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Albert Abrams
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Albert Abrams (December 8, 1863 – January 13, 1924) was a fraudulent American physician, well known during his life for inventing machines, such as the "Oscilloclast" and the "Radioclast", which he falsely claimed could diagnose and cure almost any disease.[1] These claims were challenged from the outset. Towards the end of his life, and again shortly after his death, many of his machines and conclusions were demonstrated to be intentionally deceptive or false.[2]

Key Information

Biography

[edit]

Albert Abrams was born in San Francisco on December 8, 1863, to Marcus Abrams and Rachel Leavey,[3] although other dates have also been reported.[4] On October 8, 1878, he inscribed at Medical College of the Pacific, worked as an assistant of Prof. Douglass and Prof. Hirschfelder, and got a medical degree on October 30, 1881. Then he allegedly went to Heidelberg, Germany, and graduated there in November 1882[5] before undertaking further studies in London, Berlin, Vienna, and Paris.

According to Wilson,[6] Abrams was awarded an M.D. by the Cooper College in 1883.[7] He served on the teaching staff of the College for a total of fourteen years: five years (1885–1889) as Demonstrator of Pathology; four years (1890–1893) as Adjunct to the Chair of Clinical Medicine and Demonstrator of Pathology; and five years (1894–1898) as Professor of Pathology.

He was described by one Jewish newspaper as “our talented young professor.”[7] He was elected vice-president of the California State Medical Society in 1889 and was made president of the San Francisco Medico-Chirurgical Society in 1893. In the beginning of the 1900s he had become a respected expert in neurology. From 1904 he was president of the Emanuel Polyclinic in San Francisco.[8]

Abrams published numerous books from 1891 to 1923.[9]

He died January 13, 1924, from a broncho-pneumonia in San Francisco.

Practice

[edit]

Heidelberg doctorate claim

[edit]

Abrams was accused of fraudulently claiming a medical qualification from the University of Heidelberg;[10] however, documents from Archive of University Heidelberg confirm that Albert Abrams received a medical degree there on 21 November 1882.[11]

In Abrams' view, American medicine was dominated by physicians with excessive admiration for German doctors and researchers. In earlier writings, he insulted physicians by calling them "Dr. Hades" or "Dr. Inferior", by comparing their looks to typhoid and other germs, and by making fun of various abstruse therapies that at the time were considered "scientific" by the medical establishment. In a poem that he wrote on balloon therapy, for instance, the doctors take their patients up in the air but do not know how to bring the balloon down again. The poem ends with the lines: "But they never came back. That's why we confess / Aëronautic therapy is not a success."[12]

Spondylotherapy

[edit]

Abrams developed a medical technique called spondylotherapy, which was inspired by chiropractic and osteopathic ideas. The basic principle is the stimulation of nerves originating from the spinal cord, which can trigger reflex actions on viscera or inner organs. The stimulation is performed by controlled concussion with a plexor / pleximeter combination directly on the spinous processes, by sinusoidal electric currents or by application of ice. Abrams published the book Spondylotherapy in several editions between 1910 and 1918.[13] A simplified version of spondylotherapy was first published by Alva Emeey Gregory, M.D. in 1914.[14]

Electronic Reactions of Abrams

[edit]
Main article: Radionics

Abrams promoted an idea that electrons were the basic element of all life. He called this ERA, for Electronic Reactions of Abrams, and introduced a number of different machines which he claimed were based on these principles.

The machines

[edit]
Oscilloclast
Radioclast

The Dynomizer looked something like a radio, and Abrams claimed it could diagnose any known disease from a single drop of blood or alternatively the subject's handwriting.[7] He performed diagnoses on dried blood samples sent to him on pieces of paper in envelopes through the mail. Apparently Abrams even claimed he could conduct medical practice over the telephone with his machines,[15] and that he could determine personality characteristics.

The Dynomizer was big business; by 1918, courses in spondylotherapy and ERA cost $200 (about the same purchasing power as $3,150 in 2014); equipment was leased at about $200 with a monthly $5 charge thereafter. The lessee had to sign a contract stating the device would never be opened.[16] Abrams explained that this would disrupt their delicate adjustment, but the rule also served to prevent the Abrams devices from being examined. He then widened his claims to treating the diagnosed diseases. Abrams came up with new and even more impressive gadgets, the "Oscilloclast"[17] and the "Radioclast", which came with tables of frequencies that were designed to "attack" specific diseases. Clients were told cures required repeated treatments.

