Petition update
Scientific misconduct or criminal offense?
Nov 1, 2015 — To all who have signed this petition:
Please see the email below addressed to the Office of Research Integrity registering a complaint against Dr Gary Wormser of New York Medical College.
Wormser’s continual mishandling of Lyme disease is blatantly obvious in this NIH funded study where he uses taxpayer dollars to support his career long bias against persistent infection. The Office of Research Integrity limits its investigations to falsification, fabrication, or plagiarism (F/F/P) of research data so Wormser’s misclassification of disease to support his personal bias is overlooked.
Wormser’s inaccurate conceptualization of disease has influenced the nation's perceptions and response to Lyme disease. We are dealing with a life altering infection misclassified as a simple nuisance disease as reported by the Lyme patient population.
Consider sending a respectful email of your own to the Directors of the Office of Research Integrity describing how Wormser’s “nuisance disease” has affected you or a loved one.
To: Don Wright, M.D., M.P.H. Acting Director, ORI
Don.Wright@hhs.gov
Cc: Susan Garfinkel, Ph.D. Director, Division of Investigative Oversight Susan.Garfinkel@hhs.gov
Cc: Zoë Hammatt, J.D., M.Phil. Director, Division of Education and Integrity
Zoe.Hammatt@hhs.gov
-Your email should outline the difficulties in obtaining treatment for a disease misclassified as a simple nuisance disease. The medical community has been misguided by Wormser while he continues to control the narrative through his scientific misconduct.
-Please ask the Directors to withhold additional NIH funding to Wormser until a full investigation has been conducted.
WE NEED A LARGE RESPONSE TO THIS REQUEST
Email addresses to government officials are public information.
Department of Health and Human Services Directory:
http://directory.psc.gov/employee.htm
Email sent to the Office of Research Integrity:
________________________________________
From: "Carl Tuttle" <runagain@comcast.net>
To: "Don Wright" <Don.Wright@hhs.gov>
Cc: "Susan Garfinkel" <Susan.Garfinkel@hhs.gov>, "Zoe Hammatt" <Zoe.Hammatt@hhs.gov>, AskORI@hhs.gov, "Sylvia Burwell" <Sylvia.Burwell@hhs.gov>, "Dick Blumenthal" <Dick_Blumenthal@blumenthal.senate.gov>, "Diane Savino" <etartistdi@comcast.net>, bonacic@senate.state.ny.us, "Kemp Hannon" <hannon@nysenate.gov>, "neva varsalone" <neva_varsalone@ayotte.senate.gov>, "bud fitch" <bud_fitch@ayotte.senate.gov>, "matt sheehey" <matt.sheehey@mail.house.gov>, "Daniel Auger" <Daniel_Auger@ayotte.senate.gov>, "Shaylyn Kelly" <Shaylyn_Kelly@ayotte.senate.gov>, senatorsheehan@aol.com, whistleblower@judiciary-rep.senate.gov, samey@pogo.org, jrood@pogo.org, nfeder@pogo.org, jnewman@pogo.org, dbrian@pogo.org, rebeccasnordgren@gmail.com, "ivan-oransky" <ivan-oransky@erols.com>, "adam marcus1" <adam.marcus1@gmail.com>, rweissman@citizen.org, mstrand@citizen.org, hrg1@citizen.org, "Michael Searles" <Michael.Searles@mahouse.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2015 10:42:20 AM
Subject: Scientific misconduct or criminal offense?
Clin Infect Dis. 2015 Jul 15;61(2):244-7. doi: 10.1093/cid/civ277. Epub 2015 Apr 17
Long-term assessment of health-related quality of life in patients with culture-confirmed early Lyme disease.
Wormser GP1, Weitzner E1, McKenna D1, Nadelman RB1, Scavarda C1, Molla I1, Dornbush R2, Visintainer P3, Nowakowski J1.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25888674
R01 CK000152/CK/NCEZID CDC HHS/United States
Oct 26, 2015
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Office of Research Integrity
1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 750
Rockville, Maryland 20852
Attn: Don Wright, M.D., M.P.H. Acting Director, ORI
Dear Dr Wright,
Dr Gary Wormser of New York Medical College is using taxpayer dollars to support his career long bias against persistent infection while designing studies excluding the sickest of the patient population focusing on the acute stage of disease after early treatment.
