David Emerson Root

David Emerson Root (born March, 1936) is an American physician known for promoting L. Ron Hubbard's controversial Purification Rundown to treat chemical exposure.

David E. Root
BornMarch 1936
Salt Lake City, Utah
NationalityAmerican
Known forDetoxification, Scientology
Medical career
Sub-specialtiesOccupational and Environmental Medicine
Websitehttps://www.getdetoxinated.com/, https://somg.net/

Professional life

Root received his medical degree from Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Bowman Gray Campus, Winston-Salem, NC, in 1962. He served 20 years in the United States Air Force before retiring in 1980 with the rank of Colonel[1] as Chief Flight Surgeon and Senior Pilot.

In 1982 Root began implementing the medically unorthodox sauna detoxification method, developed in 1978 by American author and Church of Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard, from his Sacramento, California, practice in a joint venture with the HealthMed Clinic, run by Scientologists and backed by the Los Angeles-based Scientology front organization named "The Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Education",[2] (FASE). Root is listed as the Medical Director of HealthMed and the Senior Medical Advisor of FASE.[3]

He was the Senior Medical Advisor to the "International Academy of Detoxification Specialists",[4] a subsidiary of Scientology front group New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project.[5]

Criticism

Scientists independent of Scientology describe the Hubbard Method as quackery,[2][6] unproven[7] and medically unsafe.[8] The Scientology operated Narconon drug rehabilitation centers, for which Root is a member of the Science Advisory Board,[9] has garnered considerable controversy as a result of its origins in Scientology and its methods. After reviewing materials published by Narconon, University of Oklahoma biochemistry professor Bruce Roe described the program as "a scam" based on "half-truths and pseudo-science."[10]

Other activities

In a 1987 California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board award, Root's testimony helped annul a 1986 denial of insurance on a claimed injury to the petitioner's skin, gastrointestinal tract and other organs from cumulative exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the course of his employment. The petitioner recovered his detoxification costs,[11] and this ruling paved the way for other workers' compensation cases involving Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, a controversial diagnosis which is not generally accepted by medical science.[12]

Claimed positive subjective results from the New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project convinced Utah State Attorney General Mark Shurtleff to fund the Utah Meth Cops Project with over $440,000 in taxpayer dollars to treat police who complain of health effects from exposure to meth lab toxins.[13]

Published works
  • David, E. Root; Gerald, T. Lionelli (1 January 1987). "Excretion of a lipophilic toxicant through the sebaceous glands: a case report". Journal of Toxicology: Cutaneous and Ocular Toxicology. 6 (1): 13–17. doi:10.3109/15569528709052160. ISSN 0731-3829.
  • Root, D.; Anderson, Joan (April 1986). "Reducing Toxic Body Burdens Advancing an Innovative Technique". Occupational Health and Safety. 11 (4).

Research studies funded

Gulf War syndrome

In an effort to validate their subjective detoxification results while providing relief to the American vets suffering from Gulf War Syndrome, FASE set out to secure funding for a comprehensive research study through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). Root's testimony in 1998 to the Presidential Special Oversight Board For Department of Defense Investigations of Gulf War Chemical & Biological Incidents,[14] and to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), led to an official recommendation by CDC that detoxification be studied as a treatment option for Gulf War veterans. The $633,677.00 grant, titled "Gulf War Illness: Evaluation of an Innovative Detoxification Program" was awarded in September, 2010.[15]

Utah Meth Cops project

In 2012, a peer-reviewed report of the findings from the Utah Meth Cops Project study was published on PubMed.Gov of the US National Library of Medicine for the National Institute of Health.[16]

The report concludes, "This investigation strongly suggests that utilizing sauna and nutritional therapy may alleviate chronic symptoms appearing after chemical exposures associated with methamphetamine-related law enforcement activities. This report also has relevance to addressing the apparent ill effects of other complex chemical exposures. In view of the positive clinical outcomes in this group, broader investigation of this sauna-based treatment regimen appears warranted."[16]

References
  1. Veterans History Project Col. David E. Root, M.D., M.P.H. (Ret.) "The Library of Congress American Folklife Center", 13 April 2007, Retrieved 2016-01-13
  2. Sappell, Joel; Robert W. Welkos (June 27, 1990). "Church Seeks Influence in Schools, Business, Science". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
  3. David E Root, M.D., M.P.H.Advisors and Associates "Foundation for Advancements in Science and Education", Retrieved 2016-01-18
  4. DeSio, John (June 6, 2007). "The Rundown on Scientology's Purification Rundown". New York Press. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
  5. Sappell, Joel; Robert W. Welkos (June 27, 1990). "Church Seeks Influence in Schools, Business, Science". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
  6. O'Donnell, Michelle (October 4, 2003). "Scientologist's Treatments Lure Firefighters". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-01-24.
  7. Ernst, Edzard (August 17, 2012). "Scientology detox programmes: expensive and unproven". The Guardian US. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
  8. "Church's purification course unsafe - expert". The Irish Times. February 6, 2003. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
  9. David E. Root, MD, MPH, DABPM Member Narconon Science Advisory Board Narconon, Retrieved 2016-01-18
  10. Carey, Art (October 7, 2007). "Clinic's results make 9/11 responders believe". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2007-10-24.
  11. Channell, J (October 19, 1987). "Kyles v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd". Court of Appeals of California, First District, Division Four - Docket No. A037375. Retrieved 2016-01-24.
  12. Gibbons, John (April 1991). "Identifying and Controlling Immunotoxic Substances". Congress of the United States - Office of Technology Assessment. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
  13. Carlisle, Nate; Rosetta, Lisa (November 8, 2007). "Meth cops swear they can sweat off toxins". Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on December 28, 2007. Retrieved 2016-01-24.
  14. http://www.gulflink.osd.mil Presidential Special Oversight Board For Department Of Defense Investigations Of Gulf War Chemical And Biological Incidents "GulfLINK", Retrieved 2015-11-20
  15. Award Number W81XWH-10-1-1004 Department Of Defense - Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Award "Gulf War Illness: Evaluation of an Innovative Detoxification Program", Retrieved 2016-01-13
  16. Ross, Gerald H.; Sternquist, Marie C. (September 2012). "Methamphetamine exposure and chronic illness in police officers: significant improvement with sauna-based detoxification therapy". Toxicology and Industrial Health. 28 (8): 758–768. doi:10.1177/0748233711425070. ISSN 1477-0393. PMC 3573677. PMID 22089658.
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