[updated] CALMARE / Scrambler "Therapy": Its Validity Assessed in Graphic Form

Information copied from Yahoo! Finance at time of publication.
ADDENDUM 26 July 2013:  Day traders and other yahoos are having fun with their tiny, tiny, wee little... quickie investments!  A mere 24 hours later... CTTC opened at 19!  Then plummeted to 15!  Tidy little profits for marketeers of CALMARE, made off the pain and psychological confusion of CALMARE users/proponents.  They've petitioned the SEC for more public shares.... keep the scam alinve!  Keep the scam alive!

To see all SEC filings (good reading!), click HERE.

Company Profile:
Competitive Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiary, Vector Vision, Inc., provides patent and technology licensing and commercialization services worldwide. It identifies and commercializes technologies in life sciences, including medical testing, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, biotechnologies, medical devices, and other medical or biological applications; physical sciences comprising chemical, display, and environmental applications; electronics, which include communications, semiconductors, Internet related, e-commerce, and consumer electronics applications; and nanotechnologies that comprise the manipulation of microscopic particles into useful arrangements and novel materials. The company commercializes technologies originally invented by individuals, corporations, and universities. It serves product inventors, manufacturers, and distributors. The company was founded in 1968 and is based in Fairfield, Connecticut.

[EMPHASIS MINE.  Recall that Giuseppe Marineo, the Italian "inventor" of CALMARE,  -- originally marketed as a treatment to increase one's "longevity" -- turned out to have falsified his CV, being neither an electrical engineer nor a professor, as claimed, but an EXCELLENT patent producer.]

Competitive Technologies Inc. (CTTC)

 -OTC Markets

0.1430  0.0469(24.70%) 11:49AM EDT

Competitive Technologies Inc. (CTTC)

-OTC Markets

Prev Close:	0.19
Open:	0.14
Bid:	N/A
Ask:	N/A
1y Target Est:	0.85
Beta:	N/A
Next Earnings Date:	N/A

Day's Range:	0.1430 - 0.1430
52wk Range:	0.13 - 1.04
Volume:	5,000
Avg Vol (3m):	29,181
Market Cap:	2.34M
P/E (ttm):	N/A
EPS (ttm):	-0.20
Div & Yield:	N/A (N/A

© 2013 L. Ryan

dear gracie, we hardly knew ye!

Well, zut, alors!  We had ourselves a real, live CALMARE patient cured/radically improved of her CRPS by the TENS unit "equivalent" (that's the sum of its claims to the FDA).  I thought we were finally going to have legitimate documentation of pre- and post- limb involved conditions.

Such a person replied to our riveting post based on outrage that Dr. Michael Breen, ob/gyn of Texas, would begin a marketing pitch for Competitive Technologies, Inc CALMARE/Scrambler units by linking CRPS with suicide.  That's irresponsible by anyone.... despicable by a health care professional.  Anyway, the 39ish year old woman he labelled suicidal responded to the post, then suddenly snatched her tentative testimonials back an hour or so ago.

Gracie decided to call our investigations hate-mongering and removed all her comments.  Harrumph.

But God bless Blogger, because nothing is ever lost in Blogger World, no comment ever really removed!

This is our convivial comment exchange, reconstructed:


I am Gracie. My Facebook name is Gracie Gean. My maiden name is Gracie Bagosy. I have had wonderful success with Calmare Therapy! Have a question? Contact me! I will be happy to talk to you. 

me:  Have any evidence beyond a personal testimonial? Do you have pictures that pre-date your treatment to compare with a videotaped account of former suffering?

I'm thoroughly familiar with CALMARE and the claims made, and can assure you that you either did not have CRPS and were misdiagnosed, or that you had such a mild case that attaching you to several TENS units on burst mode would have been equally curative.

There are, of course, other possibilities, but I hesitate to mention them.

Thank you for your internet diagnosis. I am certain that it must be more accurate than every diagnosis made by my team of specialists over the last several years! Yes, I do have pictures of myself before and during treatment. 

me:  i will show you mine, if you will show me yours:  http://youtu.be/i2qrry7ltT0 

Mine are on Facebook. I do not publish on YouTube like you do. I did, however, watch yours. It looks terribly painful. I will be happy to connect with you privately and help you network with others and get support. 

me:  That's kind of you to offer. I'm in my eleventh year of living with CRPS. I was under the impression that you were helping to promote CALMARE, and that you'd, therefore, have material ready for people who need to learn what CRPS looks and feels like. May I feature your "before treatment" documentation here on the blog, and compare it with "after treatment" documentation? That would be helpful for people who need to learn about the syndrome. I have, as you did, a highly specialized team of doctors in a major metro area, so I'm well plugged in. But appreciate the offer. Now let's show/prove what CALMARE did for you! 

me:  Where can the public access them to verify your claims?

