Drunk Moms Cause Autism

Or so says this reporter who wants us to just take her word for it as the study that would support this claim is unpublished and the researchers won't talk to her about what it actually says. But she feels just taking their word for it is investigation enough to for publication in a major newspaper?

This really bothers me.

My letter to Sarah-Kate Templeton:

Wow.. what a horribly irresponsible piece of journalism.

"Guess what everyone... drinking causes autism, and we have a study to prove it, but we are not going to tell you what is in the study, and no one can check our work but we want you to print it in the newspaper and tell everyone anyway. Trust us... we have presented it in "scientific meetings".

Ms. Templeton, women have been drinking while pregnant for thousands of years. (tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands? When was fermentation discovered?) It seems reasonable to assume that if it caused something like autism, people would have discovered, labeled and described autism in the literature long before Kanner did it in the 1930's.

When there is a published study for people to read for them selves and see if there is any merit to the theory, then write about it.

But publishing the headline, "Drinking while pregnant risks autism in babies", when you have no data to actually back up the claim is just wrong.

An equally salient point from Clifford G. Miller of Beckenham, England:

If drinking alcohol whilst pregnant causes autism, why is the autism rate so high in teetotal Utah, USA?

- 1 in 133 Utah children has autism's 3rd highest rate in 14 US states (according to US Centers for Disease Control 9/2/07 - http://unews.utah.edu/p/?r=020807-2)

- Utah 2.5 million population - (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/49000.html)

- approx 75% of Utah is Mormon (http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/contact-us/usa-utah)

- approx 49% regular church attenders (http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2886596).

"Latter-day Saints generally adhere strictly to their health code which prohibits the use of tobacco and alcohol. These practices have always shown up in national health data, which consistently rate Utah as having the lowest rates of smoking, alcohol use, lung cancer, etc. The National Institute of Mental Health ranked Utah as the second-lowest U.S" (http://www.adherents.com/largecom/lds_dem.html)

March 23, 2008
Drinking while pregnant risks autism in babies
Sarah-Kate Templeton, Health Editor

Women who drink alcohol during pregnancy may be putting their babies at risk of developing autism, according to new research.

The consultant psychiatrist who alerted the medical profession to the finding that drinking while pregnant can give babies a condition called foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) has now found that the consumption of alcohol by expecting mothers can also cause autism.

The research is the first to suggest that autism may be triggered by the child’s mother drinking alcohol during pregnancy.

The findings will heighten concern about the increase in alcohol consumption among women of childbearing age.

More than half of all mothers drink alcohol while pregnant, according to the Department of Health. This week the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence will issue a new warning about the dangers.

A recent survey showed 8% of women aged 18 to 24 had consumed at least 35 units of alcohol, the equivalent of about 15 glasses of wine, during the previous week. Binge drinking among young women has resulted in the number of alcohol-related deaths in women aged 35 to 54 doubling between 1991 and 2005.

Earlier this year, the British Medical Association warned that the increase in alcohol consumption by young women will be reflected in a rise in drinking during pregnancy and, subsequently, will put more babies at risk of being damaged by alcohol while in the womb.

Raja Mukherjee, consultant psychiatrist at Surrey Borders Partnership NHS trust, has spent the past 18 months examining children who have been damaged by their mother’s drinking during pregnancy and found that a high proportion of them have autism. The research has been presented at scientific meetings.

Mukherjee, who has presented his findings to medical colleagues, declined to discuss them in detail before their publication in a medical journal but said: “Genetic conditions are by far the most common cause of autism but that is not to say that other things cannot cause it, and prenatal alcohol appears, possibly, to be [a cause].

“Unlike genetic conditions, this is 100% preventable.”

Mukherjee has previously warned against any drinking during pregnancy and believes that even low levels of alcohol may endanger babies.

Drinking during pregnancy can cause foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, the umbrella term for a range of disorders — from minor anomalies such as low birth weight to severe FAS, the symptoms of which include mental retardation and facial abnormalities such as a short nose.

The number of cases of FAS in Britain has increased in recent years. So far the government and medical bodies have given out conflicting messages about how much alcohol it is safe to drink during pregnancy.

Cases rising

One per cent of British children suffer from autism, according to the Office for National Statistics. Some academics argue that the percentage of children suffering from the disorder is increasing but others say that numbers are up because of better diagnosis.

Although the cause of autism is unknown, many doctors believe some people have a genetic predisposition towards it.

Dr Andrew Wakefield linked autism to the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella, but the research was discredited. It led to a fall in immunisation.

David Kirby on Ring of Fire

http://www.adventuresinautism.com/images/AirAmericaKirby032208.mp3

The Spectator: Another Piece in the Jigsaw

They are catching on to Hannah's story in the UK.

Another piece in the jigsaw?
22 March 2008
Melanie Phillips
The Spectator


A propos the Wakefield affair discussed in my post below, a recent case in America should not pass without comment. In a landmark ruling, the US Court of Federal Claims, Office of the Special Master, under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Programme, conceded a vaccine injury to a child from Georgia who, having been developing normally until she received multiple vaccinations, subsequently developed serious brain and body disorders.

Nine year-old Hannah Poling, who at 18 months was recorded by paediatricians as meeting all her developmental milestones, was then given no fewer than five vaccinations in one day — DTaP, Hib, MMR, Varivax, and IPV. Id — following which she suffered a catastrophic breakdown in brain and bodily functions, regressing in language and social development and with persistent gut problems. The court ruled that

the vaccinations CHILD received on July 19, 2000 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 spectrum disorder.

Writing in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, journalist David Kirby goes further and says:

The November report said Hannah's vaccine reaction had ‘manifested’ as early-onset brain disease, with ‘features of autism spectrum disorder.’ But the February report is more blunt. It says that Hannah's vaccines ‘caused’ her ‘autistic’ brain disease.

This ruling is the first time a causal link has been established between childhood vaccines and autistic spectrum disorder. It is important to note straightaway an important point of difference from the MMR controversy in the UK. This child’s immune system collapsed not as a result of MMR alone but because she received multiple vaccinations in one day, including the MMR triple jab.

