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/

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.

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.

Government Concedes Vaccine/Autism Link - The Court Papers

David Kirby has made the documents on Eve's case available, with her family's names redacted, of course.

He also notes additional information, that the court reversed it's last comment this month and recognized Eve's seizure disorder, that developed 6 years after her vaccine injury, was a product of the vaccine injury. I have noted it below.

PS: On Friday, February 22, HHS conceded that this child's complex partial seizure disorder was also caused by her vaccines. Now we the taxpayers will award this family compensation to finance her seizure medication. Surely ALL decent people can agree that is a good thing.

By the way, it''s worth noting that her seizures did not begin until six years after the date of vaccination, yet the government acknowledges they were, indeed, linked to the immunizations of July, 2000, - DK

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS
OFFICE OF SPECIAL MASTERS


CHILD, a minor,

by her Parents and Natural Guardians,

Petitioners,

v.

SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,

Respondent.

RESPONDENT'S RULE 4(c) REPORT

In accordance with RCFC, Appendix B, Vaccine Rule 4(c), the Secretary of Health and Human Services submits the following response to the petition for compensation filed in this case.

FACTS

CHILD ("CHILD") was born on December --, 1998, and weighed eight pounds, ten ounces. Petitioners' Exhibit ("Pet. Ex.") 54 at 13. The pregnancy was complicated by gestational diabetes. Id. at 13. CHILD received her first Hepatitis B immunization on December 27, 1998. Pet. Ex. 31 at 2.

From January 26, 1999 through June 28, 1999, CHILD visited the Pediatric Center, in Catonsville, Maryland, for well-child examinations and minor complaints, including fever and eczema. Pet. Ex. 31 at 5-10, 19. During this time period, she received the following pediatric vaccinations, without incident:

Vaccine Dates Administered

Hep B 12/27/98; 1/26/99

IPV 3/12/99; 4/27/99

Hib 3/12/99; 4/27/99; 6/28/99

DTaP 3/12/99; 4/27/99; 6/28/99

Id. at 2.

At seven months of age, CHILD was diagnosed with bilateral otitis media. Pet. Ex. 31 at 20. In the subsequent months between July 1999 and January 2000, she had frequent bouts of otitis media, which doctors treated with multiple antibiotics. Pet. Ex. 2 at 4. On December 3,1999, CHILD was seen by Karl Diehn, M.D., at Ear, Nose, and Throat Associates of the Greater Baltimore Medical Center ("ENT Associates"). Pet. Ex. 31 at 44. Dr. Diehn recommend that CHILD receive PE tubes for her "recurrent otitis media and serious otitis." Id. CHILD received PE tubes in January 2000. Pet. Ex. 24 at 7. Due to CHILD's otitis media, her mother did not allow CHILD to receive the standard 12 and 15 month childhood immunizations. Pet. Ex. 2 at 4.

According to the medical records, CHILD consistently met her developmental milestones during the first eighteen months of her life. The record of an October 5, 1999 visit to the Pediatric Center notes that CHILD was mimicking sounds, crawling, and sitting. Pet. Ex. 31 at 9. The record of her 12-month pediatric examination notes that she was using the words "Mom" and "Dad," pulling herself up, and cruising. Id. at 10.

At a July 19, 2000 pediatric visit, the pediatrician observed that CHILD "spoke well" and was "alert and active." Pet. Ex. 31 at 11. CHILD's mother reported that CHILD had regular bowel movements and slept through the night. Id. At the July 19, 2000 examination, CHILD received five vaccinations - DTaP, Hib, MMR, Varivax, and IPV. Id. at 2, 11.

According to her mother's affidavit, CHILD developed a fever of 102.3 degrees two days after her immunizations and was lethargic, irritable, and cried for long periods of time. Pet. Ex. 2 at 6. She exhibited intermittent, high-pitched screaming and a decreased response to stimuli. Id. MOM spoke with the pediatrician, who told her that CHILD was having a normal reaction to her immunizations. Id. According to CHILD's mother, this behavior continued over the next ten days, and CHILD also began to arch her back when she cried. Id.

On July 31, 2000, CHILD presented to the Pediatric Center with a 101-102 degree temperature, a diminished appetite, and small red dots on her chest. Pet. Ex. 31 at 28. The nurse practitioner recorded that CHILD was extremely irritable and inconsolable. Id. She was diagnosed with a post-varicella vaccination rash. Id. at 29.

