Hans Alfred Herbert Eugen Nieper (23 May 1928 – 21 October 1998) was a controversial German

alternative medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...

practitioner who devised "Nieper Therapy". He is best known for his claims to be able to treat cancer,

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

, and other serious diseases. His therapy has been discredited as ineffective and unsafe.

Early life

Hans Nieper was born in Hanover, Germany on 23 May 1928. Nieper's fascination for science and medicine came long before he was a doctor. Coming from a family with an extensive background in medicine, Hans Nieper would eventually follow in the family footsteps and become a doctor himself.Nieper, H., & Alexander, A. (1999). The curious man: The life and works of Dr. Hans Nieper. Garden City Park, N.Y.: Avery. Nieper's father was the grandson of Dr. Ferdinand Wahrendorff, founder of the Wahrendorff Psychiatric Hospitals, and son of Dr. Herbert Nieper, who was the Chief Surgeon at the hospital in Goslar, which was later named after him. Nieper's parents were both doctors, and married in 1925. Shortly after marriage, they both began to work at the Wahrendorff Psychiatric Hospital. Nieper spent most of his time at the Wahrendorff Hospital growing up. Nieper was granted complete intellectual freedom from his parents. As Nieper matured, he was encouraged to participate in stimulated conversations about the nature of the mind, the relationship between biology and mentality, and the validity of orthodox medicine, and to ask questions and raise points on his own. These early years taught Nieper to think analytically, to question orthodox assumptions, and to explore ideas and thoughts without fear of censure or ridicule.

Biography

Born in Germany in 1928, Nieper was educated at Johann Gutenberg University and the University of Freiburg before earning his medical degree at the University of Hamburg. During his career, he served as director for the Department of Medicine at Silbersee Hospital in Hanover and for the German Society for Medical Tumour Treatment. He was also a president of the

private club A club is an voluntary association, association of people united by a common interest or goal. A service club, for example, exists for voluntary or charitable activities. There are clubs devoted to hobbies and sports, social activities clubs, po ...

''German Society of Oncology'', which conducting research of

in oncology. Nieper was among the first researchers to work with

lithium orotate Lithium orotate (C5H3LiN2O4) is a salt of orotic acid and lithium. It is available as the monohydrate, LiC5H3N2O4·H2O. In this compound, lithium is non-covalently bound to an orotate ion, rather than to a carbonate or other ion, and like other ...

. Nieper also patented, along with Franz Kohler, Calcium 2-aminoethylphosphate (Calcium AEP), which he believed could be helpful in combating such diseases as juvenile diabetes, gastritis, ulcer, thyroiditis,

Myocarditis Myocarditis, also known as inflammatory cardiomyopathy, is an acquired cardiomyopathy due to inflammation of the heart muscle. Symptoms can include shortness of breath, chest pain, decreased ability to exercise, and an irregular heartbeat. The ...

and

Hodgkin's Disease Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition wa ...

. However, there is no evidence from reputable

clinical trials Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietar ...

for the success of the "Nieper Regime" for treating multiple sclerosis utilizing Calcium AEP. The "Nieper Therapy" approach to cancer also uses Calcium AEP, along with selenium. It is based in part around Nieper's belief that cancer is rarer among sharks than other fish and his theory that the lower blood- sodium level of sharks may be the reason; it places among its primary goals the reduction of that sodium in cancer patients. Like his friends

Dean Burk Dean Turner Burk (March 21, 1904 – October 6, 1988) was an American biochemist, medical researcher, and a cancer researcher at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute and the National Cancer Institute. In 1934, he developed the Lineweaver–Burk plot toge ...

and

Ernst T. Krebs Ernst Theodore Krebs, Jr. (May 17, 1911 – September 8, 1996), known as Ernst T. Krebs, was a notorious American conman who promoted various substances as alternative cures for cancer, including pangamic acid and amygdalin. He also co-patented ...

jr., Nieper was an outspoken opponent of fluoridation. He died at the age of 70 from a stroke.

Weblinks

*
Hans Nieper
' In: ''OTA Report: Pharmacologic and Biologic Treatments'', Quackwatch, 3rd August 1998 * Stephen Barrett:
Be Wary of Nieper Therapy
', Quackwatch, 25th June 2006

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nieper, Hans Alfred 1928 births 1998 deaths Alternative cancer treatment advocates Alternative medicine activists Health fraud Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz alumni Orthomolecular medicine advocates Medical controversies in Germany Physicians from Hanover University of Freiburg alumni University of Hamburg alumni

Early life

Biography

Weblinks

See also

References