Precisely what caused Hannah Poling’s catastrophic reaction, therefore, cannot be established. We don't know whether it was one of these vaccines or the fact that they were in combination. Nevertheless, this case should not be dismissed as having no relevance. These vaccines did include MMR, and the symptoms she displayed bear remarkable similarities to those reported by countless parents in the MMR controversy. Despite the differences, the significance for the MMR controversy is that this ruling established for the first time that a hitherto unknown problem with a child’s cellular system caused a catastrophic reaction in that child to a vaccination schedule, including delivery of the already multiple MMR, that has produced no ill-effects in other children. This suggests that, in some children, multiple vaccines overload immune systems that are particularly vulnerable.

In America, the health authorities are dismissing this ruling as a one-off with no further significance. But surely it suggests instead that urgent questions now demonstrably need to be asked about both the safety of these these childhood vaccines in themselves and the policy, so dear to the medical establishment on both sides of the Atlantic, of multiplying the number of vaccines delivered simultaneously to small children?

The Wakefield Witch-Hunt

The Wakefield witch-hunt
Friday, 21st March 2008
The Spectator

A couple of days ago, yet another story appeared claiming that fresh research had shown that there was no link between the MMR vaccination and autism. This new research was said to have shown that, contrary to the claims made by Dr Andrew Wakefield, the surgeon at the centre of the MMR scare, there was no relationship between gut problems and autism, the core of his concerns. It also claimed that the discovery furthermore damaged the related theory that a gluten-free diet could help children with autism.

Dr Hilary Cass, from Great Ormond Street, said: ‘It is very distressing to have a diagnosis of autism, a lifelong condition.Many families are driven to try out interventions which currently have no scientific basis. For example, advocates of the leaky gut hypothesis offer children a casein and gluten-free diet which as yet lacks an evidence base.’

This particular observation is a telling indication that this study bears little relation to reality. For there are countless families whose autistic children’s suffering from gut problems has only been eased, and their autistic symptoms improved, by the introduction of precisely such a diet. ‘No evidence base’? Tell that to those families. It is their lived experience.

Second, despite the way this was presented in the media this is not a new piece of research at all. It is instead a recycled version of a study by Baird G. et al, published in the Archive of Diseases in Childhood on February 5 and reported in the press around that time. The study drew the following response from Andrew Wakefield:

…The study is severely limited by case definition in the context of the crucial ‘possible enterocolitis’ group. For inclusion in this group they required the presence of two or more of the following five current gastrointestinal symptoms:

* current persistent diarrhea (defined as watery/loose stools three or more times per day >14 days),
* current persistent vomiting (occurring at least once per day, or more than five times per week),
* current weight loss,
* current persistent abdominal pain (3 or more episodes [frequency not specified by authors] severe enough to interfere with activity);
* current blood in stool;


plus:

* past persistent diarrhea >14 days’ duration, and excluding current constipation.


We have over the last 10 years evaluated several thousand children on the autistic spectrum who have significant gastrointestinal symptoms. Upper and lower endoscopy and surgical histology have identified mucosal inflammation in excess of 80% of these children. Almost none of these children with biopsy-proven enterocolitis would fit the criteria set out above. Firstly, these children rarely have vomiting, current weight loss (as opposed to failure to gain weight in an age-appropriate manner), or passage of blood per rectum. The requirement is thus narrowed to a child having two of two relevant symptoms – current persistent diarrhea and current abdominal pain according to their criteria, plus a past history of persistent diarrhea excluding current constipation.

The requirement for the current presence of these symptoms, for 14 or more days continuously, shows a singular lack of understanding of the episodic, fluctuating, and alternating (e.g. diarrhea/constipation) symptom profile experienced by these children. In our experience, ASD children with histologic enterocolitis typically have 1 to 2 unformed stools per day that are very malodorous and usually contain a variety of undigested foodstuffs. This pattern alternates with that of “constipation” in which the unformed stool is passed after many days of no bowel movements at all, and with excessive straining. This group is entirely overlooked by the arbitrary criteria set forth in their paper. With respect to diarrhea and constipation, a detailed discussion of stool pattern in these children is available1 which further highlights the shortcomings of the above criteria. Moreover, the interpretation of pain as a symptom in non-verbal children, as it often manifests as self injury, aggressive outbursts, sleep disturbances, and abnormal posturing, is notoriously difficult. This interpretation requires an insight based upon the correlation of symptoms, histological findings, and response of symptoms to anti-inflammatory treatment. There is no evidence in the Baird et al. paper that these crucial factors were taken into account. This study’s inappropriate symptom criteria would explain the discordance with other reports that have revealed a high prevalence of significant gastrointestinal symptoms in general autism populations2,3.

It is surprising that Dr Peter Sullivan, a co-author on the paper, who presumably provided the above gastroenterological criteria, was not aware of the aforementioned limitations. In his role as a Defendant’s expert in the UK MMR litigation, he will have had access to the clinical records of autistic children with the relevant intestinal symptoms and biopsy-proven intestinal inflammation.

We suggest that the authors might wish to reflect on the ethical implications of setting the bar too high for the investigation of such children by ileo-colonoscopy, with the attendant risk of missing symptomatic, treatable inflammation.

Since the relevant MMR/autism children are considered to be those with regression and significant gastrointestinal symptoms, the appropriate stratification for between-group analyses of measles virus antibody levels has not been conducted; therefore the paper is difficult to interpret, adding little if anything to the issue of causation. Moreover, it is a major error to have presumed that peripheral blood mononuclear cells are a valid ‘proxy’ for gut mucosal lymphoid tissues when searching for persistent viral genetic material.

A further major problem in this study is the number of children who dropped out or who were unable to provide adequate blood samples. We know nothing about either the 735 children who were lost at stage two, or the 100 children for whom blood samples were not available. At the very least, we should be told whether the children who dropped out were likely to be representative of those who stayed in, with regard to the key issues of interest.

For reasons that will emerge in the near future, it would be of interest to know whether siblings of autistic children were included in either of the two control groups. This information is not provided.