Two months later, on September 26, 2000, CHILD returned to the Pediatric Center with a temperature of 102 degrees, diarrhea, nasal discharge, a reduced appetite, and pulling at her left ear. Id. at 29. Two days later, on September 28, 2000, CHILD was again seen at the Pediatric Center because her diarrhea continued, she was congested, and her mother reported that CHILD was crying during urination. Id. at 32. On November 1, 2000, CHILD received bilateral PE tubes. Id. at 38. On November 13, 2000, a physician at ENT Associates noted that CHILD was "obviously hearing better" and her audiogram was normal. Id. at 38. On November 27, 2000, CHILD was seen at the Pediatric Center with complaints of diarrhea, vomiting, diminished energy, fever, and a rash on her cheek. Id. at 33. At a follow-up visit, on December 14, 2000, the doctor noted that CHILD had a possible speech delay. Id.

CHILD was evaluated at the Howard County Infants and Toddlers Program, on November 17, 2000, and November 28, 2000, due to concerns about her language development. Pet. Ex. 19 at 2, 7. The assessment team observed deficits in CHILD's communication and social development. Id. at 6. CHILD's mother reported that CHILD had become less responsive to verbal direction in the previous four months and had lost some language skills. Id. At 2.

On December 21, 2000, CHILD returned to ENT Associates because of an obstruction in her right ear and fussiness. Pet. Ex. 31 at 39. Dr. Grace Matesic identified a middle ear effusion and recorded that CHILD was having some balance issues and not progressing with her speech. Id. On December 27, 2000, CHILD visited ENT Associates, where Dr. Grace Matesic observed that CHILD's left PE tube was obstructed with crust. Pet. Ex. 14 at 6. The tube was replaced on January 17, 2001. Id.

Dr. Andrew Zimmerman, a pediatric neurologist, evaluated CHILD at the Kennedy Krieger Children's Hospital Neurology Clinic ("Krieger Institute"), on February 8, 2001. Pet. Ex. 25 at 1. Dr. Zimmerman reported that after CHILD's immunizations of July 19, 2000, an "encephalopathy progressed to persistent loss of previously acquired language, eye contact, and relatedness." Id. He noted a disruption in CHILD's sleep patterns, persistent screaming and arching, the development of pica to foreign objects, and loose stools. Id. Dr. Zimmerman observed that CHILD watched the fluorescent lights repeatedly during the examination and

would not make eye contact. Id. He diagnosed CHILD with "regressive encephalopathy with features consistent with an autistic spectrum disorder, following normal development." Id. At 2. Dr. Zimmerman ordered genetic testing, a magnetic resonance imaging test ("MRI"), and an electroencephalogram ("EEG"). Id.

Dr. Zimmerman referred CHILD to the Krieger Institute's Occupational Therapy Clinic and the Center for Autism and Related Disorders ("CARDS"). Pet. Ex. 25 at 40. She was evaluated at the Occupational Therapy Clinic by Stacey Merenstein, OTR/L, on February 23, 2001. Id. The evaluation report summarized that CHILD had deficits in "many areas of sensory processing which decrease[d] her ability to interpret sensory input and influence[d] her motor performance as a result." Id. at 45. CHILD was evaluated by Alice Kau and Kelley Duff, on May 16, 2001, at CARDS. Pet. Ex. 25 at 17. The clinicians concluded that CHILD was developmentally delayed and demonstrated features of autistic disorder. Id. at 22.

CHILD returned to Dr. Zimmerman, on May 17, 2001, for a follow-up consultation. Pet. Ex. 25 at 4. An overnight EEG, performed on April 6, 2001, showed no seizure discharges. Id. at 16. An MRI, performed on March 14, 2001, was normal. Pet. Ex. 24 at 16. A G-band test revealed a normal karyotype. Pet. Ex. 25 at 16. Laboratory studies, however, strongly indicated an underlying mitochondrial disorder. Id. at 4.

Dr. Zimmerman referred CHILD for a neurogenetics consultation to evaluate her abnormal metabolic test results. Pet. Ex. 25 at 8. CHILD met with Dr. Richard Kelley, a specialist in neurogenetics, on May 22, 2001, at the Krieger Institute. Id. In his assessment, Dr. Kelley affirmed that CHILD's history and lab results were consistent with "an etiologically unexplained metabolic disorder that appear[ed] to be a common cause of developmental regression." Id. at 7. He continued to note that children with biochemical profiles similar to CHILD's develop normally until sometime between the first and second year of life when their metabolic pattern becomes apparent, at which time they developmentally regress. Id. Dr. Kelley described this condition as "mitochondrial PPD." Id.

