, treatment and/or prevention which complements mainstream medicine by contributing to a common whole, by satisfying a demand not met by orthodoxy or by diversifying the conceptual frameworks of medicine."[11]
Ernst asserts that, in Germany and Austria, complementary techniques are mostly practiced by qualified physicians, whereas in the UK they are mainly practiced by others. He also argues that the term "Complementary and Alternative Medicine" ("CAM") is an almost nonsensical umbrella term, and that distinctions between its modalities must be made.[12]
Since his research began on alternative modalities, Ernst has been seen as "the scourge of alternative medicine" for publishing critical research.
In our book More Good Than Harm? ... ethicist Kevin Smith and I discuss the many ethical issues around alternative medicine and essentially conclude that it is not possible to practice alternative medicine ethically.[13]
Ernst presented at the first Global Congress on Scientific Thinking and Action, which took place on 17-20 March 2021. He spoke about the risk and dangers of alternative medicine, pointing to homeopathy and chiropractic as the most problematic areas within alternative medicine at the time.[14]
Smallwood Report
In 2005, a report by economist
Ernst was, in turn, criticised by The Lancet editor Richard Horton for disclosing contents of the report while it was still in draft form. In a 29 August 2005 letter to The Times Horton wrote: "Professor Ernst seems to have broken every professional code of scientific behaviour by disclosing correspondence referring to a document that is in the process of being reviewed and revised prior to publication. This breach of confidence is to be deplored."[16]
Prince Charles' private secretary, Sir Michael Peat, also filed a complaint regarding breached confidentiality with Exeter University. Although he was "cleared of wrongdoing",[17] Ernst has said that circumstances surrounding the ensuing university investigation led to his retirement.[15]
In the 1 January 2006 edition of the British Journal of General Practice, Ernst gave a detailed criticism of the report.[18]
Trick or Treatment
In 2008, Ernst and
In 2008, Ernst sent an open letter urging the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain to crack down on high street chemists that sell homeopathic remedies without warning that the remedies lack evidence for claimed biological effects.[22] According to him, this disinformation would be a violation of their ethical code:
My plea is simply for honesty. Let people buy what they want, but tell them the truth about what they are buying. These treatments are biologically implausible and the clinical tests have shown they don't do anything at all in human beings. The argument that this information is not relevant or important for customers is quite simply ridiculous.[22]
In a 2008 interview with Media Life Magazine, when he and Simon Singh were asked this question—"What do you think the future is for alternative medicine?"—they replied:
For us, there is no such thing as alternative medicine. There is either medicine that is effective or not, medicine that is safe or not. So-called alternative therapies need to be assessed and then classified as good medicines or bogus medicines. Hopefully, in the future, the good medicines will be embraced within conventional medicine and the bogus medicines will be abandoned.[23]
In a 2009 article entitled "Should We Maintain an Open Mind about Homeopathy?"
More Harm Than Good?
In 2018, Ernst and co-author Kevin Smith, a medical ethicist, published the book More Harm Than Good? The Moral Maze of Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
In a review of the book for
Dougal Jeffries, writing for the British Journal of General Practice, said the book was "replete with both theoretical and real-life examples and is thoroughly referenced, but is a rather turgid read. It clearly demonstrates the extraordinary capacity of intelligent beings, including both practitioners and patients, to hold to irrational beliefs in the face of contrary evidence, but the authors show little sympathy for this very human tendency."[26]
Early retirement from Exeter
Ernst was accused by Prince Charles' private secretary of having breached a confidentiality agreement regarding the 2005 Smallwood report. After being subjected to a "very unpleasant" investigation by the University of Exeter, the university "accepted his innocence but continued, in his view, to treat him as 'persona non grata'. All fundraising for his unit ceased, forcing him to use up its core funding and allow its 15 staff to drift away."[15]
Writing in 2022, after Charles' accession to the throne, Ernst said, "There never was a formal confidentiality agreement with signature etc. But I did feel bound to keep the contents of the Smallwood report confidential. The investigation by my University was not just 'very unpleasant', it was also far too long. It lasted 13 months! I had to take lawyers against my own University! In addition, it was unnecessary, not least because a University should simply establish the facts and, if reasonable, defend its professor from outside attacks. The facts could have been established over a cup of tea with the Vice Chancellor in less than half an hour. When my department had been destroyed in the process, I retired voluntarily and was subsequently re-employed for half a year to help find a successor. In retrospect, I see this move as a smart ploy by the University to keep me sweet and prevent me from going to the press. A successor was never hired; one good candidate was found but he was told that he had to find 100% of the funds to do the job. Nobody of high repute would have found this acceptable, and thus the only good candidate was not even tempted to accept the position."[27]
He retired in 2011, two years ahead of his official retirement.
Ernst's book, Charles, the Alternative Prince: An Unauthorised Biography, was published in February 2022. It focuses on Charles's interest in alternative medicine, with a critical assessment of his views.
Other work and recognition
In a May 1995
In 2001, Ernst sat on the Scientific Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products of the
In February 2011, Ernst was elected as a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.[36] He was editor-in-chief of the journal Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies which he founded in 1995 and which was discontinued in 2016.[37]
In 2015, Ernst was one of two recipients of the John Maddox Prize, sponsored jointly by Sense about Science and Nature, for courage in standing up for science.[38][6]
Books
- Homeopathy: A Critical Appraisal (with Eckhart G. Hahn). Butterworth-Heinemann 1998. ISBN 0-7506-3564-9, 240 pages
- The Desktop Guide to Complementary and Alternative Medicine: An Evidence-based Approach. ISBN 978-0-7234-3383-5, 556 pages
- Complementary Therapies for Pain Management. An Evidence-Based Approach. Elsevier Science 2007. ISBN 978-0-7234-3400-9, 349 pages
- The Oxford Handbook of Complementary Medicine. Oxford University Press 2008. ISBN 978-0-19-920677-3, 448 pages
- ISBN 978-0-593-06129-9, 416 pages (The same book published in the US is called Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine).
