Warning on internet 'miracle medicines'

Published on Monday 10 November 2008 22:15

PATIENTS should not place "false hope" in promises made by untested internet miracle cures, medical experts warned.

An independent medical charity, Sense About Science, said yesterday that many vulnerable patients were being duped by "surreptitious promotion and misleading stories" online and were spending thousands of pounds on drugs that had no proven effectiveness.

The charity said it was worried about "the emotional and financial costs of over-hyped treatment claims that sell false hope".

Tracey Brown, the managing director of Sense About Science, said: "We've been contacted by so many people exhausted from the pressure they feel to try advertised treatments, dietary regimes and exercises.

"One person told us how the last years of his wife's life were spent endlessly pursuing new treatments, from goat's-blood serums to unlicensed stem-cell treatments abroad, all to no avail."

To assist, the charity has published a guide that explains how to tell the beneficial drugs from the bogus.