On October 4, 2001, Dr. John Schoffner, at Horizon Molecular Medicine in Norcross, Georgia, examined CHILD to assess whether her clinical manifestations were related to a defect in cellular energetics. Pet. Ex. 16 at 26. After reviewing her history, Dr. Schoffner agreed that the previous metabolic testing was "suggestive of a defect in cellular energetics." Id. Dr. Schoffner recommended a muscle biopsy, genetic testing, metabolic testing, and cell culture based testing. Id. at 36. A CSF organic acids test, on January 8, 2002, displayed an increased lactate to pyruvate ratio of 28,1 which can be seen in disorders of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. Id. at 22. A muscle biopsy test for oxidative phosphorylation disease revealed abnormal results for Type One and Three. Id. at 3. The most prominent findings were scattered atrophic myofibers that were mostly type one oxidative phosphorylation dependent myofibers, mild increase in lipid in selected myofibers, and occasional myofiber with reduced cytochrome c oxidase activity. Id. at 7. After reviewing these laboratory results, Dr. Schoffner diagnosed CHILD with oxidative phosphorylation disease. Id. at 3. In February 2004, a mitochondrial DNA ("mtDNA") point mutation analysis revealed a single nucleotide change in the 16S ribosomal RNA gene (T2387C). Id. at 11.

CHILD returned to the Krieger Institute, on July 7, 2004, for a follow-up evaluation with Dr. Zimmerman. Pet. Ex. 57 at 9. He reported CHILD "had done very well" with treatment for a mitochondrial dysfunction. Dr. Zimmerman concluded that CHILD would continue to require services in speech, occupational, physical, and behavioral therapy. Id.

On April 14, 2006, CHILD was brought by ambulance to Athens Regional Hospital and developed a tonic seizure en route. Pet. Ex. 10 at 38. An EEG showed diffuse slowing. Id. At 40. She was diagnosed with having experienced a prolonged complex partial seizure and transferred to Scottish Rite Hospital. Id. at 39, 44. She experienced no more seizures while at Scottish Rite Hospital and was discharged on the medications Trileptal and Diastal. Id. at 44. A follow-up MRI of the brain, on June 16, 2006, was normal with evidence of a left mastoiditis manifested by distortion of the air cells. Id. at 36. An EEG, performed on August 15, 2006,

showed "rhythmic epileptiform discharges in the right temporal region and then focal slowing during a witnessed clinical seizure." Id. At 37. CHILD continues to suffer from a seizure disorder.

ANALYSIS

Medical personnel at the Division of Vaccine Injury Compensation, Department of Health and Human Services (DVIC) have reviewed the facts of this case, as presented by the petition, medical records, and affidavits. After a thorough review, DVIC has concluded that compensation is appropriate in this case.

In sum, DVIC has concluded that the facts of this case meet the statutory criteria for demonstrating 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. Therefore, respondent recommends that compensation be awarded to petitioners in accordance with 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-11(c)(1)(C)(ii).

DVIC has concluded that CHILD's complex partial seizure disorder, with an onset of almost six years after her July 19, 2000 vaccinations, is not related to a vaccine-injury.

In February of 2008, the court reversed this decision and concluded that the seizure disorder WAS related to a vaccine injury

Respectfully submitted,

PETER D. KEISLER
Assistant Attorney General

TIMOTHY P. GARREN
Director
Torts Branch, Civil Division

MARK W. ROGERS
Deputy Director
Torts Branch, Civil Division

VINCENT J. MATANOSKI
Assistant Director
Torts Branch, Civil Division

s/ Linda S. Renzi by s/ Lynn E. Ricciardella
LINDA S. RENZI
Senior Trial Counsel
Torts Branch, Civil Division
U.S. Department of Justice
P.O. Box 146
Benjamin Franklin Station
Washington, D.C. 20044
(202) 616-4133


DATE: November 9, 2007

ABC News Considers Actually Reporting That The Government Has Admitted That Vaccines Trigger Autism

.... and then chickens out.

Cowards.

Here is the letter sent to Dan Olmsted two days ago:

From: ABC MEDICINE
Sent: Tue Feb 26 12:56:31 2008
Subject: Federal Government May Have Conceded on Vaccine-Autism Case -- ABC News Interest

Good afternoon,

This is Dan Childs, producer of the Health page of ABCNews.com. I hope this message finds you well.

There has been a buzz lately about the possible concession of a vaccine-related case by the government. Much of this talk has surrounded a column posted on the Huffington Post. ...

