Complementary or Alternative Therapies
for MND?

Some of you may have heard a Radio Newcastle news item on the breakfast show a couple of weeks ago making claims for a radical new breakthrough therapy for motor neurone disease. Sadly, this claim like many others offering alternative therapies for MND and indeed many other medical conditions is rather less than truthful.

Many treatments are offered as legitimate therapies complementary to conventional medicine. Such complementary therapies make no claim to have any effect upon the underlying disease process itself, but may be of benefit in terms of symptom relief. Symptoms such as pain, stiffness and fatigue may be reduced, and overall wellbeing and quality of life improved. Recognised and accepted therapies in this setting include acupuncture, reflexology, massage etc. These and other such therapies are recognised and welcomed as complementary to conventional medical treatment.

However, a huge number of treatments are available as alternatives to conventional medical treatment. Almost without exception such alternative therapies have no clear scientific rationale as to why they might work in MND or indeed any other condition, and almost without, exception have not been subjected to rigorous trials testing these alternative treatments in specific conditions.

Often these therapies claim to have a very broad application with their supporters claiming positive effects in large numbers of often very variable medical conditions. Such alternative therapies are harmful financially, emotionally and potentially physically. Prominent examples of bogus alternative therapies include homeopathy, goat serum, and (sadly at this time) stem cell therapies in MND.

I would commend MND patients and their families and carers at this centre to avoid investing too much emotional energy and financial muscle into unproven and largely bogus alternative therapies. There are all too many medical practitioners about who are more than happy to take your money and time with false promises.

Myself and other staff at the centre are always be more than happy to discuss with you any new or alternative therapies that you might discover and indeed may talk to you about trials that we are involved in from time to time.

Rest assured that if any significant treatment advance for MND is discovered we will endeavour to make it available at the RVI centre. A web site which may be of interested http://www.quackwatch.org/.

Dr TL Williams
Consultant Neurologist