The deceptive results of his study is then assumed to apply to the entire patient population giving the impression that Lyme is a simple nuisance disease and patients who are severely disabled are somehow delusional.
Those who cannot (or will not) recognize Wormser’s deception are either completely ignorant of the severity of Lyme disease or simply choose to look the other way because this practice has been ongoing for over thirty years.
Scientific misconduct to support one’s bias is fraud which has had an impact on public health and clinical treatment. Additionally, the role of Journal Editors and the so-called peer-review process is also in question here.
The CDC has recently revised its case numbers to over 300,000 new Lyme disease infections per year but the vast majority of patients miss the narrow window of opportunity for successful short-term treatment as support groups across the country have been reporting for decades. Late stage Lyme disease is completely incapacitating and extremely difficult to treat.
Quote from Senator Richard Blumenthal: "Today for me culminates more than a decade of work and probably a decade more, because I've seen firsthand the devastating, absolutely unacceptable damage done by Lyme disease to individual human beings, Connecticut children and residents whose lives have been changed forever as a result of Lyme disease”
Source: http://ctmirror.org/2011/07/18/blumenthal-takes-lyme-disease-fight-senate/
Please see the letter below addressed to: Editor-in-Chief, Sherwood L. Gorbach, M.D; Clinical Infectious Diseases identifying the issues with Wormser’s NIH funded published study.
Your prompt attention to the fraud and deceit as outlined in this complaint is requested.
Sincerely,
Carl Tuttle
33 David Dr
Hudson, NH 03051
Cc: Susan Garfinkel, Ph.D, Zoë Hammatt, J.D., M.Phil., Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Senators Blumenthal, Ayotte, Hannon, Bonciac, Sarino, Grassley, Sheehan, Congressman Chris Gibson, Representatives Speliotis, Nordgren, Public Citizen, Retraction Watch, The Project On Government Oversight
Letter to: Editor-in-Chief, Sherwood L. Gorbach, M.D; Clinical Infectious Diseases:
_____________________________________________
Sent: Tuesday, September 8, 2015 12:19:51 PM
Subject: Long-Term Assessment of Health Related Quality of Life in Patients with Culture-Confirmed Early Lyme Disease
Published June 25, 2015
Long-Term Assessment of Health Related Quality of Life in Patients with Culture-Confirmed Early Lyme Disease
http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2015/04/16/cid.civ277
Authors: Gary P. Wormser, Erica Weitzner, Donna McKenna, Robert B. Nadelman, Carol Scavarda, Irida Molla, Rhea Dornbush, Paul Visintainer, and John Nowakowski
Sept 8, 2015
Clinical Infectious Diseases
Tufts University School of Medicine
200 Harrison Avenue
Posner Basement
Boston, MA 02111
Attn: Editor-in-Chief, Sherwood L. Gorbach, M.D
Dear Dr Gorbach,
Once again Wormser is fixated on the acute stage of Lyme disease, “Culture-Confirmed Early Lyme Disease” whereas the vast majority of Lyme patients disabled from Lyme disease went months, years or decades before diagnosis and initial treatment. Patients with a prolonged exposure to infection before treatment are almost always incapacitated.
It is this class of patient that has been deliberately ignored by Wormser who has misclassified Lyme as a “nuisance” disease; easily treated and cured with a one-size-fits-all treatment approach with only a small percentage experiencing minor aches and pains after treatment; Post Lyme Disease Syndrome.
The fact of the matter is Lyme disease can become a life altering infection if not treated immediately. For example:
1. Duke University Professor Neil Spector[1] required a heart transplant after experiencing four years of undiagnosed-untreated Lyme disease. Spector’s book, “Gone in a Heartbeat” discusses the dismissive attitude of physician colleagues and importance of patient self advocacy.