ABC News is still assessing the validity of this report, but we would like to be ready to responsibly cover this issue if the report does, in fact, prove to be true.

In short, the column suggests that the federal government has chosen to concede to one case in which the plaintiff claims that her child developed features consistent with an autism spectrum disorder after receiving her vaccinations. Based on this case, the column further suggests that something about the vaccines may trigger autism-like illness in children who are susceptible to mitochondrial disorders.

Depending on what we find out, various ABC News platforms may be interested in covering this development. I am also interested in writing a story for ABCNews.com on this topic.

With this in mind, I was hoping that you would be willing to lend your expertise to come of the questions that we have about this possible development. Specifically:

1) With regard to the idea that vaccines may trigger mitochondrial disorders, what evidence are you aware of that would point to this possibility?

2) If it turns out that the federal government did concede in this case, what are your thoughts on this move?

Any other comments you have on this are most appreciated.

Please note that your comments will be considered on the record and available for use in a story on ABCNews.com unless you specifically request that your responses be used for background purposes only. Please also be sure to include your full contact information in case we would like to get in touch with you for further information.

If you receive this message after 10AM on Wednesday, Feb. 27, please disregard it as the deadline for this story will have passed.

Thanks, and I look forward to talking with you soon!

Cheers,
Dan (Childs)

Yet here is their health story for Feb. 27th:

All Kids Need The Flu Shot, CDC Says
By MIKE STOBBE
Feb. 27, 2008

ATLANTA (AP) - Annual flu vaccinations should be given to all children ages 6 months through 18 years of age, a federal advisory panel said Wednesday....

WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE MEDIA!!!

They don't just ignore the biggest story out there, they actually publish disinformation!

In honor of Dan Childs dogged investigative journalism, I am republishing my script for my short film. It is my interpretation of what Watergate might have been like had Bob Woodward worked for ABC News in the early 70's. The part of Bob Woodward will now be played by Dan Childs


NONE OF THE PRESIDENTS MEN

Open to interior of Oval Office:

Mr. Childs: Thank you for meeting with me Mr. President. This guy Deep Throat told me that you knew about the break in at the Watergate Building.

Mr. Nixon: Nope. Sorry. Don’t know anything about it. Besides, studies show that Republicans don't commit B&Es.

Mr. Childs: Ok. Thanks for your time.

Fade Out.

Roll Credits

More On The Vaccine/Autism Case That The Government Coneeded

Update to this huge developing story!

(Re reading this article is kind of blowing my mind, I think that this is as big a story as the revelations in Kirby's Book 4 years ago. Send this to everyone you know and get some reporters writing about it).

Last fall David Kirby reported that one of the three vaccine/autism test cases chosen for the Vaccine Injury Compensation Fund had been conceded by the government before even going to a hearing. The case was sealed, apparently to protect the child's identity, but now we are learning the details of the case.

Apparently the girl, now known in the autism community as "Eve", had a mitochondrial disorder. Which begs a whole lotta questions when taken with the study he references that found that in a group of people with autism more than a third had a mitochondrial disorder. And that these disorders were milder in people with autism, which makes me wanna know if my son has an undiagnosed mild mitochondrial disorder.

I knew that it was associated with autism, but thought it was rare. I remember reading the symptoms way back in the day and dismissing it from consideration from Chandler's medical picture. I am gonna check it again.

Kirby has a lot more good questions that come from this case.

Government Concedes Vaccine-Autism Case in Federal Court - Now What?
David Kirby
The Huffington Post

After years of insisting there is no evidence to link vaccines with the onset of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the US government has quietly conceded a vaccine-autism case in the Court of Federal Claims.

The unprecedented concession was filed on November 9, and sealed to protect the plaintiff's identify. It was obtained through individuals unrelated to the case.

The claim, one of 4,900 autism cases currently pending in Federal "Vaccine Court," was conceded by US Assistant Attorney General Peter Keisler and other Justice Department officials, on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services, the "defendant" in all Vaccine Court cases.

The child's claim against the government -- that mercury-containing vaccines were the cause of her autism -- was supposed to be one of three "test cases" for the thimerosal-autism theory currently under consideration by a three-member panel of Special Masters, the presiding justices in Federal Claims Court.

Keisler wrote that medical personnel at the HHS Division of Vaccine Injury Compensation (DVIC) had reviewed the case and "concluded that compensation is appropriate."