Dynomizer operators tended to give alarming diagnoses, involving combinations of such maladies as cancer, diabetes and syphilis. Abrams often included a disease called "bovine syphilis", unknown to other medical practitioners. He claimed the Oscilloclast was capable of defeating most of these diseases, most of the time.

By 1921, there were claimed to be 3,500 practitioners using ERA technology. Conventional medical practitioners were extremely suspicious.[18] When people opened Abrams's boxes, they found "simple wiring, a few resistors, a small motor that only made a humming noise, and nothing that could in any way perform a diagnosis or 'broadcast' or even produce radio waves."[19]

In the 1970s, Bob DeVries, a product designer for Hewlett-Packard, had a chance to repair an old Oscilloclast (1934). It was owned by a lady whose father had been a president of Abrams' Electronic Medical Foundation and improver of their devices; she had several such devices and believed that electric therapy to be beneficial, from her own experience. DeVries not only restored the old oscilloclast to working order, but also developed a transistorized version for his client, which they called a "Pulsed Oscillator".[20]

Investigation

[edit]

The dispute between Abrams and his followers and the American Medical Association (AMA) was intensified. Defenders included American radical author Upton Sinclair[21] and the famously credulous Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Resolution of the dispute through the intervention of a scientifically respected third party was pursued. Scientific American magazine decided to investigate Dr. Abrams' claims. Scientific American was interested in the matter as readers were writing letters to the editor saying that Abrams' revolutionary machines were one of the greatest inventions of the century and so needed to be discussed in the pages of the magazine.

Scientific American assembled a team of investigators who worked with a senior Abrams associate given the pseudonym "Doctor X". The investigators developed a series of tests and the magazine asked readers to suggest their own tests. The investigators asked Doctor X to identify six vials containing unknown pathogens. It seems likely that Doctor X honestly believed in his Abrams machines; in fact, he allowed the Scientific American investigators to observe his procedure. Doctor X got the contents of all six vials completely wrong. He examined the vials and pointed out that they had labels in red ink, which produced vibrations that confounded the instruments. The investigators gave him the vials again with less offensive labels, and he got the contents wrong again.

The results were published in Scientific American, and investigators continued their work.[22] Abrams offered to "cooperate" with the investigators, but always failed to do so on various pretexts.[23] Abrams never actually participated in the investigation, and in ERA publications asserted he was a victim of unjust persecution.[24]

Debunking

[edit]

An AMA member sent a blood sample to an Abrams practitioner, and got back a diagnosis that the patient had malaria, diabetes, cancer and syphilis. The blood sample was in fact from a Plymouth Rock rooster.[25]

Similar samples were sent to other Abrams practitioners, and a few found themselves facing fraud charges in court. In a case in Jonesboro, Arkansas, Abrams was called to be a witness, but he died of pneumonia at age 60 shortly before the trial began in January 1924.[26] After his death, investigators with the Food and Drug Administration opened some of the doctor's boxes. One produced a magnetic field, similar to a doorbell; another was a low-powered radio wave transmitter.[27]

Psychologist Donovan Rawcliffe claimed that Abrams' devices had no scientific validity but his successors had "founded a good many special clinics in the United States and their number has by no means diminished in the ensuing years."[28]

Selected publications

[edit]
  • Abrams, Albert (1895). Transactions of the Antiseptic Club[29]. New York: E. B. Treat. [A fictional comedic work on the state of the medical profession]
  • Abrams, Albert (1910). Scattered leaves from a physician's diary. St. Louis, Missouri: Fortnightly Press.

