Dr. Anthony Galea

[DR.OK]

What do you think about Dr. Anthony Galea ?

 

The news:http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto-sports-doctor-makes-plea-deal-in-high-profile-us-felony-charges/article2083599/

[Cubelogger]

It's sad how stuff like this still goes on. I mean, if the allegations are indeed true, then it puts black marks not only on the medical community, but upon the world of professional sports as well. It undermines the efforts of all of the honest people out there and makes us wonder, why?

[Jochi1543]

It's sad how stuff like this still goes on. I mean, if the allegations are indeed true, then it puts black marks not only on the medical community, but upon the world of professional sports as well.

 

They use illegal substances in professional sports?!?!?!?!?!

[medigeek]

It's sad how stuff like this still goes on. I mean, if the allegations are indeed true, then it puts black marks not only on the medical community, but upon the world of professional sports as well. It undermines the efforts of all of the honest people out there and makes us wonder, why?

 

lol you didnt know pro sports = drugs?

[medsport]

If you inject GH into an avascular tissue is it performance enhancing? GH has to signal the liver to produce IGF-1 in order for this treatment to be a performance enhancer. The cartilage of the knee is avascular and this is where the injections were.

 

Although it is illegal to bring GH across the border it is still debatable about whether the procedures were illegal or even whether they were performance enhancing. Were the treatments evidence based? Well, no but that doesn't mean they are necessarily wrong just not something a 3rd party will pay for.

 

Actevogen is a naturopathic substance. It is used over the counter in Europe. It is not a dangerous substance but does provide good recovery for athletes. Lance Armstrong used it openly on the tour because it was not illegal (this has changed now). The attention the media pays to this issue is simply ignorance.

 

Dr. Galea may not be perfect but I have seen him operate professionally and he is the embodiment of what it means to be a doctor. He is an alchemist who works for the betterment of the patient. His focus is to utilize every modality to help someone have the best quality of life they can. Ironically, although he is now world famous for a plasma spinning technique, in truth his real genius is that he makes the most individualistic clinical decisions based on years of experience that one could imagine. Plasma treatments are one tool in a wide variety of legal implements at his disposal.

 

Genius has always encountered opposition from mediocre minds. He is simply ahead of us. His plasma spinning will be standard of care 20 years from now. When "The American Journal of Sports Medicine" begins to publish RCT after RCT confirming what he already knew, practiced and proved empirically through case series and we stood around wondering whether it was legal to help people heal maybe we will start getting the picture. I just hope doctors like him don't give up leading the way because we are too cowardly, conforming and critical of those who try to change the paradigm.

[medguy5367]

If you inject GH into an avascular tissue is it performance enhancing? GH has to signal the liver to produce IGF-1 in order for this treatment to be a performance enhancer. The cartilage of the knee is avascular and this is where the injections were.

 

Although it is illegal to bring GH across the border it is still debatable about whether the procedures were illegal or even whether they were performance enhancing. Were the treatments evidence based? Well, no but that doesn't mean they are necessarily wrong just not something a 3rd party will pay for.

 

Actevogen is a naturopathic substance. It is used over the counter in Europe. It is not a dangerous substance but does provide good recovery for athletes. Lance Armstrong used it openly on the tour because it was not illegal (this has changed now). The attention the media pays to this issue is simply ignorance.

 

Dr. Galea may not be perfect but I have seen him operate professionally and he is the embodiment of what it means to be a doctor. He is an alchemist who works for the betterment of the patient. His focus is to utilize every modality to help someone have the best quality of life they can. Ironically, although he is now world famous for a plasma spinning technique, in truth his real genius is that he makes the most individualistic clinical decisions based on years of experience that one could imagine. Plasma treatments are one tool in a wide variety of legal implements at his disposal.