As a general observation, this paper contributes nothing to the issue of causation, one way or another. Case definition alone is likely to have obscured the relevant group of autistic children. The study tells us nothing about what actually happened to the children at the time of exposure. We are increasingly persuaded that measuring things in blood many years down the line tells us very little about the initiating events in what is, in effect, a static (non-progressive) encephalopathy unlike, for example, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, which is a progressive measles encephalopathy. The gut is a different matter, and analysis of mucosal tissues has been very informative, since here, in the relevant children, active ongoing, possibly progressive [AV1]4, inflammation has been identified.

None of Wakefield’s pointers to the irrelevance of or inadequacies in the Baird research was included in the news stories. Nor do these stories refer to other research studies which show a higher rate of gastro-intestinal problems among children with autistic-spectrum symptoms. The recycling of the Baird study was but the latest in a steady drip-feed of such items which appear to be part of a concerted campaign to ensure that the General Medical Council hearing into the conduct of Wakefield’s research, which is shortly due to resume, takes place in as prejudiced an atmosphere as possible. No stone is being left unturned by the medico-political establishment and its creatures in the media to ensure that this doctor is destroyed.

As I have repeatedly said, I have no idea whether Wakefield is correct or not in his concerns about the possible adverse effects of the MMR vaccine on a small sub-set of vaccinated children. Nor do I know whether any of the charges being levelled against him at the GMC has any legs. But I do believe — as I wrote in my series of articles on the subject for the Daily Mail in 2003 here, here and here — that many of the statements made by the Department of Health and medical establishment about the ‘proof’ of the vaccine’s unchallengeable safety are deeply misleading. And I also believe, having spoken to many parents of such children, that their experiences simply cannot be dismissed as they have been by the medical establishment. No-one has ever suggested that the MMR vaccine causes all or most of the incidence of autism. If Wakefield is correct, it is only a small proportion of children whose immune systems may be unable to cope, for whatever reason, which makes them particularly vulnerable to such ill-effects. And contrary to the message being pumped out by the medical establishment that the vaccine has been proved to be safe — by studies which are all either flawed, inadequate or irrelevant — the fairest and most accurate thing to say is that the jury is still out.

One of the most reprehensible weapons being wielded in the witch-hunt against Wakefield is the claim that anyone who gives any credence whatever to his concerns is responsible for the incidence of measles amongst children whose parents are as a result too frightened to give them the MMR vaccination. There are two obvious points to make in response to this piece of moral blackmail: 1) the whole panic could have been avoided by offering single measles, mumps and rubella jabs rather than the triple MMR, and 2) it is surely just as important as avoiding cases of measles mumps and rubella to avoid causing the kind of catastrophic damage to the brain and gut displayed by the children at the heart of this controversy.

And there is a further and quite appalling point to note. This whole saga started because parents of such children found that their family doctors were dismissing out of hand their children’s gut and brain problems, accordingly refusing to alleviate their suffering. Now, as a direct result of the animosity towards Wakefield that has been whipped up — and the fear that any doctor who suggests he might be right will similarly find him or herself at the receiving end of the medical establishment’s fist — children exhibiting this combination of gut and brain damage are finding it difficult to obtain treatment.

Another letter to the Archive of Diseases in Childhood from John Stone, the parent of an autistic child, makes terrifying and distressing reading:

In this regard it is worth noting the recent warning of the National Autistic Society (NAS):

‘The National Autistic Society is keenly aware of the concerns of parents surrounding suggested links between autism and the MMR vaccine. The charity is concerned that the GMC hearing, and surrounding media coverage, will create further confusion and make it even more difficult for parents to access appropriate medical advice for their children. It is particularly important that this case is not allowed to increase the lack of sympathy that some parents of children with autism have encountered from health professionals, particularly on suspected gut and bowel problems. Parents have reported to the NAS that in some cases their concerns have been dismissed as hysteria following previous publicity around the MMR vaccine. It is crucial that health professionals listen to parents' concerns and respect their views as the experts on their individual children…’

The NAS warning relates to the GMC hearing involving doctors Wakefield, Walker-Smith and Murch which is set to resume on 25 March approaching. I do not think it is being unduly cynical to query the publication of this study at the present time as a media event, bearing in mind that it seems to have been carried out five or six years ago. Moreover, the study has once again been promoted as refuting the Wakefield hypothesis when it in fact tests for a possibility that had not been proposed. Meanwhile, the plight of autistic children with gastro- intestinal symptoms is excluded both from the study and public attention, as if they did not exist. The NAS statement warned of ‘creating further confusion’ and this is precisely what this study and its media exposure has done.

As the resumption of the GMC hearing draws nearer, one has to ask whether this will serve the cause of truth and justice and the relief of suffering — or is it instead merely a show trial which will bring about the precise opposite?

Serious Concerns Over Hepatitis B Vaccine

Today is one of those days that I read things like this and it just makes me cry.

If I knew this in March of 2002, would I have allowed Chandler to have that first Hep B shot that sent him on his journey down the rabbit hole?

All this information was out there. My doctor told me none of it.

Serious Concerns Over Hepatitis B Vaccine
Friday, March 21, 2008 7:05 AM
Michael Arnold Glueck and Robert J. Cihak, The Medicine Men


As some readers know, we have expressed our concerns about childhood vaccinations a number of times. (See Newsmax,com Medicine Men Archives.)

We are not saying that all vaccines are bad, but we ask that parents, physicians, and health authorities proceed with care and caution and sometimes resist some of the "automatic" childhood vaccinations.

Today the issue is that of the hepatitis B vaccine.

From 1994 to 1998, almost two-thirds of the French population and almost all newborn babies were vaccinated against hepatitis B, but the campaign was temporarily suspended because of concerns about side effects.

In what was called a "thunderclap in the vaccine industry," French authorities have opened a formal investigation regarding a hepatitis B vaccination campaign by GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Pasteur in the 1990s. It is alleged that the companies failed to fully disclose neurologic side effects.

Another investigation opened by Judge Marie-Odile Bertella-Geffroy concerns the death ("manslaughter") of a 28-year-old woman from multiple sclerosis, allegedly connected to the vaccine (Le Figaro 1/31/08).

