Edzard Ernst

Edzard Ernst, European Skeptics Congress 2015.

Edzard Ernst introduces himself.

Edzard Ernst (born January 30, 1948 in Wiesbaden ) is professor emeritus for alternative medicine in Great Britain . He was the first professor in this field.

Life

Ernst was born in Wiesbaden as the son of Wolfgang Ernst jun. (1910–1994), a spa doctor in Bad Neuenahr , born. Ernst completed his training as a doctor in 1978 in his native Germany. He has been a British citizen since 1999 .

In 1993 Ernst was appointed from his chair for physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Vienna to the University of Exeter to set up the institute for alternative medicine. He was the first holder of the chair in alternative medicine established by Maurice Laing . In 2002 he became director of alternative medicine at the Peninsula Medical School in Devon , England . In 2011 Ernst retired .

Was serious until 2005 Member of the Committee for Human Medicinal Products of the UK regulatory and supervisory authority for pharmaceuticals (until 2003 MCA , then MHRA ), also a member of the Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products of the Irish Medicines Agency ( Irish Medicines Board ). He is an external auditor for several university medical schools in several countries and a member of the advisory committee of the AlterMed Research Foundation , a foundation that promotes scientific research in the field of alternative medicine.

Ernst is editor of the two medical journals perfusion and FACT ( F ocus on A lternative and C omplementary T herapies, dt. Focus on alternative and complementary medicine).

In 2015, he and Susan Jebb won the John Maddox Prize from the organization Sense about Science .

research

Ernst conducts research in various alternative medicine areas with a focus on effectiveness and safety. His work includes clinical trials and systematic reviews and meta-analyzes.

In Ernst's institute, alternative medicine was used as "diagnosis, treatment and / or prevention that supplements conventional medicine by contributing to a common whole, fulfilling a demand that is not covered by current doctrine, or expanding the conceptual framework of medicine." Are defined.

Applying Science to Alternative Medicine

Ernst describes his approach as applied science rather than politics. The few alternative therapy claims and techniques that could withstand scientific evaluation would thus have a solid basis for inclusion in the canon of academic medicine. Ernst criticizes the point of view of his colleague Claudia Witt , professor of complementary medicine at the Charité , who, unlike him, considers evidence-based medicine to be inadequate for alternative medical treatment methods based on the criteria of evidence-based medicine.

Ernst emphasizes that alternative medicine encompasses a spectrum of different therapeutic and diagnostic procedures, all of which have to be considered individually. In continental Europe, unlike in Great Britain, alternative medical procedures are largely practiced by appropriately qualified doctors.

For several years, Ernst wrote a column in The Guardian newspaper , frequently reporting on news in alternative medicine from the perspective of evidence-based medicine .

Controversy

A scandal broke out in 2005 when Ernst stepped down from the lead expert commission a few days before the publication of a report on the potential of alternative medicine for the National Health Service (NHS). The report was commissioned by Prince Charles and concluded that substituting several standard therapies with alternative methods could save significant costs. Ernst called the report "scandalous and full of errors". For example, the report suggested treating asthma patients with homeopathy, which Ernst said would cause 150 deaths a year. Prince Charles' office accused Ernst of breaching the confidentiality agreement. This was followed by a 13-month investigation by the University of Exeter, which ultimately found no wrongdoing on the part of Ernst. However, according to Ernst, the university stopped funding the department's research. As a result, Ernst agreed to retire on condition that the department's funding continued. In a press conference at the end of July 2011, Ernst described Prince Charles as a “ snake oil seller ”. The House of Commons decided in 2010 that homeopathy should no longer be promoted by the NHS and that homeopathic remedies should no longer be advertised as effective.

Memberships

Edzard Ernst is a member of the Society for the Scientific Investigation of Parasciences , of which he is a member of the Scientific Council. He is also a member of the Münster circle and a supporter of the homeopathy information network .

Publications (selection)

Edzard Ernst gives a lecture on Trick or Treatment (2012).