See also

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Notes

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References

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Albert Abrams

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Albert Abrams (1863–1924) was an American physician and inventor renowned for his controversial contributions to early 20th-century medical , particularly the development of spondylotherapy and the Electronic Reactions of Abrams (ERA), diagnostic and therapeutic methods purporting to detect and cure diseases via electronic vibrations emitted by body tissues but ultimately exposed as fraudulent by scientific investigations. Born on December 8, 1863, in to Jewish immigrant parents, Abrams demonstrated early academic promise, earning his M.D. from the University of in in 1882 at the age of 19. He returned to shortly thereafter, establishing a medical practice in 1883 and quickly gaining prominence in the local medical community. By 1893, he had been appointed professor of at Cooper Medical College (now part of ), a position he held until 1898. During this period, Abrams built a prosperous practice, contributed to Jewish charitable organizations such as the Federation of Jewish Charities of , and pioneered early applications of technology, including a notable 1897 public demonstration of cardiac diagnosis using . Around 1900, at the age of 37, Abrams shifted toward unconventional therapies, developing spondylotherapy, a technique inspired by and osteopathic principles that involved percussing or applying pressure to specific points along the spine to treat a wide array of diseases by purportedly stimulating neural reflexes. He detailed this method in his 1909 book Spondylotherapy: Physio-Therapy of the Spine, claiming it could address conditions ranging from infections to chronic illnesses through spinal and vibration, though it lacked empirical validation and drew from mainstream medicine. Abrams' most infamous innovation came in 1910 with the introduction of the Electronic Reactions of Abrams (ERA), later rebranded as , which posited that all matter—including diseased organs—emitted unique "electronic vibrations" detectable and manipulable through custom-built devices. Using apparatuses like the Reflexophone (for diagnosis) and the Oscilloclast (for treatment), Abrams claimed practitioners could diagnose ailments such as cancer, , and by placing a sample of the patient's blood, , or even into the device and observing changes in the percussion sounds from a healthy subject's abdomen, oriented toward the west for supposed optimal "vitality." He established the Electronic Medical Foundation in to manufacture and distribute these "black box" gadgets, reportedly selling around 5,000 units worldwide and amassing a fortune through a network of approximately 3,000 practitioners, many of whom were chiropractors offering diagnosis-by-mail services. Abrams opened international clinics, including one in London's advertised with electric signs, and published extensively on his theories, including The Electronic Reactions of Abrams (1917). Despite initial intrigue among some alternative practitioners, Abrams' methods faced mounting criticism for their lack of scientific rigor and reliance on subjective interpretations. In 1923–1924, the (AMA) and conducted exhaustive investigations, spending over $30,000 to test ERA devices under controlled conditions; results revealed absurd outcomes, such as diagnosing arthritis in an amputated leg or in a deceased individual, leading to unanimous condemnation as a "colossal ." The U.S. (FDA) later echoed these findings in reports from 1963 and 1973, highlighting the devices' inefficacy and deceptive marketing. Abrams, who outlived two wives and never had children, died of bronchial pneumonia on January 13, 1924, in , leaving his estate—estimated in the millions—to the Electronic Medical Foundation. Abrams' legacy endures as a in , exemplifying the dangers of in diagnostics and ; his ideas influenced subsequent pseudoscientific ventures, such as those by Ruth Drown and the National Health Federation, while underscoring the importance of in healthcare.

Early Life and Education

Birth and Family Background

Albert Abrams was born on December 8, 1863, in , , to Marcus Abrams and Rachel Leavey Abrams. Abrams came from a Jewish family of Ashkenazic heritage, reflecting the influx of Jewish immigrants to in the mid-19th century amid the city's rapid growth following the of 1849. His upbringing occurred in a vibrant, multicultural urban environment shaped by economic boom and social transformation in the post-Gold Rush era, where evolved into a major Pacific port and commercial hub. The Abrams family was comfortably well-off, providing a stable foundation during his early years in the city. While primary records consistently place his birth in 1863, some later accounts have noted discrepancies, including his own claiming 1860 and others suggesting years between 1865 and 1869, though the exact date became a point of debate in biographical discussions. No significant relocations are recorded for the family during his childhood, which remained rooted in .

