Fwd: [CO-CURE] NOTICE: Sued & under investigation: Cimoch's Center for Specia...

July 10, 2006

In a message dated 7/9/2006 9:36:51 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,

mycoreg@... writes:

[Ed. Note: CFS patient given fake IV Gamma globulin. Center for

Special Immunology, headed by Dr. Cimoch in Fountain Valley,

Orange County CA, where CFS physician Darryl See treated patients.

Dr. Cimoch also had centers in San Diego, CA and Fort Lauderdale,

Fla.

Dr. Cimoch and the Center for Special Immunology also conducted trials

for Ampligen in CFS and AIDS patients.]

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MYCOPLASMA REGISTRY REPORTS

for gulf war syndrome & chronic fatigue syndrome

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Clinic is accused of diluting drugs

Immunology center under scrutiny in Fountain Valley.

By BLYTHE BERNHARD

The Orange County Register

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/homepage/article_1206484.php

SUED CLINIC: Hasenstab of Mission Viejo is shown with her sons

, 22, , 16, and husband Roy.

The state medical board is investigating a Fountain Valley immunology

clinic accused of injecting a patient with saline solution instead of

expensive immune-boosting medication, according to court documents and

medical records obtained by the Register.

Staff at the Center for Special Immunology, headed by Dr. Cimoch

and nurse Fasone, diluted or altered the intravenous drugs over

the course of seven years, according to expert testimony from a

lawsuit filed by patient Hasenstab of Mission Viejo. The clinic

reached a settlement Friday with Hasenstab for an undisclosed amount.

Cimoch and Fasone are under investigation by their licensing and

disciplinary agencies - the Medical Board of California and the

California Board of Registered Nursing. The boards have not disclosed

the focus of the investigations, which were prompted by patients'

complaints.

Cimoch and Fasone declined to speak to a reporter who visited the

clinic on the campus of Fountain Valley Regional Medical Center. Calls

to Cimoch's attorney were not returned. Court documents filed last

year by the attorney say the facts in the lawsuit do not necessarily

point to medical negligence or fraud.

The Center for Special Immunology treats patients with cancer, immune

deficiencies, AIDS and chronic fatigue syndrome. Patients whose bodies

don't produce the antibodies needed to fight infections are prescribed

intravenous infusions of gamma globulin (replacement antibodies) to

boost their immune systems.

Gamma globulin, which is derived from donated blood, is expensive and

prone to shortages. The treatment can cost $20,000 to $80,000 a year,

and infusions have been tied to insurance fraud. Former Newport Beach

physician Kooshian was indicted last year by a federal

grand jury. He was accused of diluting patients' gamma globulin

infusions with saline solution while charging their insurance

companies for full doses.

Hasenstab received infusions at the Center for Special Immunology

nearly every two weeks from 1998 to 2004 to treat a genetic gamma

globulin deficiency and multiple sclerosis, which had weakened her

immune system. Her insurer, BlueCross BlueShield, was billed about

$6,000 per infusion. Hasenstab relied on the clinic - which diagnosed

her immune deficiency - for her primary care.

An immunology specialist from UCLA who studied Hasenstab's medical

records and blood work testified that she probably did not receive the

drug, or received minute amounts, according to the attorney who took

the doctor's deposition.

" The prescribed medication was not given, " said Irvine attorney

Rockett. " She was wronged. "

The state medical board has asked for copies of the depositions,

Rockett said.

Hasenstab first suspected she wasn't getting the prescribed treatment

when she was hospitalized with a severe stomach virus at Mission

Hospital in 2004. Doctors raised doubts about the volume of infusions

she was receiving. After she was released, Hasenstab asked for her

records from the Center for Special Immunology.

" That was the beginning of my nightmare, " Hasenstab said. " I knew I

wasn't getting what they said I was.

A nurse at the UC Irvine immunology clinic where Hasenstab is now a

patient called the records " atrocious. "

" It appeared to me as a nurse that those documents were photocopied

and that the (infusion) dose had been radically changed with felt-tip

marker over ballpoint pen, " said n Ioli. " Usually when a nurse

changes something on a document they don't write over it. They cross

it out, initial it and date it so you're not looking like you're

covering up something. "

Ioli said she doubts Hasenstab received the dosage as listed in the

records.

" From my experience with , it would be highly unlikely she could

have tolerated the rate of infusion she was supposedly given, " Ioli

said.

Since receiving infusions at UCI, Hasenstab said she feels more

energetic and healthy.

The Center for Special Immunology " robbed me of seven years of my

life, " Hasenstab said. " How could anybody go to bed at night knowing

your patient is getting worse and you're giving them water? "

Dr. Cimoch, 48, founded the Center for Special Immunology in Fort

Lauderdale, Fla., in 1987 to treat people with AIDS. Florida health

department records show that Cimoch voluntarily surrendered his

license there, although the date and reason are unclear. By the early

1990s, he had opened the clinic in Orange County.

In 1999, Cimoch's clinic became involved in a controversy surrounding

former UCI physician Darryl See. The clinic reportedly provided

patients' blood samples to See for an unapproved research project on

nutritional supplements to treat AIDS. A university inquiry found that

signatures on the patient consent forms appeared to be falsified.

In December of that year, Cimoch filed for bankruptcy through the

Center for Special Immunology, claiming assets of less than $50,000.

By then, Hasenstab had received dozens of infusions at the

center.

" I know as a Christian I need to forgive them, " Hasenstab said. " It's

the most difficult thing I've had to do in my life. "

CONTACT US: 714-796-6880 or bbernhard@...

July 10, 2006