• Homeopathy: A Critical Appraisal. ("Professional reference text on homoeopathy is a critical evaluation of the discipline, reviewing the known facts and defining the knowledge gaps. It offers a reliable analysis of the uses of traditional homoeopathic remedies. Illustrated. For medical and professional homoeopaths, students, general practitioners , and health care professionals. "Amazon.) 1998, ISBN 0-7506-3564-9
• Praxis Naturheilverfahren: Evidence-based complementary medicine , Springer, 2005, ISBN 978-3540441700
• (Co-authors: Max H. Pittler, Barbara Wider): The Desktop Guide to Complementary and Alternative Medicine. An evidence based approach. Elsevier Mosby, 2006, ISBN 978-0723433835
• (Co-author:  Simon Singh ):  Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine (English), 2008, ISBN 978-0393066616 .
• (Co-author:  Simon Singh ):  Healthy without pills - what can alternative medicine do? , Carl Hanser Verlag, 2009, ISBN 978-3446245549
• A Scientist in Wonderland. A Memoir of Searching for Truth and Finding Trouble , Imprint Academic, 2015, ISBN 978-1845407773 .
• Nazis, needles and intrigues. Memories of a Skeptic JMB Verlag , 2015, ISBN 978-3-944342-56-6 (print) or ISBN 978-3-944342-63-4 (eBook).
• Homeopathy - the facts [undiluted] , Springer, 2017, ISBN 978-3662549452 .
• More Harm than Good ?: The Moral Maze of Complementary and Alternative Medicine  (English), Springer, 2018, ISBN 978-3319699400 .
• Scam: So-Called Alternative Medicine (English), Societas, 2018, ISBN 978-1845409708
• SchmU. Sham medical nonsense . JMB Verlag, Hannover, 2019, ISBN 978-3-95945-008-9 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Edzard Ernst in the catalog of the German National Library
• Edzard Ernst's blog
• House of Lords: Selected Science and Technology Committee - Sixth Report. The committee visited the Institute in Exeter in 2000.
• Column Edzard Ernst on alternative medicine on stern.de ( Memento from February 25, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
• Interview "Homeopathics are placebos" - Technology Review 2008
• “Homeopathy is a dogma.” Interview on Spiegel Online from July 2010
• Annette Bruhns , Eva-Maria Schnurr: Interview with Edzard Ernst: "Treasures in plant medicine." In: Der Spiegel Wissen 4/2013 of November 12, 2013
• "Homeopathy can be life-threatening" - GEO Magazine No. 09/15

swell

1. ↑ "Homeopathy can be life-threatening ", Geo 9/2015
2. ↑ Anke Fossgreen: “I am very impressed by the placebo effect” , in: SonntagsZeitung, December 11, 2011
3. ^ MHRA - Members of the Medicines Commission ( Memento from September 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
4. ↑ IMB Newsletter, Issue 8, October 2000 - March 2001 (PDF; 236 kB)
5. ↑ AlterMed Advisory Board , accessed on 4 May 2016th
6. ↑ Prof Edzard Ernst and Prof Susan Jebb are the two winners of the 2015 John Maddox Prize for Standing up for Science. ( Memento of the original from December 4, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at senseaboutscience.org, accessed September 26, 2018. 
7. ^ "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" E Ernst, KL Resch, S Mills, R Hill, A Mitchell: Complementary medicine - a definition . In: The British Journal of General Practice . tape 45 , no. 398 , September 1995, p. 506 , PMC 1239386 (free full text).
8. ↑ Netzeitung.de: Thousands of pounds for a counter-study ( Memento from July 31, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Interview from July 2008 (archive version)
9. ↑ Interview with Edzard Ernst. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007 ; accessed on October 19, 2018 . 
10. ^ Max Rauner: Edzard versus Charles . Portrait on ZEIT ONLINE, January 2012.
11. ^ Kai Kupferschmidt: Scourge of Snake Oil Salesmen Bids to Early Farewell . In: Science . tape 333 , no. 6043 , August 5, 2011, p. 687-687 , doi : 10.1126 / science.333.6043.687 , PMID 21817027 .
12. ↑ About us. Münsteraner Kreis, accessed on September 8, 2019 . 
13. ↑ Our supporters. In: Information Network Homeopathy. Retrieved September 8, 2019 (German).