- Healing, Hype, Or Harm?: Scientists Investigate Complementary Or Alternative Medicine. (ed.) Imprint Academic 2008, ISBN 978-1-84540-118-4, 120 pages
- ISBN 978-1845407773, 173 pages
- More Harm than Good?: The Moral Maze of Complementary and Alternative Medicine with Kevin Smith. Springer 2018 ISBN 978-3319699400, 223 pages
- SCAM: So-Called Alternative Medicine. (Societas) Imprint Academic 2018, ISBN 978-1845409708, 225 pages
- Don't Believe What You Think: Arguments for and against SCAM. (Societas) Ingram Book Company 2020. ISBN 9781788360081, 261 pages
- Charles, the Alternative Prince: An Unauthorised Biography. Societas 2022. ISBN 978-1788360708, 210 pages
References
- ^ a b c Davis, Nicola (19 October 2014). "Edzard Ernst: outspoken professor of complementary medicine". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- ^ a b c Boseley, Sarah (25 September 2003). "Interview: Edzard Ernst". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ a b Institute for Science in Medicine.
- ^ "Edzard Ernst". The Guardian.
- ^ a b c d e "Complementary therapies: The big con? – The Independent". London. 22 April 2008. Archived from the original on 27 April 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
- ^ a b "Edzard Ernst awarded John Maddox Prize for science". Sense About Science. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
- The European Skeptics Podcast. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
- ^ "About Edzard Ernst". 10 October 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
- ^ .
- ^ Interview: The complementary medicine detective – Michael Bond, New Scientist, 26 April 2008 Magazine issue 2653.
- ^ Ernst et al. British General Practitioner 1995; 45:506
- ^ http://www.harcourt-international.com/ernst/interview.cfm Interview: Harcourt International
- ^ a b Ernst, Edzard (2018). "Why Did We Call Prince Charles Foolish and Immoral?". Skeptical Inquirer. 42 (3): 8–9.
- ^ Vyse, Stuart (April 2021). "Aspen Global Congress on Scientific Thinking and Action". skepticalinquirer.org. Skeptical Inquirer. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d Paul Jump (23 June 2011). "Alternative outcomes". Times Higher Education.
- ^ The Times, Monday 29 August 2005
- ^ Jo Revill, health editor. "'Meddling' Prince nearly cost health don his job", The Observer, 10 March 2007
- PMID 16438825.
- ^ Henderson, Mark (17 April 2008). "Prince of Wales's guide to alternative medicine 'inaccurate'". The Times. London. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ Thompson, Damian (26 April 2008). "The last rites for alternative medicine?". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 27 April 2008. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- .
- ^ a b Ian Sample (21 July 2008). "Pharmacists urged to 'tell the truth' about homeopathic remedies". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
- ^ Heidi Dawley. Note to Prince Charles: 'You're wrong'. Book raises new doubts about alternative medicine. Archived 22 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine Media Life Magazine Apr 21, 2008
- ^ PMID 19854319.
- ^ Hall, Harriet(2018). "The Case That CAM is Unethical". Skeptical Inquirer. 42 (5): 59–61.
- PMID 29700034.
- ^ a b c Ernst, Edzard (16 September 2022). "The 'very unpleasant' time when Charles accused me of having breached confidentiality". Edzard Ernst. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ "Prof Edzard Ernst retires". The Nightingale Collaboration. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ^ Kate Kelland. Professor calls Prince Charles, others "snake-oil salesmen". Reuters, 25 July 2011
- ^ "Charles, the Alternative Prince". Blackwell's. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- Republic. Archived from the originalon 26 September 2009.
- S2CID 820239.
- ^ IMB newsletter, Issue No. 8, (pdf). Irish Nedicine Board. October 2000 – March 2001. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
- ^ Members : MHRA – Members of the Medicines Commission with effect from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2005 Archived 16 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
- ^ See publisher's details for Oxford Handbook of Complementary Medicine
- ^ "CSI announces new Fellows". 7 February 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
- )
- ^ "Scientist who claimed Prince Charles tried to 'silence' him wins John Maddox Prize". The Independent. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
Further reading
- Cohen, D. (2011). "Edzard Ernst: The prince and me". BMJ. 343: d4937. S2CID 21242227.
External links
- edzardernst.com– Ernst's blog Archived 19 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- PMS staff page
- Official FACT website at University of Exeter
- Summary of the department's most important findings e.g. Homeopathy does not work, St John's Wort does.
- Google scholar: List of publications
- House of Lords Science and Technology – Sixth Report on Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Ernst testified and his department was visited.
- Q&A with Ernst in The International Review of Patient Care
- "Interview with Professor Edzard Ernst, Department of Complementary Medicine, Peninsula Medical School, University of Exeter". Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies. 8 (1): 32–34. January 2004. .
- Biographical note on the authors of The Desktop Guide to Complementary and Alternative Medicine. An evidence based approach. Elsevier Science 2006 [dead link]