The doctors conceded that the child was healthy and developing normally until her 18-month well-baby visit, when she received vaccinations against nine different diseases all at once (two contained thimerosal).

Days later, the girl began spiraling downward into a cascade of illnesses and setbacks that, within months, presented as symptoms of autism, including: No response to verbal direction; loss of language skills; no eye contact; loss of "relatedness;" insomnia; incessant screaming; arching; and "watching the florescent lights repeatedly during examination."

Seven months after vaccination, the patient was diagnosed by Dr. Andrew Zimmerman, a leading neurologist at the Kennedy Krieger Children's Hospital Neurology Clinic, with "regressive encephalopathy (brain disease) with features consistent with autistic spectrum disorder, following normal development." The girl also met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) official criteria for autism.

In its written concession, the government said the child had a pre-existing mitochondrial disorder that was "aggravated" by her shots, and which ultimately resulted in an ASD diagnosis.

"The vaccinations received on July 19, 2000, significantly aggravated an underlying mitochondrial disorder," the concession says, "which predisposed her to deficits in cellular energy metabolism, and manifested as a regressive encephalopathy with features of ASD."

This statement is good news for the girl and her family, who will now be compensated for the lifetime of care she will require. But its implications for the larger vaccine-autism debate, and for public health policy in general, are not as certain.

In fact, the government's concession seems to raise more questions than it answers.

1) Is there a connection between vaccines, mitochondrial disorders and a diagnosis of autism, at least in some cases?

Mitochondria, you may recall from biology class, are the little powerhouses within cells that convert food into electrical energy, partly through a complex process called "oxidative phosphorylation." If this process is impaired, mitochondrial disorder will ensue.

The child in this case had several markers for Mt disease, which was confirmed by muscle biopsy. Mt disease is often marked by lethargy, poor muscle tone, poor food digestion and bowel problems, something found in many children diagnosed with autism.

But mitochondrial disorders are rare in the general population, affecting some 2-per-10,000 people (or just 0.2%). So with 4,900 cases filed in Vaccine Court, this case should be the one and only, extremely rare instance of Mt disease in all the autism proceedings.

But it is not.

Mitochondrial disorders are now thought to be the most common disease associated with ASD. Some journal articles and other analyses have estimated that 10% to 20% of all autism cases may involve mitochondrial disorders, which would make them one thousand times more common among people with ASD than the general population.

Another article, published in the Journal of Child Neurology and co-authored by Dr. Zimmerman, showed that 38% of Kennedy Krieger Institute autism patients studied had one marker for impaired oxidative phosphorylation, and 47% had a second marker.

The authors -- who reported on a case-study of the same autism claim conceded in Vaccine Court -- noted that "children who have (mitochondrial-related) dysfunctional cellular energy metabolism might be more prone to undergo autistic regression between 18 and 30 months of age if they also have infections or immunizations at the same time."

An interesting aspect of Mt disease in autism is that, with ASD, the mitochondrial disease seems to be milder than in "classic" cases of Mt disorder. In fact, classic Mt disease is almost always inherited, either passed down by the mother through mitochondrial DNA, or by both parents through nuclear DNA.

In autism-related Mt disease, however, the disorder is not typically found in other family members, and instead appears to be largely of the sporadic variety, which may now account for 75% of all mitochondrial disorders.

Meanwhile, an informal survey of seven families of children with cases currently pending in Vaccine Court revealed that all seven showed markers for mitochondrial dysfunction, dating back to their earliest medical tests. The facts in all seven claims mirror the case just conceded by the government: Normal development followed by vaccination, immediate illness, and rapid decline culminating in an autism diagnosis.

2) With 4,900 cases pending, and more coming, will the government concede those with underlying Mt disease -- and if it not, will the Court award compensation?

The Court will soon begin processing the 4900 cases pending before it. What if 10% to 20% of them can demonstrate the same Mt disease and same set of facts as those in the conceded case? Would the government be obliged to concede 500, or even 1,000 cases? What impact would that have on public opinion? And is there enough money currently in the vaccine injury fund to cover so many settlements?

When asked for a comment last week about the court settlement, a spokesman for HHS furnished the following written statement:


"DVIC 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 case under the Vaccine Act, DVIC has maintained the position that vaccines do not cause autism, and has never concluded in any case that autism was caused by vaccination."

3) If the government is claiming that vaccines did not "cause" autism, but instead aggravated a condition to "manifest" as autism, isn't that a very fine distinction?

For most affected families, such linguistic gymnastics is not so important. And even if a vaccine injury "manifested" as autism in only one case, isn't that still a significant development worthy of informing the public?

