Developmental Regression and Mitochondrial Dysfunction in a Child With Autism

After David Kirby's disclosure of the court papers in the Hannah Poling case last week, it became clear that the child in this study was the same child whose autism claim was conceded by the DOJ to be paid by the Vaccine Injury Compensation Fund.

What I didn't know until today was that her father, Jon Poling, MD, PhD, was the lead author on the paper.

For your consideration:

Developmental Regression and Mitochondrial Dysfunction in a Child With Autism
Jon S. Poling, MD, PhD
Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery Johns Hopkins Hospital Baltimore, MD

Richard E. Frye, MD, PhD
Department of Neurology Boston Children's Hospital Boston, MA

John Shoffner, MD
Horizon Molecular Medicine Georgia State University Atlanta, GA

Andrew W. Zimmerman, MD
Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery Johns Hopkins Hospital Kennedy Krieger Institute Baltimore, MD, zimmerman@kennedykrieger.org


Autistic spectrum disorders can be associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. We present a singleton case of developmental regression and oxidative phosphorylation disorder in a 19-month-old girl. Subtle abnormalities in the serum creatine kinase level, aspartate aminotransferase, and serum bicarbonate led us to perform a muscle biopsy, which showed type I myofiber atrophy, increased lipid content, and reduced cytochrome c oxidase activity. There were marked reductions in enzymatic activities for complex I and III. Complex IV (cytochrome c oxidase) activity was near the 5% confidence level. To determine the frequency of routine laboratory abnormalities in similar patients, we performed a retrospective study including 159 patients with autism (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV and Childhood Autism Rating Scale) not previously diagnosed with metabolic disorders and 94 age-matched controls with other neurologic disorders. Aspartate aminotransferase was elevated in 38% of patients with autism compared with 15% of controls (P < .0001). The serum creatine kinase level also was abnormally elevated in 22 (47%) of 47 patients with autism. These data suggest that further metabolic evaluation is indicated in autistic patients and that defects of oxidative phosphorylation might be prevalent. (J Child Neurol 2006;21:170—172; DOI 10.2310/7010.2006.00032).

Hannah Will Be On Larry King Tomorrow Night!

Larry King is my new boyfriend.

He will be interviewing Hannah Poling and her parents tomorrow night. Hanna is our "Eve" who was the first autistic child to win damages from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Fund when the government conceded the case.

Hanna's dad, Jon Poling M.D., Ph. D., is a Johns Hopkins trained Neurologist and her mom, Terry Poling, is a Nurse and Attorney.

I think after tomorrow no one will be able to ignore this story any more.

From the Age of Autism:

LARRY KING TO INTERVIEW FAMILY OF VACCINE INJURED CHILD

The Eve of Battle

By Kent Heckenlively

The war has begun.

On Thursday March 6, 2008 at 11:30 a.m. at the U. S. Federal Courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Jon Poling, M.D., Ph. D. and his wife Terry, an attorney and nurse, will hold a press conference about the government’s recent concession that “vaccines” (not just thimerosal or the MMR shot), “significantly aggravated” their daughter’s underlying mitochondrial disorder and led to her diagnosis of autism and seizures. (The seizure part of the equation was conceded on February 22, 2008.)

Later on March 6, Dr. Poling and his wife will be on the Larry King show.

Let me say that again. The war has begun.

Hannah Poling was normally developing up until her 18 month vaccination and her “mitochondrial disorder” did not appear until after her vaccination. It is well-known that approximately 75% of mitochondrial disorders are caused by medications such as the drug AZT (for AIDS) or toxins. It will be the contention of Dr. Poling and his wife that the vaccines also caused her mitochondrial disorder.

The national media is expected to be out in force for the Poling press conference. I spoke with a source close to the Polings who told me they were also being interviewed for an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The source told me he expects this story to quickly go national.

From what I’ve been told, the government could not have picked a more credible couple to whom to make their first concession. Dr. Poling graduated from Boston University with a masters and undergraduate degree in biology and a GPA of 3.90. He received his M.D. and Ph.D from Georgetown University and did his neurology internship at Johns Hopkins University, Department of Neurology. Have I already mentioned that the mother, Terry, is an attorney and a nurse?

My source recommended parents stay away from the press conference tomorrow, but that our community should stay tuned for something big in Washington, D.C. at which we might be able to show our support.

My friends, I believe we are on the eve of battle. I encourage you to use your voices now to call the Larry King show to tell your own stories, send letters of thanks to those news outlets which cover this event, and anything which in your own estimation will help advance our cause.

I don’t know how long the fight will be, but I’m guessing it will be short and bloody. When the dust clears, I hope we will have not just an admission of this terrible tragedy, but the best minds of medicine working on how to help our children.

