Sam Chachoua
Samir "Sam" Chachoua is an Australian alternative medicine practitioner, trained as a medical doctor. He is not actively licensed to practice medicine in Australia[1] or the United States. Chachoua offers treatments in Mexico that he claims to be effective alternative medicine vaccine therapies for cancer and HIV,[2] among other diseases. His claims lack scientific support, and are disputed by medical authorities.[3]
Theories
Chachoua's treatments depend on theories he has named, including "Induced Remission Therapy" and "The Nemesis Theory", i.e. "for every disease there is an anti-disease organism capable of destroying it and restoring health".[3]
For treatment of HIV, Chachoua vaccinates patients with Caprine arthritis encephalitis virus, which is known to cross-react immunologically with HIV.[4] He claims to have eradicated HIV from the nation of Comoros in 2006.[5] This claim has been refuted by Savlator Niyonzima, the UNAIDS country director of Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius, and Seychelles.[6] As of 2012, the adult HIV prevalence in Comoros was 2.1%, higher than the global prevalence of HIV in adults at 0.8%.[7][8]
Lawsuit
In 1997, Chachoua filed a lawsuit in the Los Angeles US District Court against Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Chachoua stated that he had shared his cell cultures with them, but after the results had been published, the medical center claimed both the material and the credit. The only issues that made it to trial were Chachoa's claims of breach of contract and of a conspiracy to defame him.[9] Although Chachoua prevailed on his breach of contract claim, the trial court reduced the verdict to $11,250, the amount Chachoua had paid for the testing of his samples, and gave Chachoua the choice of accepting that amount or a new trial on the breach of contract claim.[9] Chachoua requested a new trial.[9] The lawsuit was dismissed by Judge Margaret M. Morrow on November 13, 2001, due to Chachoua's “history of repeatedly disobeying court orders and resort to other dilatory tactics” and his “pattern of misconduct [that] spanned the tenures of several different attorneys.” [10] Chachoua was later successfully sued by one of his lawyers for unpaid legal fees and costs, losing a counterclaim in which he accused her of legal malpractice.[11]
Charlie Sheen
In an episode of The Dr. Oz Show taped in late 2015 and aired January 12, 2016, Charlie Sheen said he had been receiving alternative treatment for HIV in Mexico from Chachoua, stating "I'm [sic] been off my meds for about a week now"; according to his manager, however, after the episode was taped he resumed taking his medications.[12][13]
In the course of his treatment of Sheen, Chachoua claims that he injected himself with Sheen's blood.[14] Sheen has stated that Chachoua may have switched the needle before injecting himself with blood.[6] Chachoua has claimed that his treatments rendered Sheen HIV negative, despite the fact that Sheen continues to be HIV positive.[13][15] Sheen has claimed that Chachoua unlawfully administered treatments in the United States,[16] where he is not licensed to practice medicine.[17]
References
- ^ "Registration Details, Samir Chachoua". Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
- ^ Garcia, Ana. "NBC4 News Clip". NBC4 Los Angeles. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
- ^ a b "Induced Remission Therapy (IRT)", Stephen Barrett, M.D., Quackwatch
- ^ Tesoro-Cruz E, Hernández-González R, Kretschmer-Schmid R, Aguilar-Setién A (2003). "Cross-reactivity between caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus and type 1 human immunodeficiency virus". Arch. Med. Res. 34 (5): 362–6. doi:10.1016/j.arcmed.2003.08.001. PMID 14602501.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Parry, Hannah (January 31, 2016). "'I've cured countries!' Doctor who injected himself with Charlie Sheen's HIV-positive blood makes astonishing claims of goat's milk treatment". Daily Mail. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
- ^ a b Juzwiak, Rich. "Dr. Oz Airs Debunks Claims Charlie Sheen's Former Quack Made on Real Time". Gawker. Retrieved 2016-02-12.
- ^ "UNICEF Cormoros Statistics". UNICEF. United Nations. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
- ^ "Prevalence of HIV among adults aged 15-49 (%)". World Health Organization. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
- ^ a b c Hall, Harriet. "Charlie Sheen's HIV Goat Milk Doctor". Skeptic.com. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
- ^ "Opinion and order granting plaintiff's motion for default judgment as to complaint and denying as moot plaintiff's motion to dismiss counterclaim",US Government Printing Office
- ^ "Hansen v. Chachoua". Google Scholar. Google. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
- ^ "Charlie Sheen Temporarily Went Off HIV Medications to Seek Alternative Treatment in Mexico: 'So What? I Was Born Dead'", Aaron Couch, People Magazine, January 12, 2016
- ^ a b Rich Juzwiak. "Supposed Doctor Who Injected Himself With Charlie Sheen's HIV-Positive Blood: "I've Cured Countries!"". Gawker. Gawker Media. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- ^ Alexander, Harriet (January 16, 2016). "Charlie Sheen's HIV doctor injected himself with Sheen's blood". The Telegraph. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
- ^ Bill Maher Full Interview Sam Chachoua on Charlie Sheens & The Cure for HIV/AIDS. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016 – via YouTube.
- ^ Parry, Hannah (February 1, 2016). "It was illegal for you to treat me': Charlie Sheen blasts doctor who claimed to have cured him of HIV with goats milk and told him to go off anti-viral meds". Daily Mail. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
- ^ Kramer, Peter (January 13, 2016). "Charlie Sheen quit HIV meds for "alternative" treatment". CBS News. Retrieved February 2, 2016.