My story and pictures can be found on the CALMARE sites. I won't post them on these sites that only spew hate. In these pictures, you will see my face, my family, my friends...as well as my RSD limb.

me:  I don't spew hate. I make available real information, and fight against the emotional and financial manipulation of unethical medical professionals.

Please provide for us a link to a video that will show your pre and post CRPS limb. I would love to see the improvement.

Let us hope, friends, that Gracie realizes she could make a huge step in legitimizing CALMARE by providing pre-treatment documentation side-by-side with post-treatment results.

I won't give up on Gracie, not yet. Someone in all this CTTC / CALMARE-Scrambler Therapy mess needs to show us some evidence that goes beyond oral testimonials and emotional claims. Nerve conduction studies, triphasic bone scans, skin temp testing, fMRIs, pictures, SOMETHING!

C'mon back, Gracie!

ADDENDUM:  I've checked the aforementioned Facebook page, but not being a friend (all my hatefulness, you know!), could not see all her photos.  Those I did see showed NED.   I checked her interview with marketing savant wannabe "joeygiggles," and there were some irregularities noted versus previous interviews. But I'm not hateful enough to suggest that someone should be consistent or even consistently truthful.  She's joined up with a number of "high-profile" "RSD" / CRPS enterprises, as spokesperson, moderator, etcetera, all the better, I am guessing to spread the CALMARE story.

Gracie, today CTTC is down 24% at 0.1430.  Investors are savvy.  They, like the Weathermen, know which way the wind blows.

© 2013 L. Ryan

Dr. Michael Breen: One Stop CRPS CALMARE Treatment and Obstetrics/Gynecological Needs!

Michael Breen M.D. is not licensed to practice medicine in Illinois, though he touts " F-D-A Cleared Non-Invasive Pain Treatment Arrives In Illinois."

The FDA claim is an exagerration, and is a tired one.  CALMARE / CTTC applied to the FDA for permission to market itself as a "TENS" device.

He is, however, licensed as an obstetrician and gynecologist in Texas.  Like Dr. D'Amato of Rhode Island, and Dr. Robert Chalmers, also OB/Gyn specialists. An odd trend.

But it's a refreshing difference from, say Dr. Cooney, a chiropractor.

Returning to the FDA claim:

This is a copy of what Competitive Technologies submitted to the FDA as part of the requirement for 510(k) Premarket Notification.  I think the company's own application answers quite a few questions!

Device Classification Name:  stimulator, nerve, transcutaneous, for pain relief
Regulation Description:  Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator for pain relief

510(k) Number: K081255 
Device Name:  SCRAMBLER ST 5 TENS DEVICE
Applicant:  COMPETITIVE TECHNOLOGIES,INC.
49 plain st.
north attleboro, MA 02760 2

Contact:  mary mcnamara
Regulation Number:  882.5890
Classification Product Code:  GZJ 
Date Received:  05/02/2008
Decision Date:  02/20/2009
Decision:  substantially equivalent (SE)
Classification Advisory Committee:  Neurology 
Review Advisory Committee:  Orthopedic 
summary
summary
Type: Traditional 
Reviewed by Third Party:  No 
Expedited Review:  No

From the FDA website:  

Section 510(k) of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act requires those device manufacturers who must register to notify FDA their intent to market a medical device. This is known as Premarket Notification (PMN) or 510(k). Under 510(k), before a manufacturer can market a medical device in the United States, they must demonstrate to FDA’s satisfaction that it is substantially equivalent (as safe and effective) to a device already on the market. If FDA rules the device is "substantially equivalent," the manufacturer can market the device. If the device you are researching has been in commercial distribution before 1976 or is substantially equivalent to a device already on the market, you should search FDA’s 510(k) releasable database.

So the irony is that the company claimed and was deemed, in fact, to have "substantial equivalence" to preexisting TENS devices... But now it wants to distance itself from any comparison to TENS technology.  

{snort"}


© 2013 L. Ryan

Brayden Martin: Always on My Mind

Hi, Dear Readers --

It is good to be back after my hiatus dealing with spamming and reprobate relatives.  How did those problems work out?  Well, amazingly enough, the universe conspired to remind me what matters, and what does not.

