Overview

Medical Board of California v. Robert Sinaiko, MD

The clear facts of this case are that off-label drug use is legal, commonplace among physicians, and even encouraged by the medical profession and the FDA.  Enzyme Potentiated Desensitization was being legally used by Dr. Sinaiko; is currently part of a legal IRB study in the United States and has been proven to be a superior treatment to standard antigens. Dr. Sinaiko is a well-respected board certified clinical immunologist. Common sense, tells us that a child with ADHD could also have allergies. Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (referred to by Terrazas as a mere “annoyance”) is a severely disabling chronic condition requiring varying kinds of treatment and assistance and is recognized by many governmental agencies. To state (as Judge Astle did) that Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is a non-existent illness only allowed to be treated by a psychiatrist is discrimination against people with a recognized disability.

From the California Medical Association’s (CMA) Amicus Brief:

“The Medical Board seeks $99,000 as the cost recovery bill for this case, a bill covering only the pre-hearing phase of this case! Of that, only $16,757 was for the cost of investigation and enforcement (including $5,250 for the Board’s experts). The remainder, $82,188 was explicitly attributed to the Attorney General’s Office.  Obviously hundreds of hours have been spent on this case by Medical Board employees and employees of the Attorney General’s Office.”

More from the CMA Amicus Brief:

“After reading this decision, we are at a loss to understand how this case ever warranted $100,000 of costs, much less this amount of cost expended before the hearing ever started.  There were no patient injuries, no patient complaints, and much of the medicine alleged to be inappropriate by the Medical Board apparently has at least a significant, if not a majority following, among the medical profession.”

So why did Terrazas prosecute Dr. Sinaiko?

Deputy Attorney General Alfredo Terrazas, with the power of the State of California and taxpayer financing, conducted his prosecution of Dr. Sinaiko with prejudice.  Prejudice against the doctor and prejudice against the patients.  We do not believe there was a good faith effort made for truth and justice. Terrazas misrepresented this case to the court and to the Medical Board.

Dr. Robert Sinaiko is an exceptional and highly respected allopathic physician who was working to improve the lives of people suffering from complex and poorly understood problems, such as Chronic Fatigue, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism.  He was using the best knowledge available in several fields of specialty to help his patients. Additionally, he was working to develop a non-invasive test to improve the health of ADHD children. 

All of this was lost as a consequence of Terrazas’ glaring misrepresentation of the case against Dr. Sinaiko. Much damage has been done to an innocent physician and his very sick patients.  Because Dr. Sinaiko has now been put under a severe probation, he has been forced to close his practice. Many of Dr. Sinaiko’s patients have been unable to find the help they need for their difficult-to-treat medical problems. In desperation, some patients are now traveling out of state for medical care. And of even greater concern, numerous patients have worsened without the care of Dr. Sinaiko.  More than a few patients have told the Progress in Medicine Foundation volunteers that they feel they are in danger of dying without the medical care they need.