On the other hand, perhaps what the government is claiming is that vaccination resulted in the symptoms of autism, but not in an actual, factually correct diagnosis of autism itself.

4) If the government is claiming that this child does NOT have autism, then how many other children might also have something else that merely "mimics" autism?

Is it possible that 10%-20% of the cases that we now label as "autism," are not autism at all, but rather some previously undefined "look-alike" syndrome that merely presents as "features" of autism?

This question gets to the heart of what autism actually is. The disorder is defined solely as a collection of features, nothing more. If you have the features (and the diagnosis), you have the disorder. The underlying biology is the great unknown.

But let's say the government does determine that these kids don't have actual "autism" (something I speculated on HuffPost a year ago). Then shouldn't the Feds go back and test all people with ASD for impaired oxidative phosphorylation, perhaps reclassifying many of them?

If so, will we then see "autism" cases drop by tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people? Will there be a corresponding ascension of a newly described disorder, perhaps something like "Vaccine Aggravated Mitochondrial Disease with Features of ASD?"

And if this child was technically "misdiagnosed" with DSM-IV autism by Dr Zimmerman, how does he feel about HHS doctors issuing a second opinion re-diagnosis of his patient, whom they presumably had neither met nor examined? (Zimmerman declined an interview).

And along those lines, aren't Bush administration officials somewhat wary of making long-distance, retroactive diagnoses from Washington, given that the Terry Schiavo incident has not yet faded from national memory?

5) Was this child's Mt disease caused by a genetic mutation, as the government implies, and wouldn't that have manifested as "ASD features" anyway?

In the concession, the government notes that the patient had a "single nucleotide change" in the mitochondrial DNA gene T2387C, implying that this was the underlying cause of her manifested "features" of autism.

While it's true that some inherited forms of Mt disease can manifest as developmental delays, (and even ASD in the form of Rhett Syndrome) these forms are linked to identified genetic mutations, of which T2387C is not involved. In fact little, if anything, is known about the function of this particular gene.

What's more, there is no evidence that this girl, prior to vaccination, suffered from any kind of "disorder" at all- genetic, mitochondrial or otherwise. Some forms of Mt disease are so mild that the person is unaware of being affected. This perfectly developing girl may have had Mt disorder at the time of vaccination, but nobody detected, or even suspected it.

And, there is no evidence to suggest that this girl would have regressed into symptoms consistent with a DSM-IV autism diagnosis without her vaccinations. If there was such evidence, then why on earth would these extremely well-funded government attorneys compensate this alleged injury in Vaccine Court? Why wouldn't they move to dismiss, or at least fight the case at trial?

6) What are the implications for research?

The concession raises at least two critical research questions: What are the causes of Mt dysfunction; and how could vaccines aggravate that dysfunction to the point of "autistic features?"

While some Mt disorders are clearly inherited, the "sporadic" form is thought to account for 75% of all cases, according to the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation. So what causes sporadic Mt disease? "Medicines or other toxins," says the Cleveland Clinic, a leading authority on the subject.

Use of the AIDS drug AZT, for example, can cause Mt disorders by deleting large segments of mitochondrial DNA. If that is the case, might other exposures to drugs or toxins (i.e., thimerosal, mercury in fish, air pollution, pesticides, live viruses) also cause sporadic Mt disease in certain subsets of children, through similar genotoxic mechanisms?

Among the prime cellular targets of mercury are mitochondria, and thimerosal-induced cell death has been associated with the depolarization of mitochondrial membrane, according to the International Journal of Molecular Medicine among several others. (Coincidently, the first case of Mt disease was diagnosed in 1959, just 15 years after the first autism case was named, and two decades after thimerosal's introduction as a vaccine preservative.)

Regardless of its cause, shouldn't HHS sponsor research into Mt disease and the biological mechanisms by which vaccines could aggravate the disorder? We still do not know what it was, exactly, about this girl's vaccines that aggravated her condition. Was it the thimerosal? The three live viruses? The two attenuated viruses? Other ingredients like aluminum? A combination of the above?

And of course, if vaccine injuries can aggravate Mt disease to the point of manifesting as autism features, then what other underlying disorders or conditions (genetic, autoimmune, allergic, etc.) might also be aggravated to the same extent?

7) What are the implications for medicine and public health?

Should the government develop and approve new treatments for "aggravated mitochondrial disease with ASD features?" Interestingly, many of the treatments currently deployed in Mt disease (i.e., coenzyme Q10, vitamin B-12, lipoic acid, biotin, dietary changes, etc.) are part of the alternative treatment regimen that many parents use on their children with ASD.