That would be the greatest victory.

And We Have A Winner!

And the winner of the Mainstream Journalist Who is Paying Attention And Has The Balls To Report The Governments Vaccine Injury Concession goes to... AP reporter Marilyn Marchione!

It took a week, and she plays down the importance of the case, but she didn't spike it either. AND she mentioned McCain and the press conference. She didn't leave any of the big points out.

Congratulations Marilynn. You, unlike Dan Childs of ABC News, and all the other networks, and most of the political bloggers,.. and pretty much every other main stream reporter at any other American news outlet... are an actual reporter.

Now lets see if any of the news outlets are as much of a man as Marilyn is and actually run the story.

UPDATE: And apparently the Atlanta Journal Constitution is the man!

I am actually going to give the AJC a few extra little props for being the first newspaper to run the story, because the CDC is in their back yard, and in the past they have not been super friendly to the vaccine/autism connection.

Good for you AJC. If you had ignored the story, what with Hanna's press conference at your own courthouse tomorrow, you would not have looked so good. Plus, Hanna is your home town girl.

Government Concedes Vaccine Injury Case
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE – 1 hour ago

Government health officials have conceded that childhood vaccines worsened a rare, underlying disorder that ultimately led to autism-like symptoms in a Georgia girl, and that she should be paid from a federal vaccine-injury fund.

Medical and legal experts say the narrow wording and circumstances probably make the case an exception — not a precedent for thousands of other pending claims.

The government "has not conceded that vaccines cause autism," said Linda Renzi, the lawyer representing federal officials, who have consistently maintained that childhood shots are safe.

However, parents and advocates for autistic children see the case as a victory that may help certain others. Although the science on this is very limited, the girl's disorder may be more common in autistic children than in healthy ones.

"It's a beginning," said Kevin Conway, a Boston lawyer representing more than 1,200 families with vaccine injury claims. "Each case is going to have to be proved on its individual merits. But it shows to me that the government has conceded that it's biologically plausible for a vaccine to cause these injuries. They've never done it before."

A lawyer for the 9-year-old girl has scheduled a news conference in Atlanta on Thursday. Her parents have declined to comment in the meantime because the case is not final and the payment amount has not been set.

Nearly 5,000 families are seeking compensation for autism or other developmental disabilities they blame on vaccines and a mercury-based preservative, thimerosal. It once was commonly used to prevent bacterial contamination but since 2001 has been used only in certain flu shots. Some cases contend that the cumulative effect of many shots given at once may have caused injuries.

The cases are before a special "vaccine court" that doles out cash from a fund Congress set up to pay people injured by vaccines and to protect makers from damages as a way to help ensure an adequate vaccine supply. The burden of proof is lighter than in a traditional court, and is based on a preponderance of evidence. Since the fund started in 1988, it has paid roughly 950 claims — none for autism.

Studies repeatedly have discounted any link between thimerosal and autism, but legal challenges continue. The issue even cropped up in the presidential campaign, with Republican John McCain asserting on Friday that "there's strong evidence" autism is connected to the preservative.

The girl has a disorder involving her mitochondria, the energy factories of cells. The disorder — which can be present at birth from an inherited gene or acquired later in life — impairs cells' ability to use nutrients, and often causes problems in brain functioning. It can lead to delays in walking and talking.

Federal officials say the law bars them from discussing the case or releasing documents without the family's permission. However, The Associated Press obtained a copy of the concession by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials.

According to the document, five vaccines the girl received on one day in 2000 aggravated her mitochondrial condition, predisposing her to metabolic problems that manifested as worsening brain function "with features of autism spectrum disorder." In the 1990s, the definition of autism was expanded to take in a group of milder, related conditions, which are known as autism spectrum disorders.

The document does not address whether it was the thimerosal — or something else entirely in the vaccines — that was at fault.

A Portuguese study suggested that 7 percent of autistic children might also have the mitochondrial disorder, versus one in 5,000 people — or 0.02 percent — in the general population, said Dr. Marvin Natowicz, a Cleveland Clinic geneticist.

"Even if they're off by a factor of seven" and only 1 percent are afflicted, "it's still a striking statistic," he said.

Others said they doubt the Georgia case will have much effect.

"No link between mitochondrial disorders and autism spectrum disorder has been made in mainstream medicine," said Dr. Michael Pichichero of the University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y., who has consulted for the government on vaccines and has received speaking fees from vaccine makers.

A decision is expected this spring on the first test case for a larger group of autism-vaccine claims, which are being heard in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

Reported cases of autism have been rising in the U.S., even after thimerosal was removed from most childhood vaccines. However, some experts believe the rise is due to an expansion of the definition of autism and related conditions, and a desire to diagnose children so they qualify for special services and aid.