Some 30 plaintiffs, including the families of five patients who died after the vaccination, have launched civil actions (Reuters 1/1/08).

A British case-controlled analysis showed an odds ratio of 3-to-1 (95 percent) for the first symptoms of multiple sclerosis in recipients of recombinant hepatitis B vaccine compared to controls. Two previous French studies had shown a ratio of about 1-to-5. Other studies showed a non-significant increase (or null findings) especially when date of diagnosis rather than date of first symptoms was used (Neurology 2004; 63: 838-842).

According to attorney Clifford Miller, "British doctors administering hepatitis B vaccine to infants could face criminal prosecution if fully informed consent is not obtained. Civil prosecution for damages is possible over 21 years later if the injured survive as adults" (UK Press Association Newswire/Romeike, September 2005).

The hepatitis B vaccine has been considered "one of the safest vaccines ever produced" (Neurology, 2004; 63: 838-842). On the other hand, French medical expert Marc Girard has said that "for a preventive measure, hepatitis B is remarkable for the frequency, variety and severity of complications from its use" (Romeike, September 2005).

In the past, individual concerns over vaccination have often been transgressed because of the platitude that the public good takes precedence over the individual.

We suggest that when it comes to the routine childhood hepatitis B vaccination those affected and involved should think a little harder before they shoot.

We think that the French authorities finally got something right.

* * *

Michael Arnold Glueck, M.D., comments on medical-legal issues and is a visiting fellow in Economics and Citizenship at the International Trade Education Foundation of the Washington International Trade Council.

Robert J. Cihak, M.D., is a senior fellow and board member of the Discovery Institute and a past president of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons.

A-CHAMP Action Alert - Call Congress

From A-CHAMP:

Read David Kirby's Editorial,"Give Us Answers on Vaccines" in the Atlanta Journal Constitution Today - and then call Congress!


Tell Your Congressional Representatives that You Want Answers!

Today's Atlanta-Journal Constitution contains an editorial by David Kirby entitled

We have recently had a glimpse of the truth about the link between vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders like autism. When the news was revealed by the Poling family that the government conceded that vaccines caused their daughter, Hannah's, autism, we had a window into the truth about vaccine safety and what has happened to a generation of children.

But the Poling documents and the truth remain sealed!

We want to parents and family members to call Congress...call...call...and keep calling, and demand the

Truth about vaccine safety,

Truth about whether vaccines have harmed our kids and

JUSTICE for our children!

Talking points suggestions:


We need the truth about vaccine safety.

For years the government has denied any association between vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism. In private, public officials have conceded that vaccines have caused autism, such as in the government's recent concessions in the Poling case. Vaccines have been found to have caused autism in at least nine other cases considered by our public officials.

Our kids were damaged because because of the vaccine program, but the government told us vaccines were safe. Our children missed the statute of limitations because we trusted the CDC when they told us repeatedly there was no association between vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders.

We want the Poling documents released.

We want access to the VSD, the publicly financed Vaccine Safety Datalink database that may answer important questions about vaccines and their relationship to neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.

We want the statute of limitations extended with a look back so that hundreds of thousands children harmed by vaccines are allowed access to justice. Right now they have no right to make claims and obtain justice.

If Congress can hold hearings on Roger Clemens's steroid use, our elected representatives can hold hearings on why hundreds of thousands of children are suffering with neurodevelopmental disorders in an unprecedented epidemic.

We want the CDC and the FDA held accountable.

"Millions of parents are anxiously waiting for their government to tell them what the hell is going on."

CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES, AND KEEP CALLING UNTIL THEY ANSWER YOU AND AGREE TO SUPPORT OUR KIDS .
"We are everywhere and we are not going away!"

...and we are coming to Washington in June.

Jenny McCarthy on The Hour

So apparently The White House called Jenny and asked her to tell people to stop calling.

Apparently Jenny didn't feel like passing on the message because I have not heard her to tell us to stop calling.

When George Bush fires Julie Gerberding and shows up at a DAN conference with the new head of the CDC, then we can stop calling.

202-456-1414

Kirby in AJC: Give Us Answers On Vaccines

New Poling Case documents are surfacing which inform us that, "Hannah's autism was caused by vaccine-induced fever and overstimulation of her immune system, according to court documents."

That is NOT what Julie Gerberding told us out side of the CDC two weeks ago.

Keep those calls to the White House up. 202-456-1414 Ask them when they are going to get HHS to release all the documents from the Poling case and all the other cases in Vaccine court.

Running tomorrow in the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

Give us answers on vaccines
By DAVID KIRBY
Published on: 03/20/08

By now, many parents in America have heard of the Hannah Poling court case. They know the government has acknowledged that vaccines contributed to autism in at least one little girl from Georgia. Understandably, they are worried, and they want answers.

But instead of frank talk from leading health officials, their concerns are being met with stonewalling, denial and misinformation.

By refusing to address what really happened to Hannah — by commanding parents to settle down and adhere to the nation's rigid immunization regime — officials will only drive people away from vaccines in anxiety-ridden droves.

But what if we could test children for underlying conditions that might increase their risk of vaccine injury and autism? And what if we allowed those at risk to slightly delay and spread out their shots?

It's a difficult, but not impossible, proposition. And I believe doing so would reduce the rate of autism, seizure disorders and even asthma in some children. And we would boost vaccination rates by restoring faith in the nation's teetering immunization program.

Why do I say this? New documents have surfaced in the Poling case that shine more light on how Hannah's vaccine injury led to autism.

A government document filed in the case last November conceded that Hannah's vaccines had aggravated an underlying disorder of the mitochondria. Mitochondria are the tiny powerhouses within each cell that convert food and oxygen into energy. Government officials acknowledged that Hannah's disorder led to a condition known as low cellular energy metabolism, which was aggravated by vaccines and ultimately led to an autism diagnosis.

It was a tantalizing admission but did little to explain just how the vaccines had aggravated the disorder or caused autism.

But on Feb. 21, the U.S. government made a second, unpublicized concession in the case. In addition to triggering autism, officials now admitted, Hannah's vaccines had also led to her "seizure disorder," or epilepsy.

