LIVE CELL ANALYSIS
(Investigator 177 2017 November)
History
Although Live Cell Analysis is comparatively new to Australia, it has
been around in the United States for some years.
Marketed by Livecell
Analysis Inc. of Laguna Hills, California; Nutriscreen Live Blood
Analysis, of Covina, California; and Physicians Cyto Laboratories, of
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, equipment and protocols for live cell
analysis can be purchased for upward of $10,000 to be used to identify
a wide variety of health problems by examining characteristics of blood
cells and other matter visible on the video screen. At least, that's
the claim of the companies selling the apparatus.
Theory
It is alleged that by using Darkfield microscopy, a sample of blood
taken from the finger is able to provide a composite of over
twenty-five aspects to observe multiple vitamin and mineral
deficiencies, toxicity, tendencies toward allergic reaction, excess fat
circulation, liver weakness and arteriosclerosis.
Practice
A drop of blood is placed on a microscope slide under a glass cover
strip to keep it from drying out. The slide is then viewed with a
darkfield microscope to which a television monitor has been attached.
Both the practitioner and the patient can then see the blood cells,
which appear as dark bodies outlined in white. Polaroid photographs of
the television picture may also be taken.
Assessment
Dark-field microscopy is a valid scientific tool in which special
lighting is used to examine specimens of cells and tissues.
Telepathology, in which a television monitor is connected to a
microscope, is also a legitimate practice for diagnostic purposes.
However, there are serious questions about both the value of live cell
analysis and the credibility of those promoting it. The test is useless
in diagnosing those conditions claimed by its proponents as the
following comparison of just four of the claims versus facts will
demonstrate.
Claim: Protoplasts — large
germs whose presence may indicate weakness
of the body's immune system.
Fact: Bacterial protoplasts
have poorly developed cell walls and are
not visible under dark-field illumination.
Claim: Waste (non-blood
material) in blood. Immune system or organs of
elimination are ineffective.
Fact: Although the levels of
waste products in the blood can be related
to the functioning of various organs (such as the kidneys), these
chemicals cannot be seen but require chemical tests to measure them.
Claim: Spicules (small slender
sharp-pointed pieces) may signify liver
or bowel toxicity.
Fact: Spicules are artifacts,
the most common causes of which are
contamination and drying of blood samples.
Claim: Allergy cell count — "High eosinophil count indicates
possible
allergy, food sensitivity or presence of parasites".
Fact: So many different
conditions can increase the number of
eosinophils that it is not valuable as a primary diagnostic tool. Even
if it were, the procedure is not suitable for counting eosinophils
accurately.
Dr. John Dwyer, professor of Medicine at the University of New South
Wales; head of School of Medicine at the Prince Henry / Prince of Wales
Hospitals, and a world authority on immunology, writing in the The
Wentworth Courier, May 15, 1996 said:
" ... While we are
discussing evidence-based medicine, I should comment
on the expensive nonsense called 'living blood tests'".
"Not infrequently these days, concerned patients will
come to our
clinics clutching under their arm a video which, they have been told,
contains the 'proof' of just how seriously ill they are. Liver
diseases, fungal infections sweeping through the bloodstream and
numerous other disasters that can produce everything from anxiety to
fatigue and even a loss of libido are said to be there for all to see.
Many unsuspecting, over-trusting souls may pay as much as $180 of their
hard-earned money for this misinformation. What is this particular
useless piece of charlatanism all about? Well, to carry out a 'living
blood test', blood is obtained from a gullible individual, placed on a
glass slide and photographed in living colour by a video camera
attached to a microscope. Well understood physical forces produce a
phenomenon know as 'Brownian movement' which ensures that, for a few
minutes after being placed on the slide, red blood cells will move
vigorously under the microscope as if they were alive and had a mind of
their own. In fact, such movement has nothing to do with health or
otherwise of the red blood cell, nor the health of their erstwhile
owner."
Live Cell Analysis is a mixture of science and pseudoscience. Caveat
emptor.
References:
Dwyer, Professor John. 1996. Live Cell Analysis, The Wentworth Courier, May 15,
1996.
Edwards, Harry. 1997. Blood Money, the
Skeptic, 17(1):32
Lowell, James A. 1986. Live Cell Analysis: High-Tech Hokum, Nutrition Forum, November 1986,
Vo1.3, No. 11.
From: Edwards, H. 1999 Alternative, Complementary, Holistic &
Spiritual Healing, Australian Skeptics Inc.