Breaking News: Vaccine Injury Damages Winning Family To Hold Press Confrence Tomorrow!

The formal announcement:

LANDMARK FEDERAL COURT CONCESSION THAT LOCAL CHILD FROM ATLANTA DEVELOPED AUTISM FROM VACCINES

CHILD JOINS PARENTS IN PRESS CONFERENCE ABOUT THIS HISTORIC RESULT AT ATLANTA FEDERAL COURT HOUSE TOMORROW

LOCAL COUPLE FROM ATLANTA WILL JOIN WITH THEIR 9 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER, HANNAH, IN A PRESS CONFERENCE DISCUSSING THEIR DAUGHTER'S DEVELOPMENT OF AUTISM AS A RESULT OF VACCINES. THIS LANDMARK CASE ALLEGED THAT AUTISM WAS CAUSED BY CHILDHOOD VACCINES AND WAS SCHEDULED TO BE HEARD AS A TEST CASE BEFORE THE CONCESSION WAS MADE.

THE PRESS CONFERENCE WILL BE HELD TOMORROW, THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 2008 AT 11:30 AM ON THE STEPS OF U.S. FEDERAL COURTHOUSE AT 75 SPRING STREET IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL HAVE ESTIMATED THAT 1 IN 166 CHILDREN HAVE AUTISM, AND MANY HAVE LINKED THE AUTISM EPIDEMIC IN THIS COUNTRY TO THE MERCURY BASED PRESERVATIVE USED IN CHILDHOOD VACCINES.

So now we can call "Eve" by her real name.

Hanna.

Stay tuned folks....

The Attack on Big Mac

Across the blogesphere this week John McCain has been attacked for making the comment, "It’s indisputable that autism is on the rise among children. The question is, What’s causing it? And we go back and forth, and there’s strong evidence that indicates that it’s got to do with a preservative in vaccines." (David Kirby could not have been more right when he told McCain to watch out for incoming).

Political blogs that have never touched on the vaccine/autism issue have used words like 'lunatic' and 'crackpot' in discussing now Republican Nominee for President John McCain. Even conservative bloggers who support him for president are being critical.

And the truly bizarre thing about these attacks is that they have all sprung from this account by Jake Tapper which includes, right at the top, a mention of the bombshell news that the US Government has just conceded the first vaccine/autism case to come to a conclusion in the Federal Vaccine Court.

These attacks either make no mention of the case, or give it a cursory mention, as Tapper did, and then pretend it was never said. They then move on to make their arguments predicated on the now legally false claim that 'There Is No Link Between Vaccines And Autism'.

Yesterday I submitted some version of the following comment on at least 4 different blog posts that were attacking McCain:

I want to call everyone's attention back to the question that actually elicited this response from John McCain in the first place.

In that meeting in Texas, another autism mom who believes as I do asked him about the revelation last week that The US Government, in the Federal Vaccine Court, had finally come to a decision on the FIRST vaccine/autism case, that that decision was...

...and I am gonna bold the hell out of this because this is very, very important...

THE GOVERNMENT CONCEDED THAT THE PLAINTIFFS AUTISM WAS THE RESULT OF A VACCINE INJURY AND SHE WILL NOW BE PAID DAMAGES FROM THE VACCINE INJURY COMPENSATION FUND!!!!!

There are 4,900 autism/vaccine cases in the pipeline, and in case #1 the verdict has just gone to the family that alleged that vaccines made their child autistic.

In other words, at the current time, 100% of all the vaccine/autism cases tried in the Federal Court finds a causal link between vaccines and autism.

And apparently the family whose burden it was to prove that their child's autism was triggered by her vaccines had such a good case, that the Department of Justice, which is fighting like hell in the two other cases currently under way, decided it was not even worth trying to fight.

...And yet these attacks on John McCain are are reporting the forgone conclusion that there is no link?

Respectfully, could it be that John McCain is actually paying closer attention to the issue than they are?

So that everyone may investigate this for themselves, here is the info to get started (from another piece I wrote):

In November the US Government conceded that a little girl's autism was brought on by her vaccines and she will be paid out of the Vaccine Injury Compensation Fund. Her case was one of the first three test cases chosen to put the vaccine/autism theory under the microscope at the Vaccine Omnibus Hearings. This is only the first of 4,900 cases before the Federal vaccine court to get a decision.

The case was supposed to go to trial this coming May, but was instead settled and subsequently sealed by the court, who claimed that it was for the protection of the child's privacy. Except that the family has waved their right to privacy and apparently wants the fact of the case and the ruling known.