Medical Training and Heidelberg Claim

Albert Abrams enrolled at the Medical College of the Pacific in in 1878, completing his studies there and earning an M.D. degree on October 30, 1881. This institution, later affiliated with the , provided foundational training in clinical medicine during an era when American was rapidly professionalizing, influenced by European models. Abrams' early academic performance as a student assistant to professors such as Douglass and Hirschfelder highlighted his aptitude in and , areas that would later define his research interests. Following his American degree, Abrams traveled to Europe and obtained a second M.D. from the University of on November 21, 1882, at the age of 18—an unusually young achievement that drew both admiration and skepticism from contemporaries who questioned the feasibility of such rapid advancement for an American student. Archival records, including his official certificate from Ruprecht-Karls-Universität , confirm the degree's legitimacy, countering doubts raised in some medical circles about its authenticity given Abrams' youth and non-traditional path. During his time in , Abrams studied under prominent figures like , whose work in physiological acoustics and profoundly shaped his emerging focus on the physiological mechanisms of . Abrams pursued extensive postgraduate studies across and returned briefly to the , enhancing his expertise in clinical and diagnostics. He enrolled in advanced courses in , , , and , where he engaged with leading European medical traditions that emphasized empirical observation and instrumentation—trends that resonated with the era's shift toward scientific medicine amid widespread admiration for German academic rigor. These experiences, supported by his family's encouragement of , fueled Abrams' initial drive to innovate in , bridging American practicality with European theoretical depth.

Professional Career

Early Medical Practice

Upon obtaining his medical degree from the University of Heidelberg in 1882, Albert Abrams returned to and opened his first medical office there in 1883. He supplemented his European qualification with an additional M.D. from Cooper Medical College that same year, enabling him to begin clinical work promptly. Abrams initially concentrated his practice on and , drawing patients through his demonstrated expertise in these areas. He rapidly developed a substantial and affluent clientele, earning a reputation for exceptional intelligence and productivity among 's medical circles. Prior to 1885, he engaged with the local medical community by delivering lectures on various clinical topics, which helped solidify his standing as an emerging educator.

Academic and Professional Roles

Albert Abrams began his academic career at Cooper Medical College in in 1885 as a demonstrator of , advancing to the position of professor of , where he taught from 1893 to 1898. Abrams' tenure at Cooper Medical College concluded in 1898, before the school's affiliation with in 1908. His teaching focused on and clinical aspects of medicine, contributing to the institution's curriculum through lectures and demonstrations on diagnostic techniques. During his tenure, Abrams pioneered early applications of technology, including a notable 1897 public demonstration of cardiac diagnosis using . Abrams held prominent leadership roles in professional medical organizations, serving as of the California State Medical Society in 1889 and as president of the San Francisco Medico-Chirurgical Society in 1893. These positions reflected his growing influence within 's medical community, where he advocated for advancements in clinical practice during his early years establishing a private practice in . In 1904, he founded and became president of the Emanuel Polyclinic, a postgraduate institution in dedicated to specialized training in and related fields. Abrams was actively involved in promoting antiseptic practices and innovative diagnostic methods through lectures and organizational efforts in the . In 1895, he formed the Antiseptic Club, a group focused on discussing and advancing antiseptic techniques in , which he documented in the published Transactions of the Antiseptic Club. His lectures emphasized the importance of antisepsis in surgical and clinical settings, as well as early approaches to physical , helping to disseminate these concepts among local physicians prior to broader adoption in American .

Therapeutic Methods

Spondylotherapy

Spondylotherapy was developed by Albert Abrams, a San Francisco-based physician, around 1909–1910 as a method of stimulation aimed at treating visceral diseases through mechanical and electrical means. Abrams introduced the technique in his 1909 Spinal Therapeutics, positing that precise interventions on the spine could restore organ function by leveraging neurological connections. The approach drew from Abrams' earlier neurological research but emphasized non-invasive over surgical intervention. At its core, spondylotherapy relied on the claimed mechanism of stimulating specific spinal segments to activate reflex arcs, thereby influencing distant organs and alleviating symptoms. Abrams asserted that percussion—delivered via rapid, constant hammering on the spinous processes—or low-intensity electric currents, such as sinusoidal waves, could enhance nerve tone and visceral activity without direct organ contact. For instance, stimulation of the seventh cervical vertebra was said to tonify the , aiding conditions like heart irregularities, while thoracic segments targeted abdominal organs for issues such as or gallstones. These interventions were positioned as diagnostic and therapeutic, with changes in spinal resonance indicating presence and resolution. Abrams detailed the method's procedures and applications in his multi-volume Spondylotherapy series, first published in 1910 by Philopolis Press and expanded through six editions by 1918, totaling over 800 pages in the final volume. The works outlined step-by-step protocols, including percussion techniques with a pleximeter and placements for currents lasting 10–60 minutes, alongside representative case studies. Examples included a patient passing gallstones after ninth thoracic percussion and another achieving symptomatic relief from calculi via alternating cervical and thoracic stimulation, demonstrating purported efficacy across respiratory, digestive, and neurological disorders. The technique saw adoption by some progressive physicians, osteopaths, and chiropractors, who integrated spinal concussion and sinusoidal currents into their practices for conditions like and pelvic diseases. Abrams founded the American Association for the Study of Spondylotherapy to promote its use, and by the 1920s, it appeared in chiropractic curricula, such as at the College of Chiropractic. Initial reception in medical circles was mixed, with interest from alternative practitioners but swift condemnation by the in 1910, which viewed it as akin to quackery lacking scientific validation.