And there was more. The November document claimed that Hannah had a mitochondrial "disorder." But by February, this was modulated to a mere mitochondrial "dysfunction."

That's because Hannah's underlying condition was asymptomatic and most likely environmentally acquired. It was not some rare, grave, inherited disease that would have progressed to autism anyway, as many officials contend.

The November report said Hannah's vaccine reaction had "manifested" as early-onset brain disease, with "features of autism spectrum disorder."

But the February report is more blunt. It says that Hannah's vaccines "caused" her "autistic" brain disease.

But the real bombshell was this: Hannah's autism was caused by vaccine-induced fever and overstimulation of her immune system, according to court documents. Her low cellular energy and reduced metabolic reserves, due to mitochondrial dysfunction, were overstressed by the contents of nine vaccines (including mercury) at once.

The Cleveland Clinic defines low cellular energy metabolism disorder this way: "The process of converting food and oxygen (fuel) into energy requires hundreds of chemical reactions, and each chemical reaction must run almost perfectly in order to have a continuous supply of energy. When one or more components of these chemical reactions does not run perfectly, there is an energy crisis, and the cells cannot function normally. As a result, the incompletely burned food might accumulate as poison inside the body."

The cause of Hannah's mitochondrial dysfunction is up for debate, though ample evidence exists to implicate heavy metals in air, water, food and vaccines as possible suspects. But the government has acknowledged that low cellular energy can increase the risk of immune system overdrive, and regression into autism.

Now, one would think that investigating — and preventing — such vaccine-induced overstimulation in susceptible children would be a top priority of health officials. But it is not.

Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has vowed to "adamantly" enforce the one-size-fits-all vaccine schedule, no matter what happened to Hannah and other kids like her.

Frantic parents, desperate for answers, were admonished by Gerberding to "set aside this very isolated, unusual situation" in so-called Vaccine Court, even though "the court apparently made the decision that it is fair to say that vaccinations may have been one of the precipitators."

Gerberding was either grossly misinformed, or lying.

To begin with, this "decision" was not made by the court at all, but by medical personnel working for the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Gerberding's boss.

More important, the Poling case is neither isolated nor unusual. At least 12 other autism-related claims have been paid out in Vaccine Court to date, and perhaps hundreds more cases like Hannah's are pending.

Most striking is how typical Hannah's cellular dysfunction may be among children with autism. While extremely rare in the general population, at two per 10,000 people, it seems unusually common in autism — with estimates up to 2,000 per 10,000.

Many opinion leaders are calling on the government to release all relevant documents leading to the Poling concessions. The family has waived all claims to privacy, and the public has a right to know.

For now, all we have is the CDC Web site, which says that "simultaneous vaccination with multiple vaccines has no adverse effect on the normal childhood immune system."

But did Hannah have a "normal" immune system? Are other kids out there also metabolically primed for overstimulation from too many shots at once? Should their vaccines be spread out?

Instead of answers, we get adamant silence. This is not a matter of national security. It's a national emergency. Millions of parents are anxiously waiting for their government to tell them what the hell is going on.

• David Kirby, an investigative journalist, is author of "Evidence of Harm – Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic: A Medical Controversy"

Mark Blaxill and Boyd Haley Respond to Pichichero et. al. Thimerosal Mercury Excretion Study

Comment from Boyd Haley:

...Attached is a letter Mark Blaxill and I prepared and sent to the Pediatrics Journal in response to a Pichichero et al. study which claimed thimerosal (or ethyl mercury) left the body to fast to be toxic. Pediatrics refused to publish it which showed a total lack of support for any scientific debate in this journal for items concerning mercury toxicity causing autism. This same Pediatrics journal rejected the Nataf paper showing abnormal urinary porphyrin profiles in autistic children indicating they were mercury toxic. What the paper shows is that using Pichichero’s own data on fecal mercury excretion there was a definite retention of mercury in children receiving the normal vaccine schedule. Boyd Haley

From The Lancet 2002:

Mercury concentrations and metabolism in infants receiving vaccines containing thiomersal: a descriptive study.

Pichichero ME, Cernichiari E, Lopreiato J, Treanor J.

Department of Microbiology/Immunology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, NY, USA. michael_pichichero@urmc.rochester.edu

BACKGROUND: Thiomersal is a preservative containing small amounts of ethylmercury that is used in routine vaccines for infants and children. The effect of vaccines containing thiomersal on concentrations of mercury in infants' blood has not been extensively assessed, and the metabolism of ethylmercury in infants is unknown. We aimed to measure concentrations of mercury in blood, urine, and stools of infants who received such vaccines. METHODS: 40 full-term infants aged 6 months and younger were given vaccines that contained thiomersal (diptheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis vaccine, hepatitis B vaccine, and in some children Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine). 21 control infants received thiomersal-free vaccines. We obtained samples of blood, urine, and stools 3-28 days after vaccination. Total mercury (organic and inorganic) in the samples was measured by cold vapour atomic absorption. FINDINGS: Mean mercury doses in infants exposed to thiomersal were 45.6 microg (range 37.5-62.5) for 2-month-olds and 111.3 microg (range 87.5-175.0) for 6-month-olds. Blood mercury in thiomersal-exposed 2-month-olds ranged from less than 3.75 to 20.55 nmol/L (parts per billion); in 6-month-olds all values were lower than 7.50 nmol/L. Only one of 15 blood samples from controls contained quantifiable mercury. Concentrations of mercury were low in urine after vaccination but were high in stools of thiomersal-exposed 2-month-olds (mean 82 ng/g dry weight) and in 6-month-olds (mean 58 ng/g dry weight). Estimated blood half-life of ethylmercury was 7 days (95% CI 4-10 days). INTERPRETATION: Administration of vaccines containing thiomersal does not seem to raise blood concentrations of mercury above safe values in infants. Ethylmercury seems to be eliminated from blood rapidly via the stools after parenteral administration of thiomersal in vaccines.

