ALSUntangled have debunked yet another unproven treatment advertised on the internet. Publishing these results in a reputable journal is of the utmost importance as it means that their findings can be read and be trusted as a reliable source of information.
The unproven treatment that the group of clinician-researchers investigated was the Stowe/Morales treatment protocol for MND. The idea that the Stowe/Morales protocol proposes is that most diseases are caused by ‘infections and toxins’ – including MND. However, there is no scientific evidence to suggest that this statement is true. The treatment regime that they offer to combat the ‘infections and toxins’ includes stem cell treatment and a number of other unproven treatments that are fraught with pseudoscientific terms and unjustified claims. The treatment regime comes at a jaw-dropping sum of about $150,000. As a spoiler: ALSUntangled did not find any evidence to suggest that the treatment regime would be beneficial to people living with MND.
We’re pleased that ALSUntangled have published their findings as a few months ago we received an enquiry on the ‘Stowe Foundation’, which is one of the companies that offer this unproven treatment regime. Here’s a snippet of the response that we gave at the time:
“Fundamentally, it is unrealistic for the Stowe Foundation to say that their methods can help any patient with any chronic illness. All diseases and disorders are so different from one another that it would be unrealistic to suggest that they can all be treated by the same means…
“If such a regime of treatments is to be used as a treatment for any disease (as they suggest) then it is important that the evidence they state is peer-reviewed and published. This way the rigor and validity of the research can be tested to assure the public that the information given is accurate. Unfortunately, I could not find any evidence to suggest that the statements made by the Stowe Foundation can be backed up by peer-reviewed articles and therefore its validity is questionable.”
In the article written by ALSUntangled on the Stowe/Morales protocol, they conclude that “ALSUntangled strongly recommends that patients with ALS (MND) avoid the Stowe/Morales ALS Protocol. The rationale for this exorbitantly expensive protocol is unsound. The specific treatments being used range from mysterious, to already disproven, to potentially harmful. No valid outcome measures are being followed and the discussion of safety and efficacy taking place between sellers and potential patients considering this is impossibly optimistic.”
The full article is free to access in the journal ALS and is written in an easy-to-read way. If you’re interested in reading more about their findings and what brought ALSUntangled to their conclusions then please read their article ‘ALSUntangled No. 5: Investigating the Stowe/Morales ALS Protocol’.
If you are considering an unproven treatment and would like to know the facts about the information they provide, please contact us at research@mndassociation.org.
