News & Events
Email offer of snake venom treatment should be dumped out of inboxes
20 June 2006
Unsolicited emails offering an expensive treatment for Motor Neurone Disease based on cobra venom should be deleted straight away, says the MND Association.
A company called Esperanza is currently sending details of its treatment in the form of “spam” emails, with testimonials from patients with neurological conditions whose condition allegedly improved after they tried the $15,000 treatment.
According to the emails, the treatment is a drug known as Alpha-Immunokine Peptide, and its active ingredient is a protein extracted from cobra venom. It is being marketed as a treatment for MND, multiple sclerosis and stroke.
The treatment has not been proven through conventional testing, in the form of clinical trials, and the evidence for its suggested scientific rationale appears conflicting and inaccurate.
Dr Belinda Cupid, Research Manager at the MND Association, said: “It is plainly wrong and exploitative for a clinic to charge a substantial fee for a treatment where there is no reliable evidence that it works.
“We understand it’s frustrating for people that there is no effective treatment currently available for themselves or their loved ones with MND. But people do need to consult with their neurologist before embarking on any unconventional or unproven treatment.”
A company called Esperanza is currently sending details of its treatment in the form of “spam” emails, with testimonials from patients with neurological conditions whose condition allegedly improved after they tried the $15,000 treatment.
According to the emails, the treatment is a drug known as Alpha-Immunokine Peptide, and its active ingredient is a protein extracted from cobra venom. It is being marketed as a treatment for MND, multiple sclerosis and stroke.
The treatment has not been proven through conventional testing, in the form of clinical trials, and the evidence for its suggested scientific rationale appears conflicting and inaccurate.
Dr Belinda Cupid, Research Manager at the MND Association, said: “It is plainly wrong and exploitative for a clinic to charge a substantial fee for a treatment where there is no reliable evidence that it works.
“We understand it’s frustrating for people that there is no effective treatment currently available for themselves or their loved ones with MND. But people do need to consult with their neurologist before embarking on any unconventional or unproven treatment.”
