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Autism Speaks
BBB Wise Giving Report issued September 2009
BBB Wise Giving Report expires September 2011
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Thomas H. Glocer
Chief executive officer, Thomson Reuters Corporation (information and services company for businesses and professionals). Director, Thomson Reuters Corporation, Partnership for New York City. New Merck director since November 3, 2009
British ban for doctor at heart of MMR vaccine row
By Kate Kelland, Health and Science Correspondent
LONDON | Mon May 24, 2010 12:44pm BST
LONDON (Reuters) - A doctor whose claims of links between vaccination and autism triggered a scientific storm before being widely discredited was struck off the medical register Monday for professional misconduct.
Dr Andrew Wakefield's 1998 study led many parents to refuse to have their children vaccinated with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) shot and has been blamed for a big rise in measles cases in the United States and parts of Europe in recent years.
A disciplinary panel of the General Medical Council (GMC) found that Wakefield had acted in a "dishonest," "misleading" and "irresponsible" way during his research.
The ruling means Wakefield, who now lives and works in the United States, can no longer practise as a doctor in Britain, but can continue to work in medicine outside the UK.
His paper, published in The Lancet medical journal but since widely discredited, caused one of the biggest medical rows in a generation.
"The panel has determined that Dr Wakefield's name should be erased from the medical register," the GMC said in a statement.
Wakefield had failed to disclose various details about the funding of the study -- a failure the GMC described as "dishonest and misleading" -- and had acted "contrary to the clinical interests" of the children involved in his research.
Striking Wakefield off the medical register was "the only sanction that is appropriate to protect patients" and was in the wider public interest. It was also "proportionate to the serious and wide-ranging findings made against him," the statement said.
Data released last February for England and Wales showed a rise in measles cases of more than 70 percent in 2008 from the previous year, mostly due to a fall in the number of children being vaccinated. Vaccination rates are now recovering.
Terence Stephenson, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said the false suggestion of a link between autism and the MMR vaccine had caused "untold damage" to vaccination programs.
"We cannot stress too strongly that all children and young people should have the MMR vaccine. Overwhelming scientific evidence shows that it is safe," he said in a statement.
Wakefield defended his work, and said the GMC had sought to deny that the case against him was related to whether the vaccine was safe, and specifically, whether it caused autism.
"Efforts to discredit and silence me through the GMC process have provided a screen to shield the government from exposure on the ... MMR vaccine scandal," he said in a statement.
The GMC said his refusal to accept that he had made mistakes meant that a temporary suspension of Wakefield's licence was not enough and he should be banned altogether.
"Dr Wakefield's continued lack of insight as to his misconduct serve only to satisfy the panel that suspension is not sufficient and that his actions are incompatible with his continued registration as a medical practitioner," it said.
(Editing by Andrew Roche)
cid:_1_0E51C98C0E51C4D00074D2AC8825777D
OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
1250 BELLFLOWER BLVD. * LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA 90840-0116 * 562/985-4134 FAX 562/985-8109
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 12, 2010
F2010-024
Cal State Long Beach Biochemist's Research Supports Premise That
Chemical Plasticizers May Contribute to Autism and Alzheimer's Disease
Who knew that brine shrimp—the tiny creatures popularly known as “Sea-Monkeys”—could reveal problems with chemicals found in plastics or even contribute to potential treatments for neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and autism?
Roger Acey, a professor of biochemistry at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), and students in his lab have been studying the biology and genetics of embryonic development, using brine shrimp, Artemia salina, as a biological model. He is particularly interested in how environmental contaminants affect development.
“I think all baby boomers understand Sea-Monkeys,” Acey explained. “As kids, you could order them from suppliers advertising in comic books and grow them at home.” Artemia have long been used in scientific research and remain popular in science education at school and home. The shrimp grow up to three-quarters of an inch long and can live for some time once hatched.
Acey’s lab initially looked at how exposing the shrimp to toxic metals like copper, mercury, cadmium, etc., could affect their development. While continuing this successful work, which led to discovery of a shrimp protein that can capture metals, Acey took his ongoing research with Artemia in another direction.