2. Lumberman Scotty Shelton[2] of Saginaw MN was on antibiotics for 7+ years and died in Hospice recently. His tissues were harvested and sent to Excalibur Lab in OK where Paula Pierce performed the tissue prep and original staining. Scotty's brain (cerebral cortex) was positive for Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia myamotoi, his testicle is positive for Bb. Seven years of antibiotics and 3.5 years of natural treatments (along with antibiotics) and he was highly, highly positive. Duplicate samples were sent to Alan MacDonald who uncovered similar results.
3. Amy Tan,[3] author of the book, “The Joy Luck Club” was severely disabled neurologically.
4. Singer Averil Livigne[4] was bedridden five months before obtaining a diagnosis.
5. Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, Yolanda Foster[5] reports losing her ability to read, write, or watch TV.
6. A CDC study reports the deaths of three seemingly healthy individuals who dropped dead from Lyme Carditis.[6] It is important to recognize here that the cause of death was only identified due to the fact that the three Lyme patients were potential organ donors otherwise these cases would not have been identified or reported. None of these patients developed the bulls-eye rash. We have to ask the question, “How many seemingly healthy Lyme patients have donated blood?” (Our blood supply is not screened for Lyme disease)
7. The petition calling for a congressional investigation into the deliberate mishandling of Lyme disease[7] has collected 506 pages of heart wrenching comments from supporters around the globe who report total disability, death and suicide from Dr Wormser’s “nuisance” disease. (30,000 signatures growing worldwide)
So once again we see Wormser attempting to pull the wool over on everyone to support his career long bias against persistent infection. It would appear that the peer review process at Clinical Infectious Diseases provides a safe haven for his “Junk Science.”
There is evidence to suggest that the rush to create a vaccine for Lyme led to the mishandling of the disease. The Principle Investigators of the two previous Lyme vaccines: Allen C. Steere for SmithKlineBeecham's LymeRix and Gary Wormser for Connaught's vaccine (which never made it to market) have conceptualized a disease that would enable vaccine development. The one-size-fits-all Lyme treatment guideline (lead author: Gary Wormser) matches the conceptualized disease. This is a flagrant conflict of interest. Post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome is simply a fabricated medical condition disguising treatment failure.
Respectfully submitted,
Carl Tuttle
Hudson, NH
"When “evidence based medicine” has been spun to fit bias agendas and the patient voice has been intentionally ignored who investigates the dishonest science?"
Cc: Rosalie Greenberg, MD, Editorial Directors of Oxford University Press, Nadelman and Wormser, Senators Blumenthal, Ayotte, Hannon, Bonciac, Sarino, Congressman Chris Gibson, Public Citizen, Retraction Watch
REFERENCES
[1] Professor Neil Spector: Duke physician uses near-death experience to encourage patient self-advocacy
http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2015/05/28/duke-physician-uses-near-death-experience-encourage-patient-self-advocacy#.VYlYnxtViko
[2] Scotty Shelton and Persistent Infection in Saginaw MN
https://www.change.org/p/the-us-senate-calling-for-a-congressional-investigation-of-the-cdc-idsa-and-aldf/u/11685820
[3] Amy Tan: SLyme Disease: How A Speck Changed My Life Forever
http://www.humanthology.com/lyme-disease/2014/9/15/slyme-disease-how-a-speck-changed-my-life-forever
[4] Averil Lavine: Averil Lavigne Opens Up About Her Health Crisis: 'I Was Bedridden for 5 Months'
http://www.people.com/article/avril-lavigne-lyme-disease-bedridden
[5] Yolanda Foster: Yolanda Foster on Lyme Disease: I've Lost Ability to Read, Write, Watch TV
http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/yolanda-foster-on-lyme-disease-ive-lost-ability-to-read-write-201519
[6] Three Sudden Cardiac Deaths Associated with Lyme Carditis — United States,
December 13, 2013 / 62(49);993-996
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6249a1.htm
[7] Calling for a Congressional investigation of the CDC, IDSA and ALDF
https://www.change.org/p/the-us-senate-calling-for-a-congressional-investigation-of-the-cdc-idsa-and-aldf
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