And, if a significant minority of autism cases can be linked to Mt disease and vaccines, shouldn't these products one day carry an FDA Black Box warning label, and shouldn't children with Mt disorders be exempt from mandatory immunization?

8) What are the implications for the vaccine-autism debate?

It's too early to tell. But this concession could conceivably make it more difficult for some officials to continue insisting there is "absolutely no link" between vaccines and autism.

It also puts the Federal Government's Vaccine Court defense strategy somewhat into jeopardy. DOJ lawyers and witnesses have argued that autism is genetic, with no evidence to support an environmental component. And, they insist, it's simply impossible to construct a chain of events linking immunizations to the disorder.

Government officials may need to rethink their legal strategy, as well as their public relations campaigns, given their own slightly contradictory concession in this case.

9) What is the bottom line here?

The public, (including world leaders) will demand to know what is going on inside the US Federal health establishment. Yes, as of now, n=1, a solitary vaccine-autism concession. But what if n=10% or 20%? Who will pay to clean up that mess?

The significance of this concession will unfortunately be fought over in the usual, vitriolic way -- and I fully expect to be slammed for even raising these questions. Despite that, the language of this concession cannot be changed, or swept away.

Its key words are "aggravated" and "manifested." Without the aggravation of the vaccines, it is uncertain that the manifestation would have occurred at all.

When a kid with peanut allergy eats a peanut and dies, we don't say "his underlying metabolic condition was significantly aggravated to the extent of manifesting as an anaphylactic shock with features of death."

No, we say the peanut killed the poor boy. Remove the peanut from the equation, and he would still be with us today.

Many people look forward to hearing more from HHS officials about why they are settling this claim. But whatever their explanation, they cannot change the fundamental facts of this extraordinary case:

The United State government is compensating at least one child for vaccine injuries that resulted in a diagnosis of autism.

And that is big news, no matter how you want to say it.

Kirby on HuffPo: Vaccine Debate Rages On

David Kirby: The Autism-Vaccine Debate: Anything But Over

Exactly five years ago I began research for my book Evidence of Harm, which looked into the possible link between mercury, vaccines and the tsunami of autism that now overwhelms our education system.

Along the way I have encountered many people -- in the government, in medical circles, in the media, on the Internet - who are furious at my attempts to shed light on this controversy and utterly contemptuous of parents, doctors, and anyone else who supports research into the hypothesized link between autism and vaccines.

Many of these people, incredibly, still insist that autism is purely a genetic disorder with no known "cause" and probably no cure. They blithely claim that autism has always been with us in the same epidemic numbers we see today, (If you're the parent of a young boy in New Jersey, by the way, you now face 1-in-60 odds of a diagnosis), we just never noticed or else counted those kids as "quirky" or possibly retarded.

Even officials at the CDC, who traced an e-coli outbreak to a single patch of California spinach within months cannot say if autism is actually on the increase or not.

Some experts, however, are beginning to understand that autism is clearly on the rise and thus must have an environmental component coupled with a genetic underpinning. But they insist that vaccines or their ingredients (ie, mercury, live measles virus, aluminum) have nothing to do with the epidemic.

They really really want this vexing vaccine chatter to cease. But it won't.

Buried beneath the usual tumultuous headlines of recent days were three tidbits of news that clearly underscore why this raging, sometimes vitriolic debate is not ending any time soon. In fact, all three reveal significant cracks in the federal government's hitherto impenetrable fortress of denial of any vaccine-autism link whatsoever:

1) The CDC granted nearly $6 million for investigators at five major research centers to study 2700 children over the next five years in what the Contra Costa Times called "the largest-ever U.S. study aimed at solving one of the most perplexing mysteries of modern times: the cause of autism."

Lisa Croen, the study's principal investigator in California, told the paper that, "What's become very clear is that autism results from a combination of having a genetic predisposition or genetic susceptibility, plus the added extra exposures from environmental factors or other kinds of lifestyle factors."

Among the "factors" to be studied are family history, events during pregnancy, maternal medications, parental occupation, ambient pollution around the houseand "a child's vaccination history" the paper reported.

Oddly the study will not look at the mercury-based preservative thimerosal. According to the FDA and the Institute of Medicine the last batches of thimerosal containing vaccines for infants and immune-globulin given to pregnant women expired in late 2003 (except for the flu shot, which is still given to infants and pregnant women).