Electronic Reactions of Abrams

Albert Abrams introduced his system of Electronic Reactions of Abrams (ERA) in 1910, claiming it enabled the detection and treatment of disease through analysis of "vibrations" emanating from samples such as , tissue, or . This approach built on his earlier spondylotherapy methods by extending ideas of to broader electronic diagnostics, positing that illnesses could be identified and addressed remotely without direct patient examination. The theoretical foundation of ERA rested on the premise that healthy organs emit specific electronic frequencies, while arises from imbalances or altered vibratory rates in these emissions, which could be measured through changes in abdominal resistance. Abrams argued that every bodily substance and pathological condition possessed a unique "electronic" signature, allowing practitioners to diagnose conditions by observing reactions to these frequencies from distant samples. This concept positioned ERA as a precursor to later ideas, emphasizing vibrational energy over traditional . The method involved custom devices such as the Biodonator for and the Oscilloclast for treatment. Practitioners placed a sample of the patient's blood, , or into the device and percussed the of a healthy subject—oriented toward the west for optimal ""—to detect changes in indicating . Treatment purportedly rebalanced vibrations using the Oscilloclast to direct corrective frequencies. Abrams claimed these could diagnose and treat ailments including cancer, , and . By 1924, had spread widely, with over 3,000 trained practitioners operating clinics across the and , reflecting its rapid adoption among physicians seeking innovative diagnostic tools. courses, often lasting four weeks, attracted professionals nationwide and internationally, fostering a network that applied ERA principles to a range of ailments through electronic reaction analysis.

Investigations and Controversies

Scientific Scrutiny

The (AMA) began scrutinizing Albert Abrams' therapeutic methods in the 1910s, particularly after the promotion of his electronic diagnostic devices around 1916, deeming them unproven and pseudoscientific due to the absence of verifiable physiological mechanisms or controlled evidence. By the early , the AMA's Department of Investigation published detailed critiques in the (JAMA), highlighting the lack of empirical validation for Abrams' claims of detecting and treating diseases through "electronic reactions," such as abdominal reflexes purportedly linked to organ vibrations. These investigations labeled Abrams' approaches as , emphasizing that no rigorous scientific trials supported the efficacy of devices like the Oscilloclast, which relied on unsubstantiated wave-based diagnostics. In 1924, conducted a comprehensive investigation into Abrams' Electronic Reactions of Abrams (ERA), involving an anonymous practitioner known as "Doctor X," an associate of Abrams. The tests included submitting sealed blood specimens for diagnosis; in one notable experiment, a sample from a healthy rooster was misdiagnosed by Doctor X as indicating tuberculosis and cancer, underscoring the method's unreliability and susceptibility to suggestion or error. Similar AMA-conducted tests around the same period sent rooster blood to Abrams himself, resulting in erroneous diagnoses of sinus infection and , further illustrating the diagnostic system's failure to distinguish basic biological sources. Contemporary medical journals echoed these concerns, with critiques focusing on the ERA principles' lack of and reliance on untestable assumptions about electronic vibrations in diseased tissues. For instance, a 1922 article exposed Abrams' methods through testing, including the rooster blood experiment, and dismissed his theories as devoid of scientific foundation, citing repeated failures in independent replications and the absence of peer-reviewed data confirming diagnostic accuracy. The British Medical Journal in 1925 published reports from a joint committee of Society of Medicine, which investigated ERA demonstrations and concluded that the reactions observed were artifacts of operator bias rather than genuine physiological phenomena, reinforcing the broader medical consensus on the method's invalidity. Albert Abrams died on January 13, 1924, from broncho-pneumonia in , . Following Abrams' death, engineering analyses conducted by in 1924 revealed that his flagship device, the Oscilloclast, contained only rudimentary components such as simple wiring, resistors, a small motor, and mechanisms akin to a doorbell transformer, capable of producing no therapeutic electromagnetic fields or diagnostic signals as claimed. These findings were corroborated by reports from the and published in detail, demonstrating the devices' inability to generate or detect specific electronic vibrations for medical purposes. The U.S. later referenced these early investigations in its regulatory actions against similar pseudoscientific devices during the 1920s and beyond, solidifying the legal basis for prohibiting their interstate sale. Scientific American's comprehensive exposé, spanning multiple articles in 1924 and costing over $30,000 over ten months, included rigorous tests where Abrams' apparatus failed to accurately identify pathogens in controlled samples, such as , even under optimal conditions mimicking his techniques. The investigation's final verdict, issued in September , condemned the Electronic Reactions of Abrams as "utterly worthless" and a form of charlatanism that preyed on vulnerable patients. This exposure, covered widely in contemporary media, marked a pivotal legal and scientific rebuke, leading to fraud convictions for several practitioners leasing Abrams' machines. Despite these debunkings, successors such as chiropractors and alternative practitioners continued operating clinics using modified versions of Abrams' devices into the late and beyond, often evading immediate shutdowns through private sales and relocations. Abrams' methods became emblematic of early 20th-century , frequently depicted in and exposés as the archetype of , influencing regulatory reforms and cultural critiques of fringe healing practices.