Blaxil and Haley's submission to Pediatrics:

Infant stool eliminates vaccinal mercury slowly suggesting high retention in tissue

To the editor,

In a study in The Lancet, Pichichero et al 1 argued that ethylmercury administered to infants through vaccines is eliminated rapidly from the blood and effectively excreted in stool. Our analysis of this data, combined with a more recent analysis2 of mercury excretion in baby hair suggests a more worrisome interpretation, one that offers support for the hypothesis3 linking early mercury exposures with autism.

Our calculations suggest that Pichichero et al. overstated the significance of their excretion findings. Although their data support a rapid rate of ethylmercury elimination from blood, instead of similarly rapid stool elimination, their findings demonstrate slow stool excretion in many infants, suggesting that significant amounts of ethylmercury from vaccines may be retained in infant tissue.

Most methyl mercury is eliminated from the body through stool and ethyl mercury from vaccines most likely follows the same path. Both mercury species must pass out of the blood to allow excretion in feces or (in lesser amounts) hair. 4 Nevertheless elimination from blood also allows for mercury transport into tissue, without prompt excretion. Our analysis of mercury excretion in autistic and control baby hair demonstrated that, although mercury was excreted at high rates in hair of normal infants, hair of autistic infants contained very little mercury, only 0.47 mcg/g versus 3.63 mcg/g in controls. This finding raises the possibility of increased mercury retention in the tissue of autistic infants, who also had higher rates of prenatal mercury exposure.

Pichichero et al provide data specific to infant mercury excretion through feces. They measured mercury concentrations in stool of 22 normal infants exposed to thimerosal in vaccines, ages two and six months, and found a range of 23-141 nanograms of mercury per gram of stool (dry weight). The authors interpreted these levels, mere parts per billion, as positive evidence of mercury elimination.

But these mercury concentrations are extremely low, not nearly enough to allow rapid excretion. Infant dry weight stool volumes have been measured at between 1-3 grams per kilogram (kg) per day.5 Based on the 50th percentile weight progression from 3.5-8 kg in the zero-six month period, infant stool volumes may be expected to range from 6-18 grams (dry weight) per day. Taking the stool concentration range for mercury from Pichichero et al, we calculated the time required for an infant to excrete the ethylmercury (187.5 mcg) that U.S. infants received by six months of age during the 1990s.

Stool Hg concentration Daily Hg excretion Days to excrete 187.5 mcg
(ng/g) (mcg/day) (days)

Minimum: 23 0.14-0.41 457-1,339
Maximum: 140 0.84-2.52 74-223

In the case of maximum excretion, early vaccine exposures are eliminated within the time period of exposure, but for those children with stool concentrations at the low end of the range, the infant elimination rate rises to nearly four years. For autistic infants, with evidence of reduced excretion in hair and additional fetal exposures2 (from maternal amalgam filling, fish consumption and Rho D immunoglobulin injections) these excretion times were likely far longer.

Our analysis contradicts the optimism expressed by Pichichero et al and suggests that low mercury excretion rates in some infants may underlie the link between mercury exposures and autism.

Mark F. Blaxill
Director, Safe Minds

Boyd E. Haley, PhD
Professor of Chemistry and Department Chairman
University of Kentucky


References:
1. Pichichero ME, Cernichiari E, Lopreiato J, Treanor J. Mercury concentrations and metabolism in infants receiving vaccines containing thiomersal: a descriptive study. Lancet. 2002;360(9347):1737-1741
2. Holmes AS, Blaxill MF, Haley BE. Reduced levels of mercury in first baby haircuts of autistic children. Int J Toxic. 2003;111(4):277-285
3. Bernard S, Enayati A, Redwood L, Roger H, Binstock T. Autism: a novel form of mercury poisoning. Med Hypotheses. 2001;56:462-471
4. Clarkson TW. The three modern faces of mercury. Environ Health Perspect. 2002;110 Suppl 1:11-23
5. Chou C, Studies on the use of soybean food in infant feeding in China and the development of formula 5410. Food Nutr Bull. 1983;5(1) :10-11 http://www.unu.edu/unupress/food/8F051e/8F051E00.htm - Contents

Vaccine Omnibus Hearings Test Case #3 Concludes

Kent Heckenlively, Esq., who is THE man following every word of the hearings for the autism community, files his final report on Snyder v. the Secretary of Health and Human Services in THE SHORT GOOD-BYE: DAY 21 AUTISM OMNIBUS HEARING

A special thanks to Kent for using his legal ear and parents heart to bring us Colten Synder's story over at the Age of Autism.

Like Its Predecessor RotaShield, Offit's Rotateq May Be Linked To Intussusception

Potential conflicts of interest: Ginger Taylor is the mother of a child with vaccine induced autism who has gotten to the point where she cringes at hearing the name Paul Offit because of his ridiculously irresponsible overstatements of vaccine safety on media outlet after media outlet while always failing to disclose his conflict of interest that he is a vaccine patent holder on Merck's RotaTeq vaccine. (Did you know that babies can theoretically handle 100,000 vaccines in one sitting? It's true! Paul Offit says so!)

If there is such thing as a science grudge match, this qualifies, as I can't imagine that the authors of this study feel any differently about Offit than I do.

However, let's let the article speak for itself. It finds that like the last rota virus vaccine to be removed from the market, Offit's vaccine may be causing Intussusception, a nasty, life threatening disorder where the intestine actually turns inside out and starts folding in on itself like a a telescope collapses.

Rota Teq is on the CDC's vaccine schedule.

If this bears out, let's hope it is yanked even more quickly than RotaShield was.

RotaTeq vaccine adverse events and policy considerations

David A. Geier, Paul G. King, Lisa K. Sykes, Mark R. Geier

The Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc., CoMeD, Inc., The Genetic Centers of America,

Potential conflicts of interest: David A. Geier has been a consultant in vaccine/biologic cases before the no-fault National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP) and in civil litigation. Mark R. Geier has been a consultant and expert witness in vaccine/biologic cases before the no-fault NVICP and in civil litigation. Paul G. King and Lisa K. Sykes have no conflicts of interest.