 

Genius has always encountered opposition from mediocre minds. He is simply ahead of us. His plasma spinning will be standard of care 20 years from now. When "The American Journal of Sports Medicine" begins to publish RCT after RCT confirming what he already knew, practiced and proved empirically through case series and we stood around wondering whether it was legal to help people heal maybe we will start getting the picture. I just hope doctors like him don't give up leading the way because we are too cowardly, conforming and critical of those who try to change the paradigm.

 

Nice to meet you, Dr. Galea

 

I didn't know qualified MDs frequented this forum as well.

[medsport]

I'm not Galea.

[Mourning Cloak]

Ironically, although he is now world famous for a plasma spinning technique, in truth his real genius is that he makes the most individualistic clinical decisions based on years of experience that one could imagine. Plasma treatments are one tool in a wide variety of legal implements at his disposal.

 

A) This isn't irony. Thanks a bunch Alanis.

 

This "plasma spinning technique" has been used for decades in the US to made platelets for transfusion, and until recently was used across Canada as well. To the best of my knowledge, this was pioneered by Emil J Freireich in 1955.

 

Emil J. Freireich, circa 2010. His parents were Hungarian immigrants to Chicago who lost their livelihood when the great depression struck; his father died soon after. His mother worked in a sweat shop to support her two young children. Emil, impressed by a local physician's professionalism and dedication whom he met when he was 12, decided to become a doctor, and entered medical school in Illinois at the age of seventeen.

 

C) Platelet rich plasma therapy (technically, the manufacture of the PRP) is a violation of federal law in Canada*.

 

*I can explain why, but it's a long explanation. Read this first, and if you have any questions, post them.

[psychoswim]

C) Platelet rich plasma therapy (technically, the manufacture of the PRP) is a violation of federal law in Canada*.

 

Really? I couldn't see where it said anything beyond being regulated, and it's quite widespread in the country by now. I know at least a few friends who had PRP injections done after shoulder or knee injuries.

[thebouque]

Nice to meet you, Dr. Galea

 

I didn't know qualified MDs frequented this forum as well.

 

What? You didn't know about Ian Wong?????

[Mourning Cloak]

Really? I couldn't see where it said anything beyond being regulated, and it's quite widespread in the country by now. I know at least a few friends who had PRP injections done after shoulder or knee injuries.

 

Yup. The production of blood products for re-introduction into the human body is regulated under the Food and Drug Act in Canada (e.g. the regulations are entrenched in legislation e.g. are federal law). Long story short, blood and blood products are handled as "drugs" by Health Canada. To manufacture drugs (including blood products) you must have a manufacturer's license from Health Canada.

 

Only two manufacturers for blood products are licensed in Canada (to the best of my knowledge): Canadian Blood Services and Hema Quebec.

 

If you manufacture drugs (including blood products) without said license, you are in violation of federal law. I completely believe you when you say that there are labs out there doing this without permission, but it is still illegal and Health Canada could use this federal legislation to convict these labs, if they so chose.

 

I wonder if some of the felonies they're charging this guy with will be related to the Health Canada Food and Drug Act.

[psychoswim]

Yup. The production of blood products for re-introduction into the human body is regulated under the Food and Drug Act in Canada. (Long story short, blood and blood products are handled as "drugs" by Health Canada). To manufacture drugs (including blood products) you must have a manufacturer's license from Health Canada.

 

Only two manufacturers for blood products are licensed in Canada: Canadian Blood Services and Hema Quebec.

 

If you manufacture drugs (including blood products) without said license, you are in violation of federal law. I completely believe you when you say that there are labs out there doing this without permission, but it is still illegal and Health Canada could use this federal legislation to convict these labs, if they so chose.

 

I wonder if some of the felonies they're charging this guy with will be related to the Health Canada Food and Drug Act.

 

No idea!

 

And it's not hidden labs either... one friend had PRP injected by her ortho at UWO if I'm not mistaken.