Journalist David Kirby obtained the court documents and published them last week. The family of the girl is planning a press conference this week in Atlanta some time.

No major US news outlets have run the story on the bombshell court ruling, and in fact in the past week several 'experts' have been in the news repeating the now legally false claim that there is no link between vaccines and autism. ABC News looked at doing a story on the government court concession, it but then didn't.

Despite the fact that the both the blogesphere and the autism community are going crazy with the story... the only mainstream news outlet to report thus far has been the Sunday Herald in Scotland.

So what we have here is the government and the medical community publicly telling parents that vaccines have no relationship to autism while privately admitting the link and paying damages to a family for vaccine induced autism. And apparently hoping that no one will notice.

Which in this case is actually kind of working.. because blogs like this and the ones mentioned above, actually quote that the case went to the vaccine/autism plaintiff, and then ignore it and slap McCain?

It is just bizarre to me!

Why does your blog post say something to the effect of, "WTF!? The government admitted that a vaccine caused autism in one of the test cases to test the theory that vaccines cause autism? And they are voluntarily paying damages? Why do they keep telling us that here is no link then? What the hell is going on?!"

All of the blogs had moderated comments, except for one. None of the blogs with moderated comments posted it.

It is as if I were watching "Cloverfield" and all the news reports that we see interspersed through out the film when the main characters run by a TV were stories about how things were exploding and buildings were falling down and thousands were dead all over town, but made no mention that all this was happening because there was a 20 story monster stomping through Mid-Town. Because everyone knows there is no such thing as monsters, so even when one appears right before our eyes, best just to ignore it really. But do go on to report the impact of the monster, because that is dramatic stuff.

I reiterate... WTF?

It is not just as if they missed the big story here, it as if they are FIGHTING to ignore the big story. Political bloggers across the country are collectively sticking their fingers in their ears and singing the, "La La La... I'm Not Listening" song.

So my next question is this... how many of the Vaccine Court cases have to go in favor of the petitioners until main stream American media and the political blogesphere begins to give the link between autism and vaccines serious consideration? Not even believe that it is conclusive fact, but just merely worthy enough of consideration to stop mocking people who discuss the matter publicly?

One definitive court case, an actual legal precedent, is apparently not enough. If either of other two of the three test cases currently under way in the Vaccine Omnibus Hearings, the ones that were chosen to represent many of the 4,900 cases that are in the pipeline, go to the plaintiffs, is that enough to make everyone sit up and pay attention?

Or will the media actually be able to keep their fingers in there ears if all 4,900 cases end with the verdict that gets these kids paid for their children's regression into autism due to vaccines?

UPDATE: Cudos to The New Scientist for getting to the heart of the matter, and giving the Government Concession the weight it deserved! Although they are wrong in their statement that, "decades of research have failed to find any link between vaccines and autism", they are asking the very important question...

If there is no link, then why pay Hanna?

They seem earnestly confused by the move and one pediatrician interviewed said he was 'stunned'.

Read my thank you/challenge to them and go encourage them to demand that HHS return their call and get the government to explain there contradictory stances.

David Kirby On Imus On The Government Vaccine/Autism Consession

This morning David Kirby was on Don Imus's show talking about 'the big case'.

For those of you who missed it, Bob (and autism dad) was good enough to type up a transcript:

IMUS: Good morning Mr. Kirby. How are you?

DAVID: I'm good. It's been exactly 3 years ago when you and Diedre really started bringing this to the people's attention. Boy, talk about "Ground Hog Day". It just seems like we're beating the same issues all over again, without getting anywhere.

IMUS. I thought it was kind of amusing to me, after Senator McCain said what he said in Texas, which I'll ask you about in a second....to see my name in a couple of columns blaming me for influencing him. When I've never said anything of the kind. I've got my own suspicions, but, any way, what exactly did Sen. McCain say now?

DAVID: Sen. McCain said, after being asked a question Texas by a woman referring to the big court case, which was just conceded, in which the government said that a girl's vaccine injury led to and resulted in an ultimate diagnosis of autism. She asked him about it and he, to just about everyone's surprise, said he believed there was strong evidence to implicate the vaccine ingredient called thimerosal, in the rise in the numbers of cases. He said the rise of cases is indisputable, meaning it's not just better diagnosis, we have more autism in America today then we had 10 or 15 years ago. He's trying to figure out what is going on. He recognizes there is a national emergency. It may not be the mercury in the vaccines, it may not be the vaccines at all, but, until we get to the bottom of this it's refreshing, to say the least, to hear a politician out their talking about what a lot of other people are talking about. At some point, if you want to get into some of the studies that are coming out, McCain, who's been blasted in the last 24 hours, taking more "incoming" that I've received in 5 years in just 24 hours. He is referring to actual studies that have been published by very top flight scientists, and, he has a very good medical and science staff. He would not have made this statement flippantly, and, it didn't come out of nowhere.