The new study will only study children born from September 2003 to August2005. But the question remains and I think it's legitimate: If an association between vaccines and autism has been completely "ruled out" then why are we spending taxpayer dollars to study autistic children's vaccination history?

2) The Department of Health and Human Services announced the formation of a new federal panel the "Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee" which will help set public and private research priorities into the cause and treatment of autismas mandated by the recently passed Combating Autism Act.

Among those named to the panel by HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt were Lyn Redwood, president of the Coalition for Safe Minds (and chief protagonist in my book), and a leading advocate of the mercury-vaccine-autism connection and Lee Grossman president and CEO of the Autism Society of America, another staunch supporter of the hypothesis.

Which again begs the question: If the debate over vaccines and autism is over then why did the Feds appoint two people to this important new panel who will relentlessly push for more taxpayer dollars going into research of vaccines and autism?

3) Lawyers for the US Justice Department and HHS are conceding an autism case that was to be tried in the so-called federal "Vaccine Court"according to papers filed on the court's on-line docket.

Nearly 5000 autism cases are pending in Vaccine Court though a small number of "test cases" are being tried in which attorneys for the families attempt to link the symptoms of autism to thimerosal and/or the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (or MMR, which never contained mercury). It was a pending test case that the government conceded.

According to my source, however, the government is NOT conceding that mercury or vaccines cause autism. "In this case the DOJ conceded that vaccines significantly aggravated a child's pre-existing autistic symptoms" my source said "but the autism itself was caused by a congenital mitochondrial disorder that is entirely genetic."

And the source noted"By conceding 'significant aggravation' I think DOJ is trying to avoid ever having this case go to hearing on the underlying causation issue.

"In other words this was likely going to be a slam-dunk and the Feds knew it. Rather than risk having the case become a "test" for thousands of other claims it looks like the DOJ opted to fold and pay out damages to the family without actually admitting that vaccines can cause autism.

This entirely unreported event raises several interesting questions I think. To begin with if the federal government has conceded that vaccines can cause "significant aggravation" to the autism symptoms of even just one child shouldn't the public be notified?

And if the government has conceded that this child would be better off today had he or she not been vaccinated -- in other words that vaccines made the symptoms of autism go from bad to worse - couldn't it be possible that vaccines might also say make symptoms go from mild to bad?

And if the government concedes that vaccines aggravated the symptoms of autism in at least one child shouldn't parents of children with the disorder be informed of this and shouldn't they be allowed to opt out of future vaccinations on medical grounds if they wish?

And if the government concedes that vaccines can aggravate the symptoms of autism then shouldn't that same government also earmark funds to research how and why that occurs?

And of course, why on earth would parents concede that there is "no evidence of an association between vaccines and autism" when the government has just conceded that there was an (albeit not causal) association?

Finally, to all those who are going to post comments about the autism rates in California not coming down, following the removal of thimerosal from most vaccines: You are right. The most likely explanation is that thimerosal was not responsible for the autism epidemic. But that does not mean that it never harmed a single child.

And keep in mind that, of the record 1000+ additional autism cases recorded in California last quarter, some 75% of them were children who were six years of age or older, and thus born well within the "thimerosal generation." There is evidence that many factors could conceivably be keeping the California numbers higher than the national average, including aggressive early intervention and outreach to low-income families, increased immigration from countries that still use thimerosal (and immigrant children who are routinely re-immunized upon arrival) and migration of families from less progressive U.S. states eager for California's relative public largesse.

And remember that the CDC, wisely, does not conduct autism prevalence studies on children until they reach the age of 8, to account for any late stragglers entering the database. If thimerosal did not come out of vaccines entirely until 2003, then it won't be until 2011 before kids in that birth cohort are studied by the CDC, so vindicating thimerosal entirely might still be a tad premature.

All that said, thimerosal may well not be a factor in a single case of autism. But what if one day, we discovered it had caused, say, one percent of all cases? With estimates of autism as high as 1.5 million in the country that would mean 15000 Americans who were ravaged by thimerosal
(not to mention everyone overseas).

But if thimerosal is vindicated,or shown to be a very minor player, then what about other vaccine ingredients? And what about the rather crowded vaccine schedule we now impose upon families of young children? And what about reports of unvaccinated children in Illinois, California and Oregon who appear to have significantly lower rates of autism? Shouldn't we throw some research dollars into studying them?

You can answer that, no, we shouldn't because the vaccine-autism debate is over.

But I am willing to wager that it has only just begun.