He calls medical board's charges 'totally bogus'

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Doctor's methods bring complaint

He calls medical board's charges 'totally bogus'

12:12 AM CDT* on Tuesday, October 30, 2007

By KIM HORNER / The Dallas Morning News

khorner@...

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/10

2907dnmetdrrea.36c57af.html

Patients come from all over the world to Dr. J. Rea's Dallas

clinic, where porcelain-coated walls and elaborate ventilation

systems offer protection from an environment the doctor says has

made them ill.

There he treats Gulf War veterans, Sept. 11 responders and patients

he says have been sickened by lower levels of chemicals and

pollution encountered in everyday life.

Dr. Rea (pronounced Ray) opened his Environmental Health Center-

Dallas in 1974. He is considered by supporters a pioneer in treating

environmental illnesses and has written several books on the

subject. He has trained doctors around the globe.

He's often seen as the last hope for patients suffering from

sensitivity to chemicals, many of whom have been to a number of

doctors, to no avail.

But now, after treating patients for decades, Dr. Rea is at risk of

losing his medical license.

The Texas Medical Board filed a complaint on Aug. 24, saying that

Dr. Rea's testing methods are unproven and " pseudoscience. " And, the

complaint says, his treatments – including injecting chemicals such

as jet fuel and natural gas into patients – are inappropriate, not

based on evidence and potentially harmful.

A spokeswoman for the board would not elaborate on the complaint.

Dr. Rea, who says he has treated more than 30,000 patients and

suffered from chemical sensitivity himself, calls the

charges " totally bogus. " He denies that he has injected jet fuel or

other harmful substances into patients.

" It's got to be dropped because I'm innocent, " said Dr. Rea, a soft-

spoken 72-year-old in a cardigan and tie. " I get patients well.

That's what you're supposed to do in medicine. "

Sterile atmosphere

Dr. Rea's clinic, in an office complex across from Presbyterian

Hospital of Dallas, looks like any doctor's office from the outside.

But behind the doors with signs asking that no one wearing fragrance

enter, the clinic has a stark atmosphere, with its tile floors and

metal examination tables without the usual cushions. Computers are

encased so they don't give off chemicals. Despite these precautions,

some patients wear masks.

Dr. Rea's treatment often includes diet changes, supplements and

saunas, in addition to antigen shots. The center offers " less toxic "

apartments that rent for $770 a week for those who travel to Dallas

for treatment. In the most extreme cases, patients live in an

independently run trailer park in Seagoville to avoid exposure to

harmful chemicals.

Treatment and housing during a stay can cost $5,000 to $10,000 a

month, one patient wrote on a Web site linked from the environmental

health center's site.

Among some of his colleagues, Dr. Rea is considered a visionary.

" Dr. Rea is brilliant. He should have a Nobel Prize, " said Dr.

Hotze of Houston, a member of the American Academy of

Environmental Medicine, which is made up of doctors who use similar

treatments and is based in Wichita, Kan.

Dr. Gerald D. Natzke, president of the academy's board of directors,

said there is a " great deal of science " to back up the field of

medicine – and he said much of it comes from Dr Rea.

" He's been one of the most well-known figures in environmental

medicine in the world, " said Dr. Natzke, who practices in Flint,

Mich. " One might say he's a legend within our ranks. "

Dr. Rea's clinic tests and treats sensitivities to pollens, molds,

dust, foods, chemicals, air, water, electromagnetic fields and other

health problems related to the environment. He has written four

books on multiple chemical sensitivity, sometimes called idiopathic

environmental intolerance.

Doctors are divided on what causes multiple chemical sensitivity or

whether it's a legitimate diagnosis. Some believe the symptoms

described by sufferers – including headaches and dizziness when

exposed to perfumes or other odors – are psychological. An American

Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology position paper on the

topic states that there is no proof that the symptoms are caused by

exposure to chemicals.

" We don't have evidence that people are allergic or hypersensitive

to chemicals, " said Dr. A. Khan, an associate professor of

internal medicine at UT Southwestern who heads the asthma clinic at

Parkland Memorial Hospital.

He said studies by Dr. Rea and his fellow practitioners have not

been printed in reputable journals.

" If you look into it, nothing they have published has been in peer-

reviewed medical literature, " Dr. Khan said.

Dr. Khan said he has seen people show up at Parkland for treatment

because they ran out of money after spending their life savings at

Dr. Rea's clinic.

Dr. Barrett, a retired psychiatrist in North Carolina,

features information on Dr. Rea and the illnesses he treats on his

Web site, www.quackwatch.org. He applauds the Texas Medical Board

for investigating the physician.

" Dr. Rea is the hub of a network of doctors who I believe are

misdiagnosing and mistreating patients, " he said, adding that the

doctors are also financially exploiting those in their care.

Dr. Barrett said that Dr. Rea has served as an expert witness in

court cases involving chemical sensitivity based on what he

considers " bad science. "

" The harm he's done is incalculable. "

Believers

Attacks on Dr. Rea's credibility frustrate patients like Alan

Ritson.

