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Drew and Skyler Russert are 16-year-old identical twin brothers from Los Altos, Calif. who share the same blue eyes, straight hair and love for football.
While recent research points to non-genetic causes of autism, 16-year-old identical twins Skyler, left, and Drew Russert aren't consumed by discovering the origins of their disorder.
Looking at them now, on the football field or in their high school classes, it would be hard to tell the boys were diagnosed with autism when they were nearly 4. Drew had a moderate form of the disorder, while Skyler’s case was severe.
Their parents, Peter Russert and Gaynelle Grover, were surprised by the diagnosis. The Russerts had no family history of autism, but they suspected a combination of environmental factors and genetics as a possible cause.
Was it local pollution or perhaps a viral infection during Gaynelle's second trimester? Was it their ages? Gaynelle was 40 and Peter was 44 when the boys were born.
"There is this horrible emotional feeling, like this didn’t have to happen,” Gaynelle says.
While genes or genetic mutations were once thought to account for up to 90 percent of the risk for developing the brain disorder, recent research increasingly points to environmental triggers.
Previous research on twins found very high rates of autism among identical but not fraternal twins, indicating that the disorder was predominantly a genetic one.
However, a Stanford University study of 192 twins with autism -- including Drew and Skyler Russert -- found notably higher rates in fraternal twins, who do not share identical DNA. The research, which was published last summer in the Archives of General Psychiatry, suggests environmental factors -- such as parental age, low birth weight and maternal infections during pregnancy-- could account for 55 percent of a person’s susceptibility to autism.
Other recent studies have demonstrated an increased risk among mothers who don’t take prenatal vitamins, those who live within 1,000 feet of a freeway or who used a certain type of antidepressant in the first trimester.
A new study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics gave some clues as to how this might happen. In particular, genes linked to autism are more actively regulated during the transition from fetal to post-natal development, making them especially sensitive to environmental influence. This period of changes, during which genes can be turned on or off, might be critical for developmental brain disorders, according to the researchers.
Dr. Thomas Lehner, chief of genomics at the National Institute of Mental Health, says the Stanford study makes a compelling case that environment is an important factor. “[Genes] still play a role,” he says, but the “interplay between gene and environment could be very important to figure out.”
The Russerts embraced a combination of traditional and nutritional therapies in attempts to alleviate the boys’ symptoms and improve their language and communications skills. Like many parents of autistic children, the Russerts tried a complex combination of dietary changes, like gluten-free meals and enzyme and vitamin supplements to eliminate perceived environmental threats.
"It’s a little bizarre ... as a parent to turn into a scientist,” says Peter.
Alycia Halladay, director of research for environmental sciences for the New York-based advocacy organization Autism Speaks, says the best parents can do is have as healthy a pregnancy as possible and, if a child is diagnosed, consult a physician about any autism-related treatments. Even though the vaccine-autism theory has been debunked, Halladay says it remains a compelling explanation to some parents -- often to the exclusion of risks for which there is scientific evidence.
“There’s a huge group of people that when you say environmental factors, they limit that to vaccines,” says Halladay. “They don’t think about all of the other things that could play a role.”
Instead, Halladay says parents might focus more on minimizing stress and exposure to toxic chemicals, as both have linked to changes in the brain that might affect the way genes are turned on and off.
Autism Speaks, which helped to fund the Stanford study on twins, has backed efforts to identify environmental factors, such as nutrition and toxins, that could be linked to autism. The organization has also supported Early Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation, or EARLI, a study that is collecting environmental samples from the homes of parents with one autistic child and a newborn.
It will be years before EARLI is finished. Meanwhile, research continues to provide some clues to autism. A recent small study in the Archives of General Psychiatry linked environment to the regulation of certain genes susceptible to autism, although they did not identify specific environmental triggers.
The Russerts say Drew and Skyler aren’t consumed by discovering the origins of their autism. After years of speech and occupational therapy, the boys feel like they have overcome the disorder. They are both on track to attend college, and the communication difficulties and repetitive behaviors they experienced as toddlers are mostly gone.
Peter and Gaynelle are grateful for the outcome, but don’t claim to know exactly what helped the boys move beyond their original diagnosis.
“We’d all love that one little miracle puzzle piece,” says Gaynelle, but until the science is clear, “I don’t know we’ll have one answer for every kid.”
Rebecca Ruiz is a senior editor at msnbc.com and a Rosaylnn Carter Mental Health Journalism Fellow
Related stories:
Autism more common in high-tech centers
Extra brain cells may be key to autism
Autism 5 times more common among low-birth weight babies
Leave a Comment:
Alycia Halladay denies that the toxic load of injected
chemicals in vaccinations could be related to the development of autism.
