Doctor's Data

Doctor's Data, Inc. is a clinical laboratory based in St. Charles, Illinois, with CLIA licensing in routine chemistry, toxicology, bacteriology, mycology, parasitology and general Immunology. According to their website, the company provides analysis of a variety of sample types, including blood tests, stool testing, hair analysis and urine analysis. Doctor's Data uses MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and other technologies to help clinicians identify the causes of gastrointestinal symptoms, gauge cardiovascular risk, differentiate between celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity, assess the likelihood of metabolic syndrome, and more.[1]

History

Founded in 1972, the company was originally known as Bio Medical Data, Inc. until the early 1980s, when it changed its name to Doctor's Data. It was originally owned by Miller Pharmacal, which was founded by John J. Miller, former research chemist for J.B. Roerig, which was purchased in 1953 by Pfizer. Miller died in 1977, and three owners took control of the company with Ted Lucken as president.

Selected publications

Published research involving members of the Doctor's Data scientific team or using Doctor's Data analyses.

2017 - Forensic Science International: High Concentrations of Lead and Barium in Hair of the Rural Population Caused by Water Pollution in the Thar Jath Oilfields in South Sudan

2017 - Dermato-Endocrinology: Evaluation of Vitamin D3 Intakes up to 15,000 International Units/Day and Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations up to 300 nmol/L on Calcium Metabolism in a Community Setting

2017 - PLoS ONE: Significant Association of Urinary Toxic Metals and Autism-Related Symptoms—A Nonlinear Statistical Analysis with Cross Validation

2015 - Journal of Clinical Microbiology: Definitive Identification of Laribacter hongkongensis Acquired in the United States

2014 - BioMed Research International: Aluminium Involvement in Neurotoxicity

Controversy

Their tests have proven controversial because of the four lawsuits that have been filed by people who say that Doctor's Data victimized them by diagnosing them as having toxic metal poisoning based on their urinalysis tests, and then prescribing them chelation therapy. According to Patricia Callahan, the problem with these tests and the way they are interpreted is that, after administering a chelator to their patients, "Doctor's Data...compared those drug-provoked results to a reference range calculated for people who had never been given a chelation drug."[2] In addition, they have faced considerable criticism from Stephen Barrett, who has described how provoked urine test reports are used to mislead patients.[3] and has also written negatively about hair analysis in general, which he contends is "unscientific, economically wasteful, and probably illegal."[4] Arthur Allen has also criticized the methodology of their urina tests, saying that they "...present the results [from their urine analysis tests] in such a way that it almost guarantees a finding of "toxicity" for each child."[5] In response to this criticism, Doctor's Data president Ted Lueken argued that "the technique can be valuable when used along with other tests and a doctor's knowledge of his patient."[6] Doctor's Data later sued Barrett on June 18, 2010, accusing him of "...harm[ing] Doctor's Data by transmitting false, fraudulent and defamatory information about this company in a variety of ways" in his writings about the company.[7] Most parts of the suit have been dismissed, and the rest was settled amicably in July 2017.

References

  1. ↑ "Doctor's Data Specialty Testing Clinical Laboratory | Doctor's Data". www.doctorsdata.com. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  2. ↑ Tsouderos, Trine (4 March 2010). "Doctors sued over 'dangerous' autism treatment". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  3. ↑ Barrett, Stephen (14 August 2013). "Doctor's Data Facing Multiple Lawsuits". Quackwatch. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  4. ↑ Barrett S (1985). "Commercial hair analysis. Science or scam?". JAMA. 254 (8): 1041–5. doi:10.1001/jama.1985.03360080053028. PMID 4021042.
  5. ↑ http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2009/04/treating_autism_as_if_vaccines_caused_it.html
  6. ↑ Associated Press (25 August 1985). "Hair Analysis Labs Criticized". New York Times. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  7. ↑ Barrett, Stephen (26 July 2012). "Why Doctor's Data Is Trying to Shut Me Up". Quackwatch. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
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