[Mourning Cloak]

Just read the linked article more carefully:

 

"Court documents filed in Buffalo Friday reveal that Dr. Anthony Galea has reached a deal with prosecutors. He is charged with five felony offences in the U.S. and two less serious charges under Canadian customs and food and drug laws."

 

They got Al Capone on tax evasion

 

And I'd better put a caveat on it: I'm not aware that anyone other than CBS and HQ has permission to manufacture blood products, but I'm not an expert. For all I know UWO has sought & received permission to do so; of course, if they haven't, they'd better watch out

[medsport]

It isn't a long story. It's not illegal. Period.

[Mourning Cloak]

It isn't a long story. It's not illegal. Period.

 

It's illegal to manufacture drugs in this country without a license from Health Canada.

 

Blood products are drugs.

 

Period.

 

However, it does not appear that his Canadian charges include these. I get the impression this all took place in the US, where manufacture of blood products may not fall under federal law. In Canada, he's being nailed for: "selling Actovegin, conspiracy to import an unapproved drug, conspiracy to export a drug and smuggling." He got lucky in the US: guilty and pending sentencing, but it looks like he skated on the "practicing medicine without a license" thing. He obviously was practicing medicine without a license in the US, and in my opinion should pay the price.

 

http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/article/1020744--toronto-sports-doctor-anthony-galea-accepts-u-s-plea-deal-in-doping-case?bn=1

 

I have seen him operate professionally and he is the embodiment of what it means to be a doctor.

 

[MD2015]

Professionals guilty of illegal acts must realize that if and when caught, they will pay the penalty. I do not have sympathize for those who take such risks. Greed, poor choices, the desire for publicity, and inappropriate feelings of one's own self-importance have led more than one doctor down the path toward self-destruction.

[apache]

it's not a good idea to come up with novel ideas in medicine as a doctor, the ama and pharma companies are like the mafia and you're their street drug dealers... the government will arrest you and the media will spin-doctors will spin your story... it's like the fact that now they're testing mdma, ketamine, and lsd for psychiatric purposes... the guys that were doing that work 20-40 years ago got arrested... because the fda is a protectionist organization owned by pharma... is it any wonder SSRE's aren't on the market... they're not safe of course... they've been used in countries like France for 40 years, and we all know how voodoo French medicine is...

 

If you inject GH into an avascular tissue is it performance enhancing? GH has to signal the liver to produce IGF-1 in order for this treatment to be a performance enhancer. The cartilage of the knee is avascular and this is where the injections were.

 

Although it is illegal to bring GH across the border it is still debatable about whether the procedures were illegal or even whether they were performance enhancing. Were the treatments evidence based? Well, no but that doesn't mean they are necessarily wrong just not something a 3rd party will pay for.

 

Actevogen is a naturopathic substance. It is used over the counter in Europe. It is not a dangerous substance but does provide good recovery for athletes. Lance Armstrong used it openly on the tour because it was not illegal (this has changed now). The attention the media pays to this issue is simply ignorance.

 

Dr. Galea may not be perfect but I have seen him operate professionally and he is the embodiment of what it means to be a doctor. He is an alchemist who works for the betterment of the patient. His focus is to utilize every modality to help someone have the best quality of life they can. Ironically, although he is now world famous for a plasma spinning technique, in truth his real genius is that he makes the most individualistic clinical decisions based on years of experience that one could imagine. Plasma treatments are one tool in a wide variety of legal implements at his disposal.

 

Genius has always encountered opposition from mediocre minds. He is simply ahead of us. His plasma spinning will be standard of care 20 years from now. When "The American Journal of Sports Medicine" begins to publish RCT after RCT confirming what he already knew, practiced and proved empirically through case series and we stood around wondering whether it was legal to help people heal maybe we will start getting the picture. I just hope doctors like him don't give up leading the way because we are too cowardly, conforming and critical of those who try to change the paradigm.

