Stoking the Fear (Continued)

This is a brief follow-up to last Friday’s comments on how news and advertising use fear, especially the fear of death and illness, to sell products and capture viewers' attention. (When a study can point out that toasters and air purifiers cause indoor air pollution, eyebrows shoot up.)

Now comes another story highlighting how companies use the same tactics to sell products and services to fight aging.

“A company that charged patients thousands of dollars for infusions of blood plasma from younger donors said [recently] that it had stopped treating patients after the Food and Drug Administration warned consumers against such treatments, purported to prevent aging and memory loss.” That’s right, a company called Ambrosia, cleverly named after “the food or drink of the Greek gods, often depicted as conferring longevity or immortality upon whoever consumed it,” offered customers over the age of 35 an infusion of one liter of blood donated by 16- to 25-year-olds, all for only $8,000.

The FDA said that there was “no proof that plasma from young donors can be used as a treatment for dementia, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease or post-traumatic stress disorder, as some companies have claimed.” Plasma infusions are only approved for treating blood-clotting deficiencies in patients who are bleeding and in a few other very specialized cases. (Only one small study showed a slight benefit to Alzheimer's patients.)

Furthermore, the FDA warns that no matter how well screened they may be such treatments can result in: infections; serious allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, which can manifest as hives and airway obstruction; transfusion-related acute lung injury; overload of the circulatory system leading to swelling of the body and difficult breathing.

This company and others are operating outside of FDA guidelines and are charging big bucks for an unproven technology. These companies are capitalizing on that fear of aging and dying to prey on unwitting customers.

This one is just a single example. So many ads and news stories use the same tactics. Our only defense, as I wrote last time is to use critical thinking and perspective. If it seems too good to be true… 

It’s also odd that when people get outraged at corporations, they typically attack big companies such as banks, food conglomerates, Wal-Mart or McDonalds. At least these companies deliver a product that has some benefit. Companies like the ones above that offer products of zero or questionable value get little pushback, and it takes a government agency to warn everyone of potential dangers and about how they are wasting their money. Despite the lack of evidence and possible dangers, many still continue to patronize these and so many others like them. (See, for more evidence, all my previous blogs on dietary supplements.)