Background: Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe gastroenteritis in children <5 years-old worldwide. On February 3, 2006, the US Food and Drug Administration licensed RotaTeq™ (Merck and Co.), a bioengineered combination of five human-bovine hybridized reassortment rotaviruses. In August of 2006, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended RotaTeq for routine vaccination of US infants administered orally at the ages 2, 4, and 6 months. Material/Methods: An evaluation of data reported to VAERS following the fi rst fi ve quarters of post-marketing surveillance of RotaTeq was undertaken. Trends in adverse events reported following RotaTeq and cost effectiveness calculations of RotaTeq in the context of the disease burden of rotavirus in the US were examined. Results: From February 3, 2006 through July 31, 2007, a total of 160 (of the 165 reported) intussusception and 11 (of the 16 reported) Kawasaki disease adverse event reports were identifi ed when RotaTeq was administered or co-administered with other vaccines. Time-trend analyses showed that there were signifi cant increases in the total number of intussusception and Kawasaki disease adverse events entered into VAERS in comparison to previous years. Conclusions: These observations, coupled with limited rotavirus disease burden, cost-effectiveness, and potential contact viral transmission concerns, raise serious questions regarding the use of RotaTeq in the US. Healthcare providers should diligently report adverse events following RotaTeq vaccination to VAERS, and those who have experienced a vaccine-associated adverse event should be made aware that they may be eligible for compensation from the no-fault National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP). key words: gastroenteritis • gastrointestinal hemorrhage • rotavirus infection • vaccine adverse event reporting system

Mito/DNA/Autism/GFCF/Glutamate Thoughts From A Food Process Engineer

Now THIS is the kinda thing I was talking about in my fantasy "Responsible Government" piece. Medical professionals hearing the mito/autism news and applying their understanding from other fields to the autism problem! It even has autism gene theory with, get this, real world application that can be of use for helping kids today!

Except in my fantasy she would not have to be posting this to a CNN site, because NIH would have called her when she sent it into them months ago.

Another fascinating Dr. Gupta comment:

Dr. Gupta,

Here is what I wrote to the NIH in January. It still sums up my thoughts. It should be noted that one of the genes for autism discovered last year codes for a MITICONDRIAL aspartate/glutamate carrier.

I am a former food process engineer who believes, because recent studies have implicated genes which code for glutamate synapses in ASD, we should investigate the effects of both INGESTED and INJECTED excitatory free amino acids (glutamic acid and aspartic acid) on children with these autism genes.

If excitatory free amino acids affect ASD children, it would explain both the impact of GF-CF diets AND a vaccine link. Vaccines have free glutamic acid added to preserve the virus. I have created and attached a chart showing where free glutamic acid comes from. It is found in extremely high amounts in processed wheat and dairy products so much so that food manufacturers use these two items routinely to produce free glutamic acid in foods but with a clean label.

Consequently, a child may not improve on a GF-CF diet alone, because it doesn’t limit all potential sources of free glutamic acid like soy. Children are tested at birth for PKU and phenylalanine is limited until the brain is hardwired by the age of 7. Why not treat the predisposition for autism similarly and limit the glutamic and aspartic amino acids in the diets of children with autism genes?

ASD also includes errors of metabolism for sulfur containing amino acids like cysteine. Cysteine is converted to taurine and glutathione by the liver. Taurine regulates heartbeat and osmotic balance as well as bile production and was found to be low after a seizure. In ASD, symptoms include arrhythmias, digestive disorders and a high rate of epilepsy, suggesting that taurine production may be compromised. Glutathione levels are also lower in ASD leading one to conclude that possibly, cysteine metabolism may be responsible for the myriad and seemingly unrelated additional symptoms of ASD. It should be noted that glutamate interferes with the handling of cysteine. When cysteine metabolism is compromised, homocysteine levels may increase. The lower levels of glutathione may put ASD individuals at risk of mercury poisoning, since glutathione helps eliminates mercury from the body.

It should be noted that the NMDA receptors that respond to both glutamate and aspartate are found in the amygdala - part of the limbic system involved in the perception of taste and smell as well as fear. Activating the amygdala in ASD, causes gaze avoidance. ASD children may also over-react to smells and tastes and face to face encounters can overwhelm them with fear. Limiting excitatory amino acids that target the amygdala may help.

Japan consumes more MSG, and fish (a dietary source of mercury) than nearly any other country. Compared to the amount of mercury consumed in fish and the amount of MSG consumed in the diet, the MMR contribution was probably small compared to a typical Japanese diet. In Japan, the MMR vaccine was stopped in 1993. Autism rates still increased. Perhaps in Japan, the diet plays more of a role in autism than the vaccines. Children from other countries with a lower consumption of fish and MSG may find a stronger correlation between vaccines and autism.

New research studies into ASD should include people who are sensitive to the food additives MSG and aspartame. MSG-sensitive persons have reported a distinct lessening of symptoms by using taurine, ibuprofen, CoQ10, Vitamins B6 and B12, carbohydrate, foods high in butyric acid like butter, and Magnesium. Perhaps they share some of the same genes that predispose a child to ASD. New treatment studies should look into these easily available, inexpensive and relatively safe compounds.

Based on what I have observed, here are my recommendations:

1. Treatment of ASD?

REMOVAL of excitatory amino acids (glutamate, aspartate) from VACCINES.
Glutamate and aspartate restricted diet (similar to treatment for PKU) in addition to GF/CF diet.

Supplementation of taurine, glutathione, vitamins B6, C, magnesium, CoQ10.
Increased carbohydrate.

Labeling of free glutamic and aspartic acid on food labels.
Glutamate blockers, anti-histamines and leukotriene blockers for children already suffering or getting vaccinated.

We should calm their surroundings, encourage quiet tasks and less-threatening contact to enhance communication. We need to give them space and not overwhelm them.


2. Diagnosis of ASD?

Test for autism genes preferably AT BIRTH like PKU.

Tests for aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glutathione, taurine, cysteine, homocysteine.


3. Risk factors for ASD?
Autism Genes
Sensitivity to excitatory amino acids
Low taurine, Low glutathione
Sulfite Sensitivity
Vaccination with glutamic acid as a preservative
Damage to the microglia
Overactive immune system
Junk food diet
Aspartame in medications or vitamins or foods
Multiple food allergy


4. Biology of ASD?

Excess CNS sensitivity,

Inability to handle sulfur-containing amino acids,

Overactive immune response linked to Nerve Growth Factor


5. Other areas of ASD research?

Common genes in Alzheimer’s, Parkinsons, ALS, MS, and excitatory amino acid sensitivity.