[apache]

this is ridiculous, if i was in power (say i paid off half the fda, or was on the dsm committee (which is only a handful of ppl arbitrarily making up disorders, usually half of whom are on pharma's payroll and make up new disorders to extend the patent of an old drug for a "new use extensions"... i.e. social anxiety disorder, fibromyalgia)) and making the laws would you agree that my vision of the law was appropriate and that anyone who broke them must face the consequences of the mafia's justice system... i could drastically broaden the criteria of adhd so everyone can get their hands on amphetamines (which were completely taken off the market in canada a few years back for a short time), i could also outlaw accutane for cosmetic purposes and say the risks outweigh the benefits (which wouldn't be an entirely hard argument to make) and you better believe there would be plenty of people smuggling accutane into canada... it annoys me when people don't realize that 99 percent of medicine is a business and confuse it for people trying to hold up the ethical best interest of the patient... wtf shouldn't these guys be allowed to use hgh if they understand the risks? like have you seen these acne (accutane) clinics around here... being willing to write scripts for the stuff is a full on business... it really annoys me that medicine selects for drones with no interest in politics or have any critical tendencies, they may make great individual doctors but they let the medicine as a whole fall to pieces

 

Professionals guilty of illegal acts must realize that if and when caught, they will pay the penalty. I do not have sympathize for those who take such risks. Greed, poor choices, the desire for publicity, and inappropriate feelings of one's own self-importance have led more than one doctor down the path toward self-destruction.

[MD2015]

He may be a great doctor and a nice guy, but he knowingly broke the law and is suffering the consequences.

[apache]

I don't get where the unquestioned reverence and belief that the law is intended to do good becomes an a prior a assumption, medical law is capricious and is bought and sold everyday for corporate interests. If the people making the laws are unethical in their behaviour why are people who question the authority of the crooked lawmakers deserving of punishment. The DSM is a prime example, once second generation antipsychotics came out, the corporate shill psychs on pharma's payroll created pediatric bipolar, whereas before, no one could be diagnosed with bipolar until age 18. How can you realistically sell that a 5 year old kid is diagnosable bipolar, oh well, I guess if it gets more Abilify off the shelves, maybe they can make some more money on diabetes and anti-Parkinson's drugs in the process.

 

Suffering the consequences is a lot different from deserving to suffer the consequences, the people who should be locked up are the bought out "thought leaders" in medicine.

 

He may be a great doctor and a nice guy, but he knowingly broke the law and is suffering the consequences.

[MD2015]

A professional, especially a physician, takes a huge risk with respect to A] his/her licence to practice medicine and B] going to jail by deciding to do something that is criminal. Its not worth it and it is arrogance or poor judgment to believe you won't get caught. I just don't get it.

[Nobodycirclesthewagons]

I don't get where the unquestioned reverence and belief that the law is intended to do good becomes an a prior a assumption, medical law is capricious and is bought and sold everyday for corporate interests. If the people making the laws are unethical in their behaviour why are people who question the authority of the crooked lawmakers deserving of punishment. The DSM is a prime example, once second generation antipsychotics came out, the corporate shill psychs on pharma's payroll created pediatric bipolar, whereas before, no one could be diagnosed with bipolar until age 18. How can you realistically sell that a 5 year old kid is diagnosable bipolar, oh well, I guess if it gets more Abilify off the shelves, maybe they can make some more money on diabetes and anti-Parkinson's drugs in the process.

 

Suffering the consequences is a lot different from deserving to suffer the consequences, the people who should be locked up are the bought out "thought leaders" in medicine.

 

Great posts, muse. A lot of legislation is founded in business, it's true.

[Mourning Cloak]

medical law is capricious and is bought and sold everyday for corporate interests

 

You make it sound like this guy was smuggling AIDS drugs to orphans in Africa.

 

His interests are as corporate as any drug company's = make $$$.

 

He got off too easy. They should have charged him in the US with practicing medicine without a license. There isn't any excuse for this sort of behaviour.

[future_doc]

^ +1 agreed