Vega machine

Vega machine

Pronunciation
Classification
Modality
Claims	The diagnosis of allergies and other diseases.
Risks
Related fields	Electroacupuncture
Year proposed	1970s
Original proponents	Helmut Schimmel, Reinholdt Voll in 1950s)
Subsequent proponents
MeSH

Vega machines are a type of electroacupuncture device used in Vega testing, which proponents claim can diagnose allergies and other illnesses. The forerunner to the Vega test was electroacupuncture according to Voll developed by Reinholdt Voll in the 1950s. Helmut Schimmel modified the technique in the 1970s and presented it under the name Vega test.<ref name="Katelaris91"/>

Several medical associations have advised against their use, including the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence,<ref>

NICE warns against the use of alternative testing for food allergy in children(link). {{{website}}}. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. 23 February 2011.

</ref><ref> Bowcott, Owen,

 NHS warns against complementary therapies for children's food allergies Full text, 
 , 
  
 23 February 2011,

</ref> the Australian College of Allergy,<ref name="Katelaris91">Katelaris, CH,

 Vega testing in the diagnosis of allergic conditions, 
 The Medical Journal of Australia, 
 
 Vol. 155(Issue: 2),
 pp. 113–114,
 
 PMID: 1857287,
 
 
 Full text,</ref> the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy,<ref>

Unorthodox techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of allergy, asthma and immune disorders(link). {{{website}}}. Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy. November 2007.

</ref> the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology<ref>Bernstein, IL,

 Allergy diagnostic testing: an updated practice parameter, 
 Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, 
 
 Vol. 100(Issue: 3, Supplement 3),
 pp. S1–148,
 DOI: 10.1016/S1081-1206(10)60305-5,
 PMID: 18431959,
 
 
 Full text,</ref> and the Allergy Society of South Africa.<ref>Motala, C, 
 Guideline: Diagnostic testing in allergy, 
 South African Medical Journal, 
 
 Vol. 99(Issue: 7),
 pp. 531–535,
 
 
 
 
 Full text,</ref> In 1990 a medical practitioner was censured by the Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Committee in New Zealand for using a Vega machine.<ref>, 
 Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Committee: professional misconduct findings against Dr D W Steeper, 
 New Zealand Medical Journal, 
 
 Vol. 103(Issue: 888),
 pp. 194–195,
 
 PMID: 2330174,</ref> Another practitioner was censured by the Discipline Committee of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario in 1999 for having "failed to meet the standard of practice"<ref>

The Discipline Committee Of The College Of Physicians And Surgeons Of Ontario: Dr. Jozef Krop(link). {{{website}}}. College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.

</ref> in his use of the Vega machine in diagnosis.<ref>Gray, C,

 Huge court fight may be in offing as Ontario college considers penalty for maverick MD, 
 Canadian Medical Association Journal, 
 
 Vol. 160(Issue: 6),
 pp. 877–879,
 
 PMID: 10189439,
 PMC: 1230180,
 
 Full text,</ref>

Reviews of the available evidence in the medical literature indicate that electrodermal testing, such as that performed with a Vega machine, is ineffective at diagnosing allergies and recommend that it not be used.<ref>Niggemann, B.,

 Unproven diagnostic procedures in IgE-mediated allergic diseases, 
 Allergy, 
 
 Vol. 59(Issue: 8),
 pp. 806–808,
 DOI: 10.1111/j.1398-9995.2004.00495.x,
 PMID: 15230811,</ref><ref>Gerez, IF, 
 Diagnostic tests for food allergy, 
 Singapore Medical Journal, 
 
 Vol. 51(Issue: 1),
 pp. 4–9,
 
 PMID: 20200768,
 
 
 Full text,</ref><ref>Waserman, Susan, 
 Food allergy, 
 Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology, 
 
 Vol. 7(Issue: Suppl 1),
 pp. S7,
 DOI: 10.1186/1710-1492-7-S1-S7,
 PMID: 22166142,
 PMC: 3245440,</ref><ref>Wüthrich, B, 
 Unproven techniques in allergy diagnosis, 
 Journal of Investigational Allergology & Clinical Immunology, 
 2005,
 Vol. 15(Issue: 2),
 pp. 86–90,
 
 PMID: 16047707,
 
 
 Full text,</ref><ref>Beyer, K, 
 Food allergy diagnostics: scientific and unproven procedures, 
 Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 
 
 Vol. 5(Issue: 3),
 pp. 261–6,
 DOI: 10.1097/01.all.0000168792.27948.f9,
 PMID: 15864086,</ref><ref>Sicherer, S. H., 
 Allergy Testing in Childhood: Using Allergen-Specific IgE Tests, 
 Pediatrics, 
 
 Vol. 129(Issue: 1),
 pp. 193–197,
 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2011-2382,
 PMID: 22201146,
 
 
 Full text,
 Accessed on: 2015-10-31.</ref><ref>Patriarca, G, 
 Food allergy and food intolerance: diagnosis and treatment, 
 Internal and Emergency Medicine, 
 
 Vol. 4(Issue: 1),
 pp. 11–24,
 DOI: 10.1007/s11739-008-0183-6,
 PMID: 18709496,</ref>

External links

• Vegatest – High Tech Pseudoscience
• A comprehensive overview of "electrodiagnostic devices" at quackwatch.org.

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