Instead, she'd like us to look at other "exposure to toxic
chemicals."
I would ask Halladay how she can so easily dismiss the most
heated controversy in medicine today, namely the link between vaccines and
autism, when there are so many unanswered questions surrounding vaccines and
autism.
Where is the study comparing
fully-vaccinated and never-vaccinated children to see if never-vaccinated kids
also have a one percent autism rate? THERE ISN'T ONE.
Where is even ONE STUDY that
disproves a link between vaccines and autism that isn't connected to the vaccine
industry. THERE ISN'T ONE.
Those who deny that injecting more
and more toxins into babies and small children is harming them are like those
who deny they more and more pollution is affecting our climate. Where is the
science showing that it's safe to inject three live viruses into children at one
time? THERE ISN'T ANY.
Where are the studies that show that
adding toxic aluminum and mercury to vaccines is safe? THERE AREN'T
ANY.
Where is even one study on the
cumulative effect of the increasing number of vaccines in the childhood
schedule? THERE ISN'T ONE.
Halladay needs to do her homework.
She's on very thin ice here. Pharma-funded studies disproving a link between
vaccines and autism prove nothing. Tens of thousands of parents everywhere who
say their child was born healthy and was developing normally until they received
certain routine vaccines are never going away.
Anne Dachel, Media editor: Age of
Autism
First off, one of the first things they taught us in statistics is that link != proof.
You could link anything to anything if you truly wanted to. It doesn't mean anything.
Too many people get caught up in one theory (or get a financial interest in that theory) and fail to consider other evidence. Makes for good rabble-rousing and bad science.
The DTap insert says "autism and SIDS are adverse events reported during post-approval use...events were included in this list because of the seriousness or frequency of reporting". Uh, apparently the CDC recognizes there MAY be a vaccine/autism link, because they are not denying it and put this statement in the insert. So no, you cannot rule out that vaccines either while the mom was pregantn or giving to her children did not cause this, along with environmental factors.
There also may be a link with breathing air and death, because everyone who has ever breathed our air has died.
Doesn't mean it's the cause.
This is why the term 'link' should be synonymous to 'bullsh*t'.
So if we called the link between smoking and lung cancer in the '30s bullsh*t, we'd all still be smoking, right?
I did a study where I went into hospitals and compared mortality rates to the clothes people were wearing.
People wearing hospital gowns had a mortality rate hundreds of times higher than people wearing nurse's scrubs or doctor's outfits.
Does my study prove that hospital gowns are incredibly deadly? Or do you think other causes might be to blame?
It neither proves nor disproves anything. There may be nothing to it, but the gowns may be made, treated, or cleaned with deadly chemicals. There certainly could be a link there. Getting all hypothetical about "doctor's outfits" doesn't help you prove the point that a link is not a cause. More investigation is needed.
Dozens of studies have been done, Anne, including the ones that you claim don't exist. All you have to do is go to PubMed and search for vaccines and autism and you'll find tons of studies that show that there is no link between vaccines and autism. If you take the time to read the papers, you'll find that a great many were funded by NIH grants -- *NOT* the vaccine industry.
Of course, like most of the anti-vaccine folks, you're strangely blind to the fact that the only studies to suggest that a link did exist were done by researchers that had very serious conflicts of interest. One of the original ones, for example, was done by a scientist that was being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to testify in court on behalf of parents suing vaccine companies. Of course, I should not have to point out that many of the other anti-vaccine people are making large sums of money from books they've written for the popular press. Isn't it funny how you don't mention that?
I don't mean this to sound unkind but you have ZERO relevant professional training. Why are you arguing with hundreds of highly trained scientists and doctors that say that there is no link? Do you *HONESTLY* think you know more about it than they do? Do you *HONESTLY* think that many hundreds of scientists are knowingly endangering children just to make a buck? Do you *HONESTLY* think that these hundreds of professionals (myself included) are endangering their OWN children by vaccinating them -- just to cover up the truth? I don't think there is enough tin foil in the entire United States to make a hat big enough for that wacky conspiracy theory.
I would like to see a study where every scientist, doctor, researcher, lab rat, etc. that actually vaccinates their children with the crap they make, now that would be an eye opener. alas, no such study will ever be done or if it is not truthfully.
And how much more research must be done before you admit that there is no valid link?
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=studies+showing+no+link+between+autism+and+vaccines
That's not my issue. I was responding to the link=bullsh*t argument and your unsound hypothetical question. From the '30s to the '60s, scientists and doctors continued to deny the dangers of smoking and "proved" that there was no link over and over. In the case of tobacco, 30 years of research was enough. How much will be enough for current controversies is unknown.
