The Cincinnati Beacon
Wulsin Pressured Into Press Statement by The Cincinnati Beacon? (Ethically Challenged, Part Three)
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
 Yesterday, Dr. Vic Wulsin issued a press release concerning her position on some bits of “medical research.” In the release, she cites her work on malariotherapy for the Heimlich Institute, and she even uses the occasion to make public her report on malariotherapy. It is noteworthy how long she waited to release this report. After telling The Cincinnati Beacon for months that the report would be forthcoming, she only made it available after we acquired a copy and started analyzing her apparent condition of being ethically challenged. Now, the Wulsin spin doctors are trying to downplay her role in advocating more human experiments.
Here is the Wulsin campaign’s full press release:
WULSIN ON THE IMPORTANCE OF MEDICAL RESEARCH
Cincinnati, OH – “Every day I thank God for modern medicine and I thank God for the ability to keep our loved ones healthy so that they may live long, full lives,” said Dr. Victoria Wulsin today, after having participated in the 5 K Race for the Cure in Mason, OH on Sunday with her supporters.
Dr. Wulsin, the Democratic nominee for Congress in Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District, has dedicated her career to public health. She was Cincinnati’s chief epidemiologist between 1989 and 1995, responsible for the prevention and treatment of disease throughout the city. In 1994 she led the team of doctors, nurses, parents and teachers that successfully minimized and controlled the spread of Whooping Cough.
Dr. Wulsin received her AB from Harvard University after earning a merit scholarship. She received her MD from Case Western Reserve University in 1980, and then went back to Harvard to earn her Doctorate in Public Health with a specialization in disease prevention in 1985.
“Medical research holds the wondrous potential to cure disease and improve the lives of billions of Americans and people around the world,” said Wulsin. Last month, Rep. Jean Schmidt voted against public funding for stem cell research, which many scientists believe will help us uncover cures for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other diseases that afflict millions of Americans.
“As researchers, there are times when we conclude that potential medical techniques are unworthy of further pursuit. Immunotherapy for AIDS is one such example.” In a 2004 paper entitled “Immunotherapy and Beyond” that she wrote for the Heimlich Institute, Dr. Wulsin reviewed the relevant literature on a proposed medical technique and concluded that “The preponderance of evidence indicates that neither malaria nor Immunotherapy will cure HIV/AIDS.” That paper is available on the Wulsin for Congress campaign website at
http://www.wulsinforcongress.com/downloads/heim_inst_report.pdf
Victoria’s mother is a breast cancer survivor. “We can prevent cancer and if we catch it early, we can beat it,” Wulsin said. “I enjoyed the run on Sunday and applaud the Komen Foundation for its work on breast cancer prevention, treatment, and awareness.”
Dr. Wulsin has been an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), where she was assigned to the National Institute for Occupation Safety and Health (NIOSH); she has been a primary care physician at the Health Resource Center, the free clinic in Cincinnati; and she was the regional advisor for HIV/AIDS for the United States Agency for International Aid (USAID) for East Africa, stationed in Nairobi.
At first, the fifth paragraph seems quite conclusive; however, we have already addressed the report’s inconsistencies (see ”Ethically Challenged, Part Two: Looking for Wulsin’s Silver Lining” ). As an experiment, consider the following version of that paragraph, which is just as legitimate as the one she wrote, given the details of the whole report:
“As researchers, there are times when we conclude that potential medical techniques are unworthy of further pursuit. But sometimes we decide to continue researching them anyway, looking for abused mining workers in the third world for our experiments.” In a 2004 paper entitled “Immunotherapy and Beyond” that she wrote for the Heimlich Institute, Dr. Wulsin reviewed the relevant literature on a proposed medical technique and concluded that the HI should “[e]xplore further collaborating with Michele Ashby, the Denver Gold Group, and/or the CEOs, medical directors, &/or others of appropriate mining companies.” That paper is available on the Wulsin for Congress campaign website at
http://www.wulsinforcongress.com/downloads/heim_inst_report.pdf
If things had turned out differently—and Wulsin was still working for the Heimlich Institute instead of running for Congress—what did Wulsin predict she would be doing right now? Answer: working on malariotherapy experiments.
From a projected timeline in her report:
2006—East African Phase II Clinical trial is published and/or presented and received with enlightened enthusiasm. East African investigator/s and the Heimlich Institute attain IRB approvals. East African Phase II Clinical trial is published and presented and received with guarded interest.
2007—East African investigator/s and the Heimlich Institute [H.I.] enroll initial 75 patients. East African investigator/s and the H.I. attempt to attain IRB approvals.
What is Wulsin talking about? Why would there be collaboration with East African investigators and the enrollment of 75 initial patients, if this idea does not work and has no scientific validity?
By the way, if you are wondering what she means by “Phase II,” read this:
Issues specific to individual phases of Immunotherapy trials are:
· Phase I: safety of Plasmodium falciparum as a therapeutic agent.
· Phase II: logistics of infecting, treating, and following-up study subjects.
Once again, Dr. Vic Wulsin has shown the kind of equivocation we expect from a mediocre politician and not a steadfast doctor. Should we elect ethically challenged people to public office?
UPDATE: (4:45pm) The “Executive Summary” which constitutes the first page of the report as provided by Wulsin is new. It was not included in the original report.
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Read ”Ethically Challenged Part Two, Looking for Wulsin’s Silver Lining”
Read ”Dr. Vic Wulsin, Ethically Challenged? Part 1”
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