Edzard Ernst

Edzard Ernst ( born January 30, 1948 in Wiesbaden) is Emeritus Professor of Alternative Medicine in the United Kingdom. He was the first professor in this field.

Life

Ernst was in Wiesbaden, Jr., the son of Wolfgang Ernst. (1910-1994), a spa physician in Bad Neuenahr, born. The training to become a doctor graduated in 1978 from Ernst in the home country Germany. Since 1999 he is a British citizen.

1993 Ernst was appointed by his Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Vienna to the University of Exeter order to set up the Institute for Alternative Medicine. He was the first owner of the place by Maurice Laing Chair in Alternative Medicine. He was Director in charge of Alternative Medicine located at the in the English county of Devon Peninsula Medical School in 2002. 2011 Ernst became Professor Emeritus.

Ernst to 2005 was a member of the Committee for Human Medicinal Products of the UK licensing and supervisory authority for medicinal products ( MCA until 2003, then MHRA ), also a member of the Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products of the Irish Medicines Agency (Irish Medicines Board ). He is external examiner for several university medical schools in several states and on the Advisory Committee of the AlterMed Research Foundation, a foundation that promotes scientific research in the field of alternative medicine.

Ernst is chief editor of two medical journals, namely perfusion and FACT (Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies, dt focus on alternative and complementary medicine).

Research

Serious research in various areas of alternative medicine with an emphasis on efficacy and safety. His work includes clinical trials and systematic reviews or meta-analyzes.

In Ernst's institute Alternative medicine has been defined 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 "

Application of science to alternative medicine

Ernst describes his approach as an applied science rather than politics. The few alternative therapy claims and techniques that could withstand a scientific evaluation, so have a solid basis for inclusion in the canon of academic medicine. Ernst criticized the view of his colleague Claudia Witt, professor of complementary medicine at the Charité, who, unlike him, holds evidence of efficacy according to the criteria of evidence -based medicine for alternative medical treatment is not appropriate.

Ernst emphasizes that alternative medicine is a spectrum of different therapeutic and diagnostic procedures embrace that had to be regarded all individually. In continental Europe, alternative medical procedures would, unlike in the UK, mostly practiced by qualified doctors.

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

Some supporters of alternative medicine are its critical method, which follows the pattern of evidence-based medicine, opposed to.

Controversies

2005 there was a scandal when Ernst few days before the publication of a report leaked to the potential of alternative medicine for the National Health Service of the lead experts commission. The report was commissioned by Prince Charles in order and came to the conclusion that the substitution of several standard therapies could save significant costs with alternative methods. Ernst said the report was "scandalous and full of errors ." For example, was beating against the report to treat asthma patients with homeopathy, which would cause 150 deaths per year, according to Ernst. Prince Charles ' office threw Ernst before a violation of the confidentiality agreement. This was followed by a 13 -month investigation by the University of Exeter, which eventually could find no fault with Ernst. However, According to Ernst, the university stopped funding the research of the department. As a result, Ernst agreed to retire on condition of continued funding of the Department to do so. In a press conference in late July 2011 Ernst Prince Charles, referred to as " snake oil salesman". The House of Commons decided in 2010 that homeopathy is no longer funded by the NHS and homeopathic remedies may no longer be advertised as effective.

Publications (selection )

  • Homoeopathy: A Critical Appraisal. 1998, ISBN 0-7506-3564-9 ( "professional reference text on homeopathy is a critical evaluation of the discipline, reviewing the known facts and knowledge 's defining the gaps. It offers a reliable analysis of the uses of traditional homoeopathic remedies. Illustrated. for medical and professional Homoeopaths, students, general practitioners, and healthcare professionals. "Amazon. )
  • ( Co-authors ) The Desktop Guide to Complementary and Alternative Medicine. An evidence-based approach. Elsevier Science, 2006.
  • ( Co -author: Simon Singh ): Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine. 2008, ISBN 978-0393066616.
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