Mark Geier: Not a Leg to Stand On

Poor, poor Mark Geier. For those who don't know, Dr. Mark Geier is half of the father-son team that developed the "Lupron Protocol" for treating autism. Put simply, Geier and his son came up with the scientifically unsupported idea that testosterone and mercury bind together in humans, allegedly causing autism. His treatment for this involves dosing children with leuprolide, followed by chelation. Leuprolide (also known by the brand name Lupron) is legitimately used for treatment of precocious puberty and as part of IVF treatment. It is also used off-label to chemically castrate sex offenders.

Dr. Geier, through his Institute of Chronic Illness and Genetic Centers of America, misdiagnosed autistic children with precocious puberty so he could claim that he was using Lupron on label, rather than for an unapproved, experimental indication (i.e., autism). This also allowed him to bill insurance companies for the lupron. His actions got him into hot water with various state medical boards, starting with his medical license in Maryland being suspended on April 27, 2011. Since then, one by one, 11 of his 12 medical licenses were suspended, an application for a thirteenth license in Ohio was denied, and some of those suspensions became complete revocations. The last actions I wrote about were the revocation of his license in Missouri and suspension of his Illinois license. At the time, the only state left in which Dr. Geier could practice was Hawaii.

As of April 11, 2013, that is no longer the case.

The Continuing Fall of the House of Geier

Most of you no doubt know the names of Dr. Mark Geier and his son, David Geier. I've written about them a fair bit, starting with the suspension of Mark Geier's medical license in Maryland and following the saga as his licenses in various states were suspended and, eventually, permanently revoked. Mark and David are the duo who came up with what came to be known as the Lupron Protocol to supposedly treat autism. Following on the mistaken notion that thimerosal in vaccines causes autism, they developed their idea after reading a single study from 1968 finding that, when dissolving testosterone and mercuric chloride in hot benzene, the testosterone and mercury compound bind together. Ignoring the fact that living beings are not in the habit of having a hot benzene environment inside them, the Geiers coupled this testosterone-mercury complex idea with research finding that autism may be linked, in some cases, to high levels of testosterone. Needless to say, their protocol not only didn't work, but it put children at increased risk for no benefit. And to make things worse, since Lupron is not approved for the treatment of autism, Dr. Geier "diagnosed" his patients with precocious puberty so he could charge it to insurance companies.

At any rate, Mark Geier's medical career is pretty much shot. But I always wondered what, if anything, would happen to those who worked at his numerous, nationwide clinics? Would any of them be held accountable? It looks like at least one of Geier's partners is not faring too well, either.

Autism One: Pick Up Your Police Escort at the Reception Desk

Time to take a trip back to some subject matter that was at the creation of this blog: censorship, autism and anti-vaccination sentiments. It should come as no surprise to anyone who reads here regularly that I take these issues rather seriously. Generally speaking, censorship seems to go hand in hand with the anti-vaccination folks within the autism community (and let it just be said that the autism community is very broad, with the anti-vaxers representing a rather small minority, thankfully). Silencing dissent is a favored tactic, as evidenced by the "editorializing" favored by such luminary and (mis-)informative sites as Age of Autism, among others. Where truth and reality rear their ugly heads, there will always be a moderator close at hand to protect their quailing, fragile readers, making such reason-based comments disappear down the memory hole before a single electron hits the screen of an AoA reader.

Should you decide to attend an event organized by those with anti-vaccination notions, be not afraid of having your tender sensibilities bruised, for there will be an ever-so-polite and helpful event organizer to call the police to haul out any suspicious-looking persons. Yes, though they may be mild-mannered and behaving themselves, who knows when they will utter uncomfortable truths? Best to remove them, without any justification, before any charlatans or quacks can be challenged, before any parents, trying their best to cope with a child with a disability about which, frankly, not a great deal is known, can have the scales removed from their eyes and their wallets protected from expensive and utterly useless treatments. Fear not, for brave folks like Teri Arranga will quickly summon hotel security and police to deal with anyone she thinks may pose a threat to your delicate sensibilities.

Mark "Castrate 'Em" Geier's License Suspended

On April 27, 2011, the Maryland State Board of Physicians, the body that grants physicians the privilege to practice medicine, issued an Order for Summary Suspension of Dr. Mark Geier's License to Practice Medicine (PDF). This has been a long time coming, and, I have to say, I am greatly relieved that it has finally happened.

Most people reading this blog probably already know who Dr. Geier is. For those who don't, here's a little background.