From Alzheimer’s to Zebrafish: Eclectic Science and Regulatory Stories 6
Just in case his followers might become dubious, Ghadiali told then that the
Spectro-chrome was not a lamp, but an original science founded upon the physical and
metaphysical laws of nature for governing all life on earth.
FDA did not concur. In July 1944, following more than five years of active investiga-
tion, the first in a series of Ghadiali’s devices was seized.16 A libel action was filed in a
New York court claiming misbranding and barring the devices from interstate commerce.
With a revised label, the Spectro-chrome continued to be sold. After another series of
actions, a criminal trial was held on 26 October 1946. The trial lasted for more than two
months. Ghadiali was convicted, fined $20,000, and placed on probation for five years.
When the probation period ended, he resumed activities as head of his institute, but with
reduced vigor (he was almost 80 at the time). Finally, a federal judge issued a permanent
injunction against Ghadiali and the Spectro-chrome. From that point on, and hastened
by the death of Ghadiali in 1966, use of the Spectro-chrome declined into the clandestine
movement it is today.
The 1950s to the Present
Many worthless cure-all machines were still being sold in the 1950s and 1960s. In fact,
FDA and AMA held a National Congress on Medical Quackery in 1961 in Washington,
DC. This was followed by a second congress in 1963. Included in its proceedings were
a list of enforcement actions and an update on FDA progress in cracking down on fake
devices. During the two years prior to the report, FDA had seized 111 different mis-
branded or worthless devices. Some of the products seized under court order were the
Super Health Magnetic Bracelet, the Micro-Dynameter, the Niblack Home Pony, the K-
and F-Diatherapuncteur and the Moser Feinstrom S4. The latter two devices consisted of
meters, dials, switches and a variety of electrodes and promised (as did the Oscilloclast)
to diagnose and alleviate most diseases. The manufacturer of the Moser S4 went one step
further, stating that use of the device would provide a “galvanic complete bath,” acting
as a preventative against numerous health impairments. The Micro-Dynameter had been
sold to thousands of health practitioners across the country for $975. This device was no
more than an updated version of an Abrams contraption. It relied on a galvanometer with
adjustable resistances to produce a variety of readings. Government witnesses discredited
the reputed diagnostic value of these readings when it was demonstrated that similar
readings could be obtained from corpses as could be obtained from living patients.
The 1976 amendments have addressed the major weaknesses in the FD&C Act. There
is also a compliance policy guide (CPG 7150.10) from the division of field regulatory guid-
ance that outlines a regulatory action plan for quack devices that present direct or indirect
health hazards. Nevertheless, we continue to witness the promotion of products such as
weight reduction belts, hair restorers and bust developers. The old-time hokum still exists
and will persist as long as vanity, dishonesty and incurable diseases endure. Quackery, it
seems, is a part of medical device history we will never escape.
References
1. Young JH. The Medical Messiahs: A Social History of Health Quackery in Twentieth-Century American. Princeton,
Princeton University Press, 1967, pp 162–186.
2. Young HH. The Toad Stool Millionaires: A Social History of Patent Medicines in American Before Federal Regulation.
Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1961, p 16.
3. Holbrook SH. The Golden Age of Quackery. New York, MacMillian, 1959, pp 34–128.
4. Janssen WF. “The Gadget Quacks,” FDA Consumer, pp 5-11, February 1977.
5. Roth N. “Elisha Perkins and the ‘Terrible Tractors,’” Med Instrum, 11:176, 1977.
6. Op cit 3.
7. “Editorial: The Electronic Reactions of Abrams,” Hygeia, 2:658–659, 1924.
8. Page EW. “Portrait of a Quack,” Hygeia, 17:53, 54, 94 and 95, 1939.
9. Bailey DM. “The Rise and Fall of Albert Abrams, A.M., M.D., FRMS,” J Okla State Med Assoc, 71(1):15–20, 1978.
10. Lescarboura AC. “On Abrams Investigation—VII. Queer Adventures and Queer People Met in our Quest of
the E.R.A. Truth,” Sci Am, 130:278–281, 1924.