Like many who receive treatment at the Environmental Health Center,

Mr. Ritson had been to several doctors before Dr. Rea.

Mr. Ritson, director of disaster services at the Salvation Army for

Texas, spent more than six weeks working at Ground Zero after the

Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Two years after his service, the

68-year-old developed oozing blisters all over his body.

" I just kept getting worse and worse, " he said, describing blisters

and shedding skin. " Dr. Rea said you've got chemicals all through

your body. ... It affected me so bad I couldn't walk in a straight

line. "

He said Dr. Rea has been working to detoxify him. He said a brain

scan showed his brain was " fogged with chemicals. "

" He's the only doctor who's been able to help me, " Mr. Ritson

said. " If they shut him down they're going to kill a lot of people. "

Doug Dromey, an Atlanta real estate broker who visited the clinic in

September, also credits Dr. Rea with helping him work again.

Before Mr. Dromey started coming to Dr. Rea, he said, he was

so " brain fogged " he could not function.

" If he goes, there will be a public health crisis in chemical

sensitivity, " Mr. Dromey said. " He is our saving grace. "

Dr. Don Jewett, professor emeritus at the University of California,

San Francisco, also was impressed with his treatment from Dr. Rea in

the late 1970s. Dr. Jewett, who was then on the faculty of the

university's orthopedic surgery department, was found to be

a " universal reactor, " meaning he was sensitive to everything.

He followed Dr. Rea's advice and ripped out his carpet to remove

potential irritants. He also changed his diet.

Dr. Jewett returned to work wanting to do research that proved that

low levels of chemicals were affecting people's health. But he

conducted a study – published in The New England Journal of Medicine

in 1990 – that showed that testing procedures for food sensitivities

used by clinical ecologists like Dr. Rea failed to work.

" I think that the symptoms are real, but the diagnoses and

treatments that are offered using chemicals and foods as causative

agents are probably misdirected or inappropriate based on the

science that I know, " he said.

Dr. Jewett now attributes his symptoms to stress and said they

cleared after he worked through a midlife crisis.

5 patients

The complaint before the state medical board – and the alleged

violations of the Medical Practice Act – are based on Dr. Rea's care

of five unidentified patients, one of whom suffered lethargy, joint

pain and " brain fog " after exposure to fallout from the World Trade

Center.

That patient, identified in the complaint by the initials J.S.,

received injections of various antigens, which cause the body to

produce antibodies. The patient also was given " heat depuration

therapy, " which the complaint says is simply a sauna.

The complaint states there is no evidence that any of these

therapies works. It also states that Dr. Rea is unqualified to

practice this type of medicine because he is not certified or

trained as an allergist.

Jill Wiggins, spokeswoman for the medical board, said she could not

comment on the allegations or reveal who made the complaint.

Dr. Rea denies the charges and dismisses them as an attempt by an

insurance company to avoid paying for treatment. His clinic does not

accept insurance, but patients can file directly with their

insurers.

In a Sept. 14 letter to patients, Dr. Rea said the complaint was

part of a nationwide effort to destroy the specialty of

environmental medicine and physicians who treat chemical

sensitivities.

" Insurance carriers and a small group of 'Quack busters' should not

be allowed to decide what type of health care is available in this

country, " he wrote. " It is unconscionable that the Texas Medical

Board would want to limit freedom of choice in health care, and

allow insurance carriers to interfere with the doctor-patient

relationship. "

Dr. Rea, in the letter, urged patients to ask state officials to

dismiss the claim and request that the Legislature hold hearings on

the board's investigation methods. He takes issue with the fact that

the complaint was anonymous and that the physician who reviewed the

patient's cases does not specialize in environmental medicine.

A date has not been set for a hearing to be conducted by the State

Office of Administrative Hearings. An administrative law judge will

review the allegations and make a recommendation to the medical

board, which could take up to a year or more. If the board decides

that a violation has occurred, Dr. Rea could appeal the decision to

district court.

Dr. Rea could face sanctions including revocation, suspension,

probation, public reprimand, limitation or restriction on his

practice, counseling or treatment, monitored practice, public

service and an administrative penalty, according to the complaint.

Past criticism

This is not the first time Dr. Rea, who was trained in thoracic

surgery at UT Southwestern Medical School, has run into criticism

over his unorthodox practice.

The medical board investigated malpractice complaints against him in

1990 and in 1997 but dismissed the cases. He also has faced a few

malpractice lawsuits over the years that were either dismissed or

dropped.

As the Texas Medical Board pursues its complaint, Dr. Rea plans to

continue to see patients and fight for what he calls freedom of

choice in health care.

" I've been practicing in Texas for over 40 years, and I want the

best care I can give to Texans and our patients throughout the

country, " Dr. Rea said. " As long as we're not hurting anybody, as

long as we're not dope addicts or child molesters, we should be able

to do that. "

Staff writer Doug J. Swanson contributed to this report.