If you're smiling, it's likely that you rank quite high on my "He/She Matters List."  It's akin to a gratitude journal in shorthand.

Relatives that I don't really know who are acting like hoodlums are hoodlums and, insofar as they do not cause my Mother-Unit stress or steal her worldly goods and happy outlook, they may merrily launch themselves off their local choice of cliffs.

Pornographic spam was generated due to my vocal refusal to allow truly suffering people to be taken advantage of by CALMARE / CTTC and the shady practitioners who are having a last ditch moment of money-grubbing as the whole affair circles the drain.  I think flooding my blog with porn spam is a bit ridiculous but these are not ethical people.

So let's concentrate on someone who matters.

Brayden Martin comes to mind.  He's had another rough spell, and, finally, his mom Maranda and his primary oncologist decided an early MRI to assess the efficacy of this new chemo protocol was warranted.
That happened yesterday and today Maranda and Brayden found out that, unfortunately, his tumors have doubled -- which was, I think, what Maranda already sensed.

She (and he, of course) is a tough cookie.  But no one is tough or ever prepared for this journey, be it the journey of a child or an aged beloved grandparent.  There is no preparation.

Brayden is charting new territory for relapsed pediatric medulloblastoma.  There are NO protocols to which they can refer for guidance.  And so Maranda and her guiding physicians, and her faith, are groping in the dark.

This is what she wrote today and it details the next treatment to be tried:

To just be blunt, the chemotherapy did not work at all. Instead of having two spots lighting up he now has 4. We have one option left and it was a road we were trying to avoid. Photon Radiation. It is dangerous with many side effects. Even the chance we could lose Braydens personality. I believe with prayer with everyone praying, we can keep those negative things from happening. With prayer we will keep those good cells from being damaged. With prayers we will hopefully get all of this cancer dealt with. I am going to pray that this treatment works and that he will come out the other side, the ornery, funny, little rockstar, we all know and love. Right now he is on a triple dose of steroid, that is always a ton of fun :o). Three weeks after the radiation is done he will start in patient chemotherapy. We were hoping this chemo would work, but I never had a great feeling about the treatment he was on, and this one I feel has a better chance of destroying this cancer. We have to stay positive. We are stronger than cancer will ever be. We love each other all the way to the moon and stars. We are going home this afternoon, there is no point and staying and doing in patient rehab, we need to start radiation as soon as possible. We will get back to doing therapy as well. Brayden went all over the hospital today in a little car, using his legs like a pro. He is tough as nails. I asked him if there was anything he wanted me to tell you all. He said that he likes to play a lot, with cars, and he likes to play guitar, and be a rockstar, and play on the Wii. We cannot wait to get home, this is an even more difficult place to be when you are sad. Every time he has progression it gets harder. I will continue to try and stay positive. We need some prayers to get through this meeting we will have this afternoon with Dr Aguilera. My Mom is here with me, and we are trying to find someone to come and sit with the boys while I go to this meeting at 3 o clock. We love you all. I will update once we are home and after my meeting with Dr Aguilera. 
                                           Love Always,                        Maranda, Brayden, and Mason 

We love you, Brayden!

© 2013 L. Ryan

An Unusual Case Study of CRPS Movement Disorder: Drexel Cheerleaders!

Drexel Cheerleaders

As my struggle with CRPS evolves -- we are in our eleventh year together -- more and more, the pain that I cannot tolerate is born from dystonia / spasticity / Jerk-O-Rama sessions.  Much time and mental energy is wasted as CRPS endeavors to turn my feet and legs into some sort of fancy artisinal pretzel.  The solution is an intrathecal delivery device for a sufficient amount of baclofen to render my muscles, nerves, and connective tissues all loosey-goosey and amenable to the instructions delivered by the central nervous system.  Because of my body's decision to harbor bacteria in my bones (osteomyelitis) in the form of evil biofilm communities, I cannot have any further "implants," as they'll only become another petri dish for bacterial growth.  

Alas!

I joke, but it is hell.  

RSDSA has an excellent little library subsection on CRPS movement disorders/dystonia.  Check it out!

The latest paper I've come across comes from some of the best -- the CRPS Brethren of Drexel's Department of Neurology:


Complex regional pain syndrome with associated chest wall dystonia: a case report.