IMUS: The next question: There is scientific evidence out there suggesting that there is a definitive link?

DAVID: There's lots of science evidence, when taken together might suggest a link. Or might suggest a mechanism. My position has always been that this has not been proven one way or the other. Yes, there is evidence to refute, there is more evidence everyday to support this theory. People who oppose it, think this is over, and, I think it would serve them well to take a minute or two, go back to Pubmed, look at the studies that did not appear in the NY Times or on ABC news. We get filtered information in this country, and, I frankly don't blame people for thinking that this is bunk, baloney, proven over and done with. Anyone who brings it up is crazy....because they have not been given access to the studies. The American people have not been given all the information they need. They need to go out and find it. It's there, look at the brain studies that people from Harvard and Johns Hopkins. They are presenting with oxidative stress, heavy metals and mercury in the brain. Look at the study in Child Neurology that went back and looked at a previous study...lo and behold...they found that children with autism do have higher levels of mercury in their blood. A mistake was made in the original calculations and some mitrochrondrial studies have just come out....continue to come out....which are very germane to this court case. It all starts to fall into place, and it is hard science. It is peer reviewed. People are willfully ignoring it, some of them, they know its out there and they won't look at it. Most of the people online who are saying that John McCain is crazy, Don Imus is crazy, David Kirby is crazy....have not bothered to read these studies. It's frustrating because you want to have a scientific discussion but you are talking to people who only have half the picture.

IMUS: Talking with David Kirby here on the Imus program, in an effort to get the audience to kill themselves. The vaccine manufacturers claim they took thimerosal out of the vaccines when? Not the flu vaccines but most vaccines.

DAVID: The media reports that all mercury came out of all shots in 2001. Nothing could be further from the truth.

IMUS: What is the truth?

DAVID: Well, we don't know and the government won't tell us.

IMUS: Well, why don't the vaccine manufacturers tell us?

DAVID: They don't have to.

DAVID: They stopped making mercury containing vaccines right around the end of 2001. Now, this stuff goes and gets shipped into warehouses. Then it gets into the pipeline, that's when the expiration date is placed on it, the day it leaves the warehouse. They stocked up on mercury containing vaccines as they were transiting into the mercury free formula. For those years, 2000, 2001, 2002, 1003 and I'm quite certain into 2004, a lot of this stuff was still sitting on shelves. In the meantime, we started giving the flu shot to pregnant women and infant children, which still contains the full amount of mercury. We never hit zero, and now we're back up. If a women who gets the flu shot is pregnant, the fetus will be exposed to that. Then the child gets another flu shot at 6 months, 7 months and 18 months. With all the residual mercury in some of the other shots, the child is getting about 85 micrograms of mercury, total exposure. Which is, yes, much less than it used to be, but, we're not at zero. And again, the mitrochrondial disease, at least for a subset of these kids, given that they have that disease, they might be sensitive to any amount of mercury, or any toxin that could set them over the edge.

IMUS: Then, in these vaccines, whether the mercury is used as a preservative or not, a trace amount of mercury is used in all vaccines.

DAVID: That's correct. About 1/2 micrograms in most of the shots these kids are getting. That's very, very little, in and of itself. The point is, if you do have some type of allergic problem with this or you do have an inability to secret it, it will accumulate in your body. I think the evidence is pointing now, beyond just mercury, beyond just thimerosal. I believe there are several things in our environment that can trigger several different types of conditions and predisposition's that ultimately manifest in symptoms we diagnose as autism. Whether it truly is classic autism or not, you don't really care.

IMS: What are they?

DAVID: It may be genetics, because of mitrochrondial health, in other words, cellular energy, because of a pre-exisitng autoimmune condition, allergic condition. Given any set of those conditions, and then getting any set of triggers, mercury in vaccines, the number and type of vaccine we're giving now, pollution in the air, pesticides, flame retardants or even just if a kid is set up for regression.....whatever gets there first, I'm talking hypothetically, but, whatever gets there first may set off the regression. In most cases in this country, that insult came in the form of a vaccine.

IMUS: You know what I never understood? They warn people particularly pregnant women, not to eat fish because of the extraordinary high levels of mercury they found in fish. In fact, the NY Times did a study, went around to sushi joints and they found an insane level of mercury in these various fish. It's my understanding the form of mercury in fish is not as lethal as the form of mercury in vaccines. So, what has never made sense to me, if they don't want you to eat a less lethal form of mercury in fish, they think it's okay or fine to inject any amount of mercury into the bloodstream of an infant. Just on a common sense level, sounds to me INSANE!

