Setbacks plague drug addiction remedy

Studies to decide Prometa's future
While the once stellar prospects for Prometa have been dimmed by the Pierce County debacle, the treatment still has influential proponents.

Among them is psychiatrist Harold Urschel III, an addiction specialist and researcher in Texas who treats patients with Prometa at a private facility.

He said that in addition to seeing the treatment’s successes first-hand, he has conducted a double-blind study that he says show Prometa significantly curbs cravings among addicts. The results of the study have not yet been peer reviewed.

Researchers at UCLA and the University of South Carolina also are conducting double-blind testing of Prometa and are expected to being reporting their results later this year.

Urschel’s close relationship with Hythiam – the company funds his research and organizes press interviews through its public relations firm -- has raised questions about his impartiality.

Urschel, who defended his data and analysis in an interview with msnbc.com, became part of the controversy in November, when organizers canceled two of his three research presentations slated for a conference sponsored by the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.

Organizers said they canceled the presentations after receiving an e-mail from a Hythiam employee on behalf of Urschel that drew attention to his close relationship to the company and to the fact that his research involved a commercial product, a conflict with rules barring research that may be influenced by pharmaceutical companies.

Concern about ‘outside influences’
“The bottom line is that we are a guild organization for addiction psychiatrists and allied health professionals," Elinore McCance-Katz, president of the AAAP, said in statement to msnbc.com. "We’re very concerned that what is presented at our meetings not be tainted by outside influences.”

In an interview with msnbc.com, Urschel was unapologetic about his relationship with Hythiam and said that controversy had obscured the big issue, which is the deadly problem of meth and cocaine addiction.

"The bottom line here is that I think we have the ability to help save lives with Prometa,” he said. “... For people to squelch the data is really kind of kindergarten, really rinky-dink."

Hythiam characterized the incident as a misunderstanding and said it would “never seek to manipulate or influence either the data or process involved in professional research collection, presentation, dissemination or publication.”

The controversy surrounding Prometa has also caused the National Association of Drug Court Professionals to distance itself from Hythiam. Since the departure of Freeman-Wilson as CEO, successor West Huddleston has informed Hythiam that it is no longer welcome as a corporate sponsor — and will not be until it had more science to back up its claims for Prometa.

Despite such setbacks, the power of testimonials continues to propel Prometa, even where public dollars are paying for it. In Texas, after a 20-person pilot program in Collin County — funded by Hythiam and administered by Urschel — the state budgeted $2 million for the use of Prometa in drug courts over the next two years.

“The Washington people have the right to their opinions,” said Texas state Rep. Jerry Madden, who led the charge for the Prometa funding and stated he has no shares or financial interest in Hythiam. “In Texas, we’re doing what we think is Texas smart.”

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