David J. Irwin and Robert J. Schwartzman
Drexel University College of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Philadelphia, PA, USA

David J Irwin MD
Robert J Schwartzman MD
Department of Neurology
Drexel University College of Medicine
New College Building
245 N 15tl1 St
Philadelphia P A USA 19102
TEL: (215) 762-7090; FAX: (215) 762-3161;
e-mail: dirwin@drexelmed.edu (corresponding author),
robert.schwartzman@drexelmed.edu


Abstract
Patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) often suffer from an array of associated movement disorders, including dystonia of an affected limb. We present a case of a patient with long standing CRPS after a brachial plexus injury, who after displaying several features of the movement disorder previously, developed painful dystonia of chest wall musculature. Detailed neurologic examination found palpable sustained contractions of the pectoral and intercostal muscles in addition to surface allodynia. Needle electromyography of the intercostal and paraspinal muscles supported the diagnosis of dystonia. In addition, pulmonary function testing showed both restrictive and obstructive features in the absence of a clear cardiopulmonary etiology. Treatment was initiated with intrathecal baclofen and the patient had symptomatic relief and improvement of dystonia. This case illustrates a novel form of the movement disorder associated with CRPS with response to intrathecal baclofen treatment.

Keywords: complex regional pain syndrome, dystonia, movement disorder, dyspnea













© 2013 L. Ryan

Using suicide to promote CALMARE: SHAME ON YOU!

© 2013 L. Ryan

The utter irresponsibility of this type of marketing leaves me almost speechless.  In a pitch by Michael Breen M.D that references a woman named "Gracie," a "Gracie" that has been recycled, at last count, six times, pushing CALMARE treatment for CRPS / RSD (parent company CTTC -- Competitive Technologies, Inc., a penny stock today hanging at 16 cents on the market) dares to begin by stating:

Gracie Bagosy’s condition is so painful, the highest 

cause of death is suicide.

Of course, I cannot let the subject of CRPS and suicide be brought up blithely, by Breen or by this blog author, so I want to refer readers to the significant time and study invested in the topic by the respected RSDSA, most notably by Linda Lang:

There is a very big difference between living with a chronic disease such as CRPS/RSD and actively dying with a disease such as cancer. Although a literature search reveals claims that CRPS/RSD patients have an extraordinarily high incidence of suicide, and a CRPS/RSD patient actually read testimony into a Subcommittee on Health in June of 2001, saying that CRPS/RSD leads to death and the leading cause of that death is suicide, there is absolutely no evidence to support these statements, in fact there are no statistics at all on CRPS/RSD and suicide. When asked about it in 2001, Dr. Robert Schwartzman said, "…there is no data on RSD and suicide. It clearly happens and is almost always attributed to other causes." He adds that out of 73,500 patients, he has had only three that he is sure did commit suicide. 

Click HERE for a link to RSDSA's extensive look at the statistics and the realities for CRPS and suicidial ideation and action.   I know I think of it every day -- but to use that as a marketing "hook" literally nauseates me, and should you.

FOR PREVIOUS POSTS ON CALMARE/CTTC, CLICK HERE.

Calmare Felons

© 2013 L. Ryan

Please click HERE to see all posts regarding this scam of a product.

From Yahoo user lonzooscar, on the CTTC (parent company for the fraudulent, soul-sucking, money-grubbing snake oil salespeople of CALMARE, touted to "cure" CRPS):

More laughs courtesy CTTC...

I had posted previously someone else's claim that a Dr. Jeff Jex was offering the first three calmare treatments free with continuation of the therapy optional.

I thought it only fair to see if he had a website that would confirm the claim.

Well, as it turned out Dr. had a slew of websites -- "axiswellnesscenter," "lindon.eliminateneckpain,"" autoinjurychiropractoraz.," and possibly several others.

But I finally found his "calmarearizona" website.

However, I found nothing about free treatments anywhere on the site.

But what I DID find while searching was a reference to Dr. Jex in the minutes of a 2008 meeting of the "Arizona Board of Chiropractic Examiners."

It turns out that he had been on their applicants with disclosed felony list!

I don't know which made me laugh more -- that he was on the list or that the "chiropractor examiners" board even had an applicants with disclosed felony list.

There were actually three other people on it besides him!

In any case, it got me to thinking that, given Marineo's brush with the law as well as CTTC's recent decision to employ Bruce Bertman -- the felon convicted of multiple counts of fraud involving a penny stock -- as a calmare distributor, I was thinking maybe CTTC could start a halfway house of some sort.

Of course, that presumes CTTC would be interested in helping rehabilitate them and not simply looking to exploit their "talents."