DAVID: Some people think it is. It's certainly contradictory, that the NY Times reported the ultra high levels of mercury in Tuna, which means environmental levels in general are going up. They reported New Jersey is trying to implement mandatory flu vaccines for kids going to school. Everyone should go online right now and look up the flu vaccine. Look up the product insert. It will say, and don't quote me exactly, something like "this product has not been studied in pregnant women. The reproductive effects are unknown. The impact on the fetus is unknown. this product is not indicated for pregnant women unless medically necessary".

IMUS: Now you are not saying, I know I'm not saying, that there is a definitive, drop dead link between autism and thimerosal in vaccines. What you're saying and what I'm saying is, at some point, we need to all reach a definitive scientific determination if, in fact that is the case. Is that what you're saying?

DAVID. Absolutely.

IMUS: Okay, so why do people characterize you and others, and me, though I'm less to the story than anyone else, my wife is a big part of the story and so are you....why are you all characterized as being crazy when you are not saying what they say you are saying?

DAVID: If you sat down and read only the studies the people seem to be reading...and you ignore the studies that people like me and Diedre read, you would come to the same conclusion....David Kirby is crazy, what is he talking about? People need to do their own homework. Listen, I think the biggest problem here is we're all operating in a vacuum. This court case that was just conceded is a confidential document. The government does not think we should be able to see it.

IMUS: Now, you're talking about the vaccine court?

DAVID: I'm talking about the vaccine court. Now the family that just won this settlement can go back to court and ask permission of the government to talk about what happened to their child.

IMUS; What did the vaccine court determine?

DAVID: They determined this child have an underlying microchrondrial disorder, which produces low cellular energy and was aggravated by her vaccines. She got 9 vaccines in 1 day. 5 shots....9 vaccines. Within months she regressed into autism. In fact, she was diagnosed with full-blown autism.

IMUS: Why haven't we read about that in the NY Times or seen it on NBC nightly news?

DAVID: Well, the NY Times is not particularly interested in this story. There are reporters out there this week trying to cover it, but, until the family gets permission from government to speak, I'm not sure how much coverage it actually is going to get. You know, I love being on your show, but, I wish instead of me being here this morning, you have somebody from the HHS. Because what we basically have over there is a wall of silence. Why is it not okay to talk about this? Why is this confidential? Exactly whose interests are being protected if the family says it's perfectly okay to talk about this....and...the family wants to talk about it? Why is the government saying we can't talk about it? Those rules are in place to protect the privacy of the family, which has already been waived.

IMUS: We're out of time .....thank you Mr. Kirby;

News Max Reports On The Government Vaccine/Autism Consession

Here.

... and they use "Eve's" real name. I feel comfortable linking to it now as it has been announced that her family will be holding a press conference this week. So it is pretty safe to assume that they are not worried about privacy or confidentiality.

I will continue to track these stories.

David Kirby on Imus Tuesday

David Kirby will be a phone guest on the Imus show tomorrow morning on RFD-TV at at 6:29 AM EST. He will be discussing the Government concession in the recent vaccine injury compensation case.

For those who don't get it on TV and who would like to get up, here's a link to RFD http://www.imusonair.com/

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney's Office Corrects Tim Johnson

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney knows that Tim Johnson was wrong when he said that studies of vaccinated v. unvaccinated populations disprove an vaccine/autism link, because Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney has been trying to get legislation passed to force the government to actually DO a vaccinated v. unvaccinated study because Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney knows good and well that it will take an act of Congress to get them to do the damn study.

'Cause the NIH does not want to do that study.

CDC started one in 1999 and found a correlation between vaccines and autism that they have been trying to bury ever since.

From: O'Shaughnessy, Meghan
Sent: Friday, February 29, 2008 5:42 PM
To: 'timothy.johnson@abc.com'
Subject: Autism report

Dr. Johnson,

Earlier this week on Good Morning America you said that studies of vaccinated vs. unvaccinated children showed no difference in autism rates (transcript below). I wanted to call your attention to the fact that no such scientific study has even been done. The only thing that even came close was a phone survey conducted last year by Survey USA and commissioned by Generation Rescue, which showed that vaccinated boys were more than twice as likely to have autism than unvaccinated boys.

There have been studies comparing autism outcomes among children receiving different types of vaccines and different amounts of thimerosal, but not one scientific study of autism outcomes between vaccinated and unvaccinated populations.