“We began looking at plasticizers and how they might affect embryonic development,” he said. “We started looking at phthalate esters—compounds that give plastic bottles their malleability. They’re found in PVC (polyvinyl chloride), blood bags, plastic tubing, cosmetics and children’s toys, and are well known environmental contaminants. They have been reported to be teratogens (causing birth defects), carcinogens and endocrine disruptors. Endocrine disruptors are compounds that resemble the structure of estrogens and mimic the activity of these hormones. There are examples of populations of fish that are essentially all female due to phthalate ester contamination. Most recently, phthalate esters have been implicated in Type II diabetes.
“We made a series of phthalate esters (phthalates) with increasing the carbon chain lengths and started looking at the effect of these compounds on developing shrimp,” he continued. “Diethyl and dimethyl are non-toxic; di-n-propyl was slightly toxic; but di-n-butyl (DBP), which is the most commonly found phthalate, turns out to be the most toxic.”
As the shrimp develop, they produce an enzyme that metabolizes the DBP, he said. “At first, we called the enzyme DBPase. As soon as the shrimp hatch and begin to develop, DPBase activity increases dramatically. If you expose the shrimp to phthalate during the early period of development, they died. If you expose the shrimp to the phthalate later in development, the compound is no longer toxic. The idea is that there is a well-defined period of development when the embryos are sensitive to the phthalate. Therefore, we began looking for a specific biochemical event that was impacted by the DBP.” He has since identified DBPase as butyrylcholinesterase.
He noted that the shrimp were being affected by DBP at the point where their nervous system was beginning to develop, adding that shrimp have a cholinergic nervous system similar to humans in that they both use a chemical neurotransmitter called acetylcholine.
He and his students have since used umbilical cord stem cells to study the role of butyrylcholinesterase in developing neurons and the effect of DBP. “After the stem cells are activated and begin to develop into a neuron, the DBP becomes toxic. We think what is happening is that the DBP prevents the butyrylcholinesterase from performing its normal biological function. We’re currently in the process of determining the exact function of the enzyme," Acey said.
Acey is interested in how plasticizers might be connected to the dramatic rise in autism and Alzheimer’s disease. A recent study has shown that rat fetuses exposed to DBP develop symptoms characteristic of autism. "If you think about it, this suggests compounds that interact with butyrylcholinesterase could induce neurological problems,” he said.
That led him to consider another plasticizer, bisphenol A, commonly called BPA, which is being widely studied for its possible toxicity. Acey’s group has shown that BPA is an inhibitor of butyrylcholinesterase. “Again, the concern is that since this compound interacts with butyrylcholinesterase, it may have a pronounced effect on neuron development,” he said. Acey believes every effort should be made to prevent exposure of pregnant women and infants to these types of compounds.
“Interestingly, the level of brain butyrylcholinesterase is significantly increased in Alzheimer’s patients,” he said. Current therapeutics used in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease target butyrylcholinesterase, so he and CSULB Professor Ken Nakayama are collaborating on further examining the biochemistry of this enzyme and its possible connections to Alzheimer’s disease.
“Dr. Nakayama, an organic chemist, had a series of compounds he wanted tested on an enzyme from bacteria,” Acey said. “I suggested we test his compounds on butyrylcholinesterase. The results of the experiments revealed that the compounds are potent inhibitors of butyrylcholinesterase and, as such, are potential therapeutics for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s patients lose their cognitive functions as a result of the decrease in the level of a specific neurotransmitter. Compounds that inhibit butyrylcholinesterase result in an increase in the level of neurotransmitters —the compounds responsible for memory— and the patients begin to recover their memory.”
They’ve applied for a patent for the compounds and are preparing to write a grant proposal to fund further studies to demonstrate whether the compounds can cross the blood-brain barrier. Acey remarked that some autistic children are responding to certain Alzheimer’s drugs, so the hope is that these compounds might someday be the basis for new medications to treat both conditions.
Acey’s research has been funded by grants from CSULB, the March of Dimes, the National Institutes of Health, and the California State University Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology (CSUPERB).
To learn more about Acey’s research, visit http://chemistry.csulb.edu/roger-acey.html.
Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2010 Aug 3. [Epub ahead of print]
ADVERSE NEUROLOGIC REACTIONS AFTER BOTH DOSES OF PANDEMIC H1N1 INFLUENZA VACCINE WITH OPTIC NEURITIS AND DEMYELINATION.
Lapphra K, Huh L, Scheifele DW.