Publications and Legacy

Key Publications

Albert Abrams authored over 20 books and numerous articles during his career, often them through his Philopolis Press to disseminate his unconventional medical theories and techniques widely among practitioners and the public. These works served as primary vehicles for promoting his diagnostic and therapeutic innovations, blending clinical observations with speculative physiological concepts. His early publication, The Blues (Splanchnic ): Causes and Cure (1904), explored the etiology and treatment of nervous disorders, drawing from his experiences as an at . It reflected his initial focus on visceral and neurological conditions. In Transactions of the Antiseptic Club (1895), Abrams presented a fictional comedic on the state of the medical profession, incorporating humorous discussions and vignettes related to antiseptics and medical practice. This work highlighted his early wit in addressing emerging bacteriological knowledge. The Spondylotherapy book, published in several editions between 1910 and 1918, formed a of Abrams' output, systematically describing spinal percussion techniques, physiological rationales, and extensive case studies to advocate for this method as a versatile therapeutic tool. The first edition appeared in , with subsequent editions expanding on clinical protocols and outcomes. Abrams' later writings shifted toward his electronic theories, including a series of pamphlets distributed to physicians that introduced Electronic Reactions of Abrams (ERA) principles. These culminated in Electronic Reactions of Abrams (1917), a comprehensive manual detailing diagnostic procedures using his oscilloclast device and reaction-based interpretations.

