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Professor Edzard Ernst was once notable for being the first Professor of Complementary Medicine in the United Kingdom. Complementary medicine refers to a group of therapeutic and diagnostic disciplines that exist largely outside the institutions where conventional health care is taught and provided. ...

He is now most noted for being the highest ranking academic in the world of complementary and alternative medicines to have failed to grasp even the most basic principles of phytotherapeutic sciences. His continuing insistence that complex multidimensional herbal medicines should be subjected to the same reductionist scientific trials as reductionist drugs has alienated him from all Complementary and Alternative Medicine bodies.

It is now in serious question as to whether Professor Ernst really has the academic ability to fill his post. He is however, effectively self funded by a large donation, making it impossible to remove him and replace him with an academic that does have the neccessary greatness of mind to truly acheive advancement in phytotherapeutic sciences.

Applying science to CAM

Prof Ernst describes his approach[1] as applying science and not politics. But his failure to develop and apply new scientific research methods appropriate for the advancement in understanding of the multi dimensional nature of phytotherapeutic agents is a huge blow to public health and safety.

He claims that in mainland Europe complementary techniques are largely practiced by qualified physicians, whereas in the UK they are mainly practiced by others. In doing so, he fails to give credit to the highly trained medical herbalists, some of whom have trained for as long as eight years at reputable universities to achieve their qualifications.

For some years Ernst contributed a regular column in the Guardian newspaper, frequently reviewing news stories about complementary medicine from a so called evidence-based perspective. These articles continue to misinform and mislead the general public, as the lay person does not realise that applying reductionist methods to non-reductionist medicines is deeply flawed. The Guardian is a British newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. ...

He was attracted from his chair in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) at the University of Vienna to set up the department of Complementary Medicine at the University of Exeter in 1993 and became director of complementary medicine of the Peninsula Medical School (PMS) in 2002. He is the first occupant of the Laing^[1] chair in Complementary Medicine. He was born and trained in Germany and since 1999 has been a British citizen. The University of Vienna (German: ) is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. ... The University of Exeter (usually abbreviated as Exon. ... The Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry is a relatively new medical school run jointly by the University of Exeter and the University of Plymouth. ...

He is the editor in chief of two medical journals, Perfusion and FACT (Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies).

Other significant posts

Professor Ernst is a member of the 'Medicines Commission' of the British Medicines Control Agency(MCA) which determines what substances may be introduced and promoted as medicine. It is the current version of the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM). Once again, it is now highly questionable as to whether he really does have the neccesary greatness of mind for this post. He also sit on the 'Scientific Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products' of the 'Irish Medicines Board'. He is an external examiner for several university medical schools in several countries. He is a member of the advisory board of Altermed Research Foundation, which promotes scientific research of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (abbreviated MHRA) is a statutory body in the United Kingdom that seeks to find and eliminate harm in a medicinal product or device at any stage of its development or use thereby permitting graded (i. ... The Committee on the Safety of Medicines (CSM) was an independent advisory committee that for 40 years advised the UK Licensing Authority on the quality, efficacy and safety of medicines. ...

Notes

References

http://www.the-cma.org.uk/default.aspx?id=4107

See also

• House of Lords Science and Technology - Sixth Report on Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Prof Ernst testified and his department was visited.

External links