From the *Vaccine Evaluation Center, Department of Pediatrics, British Columbia Children' Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; and daggerDivision of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, British Columbia Children's Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Abstract
When a neurologic condition develops after vaccination of a patient, the causal relationship is difficult to determine. We report an unusual case in which neurologic signs occurred in a previously healthy child after both doses of H1N1 2009 influenza vaccine, culminating in bilateral optic neuritis and disseminated encephalomyelitis. A causal association is more likely with repeated injury following influenza vaccination.
PMID: 20686434 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Senators to review research on autism's enviro causes
Environment and Energy Daily
August 2, 2010
Gayathri Vaidyanathan, E&E reporter
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will meet tomorrow to probe the state of research into the environmental causes of autism and other neurodevelopment disorders.
The Children's Health Subcommittee will hear from U.S. EPA and National Institutes of Health officials on the progress of federally funded work into the causes of autism and other development disorders of the brain.
It is likely that the hearing will be a step toward reauthorizing the 2006 Combating Autism Act, which is set to expire in 2011.
Autism is thought to result from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. While the interaction of genes and mutations is somewhat known by now, little work has been done on potential environmental risk factors. There are likely to be many disparate causes leading to autism.
The incidence of autism spectrum disorders, or ASDs, is increasing in the United States, with one in every 110 children affected. Rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, in children are also rising -- nearly 4.5 million children between 3 and 17 years of age have it, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The subpanel will hear from Isaac Pessah, director of the University of California, Davis, Children's Center for Environmental Health and Disease Prevention, which has received $7.5 million from EPA since 2007 for research to investigate possible environmental causes.
UC Davis is working on a project called MARBLES (Markers of Autism Risk in Babies -- Learning Early Signs) to identify early predictors of autism, whether genetic, environmental or immunologic. According to the project proposal submitted to EPA, the project will look at whether autistic children are differently exposed to metals, pesticides, polybrominated diphenylethers and other chemicals.
The work is a corollary to a long-term study called CHARGE in which UC Davis researchers are casting a wide net to catch possible environmental contributors in a group of 2- to 5-year-old autistic children. They are screening for pesticides, metals, flame retardant compounds, viruses and bacteria and pharmaceuticals.
UC Davis and other groups are also receiving money from NIH's National Institute of Environmental and Health Sciences and National Toxicology Program, and the subcommittee will hear from the program's director, Linda Birnbaum.
NIH is funding a study together with the nonprofit Autism Speaks that is enrolling mothers who already have one autistic child and are again pregnant to study exposures during fetal development.
The annual cost of caring for people with autism is $35 billion, according to Geraldine Dawson, chief scientific officer at Autism Speaks.
NIH has provided nearly $225 million for research, which Dawsom called miniscule. The funding comes from the Combating Autism Act, which authorized $7 billion for autism-related work including screening, education, intervention and research.
"President Obama has listed autism as one of three health concerns to be combated in the United States," Dawson said. "The current act is a step in the right direction, but due to the magnitude of the public health challenge that autism presents, we need a great deal more funding."
The rate of children with the disease has risen by 600 percent in the last decade, a number so dramatic it cannot be explained solely by better diagnosis, Dawson said.
Schedule: The hearing is tomorrow at 10 a.m. in 406 Dirksen.
Witnesses: Paul Anastas, assistant administrator of the Office of Research and Development, U.S. EPA; Linda Birnbaum, NIH's director of the National Institute of Environmental and Health Sciences and National Toxicology Program; Isaac Pessah, director of the UC Davis Children's Center for Environmental Health and Disease Prevention; Bruce Lanphear, senior scientist at the Child & Family Research Institute; and Mary Moen, parent.
In a lovely ironic touch, the conference hall is only a few steps from the Ferris wheel in the Orson Welles film noir classic set in postwar Vienna, “The Third Man.” On it, a cynical dealer of counterfeit drugs tells his pursuer to look down at the people below and says: “Victims? Don’t be melodramatic.... Would you really feel any pity if one of those dots stopped moving forever?”
Service Will Incinerate Unused H1N1 Vaccine
Jul 23, 2010
Clean Harbors, based in Norwell, Mass., is offering the service to health care providers because multiple doses of the vaccine contain enough mercury-based Thimerosal to be treated as a hazardous waste.