Influence and Modern Views

Following Abrams' death in January 1924, his will allocated a significant portion of his estate—estimated at over a million dollars—to establish a dedicated to electronic , intended to perpetuate his system of disease detection using devices such as the reflexophone and oscilloclast. Construction of a steel-frame building for this institution began shortly after his passing but was halted in late 1924 as it approached completion, amid ongoing litigation. In January , Abrams' heirs contested the will in court, objecting to the substantial funds directed toward the project on the grounds that it would promote his controversial medical methods, which they argued lacked legitimacy. Abrams' ideas profoundly influenced the development of radionics and other alternative medicine devices throughout the 20th century, with his Electronic Reactions of Abrams (ERA) serving as the foundational framework for subsequent pseudoscientific instruments claiming to detect and treat diseases through electronic vibrations. After his death, the Electronic Medical Foundation (EMF), which he had established, continued operations with his bequest, distributing around 5,000 devices and enabling a network of approximately 3,000 practitioners—primarily chiropractors—who offered diagnosis-by-mail services using blood or tissue samples. This legacy inspired imitators such as Ruth Drown and George de la Warr, who adapted ERA principles into new radionic machines marketed for health applications, despite repeated regulatory actions. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) imposed bans on such devices, including a 1954 federal court injunction prohibiting EMF president Fred J. Hart from interstate distribution, and further condemnations in 1963 and 1973 against organizations promoting them as experimental to evade medical device laws. In modern views, Abrams' work is consistently portrayed in histories of medical fraud as a prime example of quackery, with no empirical scientific validation ever established for his electronic diagnostic or therapeutic claims. Morris Fishbein's 1925 book The Medical Follies dedicates extensive analysis to Abrams' methods, describing his devices as a "crude and confused mass of electric wiring" reliant on pseudoscientific notions of vibrational diagnosis, and likening them to other exploitative healing cults that endangered patients through faulty equipment and inaccurate assessments. Despite this dismissal, Abrams' inventions have garnered cultural curiosity in studies of pseudoscience, appearing in examinations of early 20th-century medical deceptions as emblematic of how charismatic figures could popularize unproven technologies amid public fascination with electricity and waves. Recent scholarship on Abrams remains limited, primarily appearing in niche historical journals rather than broader medical or scientific literature, reflecting a broader gap in detailed studies of Jewish-American medical figures from the era. For instance, a 2009 article in Western States Jewish History by Norton B. Stern explores Abrams' career within San Francisco's Jewish community, highlighting his early prominence before his controversial turn, but calls for expanded research on such overlooked pioneers to better contextualize Jewish contributions to American medicine. Discrepancies in biographical details, such as his birth year—listed as 1863 in some records and 1864 in others—underscore the need for more rigorous archival work on these figures.

References

  1. https://www.jmaw.org/abrams-jewish-san-francisco/
  2. https://quackwatch.org/ncahf/articles/o-r/radionics/
  3. https://www.nature.com/articles/115789a0
  4. https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=Abrams%2C%20Albert%2C%201863-1924
  5. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/99307034/albert-abrams
  6. https://prabook.com/web/albert.abrams/1110692
  7. https://www.jta.org/archive/dr-abrams-founder-of-school-of-electronic-medicine-dies
  8. https://centerforinquiry.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2023/04/09193429/albert-abrams-fakery.pdf
  9. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Albert_Abrams_Curriculum_Vitae,_written_by_himself_in_Heidelberg.jpg
  10. https://www.brmi.online/albert-abrams
  11. https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2002/05/22164744/p45.pdf
  12. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44443761
  13. https://lane.stanford.edu/elane/public/L29628/1888-XXXI.pdf
  14. https://ia800304.us.archive.org/13/items/1932FishbeinFadsAndQuackeryInHealing/1932__fishbein___fads_and_quackery_in_healing.pdf
  15. https://soilandhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/0303critic/030315cults/cults-ch6.htm
  16. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001587043
  17. https://books.google.com/books/about/Transactions_of_the_Antiseptic_Club.html?id=oxU4AAAAMAAJ
  18. https://centerforinquiry.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2023/12/10195440/medical_follies.pdf
  19. https://books.google.com/books/about/Spondylotherapy.html?id=v5tDPueq_rkC
  20. https://archive.org/download/spondylotherapys00greg/spondylotherapys00greg.pdf
  21. https://books.google.com/books/about/Spondylotherapy.html?id=GcXOKBaIo50C
  22. https://chiro.org/Plus/History/Colleges/LosAngelesCC/lacc_chronology.pdf
  23. https://www.urologichistory.museum/the-scope-of-urology-newsletter/issue-8-winter-2022/running-with-the-current-quackery-in-electrical-medicine
  24. https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/how-pseudoscience-generated-us-material-and-device-regulations/2021-09
  25. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/our-abrams-investigation-vi/
  26. https://www.sueyounghistories.com/2008-10-19-albert-abrams-1863-e28093-1924/
  27. https://www.bmj.com/content/1/3343/179
  28. http://iapsop.com/archive/materials/physico-clinical_medicine/physico-clinical_medicine_v7_n12_feb_1924.pdf
  29. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/our-abrams-verdict/
  30. https://www.nytimes.com/1924/08/19/archives/abrams-electronic-cure-condemned-scientific-american-committee.html
  31. https://quackwatch.org/hx/mm/07-2/
  32. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/002089090
  33. https://www.nytimes.com/1925/01/18/archives/heirs-fight-abrams-college-project.html
  34. https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/culture-magazines/pseudoscience
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