Why don't more physicians know about Wilson's Syndrome?
It is estimated that less than 1 percent of America's M.D.s diagnose and treat for Wilson's Syndrome. Osteopaths, naturopaths, acupuncturists, and other 'alternative healers' are more open to the diagnosis, but for them, too, awareness is probably less than 5 percent.
Why should this be true if the syndrome is potentially widespread, as many treating doctors report, and methods for identifying and treating it were published in Dr. Wilson's groundbreaking book 20 years ago? And why are many doctors who have heard of Wilson's Syndrome inclined to dismiss it?
The short answer.
The short answer has two parts. One: Wilson discovered and announced his finding without proceeding along the lines of traditional research. Two: Wilson's unconventional approach earned a censure from his licensing board and later a ruling of no proof
from the American Thyroid Association. A more thorough explanation is available in How Wilson's Syndrome was discovered? - the full story.
If it works, why would doctors still not hear about it and try it?
The answer is the practice of defensive medicine. Because of the threat and the cost of lawsuits, most physicians will seldom, if ever, take a chance on new treatments without a strong defensible laboratory research, the kind that, for the most part, only pharmaceutical companies can afford. In a word, doctors dismiss new, unsubstantiated
treatments no matter how promising.
If it is as widespread as some treating doctors estimate ....
Why wouldn't pharmaceutical companies be attracted by the potential profit? The answer? The treatment which Wilson perfected uses a hormone that is no longer patentable. Pharmaceutical companies would never be able to justify the tremendous cost of validating a condition for which remedies already exist. Kind of a catch-22, isn't it?
Is it possible that Wilson's Syndrome will never find acceptance?
Evidence supporting Wilson's findings is mounting. In the last 10 years, at least five more doctors have written books in which they mention (or devote their entire book to) patients with symptoms of hypothyroidism but normal thyroid blood tests. They make up various names for the condition, and offer different theories for its cause, but it is clear that a large percentage of these patients are the ones Wilson identified and developed a treatment for ten to twenty years earlier. In 2000, Dr. Charles Resseger, the president-elect of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, was quoted as saying, after having treated approximately 500 patients, I have found that there are patients suffering from Wilson's Low Temperature Syndrome everywhere.
A second remedy was discovered
A second development adds to the weight of evidence. In 2004, Dr. Michael Friedman, a gifted professor of Naturopathy specializing in endocrine diseases (which includes the thyroid system) successfully formulated a botanical (herbal) treatment. Plants that have been used medicinally for several thousand years make up part of the treatment. Doctors' reports indicate the botanical treatment is as effective as the hormonal one Wilson discovered, yet it is much easier to provide.
Since 1992, when Wilson published his groundbreaking book it is estimated that over 100,000 patients in the U.S. have regained their health as a result of his discovery and the two treatments now available. But until a medical research university responds to the growing number of voices and invests grant dollars into research validation, it is only websites like this one that will support sufferers in identifying their condition and getting the guidance and products necessary to remedy it. That's the mission of Wilson's Syndrome Institute.
It is unfortunate that in the meantime millions of sufferers will continue to seek diagnosis and treatment from well meaning doctors only to be told they do not have an easily treatable low thyroid condition.
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[1] Wilson, D. (1991 - 2005) Doctor's Manual for Wilson's Temperature Syndrome. Lady Lake: WilsonsTemperatureSyndrome.com