My boss, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), has introduced legislation that would require the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct a comprehensive comparative study of vaccinated and unvaccinated populations, which may resolve the controversy about the possible link between autism and mercury or other vaccine components: http://maloney.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1383&Itemid=61.

I just wanted to call your attention to this important information. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you very much for your time,

-Meghan

Meghan O'Shaughnessy
Press Secretary
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (NY-14)
2331 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-7944 (o)
(202) 225-3703 (c)
meghan.oshaughnessy@mail.house.gov

An Update on Helping Nate

In addition to the new web site, a group of about 70 people who have signed on to assist the family have started a yahoo group to coordinate efforts. Please join to keep abreast on efforts.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Rivassonnate/

The family looks to have found a lawyer to represent them (they have been fighting this on their own for a year) and can use financial help. I will find the donation link and post it here.

The First Newspaper Reports On The Goverment Concession

.... and it is not in the US... but Scotland.

This article is reporting that "Eve's" family will be holding a press conference in Atlanta tomorrow. I will try to get details.

I will keep you posted on other media outlets who pick up the story of the century that everyone is working so hard to try to ignore.

US To Award Vaccine Damage Payment
By Judith Duffy, Health Correspondent
The Sunday Herald
Campaigners hail decision as ‘unprecedented’

A DECISION by the US government to award compensation under its vaccine damage programme to a child diagnosed with symptoms of autism has been hailed as "unprecedented" by campaigners.

The claim is one of nearly 5000 cases currently pending in the American vaccine "court", which allege that mercury-containing vaccines resulted in autism.

Washington-based attorney Jim Moody, one of the lawyers involved in the cases, told the Sunday Herald the case was scheduled to go to trial in May, but "to everyone's surprise" the government conceded liability.

"It is also significant they conceded it was causing autism, they could have just said vaccines caused injury or been vague," he said. "Never before has our government linked vaccines to autism."

According to court papers, the girl was developing normally during the first 18 months of her life. But the officials agreed to pay compensation after it was demonstrated that five vaccinations she received on one day significantly aggravated an underlying type of genetic disorder, leading to a condition which had "features" of autism.

A press conference is planned for Atlanta tomorrow, where the girl's parents are expected to talk about the case.

While the US health department continues to insist there is no evidence that vaccines cause autism, it has been seized upon as a major concession by campaigners on both sides of the Atlantic who believe there is a link.

Wendy Fournier, of the National Autism Association in America, claimed it echoed the stories of thousands of children across the country.

"With almost 5000 similar cases pending in vaccine court, we are confident that this is just the first of many that will confirm what we have believed for so long - vaccines can and do cause children to regress into autism," she said.

Bill Welsh, president of the Edinburgh-based Autism Treatment Trust, said: "Over many years the compelling evidence of parents in this regard has been ignored by a medical hierarchy who appear more concerned with vested interests than the health of children."

The girl received five vaccinations for nine diseases on one day in July 2000 - including for chickenpox, polio, diphtheria, tetanus and the MMR jab for mumps, measles and rubella. The decision by the Division of Vaccine Injury Compensation did not pinpoint specific issues with the vaccinations but concluded they "significantly aggravated an underlying mitochondrial disorder, which predisposed her to deficits in cellular energy metabolism, and manifested as a regressive encephalopathy with features of autism disorder."

In the UK, much of the concern around vaccines and autism has focused on the MMR triple jab for mumps, measles and rubella. However, numerous studies have failed to find any link, including the largest ever study, which was published earlier this month.

Thiomersal, which contains mercury, began to be phased out as a preservative in childhood jabs from 1999 in the US and in the UK in 2004. It has never been used in MMR.

Tina Cheatham of the US Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) said: "HRSA has reviewed the scientific information concerning the allegation that vaccines cause autism and has found no credible evidence to support the claim.

"Accordingly, in every claim submitted under the Act, HRSA has maintained and continues to maintain the position that vaccines do not cause autism."

A spokesman for the Vaccine Damage Payments Unit in the UK, which is run by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), said details of the disabilities involved in payouts made under the scheme were not recorded.

"DWP keeps the vaccine damage scheme under regular review to ensure that it continues to meet policy intentions," he said.

ABC's Dr. Tim Johnson Tells A Big Mis Truth on TV

Last week on Good Morning America, ABC's medical expert Dr. Tim Johnson said the following when asked about vaccines and autism:

"Well, it's understandable why parents make that connection because their kids get shots and they get Autism at the same ages.

But I have to tell you, Diane, every good study that looks at this has found no increased risk from vaccines. They look at kids who get vaccinated and kids who don't.

THERE'S NO INCREASE IN RISK FOR AUTISM AMONG THOSE WHO GET VACCINES VERSES THOSE WHO DON'T.