Study persons without ASD who suffer from overactive CNS or neurodegenerative disease and sensitivity to excitatory amino acids. See if they share same genes.

Could Alzhemier’s sufferers simply be ADS children whose brains were hard-wired before damage by the environment?


Thank you for this opportunity to share my ideas on this very important topic,

Please see this webpage that clearly shows why a wheat and dairy based processed food diet may be very harmful to a child sensitive to excitatory amino acids:
http://www.msgtruth.org/avoid.htm

HT:Here in HP

The Responsible Government Fantasy

So in a discussion on a yahoo list, someone posted a quote from the Boston Globe that the US spends the entire autism budget in Iraq every four hours, which they argued, was a good reason to end the war.

I argue that even if Bin Laden and his friend Al Q surrendered tomorrow and they troops were home by Tuesday, the US would still not be doing any more than it is to deal with the autism problem.

Because governments do what is important to them and if autism causes and cures were important to the US Government and its health authorities, they would have been pouring resources into it for years.

Instead, we get very stupid statements from Julie Gerberding, who, after 5 years of ignoring parents increasingly loud demand for CDC action while sitting on her hands and insisting that no one look behind the vaccine curtain, said, "CDC recognizes that parents want answers. We share their frustration at not having more answers about the causes and possible cure".

Please. OJ looked harder for Nicole's 'real killers' than Julie has looked for the causes and possible cures of autism. She has outlived her welcome.

We have all lived through what it looks like for the government to pay lip service to autism, yet ignore, and even sabotage the progress in putting the pieces together.

For the sake of fun, and envisioning a better world... let's fantasize what it would look like if the government and the medical community who follow their lead actually DID want to know the causes and possible cures of Autism!

Here's what I think:

Julie Gerberding's press statements after the Hannah Poling announcement included these: "the government has made absolutely no statement about indicating that vaccines are the cause of autism, as this would be a complete mischaracterization of any of the science that we have at our disposal today", and, "This is a complete mischaracterization of the findings of a very simple situation of one child with an unusual disorder, and it would be completely wrong to say that this has bearing to the vast majority of children with autism",

In my fantasy, our good friend Julie would have said something to the effect of:

"We are excited about all that we are learning about the possible causes and potential cures of autism from the Poling case, and are grateful that the Polings have been so open with their daughters medical information so that we can use her case to help people both now and for generations to come. I am encouraging all medical experts, especially those with knowledge in mitochondrial function to take time this week to read Dr. Poling's study on Hannah and see if you can use your expertise to help shed light on how this new information on mito dysfunction piece may fit into the autism puzzle, and share your ideas with those already at work on autism.

I have spoken with Dr. Tayloe, head of the AAP, and they will be issuing an alert to pediatricians across the country to begin screening their patients with ASD for the mito dysfunction that Hannah has, so we can get an idea of what percentage of autism cases her medical scenario may represent.

In the mean time, we understand that this ruling may give parents pause in their decision making in vaccinating their children. We too want to be sure that the vaccine schedule is not contributing to the prevalence of autism, so we are putting the following measures in place.

First, in addition to the regular vaccine schedule, we will be adding two variations as options for parents. One for parents who are concerned about a link between vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders that is a more conservative schedule. It will offer kids the same protection against diseases, but will take much longer to implement as the vaccines are spaced out. And another, much more conservative, schedule for those who who are classified as high risk.

Second, until we have a few more answers, we encourage people with ASD to forgo vaccination for the next few months until we have a better idea of how many of them may be effected by Hannah's mito problem and can put appropriate screening measures in place. We will work to have that done quickly, as we believe vaccination is important and want them to be able to continuing vaccinating if it is found that it is safe for them. Such people should only be vaccinated in the case of an immediate threat to their health from a viral outbreak of the following life threatening illnesses (insert list that does not include chicken pox or the flu)

Third, we are also working with the AAP on retraining pediatricians to accurately access, treat and report reactions to vaccines as there is a chance that these could be early signs that a child cannot tolerate vaccination. We have learned much from parents as to what the first signs of autism were in their kids and want to doctors to use that information to their advantage.

Fourth, since we know so much more than we did about the relationship between vaccination and autism that we did when the VICP was established, we are petitioning congress to remove the three year statute of limitations for filing a claim with the fund. Any one injured at any time may now apply. More from my good friend John Gilmore of A-CHAMP on that following my comments.

Further, we are petitioning DOJ and HRHS to open any other cases ruled on in the VCIP that included any symptoms of autism and inviting the families to come forward and share their stories if they feel comfortable doing so. The more we can understand these individual cases, the more clues that we will have to understanding autism as a whole.

It is our goal by the end of the year to have a screening plan in place so that every child can be screened at birth to see if they are at risk for vaccine injury.

This is an exciting time for autism research. We have so much information to sort through and piece together, and are so pleased that so many families have been so willing to share their stories of regression and successes. CDC is proud to announce that in partnership with Defeat Autism Now, Thoughtful House, Generation Rescue and The National Autism Association, we will be holding regional conferences beginning in six months that are free to medical professionals and autism parents so that we can share all that we are learning from these autism treatment pioneers with the medical community at large.

Vaccination against deadly disease is important, and we will do everything we can to find the balance between fighting off viral infections and protecting against developmental disabilities, so that Americans can live in a society free from these epidemics.

Can you imagine?? If stuff like that happened, people might start trusting their government!

Also, I think our kids would be little rock stars in their towns, or treated like little war heroes because everyone would know that they took the hit so that everyone else's kids would not get polio.

Lastly, I think that when I went to my new pediatrician and told him that my son was half way recovered from autism and lost many of his autism symptoms, he would be excited to have come across a recovery story of his very own. He would have a special luncheon with all the docs and nurses in his practice and invite me to come and bring Chandler and talk about all the things that we have tried and what worked for him and what didn't.

What do you think the world (or your world) would be like?

Please share with the class.