Clean Harbors of Norwell, Mass., now offers H1N1 Vaccination Incineration Services that will profile, collect, and dispose of unused 2009 H1N1 vaccine for health care customers nationwide. Multiple doses of the vaccine contain enough mercury-based Thimerosal to be treated by EPA as a hazardous waste and will be incinerated. Vaccine dated at the end of 2008 and early 2009 is now at the end of its shelf life and must be disposed, according to the company.
The HHS declaration of a 2009 H1N1 Public Health Emergency expired on June 23.
"We have seen many customers in various states looking for our H1N1 disposal capabilities," John C. Kelsey, the company's vice president, Healthcare Services, said in a July 22 e-mailed reply to questions about the service. "We wanted to announce it to the larger community as we are growing our customer count related to Healthcare Services. We have done a good amount of work in this area with vaccines through our hospital Pharmaceutical Waste programs."
He said the cost varies but is "generally the same pricing as other materials requiring hazardous waste incineration. The vaccine doses are in inventory and will be shipped via DOT packages for proper disposal," Kelsey added. "We are seeing multiple truckloads per week of the vaccine now and cannot align total amounts but we do expect the need to occur from many locations as the normal pathway for outdated items."
OLFA North America
Unused vaccine doses normally are returned through Reverse Distributors, but these have no value and thus must be disposed as a waste, he said, continuing, "It is good that PHER funds can be used to reimburse organizations for the disposal process."
CDC mandates proper disposal of H1N1 vaccines and allows Public Health Emergency Response (PHER) funds to be available for the disposal. Health care providers interested in the service can call 888-304-7035, e-mail healthcareservices@cleanharbors.com, or visit www.cleanharbors.com/healthcare.
Treatment for Toxic Vaccine Exposure, from Russell Blaylock, M.D.
The Following was composed by Dr. Russell Blaylock as a method to reduce autoimmune reactions to the flu vaccines only. Do not use this if you have the flu itself. These are just general observations and not medical advice. You should work with your doctor for a specific program.Treatment for Toxic Vaccine Exposure
1. Place a cold compress on the site of the injection immediately after the injection and continue this as often as possible for at least two days. If symptoms of fever, irritability, fatigue or flu-like symptoms reoccur -- continue the cold compresses until they abate. A cold shower or bath will also help.
2. Take fish oils -- I recommend the Norwegian fish oil made by Carlson Labs -- it has the correct balance of EPA and DHA to reduce the cytokine storm. The dose is one tablespoon a day -- if severe symptoms develop -- two tablespoons a day until well and then switch to one tablespoon a day. Children -- one teaspoon a day.
3. Curcumin, quercetin, ferulic acid and ellagic acid as a mixture -- the first two must be mixed with extravirgin olive in one teaspoon. Take the mix three times a day (500 mg of each)
4. Vitamin E (natural form) 400 IU a day (high in gamma-E)
5. Vitamin C 1000 mg four times a day
6. Astaxanthin 4 mg a day
7. Zinc 20 mg a day for one week then 5 mg a day
8. Avoid all immune stimulating supplements (mushroom extracts, whey protein) except beta-glucan -- it has been shown to reduce inflammation, microglial activation and has a reduced risk of aggravating autoimmunity, while increasing antiviral cellular immunity.
9. Take a multivitamin/mineral daily (one without iron -- Extend Core)
10. Magnesium citrate/malate 500 mg of elemental magnesium two capsules three times a day
11. Vitamin D3:
All Children -- 5000 IU a day for two weeks after vaccine then 2000 IU a day thereafter
Adults -- 20,000 IU a day after vaccine for two weeks then 10,000 IU a day thereafter
Take 500 mg to 1000 mg of calcium citrate a day for adults and 250 mg a day for children under age 12 years.
12. Avoid all mercury-containing seafood
13. Avoid omega-6 oils (corn, safflower, sunflower, soybean, canola and peanut oils)
14. Blenderize parsley and celery and drink 8 ounces twice a day
15. Take Jatoba tea extract (add 20 drops in on cup of tea) one day before the vaccine and the twice a day thereafter. (you can get it at http://www.iherb.com/Amazon-Therapeutics-Jatoba-1-oz-30-ml/14429?at=0) It is inexpensive.