The Institute of Medicine, which I think is an impeccably independent body, has looked at all the evidence an said there's no connection. I think that's the truth."

With in 2 minutes autism message boards were running over with, "Wait... did he just lie on national television... any one got TVIO and can back that up and listen to that again?" messages.

Because us parents know good and well, the only vaccinated v. unvaccinated study ever completed was the Generation Rescue survey last year of "over 9,000 boys in California and Oregon and found that vaccinated boys had a 155% greater chance of having a neurological disorder like ADHD or autism than unvaccinated boys".

And the only other vaxed v. unvaxed study that was begun dropped the unvaxxed kids from the study with in weeks because they found to high of a correlation between vaccination and neurodevelopmental disorders, specifically autism. In one case the risk ran as high as 600%! (You guessed it, the study was done by the CDC who didn't want to publish something that would implicate them in the autism epidemic).

That is the OPPOSITE of what Doc Johnson reported.

Autism mom Monica Bice got the message to ABC news pronto pointing out the misinformation and got back a reply from Audrey Grayson at the ABC News Medical Unit, who clearly has never read the studies that she is quoting.

This was my letter to her today:

Dear Ms. Grayson,

I read your response to Monica Bice's request that Dr. Timothy Johnson's errant comment be retracted by ABC.

I wanted to call your attention to a review I wrote of the Denmark and Verstraten studies two years ago so that you can see that these two studies do nothing to disprove the theory that thimerosal containing vaccines trigger autism. It was originally posted here: http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2005/08/heres-why-disdain.html

Both of these studies are fatally flawed and Verstraeten cannot be replicated, and parents and advocacy groups demands that they be retracted have fallen on deaf ears for years.

It is unbelievable that these two studies are STILL being proffered to support vaccine safety, because they do no such thing.

Attached is my review of the two studies and why I do not, as a mother and as a mental health professional, believe that they can be used to inform either my decisions to vaccinate my children, or to make decisions on vaccine policy in this country.

Please... take the time to read them in their entirety, and then go back and read the studies again, yourself, to see if I am right or not.

This medical misinformation has been allowed to continue, year after year, because journalists are not reading these studies for themselves, and the criticisms of them, and using their critical thinking skills to check the claims of the medical establishment that are rife with conflicts of interest.

Before you use these studies to support vaccine safety claims again... investigate them.

It is time for those in medical journalism to get back to being real investigative journalists, not just mimmics for the CDC.

I reiterate Ms. Bice's request that Dr. Johnson's statement be retracted. The only vaccinated v. unvaccinated study every completed (by Generation Rescue last year) found a dramatic correlation between vaccines and autism, and the early versions of the Verstraeten study, when he was still including unvaccinated populations, show a dramatic correlation as well.

Sincerely,
Ginger Taylor, M.S.

Critical Mass: John McCain, Thimerosal, The Government's Vaccine/Autism Consession and ABC News

critical mass
–noun
1. Physics. The amount of a given fissionable material necessary to sustain a nuclear chain reaction at a constant rate.
2. an amount necessary or sufficient to have a significant effect or to achieve a result: a critical mass of popular support.
[Origin: 1940–45]

What do ABC News, John McCain, Thimerosal and The Government concession that autistic Eve deserved compensation for her vaccine injury have in common?

This Article entitled John McCain Enters The Autism Wars.

It may on be an ABC News Blog, but it has reported that John McCain believes that vaccine additives are related to the autism epidemic.

I have been gearing up to write about John McCain and the fact that he emerged months ago as The Autism Candidate, but was still compiling information.

The quick facts are, that at the beginning of the primaries, of the dozen or so candidates for president that autism parents were talking to, one guy listened.

John McCain.

He met Sam and Sam's mom, and listened to their vaccine injury story and listened to the wonderful stories of autism recovery that were taking place via DAN! methods.

And a few weeks later, when Sam and his mom attended another McCain event, Big Mac recognized Sam and his mom in the crowd and gave him a shout out. Then he listed to Sam and his mom some more and introduced them to his staffers.

... and last night at his town hall meeting in Texas, he said, "It’s indisputable that (autism) is on the rise amongst children, the question is what’s causing it. And we go back and forth and there’s strong evidence that indicates that it’s got to do with a preservative in vaccines."

John McCain takes our concerns seriously. He does not yet seem to have a total picture of what is going on with the relationship between vaccines and autism (we are all still working that out really) but this statement proves that he is listening, thinking critically, not swallowing the medical establishment's pr bullshit and that he is taking parents claims seriously.

David Kirby has already warned him: Senator McCain: Watch Out For Incoming!

I will be endorsing an autism candidate, and right now... John McCain is WAY out in front.