Board: Drug therapy for children with autism was risky

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Board: Drug therapy for children with autism was risky

High-profile doctor suspended by land panel has treated Illinois children,

has license to practice in state

By Steve Mills and Callahan, Tribune reporters

8:25 p.m. CDT, May 4, 2011

A doctor nationally known for treating autism with a drug sometimes used to

chemically castrate sex offenders has been suspended from practicing medicine in

his home state of land after state officials determined he is putting

children at risk.

Dr. Mark Geier allegedly misrepresented his credentials, misdiagnosed children

and urged parents to approve risky treatments without fully informing them of

the potential dangers, according to the land Board of Physicians.

The board's order, dated April 27, states that Geier " endangers autistic

children and exploits their parents by administering to the children a treatment

protocol that has a known substantial risk of serious harm and which is neither

consistent with evidence-based medicine nor generally accepted in the relevant

scientific community. "

Geier told the Tribune in 2009 that he had treated hundreds of children with a

testosterone suppressant called Lupron, which he called a " miracle drug. " But a

Tribune investigation exposed the therapy as a potentially dangerous treatment

based on junk science and promoted by a physician not board-certified in any

specialty relevant to autism or the use of hormone-disrupting drugs.

Geier, who has treated Illinois children and retains a license to practice

medicine here, is prominent in the world of alternative treatments for autism.

His ASD Centers advertise " new hope for autism, " and he has offices around the

country, including in Springfield. Geier is scheduled to speak at the annual

Autism One conference this month in west suburban Lombard.

The land board found that in six of nine cases it reviewed, Geier

incorrectly diagnosed children with autism with precocious puberty — that's the

extraordinarily early onset of puberty — and prescribed Lupron, which is

sometimes covered by insurance to treat that rare condition.

In some cases, according to the board, Geier diagnosed the children with

precocious puberty and prescribed drug protocols without examining them or

conducting proper tests. Some of the children Geier diagnosed were too old to

have the condition.

Geier is a genetic counselor, but according to the land board order he has

falsely claimed to be a board-certified geneticist and epidemiologist.

Geier, who is not allowed to practice in land while the case is pending,

referred questions to attorney ph Schwartz III. At the root of the case,

Schwartz said, was a " bona fide dispute over therapy " rather than a doctor who

posed an immediate threat to patients.

" If you read the (order), you say, 'Holy God, this is awful.' But if it were so

awful, they should have an injured child, and they don't, " Schwartz said. " …It's

just like shadowboxing with allegations that sound awful, but when you delve

into the facts of them you say, 'What's the big deal here?' "

Experts have long doubted the scientific basis for Geier's claims and

treatments. In 2009, about two dozen prominent endocrinologists, in a paper

published online in the journal Pediatrics, dismissed his Lupron protocol.

Experts also warn that Lupron can disrupt normal development and potentially put

children's hearts and bones at risk.

The medical board also noted that Geier's son, , who is not a medical

doctor but serves as executive director of ASD Centers, examined a 10-year-old

boy in May 2008. Geier ordered lab tests for him and tried to check his

neck and stomach by tapping him with an ultrasound wand as the boy moved around

the room, the boy's mother told the board..

A record documenting that visit said the child's " symptoms are compatible with a

diagnosis of pervasive developmental delay — not otherwise (specified), " and

also noted insomnia and Unspecified Metabolic Disorder.

land Gov. O'Malley appointed Geier in 2009 to the state's

Commission on Autism as a " diagnostician, " a decision state officials are

reviewing. son, a spokesman for the state health department, said

Geier declined Wednesday to resign from the position.

The board received three complaints about Mark Geier beginning in 2006. In one

case, Geier allegedly diagnosed a 91/2-year-old autistic boy with precocious

puberty even though the child was too old to qualify for the diagnosis, failed

to perform tests that might have helped make a more accurate diagnosis and

misread some of the lab tests he did order.

Geier then started the boy on Lupron and other drugs and ordered risky chelation

therapy, which removes heavy metals from the body, even though the child didn't

have high levels of metals in his body, according to the board's order.

Geier, the order said, " needlessly exposed (the boy) to the risk of harm because

of his incorrect diagnosis. "

The medical board also faulted the way Geier claimed to vet his treatment

protocols. Federal regulations require that independent boards review research

protocols to protect the rights and welfare of research subjects. But the board

Geier set up included his wife, his son, , and himself, according to the

order.

This is not the first time Geier's work has been criticized. For years, Geier

has testified as an expert witness in court cases in which parents claim

vaccines caused their child's autism — an idea that has been widely discredited.

In one such case, the judge, or special master, called Geier's testimony

" seriously intellectually dishonest. "

The board's order is the first step in what often is a lengthy process. At a

hearing next week, Geier will be allowed to present evidence; the board also

will hear from its own representative. The board can uphold the suspension,

allow Geier to practice while it continues to investigate or throw out the

order.

Geier, according to the board, is licensed to practice medicine in 10 other

states, including Illinois and Indiana. Illinois could suspend Geier's medical

license only if the state found " imminent danger " to Illinois patients or if the

land board takes permanent action, said Sue Hofer, a spokeswoman for the

state department that licenses physicians.

Copyright © 2011