Just in case his followers might become dubious, Ghadiali told then that the
Spectro-chrome was not a lamp, but an original science founded upon the physical and
metaphysical laws of nature for governing all life on earth.
FDA did not concur. In July 1944, following more than five years of active investiga-
tion, the first in a series of Ghadiali’s devices was seized.16 A libel action was filed in a
New York court claiming misbranding and barring the devices from interstate commerce.
With a revised label, the Spectro-chrome continued to be sold. After another series of
actions, a criminal trial was held on 26 October 1946. The trial lasted for more than two
months. Ghadiali was convicted, fined $20,000, and placed on probation for five years.
When the probation period ended, he resumed activities as head of his institute, but with
reduced vigor (he was almost 80 at the time). Finally, a federal judge issued a permanent
injunction against Ghadiali and the Spectro-chrome. From that point on, and hastened
by the death of Ghadiali in 1966, use of the Spectro-chrome declined into the clandestine
movement it is today.
The 1950s to the Present
Many worthless cure-all machines were still being sold in the 1950s and 1960s. In fact,
FDA and AMA held a National Congress on Medical Quackery in 1961 in Washington,
DC. This was followed by a second congress in 1963. Included in its proceedings were
a list of enforcement actions and an update on FDA progress in cracking down on fake
devices. During the two years prior to the report, FDA had seized 111 different mis-
branded or worthless devices. Some of the products seized under court order were the
Super Health Magnetic Bracelet, the Micro-Dynameter, the Niblack Home Pony, the K-
and F-Diatherapuncteur and the Moser Feinstrom S4. The latter two devices consisted of
meters, dials, switches and a variety of electrodes and promised (as did the Oscilloclast)
to diagnose and alleviate most diseases. The manufacturer of the Moser S4 went one step
further, stating that use of the device would provide a “galvanic complete bath,” acting
as a preventative against numerous health impairments. The Micro-Dynameter had been
sold to thousands of health practitioners across the country for $975. This device was no
more than an updated version of an Abrams contraption. It relied on a galvanometer with
adjustable resistances to produce a variety of readings. Government witnesses discredited
the reputed diagnostic value of these readings when it was demonstrated that similar
readings could be obtained from corpses as could be obtained from living patients.
The 1976 amendments have addressed the major weaknesses in the FD&C Act. There
is also a compliance policy guide (CPG 7150.10) from the division of field regulatory guid-
ance that outlines a regulatory action plan for quack devices that present direct or indirect
health hazards. Nevertheless, we continue to witness the promotion of products such as
weight reduction belts, hair restorers and bust developers. The old-time hokum still exists
and will persist as long as vanity, dishonesty and incurable diseases endure. Quackery, it
seems, is a part of medical device history we will never escape.
References
1. Young JH. The Medical Messiahs: A Social History of Health Quackery in Twentieth-Century American. Princeton,
Princeton University Press, 1967, pp 162–186.
2. Young HH. The Toad Stool Millionaires: A Social History of Patent Medicines in American Before Federal Regulation.
Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1961, p 16.
3. Holbrook SH. The Golden Age of Quackery. New York, MacMillian, 1959, pp 34–128.
4. Janssen WF. “The Gadget Quacks,” FDA Consumer, pp 5-11, February 1977.
5. Roth N. “Elisha Perkins and the ‘Terrible Tractors,’” Med Instrum, 11:176, 1977.
6. Op cit 3.
7. “Editorial: The Electronic Reactions of Abrams,” Hygeia, 2:658–659, 1924.
8. Page EW. “Portrait of a Quack,” Hygeia, 17:53, 54, 94 and 95, 1939.
9. Bailey DM. “The Rise and Fall of Albert Abrams, A.M., M.D., FRMS,” J Okla State Med Assoc, 71(1):15–20, 1978.
10. Lescarboura AC. “On Abrams Investigation—VII. Queer Adventures and Queer People Met in our Quest of
the E.R.A. Truth,” Sci Am, 130:278–281, 1924.