Wakefield made it up! It was completely fraudulent and made up for money. There has never been any link between vaccinations and Autism. Wakefield just pull it out of thin air to make money: Get over it already!
Why does this vaccine debate have to be so black and white? Why do they have to CAUSE autism to be relevant to the autism discussion? Autistic people are sensitive. I am on the autism spectrum and cannot tolerate coffee, liquor, wheat, dairy, corn, lack of sleep, lack of exercise, scented candles... you name it. So many things make me sick and/or regress. So if vaccines don't cause autism, maybe these sensitive bodies just can't tolerate them well. I cannot for the life of me figure out why this is a stretch.
Real Americans First--sorta like My mid's made up, don't confuse me with the facts eh?
oops my mind's made up
Ah, Anne, why on earth would there be a study disproving a link between vaccines and autism when the only study claiming there was a link has been thoroughly debunked as a fraud, with the doctor stripped of his medical license for falsifying data?
My ex, father of my 2 autistic kids, is a twin. I believe he and his brother trained themselves out of the autism. I occasionally saw the hand flapping. He was in a technical field in the Greek Navy, had 2 know coordinates by hand, even helped our U.S. pilots out of jams when they got lost over Greek territory. This is the first report of twins that i've seen, thanks so much.
Really Ms Dachel,
We understand that to increase profits, you need to market
your business. But seriously, we are all
literate and we can all go line by line through your posting and see that everyone
of your points is wrong.
Why would you post all this nonsense that you can't possibly
believe to be true?
Thanks,
W&N
The Baltimore Sun published this story this past July, "We don't know enough about childhood vaccines--Researcher asks: Are 36 doses of vaccine by age 2 too much, too little, or just right? " The piece questioned how officials could dismiss vaccine safety concerns when so much safety testing is missing.
Anne Dachel, Media editor: Age of Autism
Last time i check the Baltimore sun was not a scholarly journal. next time try citing a more scientific source instead of tabloid journalism.
also, the amount of things a child's immune system is exposed to on a daily basis far overshadows 36 vaccines. and finally, whats the mechanism? just because you think vaccines cause autism doesn't make it true, you must provide a culprit or a mechanism by which vaccines cause autism, the only two suggested so far, thimarisol, and mercury are demosntrably not the cause, the lattar not being the right chemical configuration to interact with the body, the latter having been removed with no statistical confirmation regarding causation (austim rates continued to climb even after it was removed.
It doesn't matter what the Baltimore Sun says. It's not a scholarly journal. The articles were written by journalists, not doctors or scientists.
comment deleted by author
Anne dear, I pee at 7pm. Later the moon is in the sky. I conducted the test for three months with the same results most of the time. Do you suggest a test to disprove my findings?
Anne - Ask yourself this..... minor chance of autism vs. great risk of death or disfigurement from whooping cough, measles, diptheria, tetnus, polio, meningitis, etc. etc.?
Funny how you failed to mention that you are referencing a
non-scientist--who gets all the science wrong--whose family just happened to be
suing for alleged vaccine injuries.
W&N
The article refers to research dismissed for years showing at least one link between autism and too many vaccines too fast. But recent studies in Lancet have reversed that, and Dr. Wakefield's research is now seen to be legitimate. See article, “New Evidence Refutes Fraud Findings in Dr. Wakefield Case”, at:
URL for article is:
'Dr' Wakefield still has yet to have his medical license restored. The fraud conviction stands.
The problem with Halladay and others who claim that the autism--vaccine link has been "debunked" is that they can't explain why tens of thousands of parents report that their child regressed into autism following vaccination. It's all left as a mysterious coincidence. No one wants to talk about the obvious here. Who would be held responsible if it's clearly shown that an unchecked, ever-expanding vaccination schedule is behind the epidemic number of autistic children everywhere? There are lots of people with everything at stake in denying a link and they continue to do so. Hundreds of individuals at our Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have conflict waivers because they have financial ties to the vaccine makers. The last head of the CDC, Dr. Julie Gerberding, a long time denier of any link, is now head of the vaccine division at Merck.
Anne Dachel, Media editor: Age of Autism
and if they did find the connection, buy buy big pharma and trust of anything anymore in this country, so sadly they will deny it and take whatever measures to make sure that denial stays in place, no matter how many lives are affected.
There is nothing mysterious about it. Anyone with even a basic understanding of probability and statistics should see what the answer is. Children are given vaccinations at SEVERAL different ages. For the most part, the vaccinations are given at the same ages.
*ANY* disorder that appears during the first several years of life is going to occur "after vaccinations". By random chance alone, many tens of thousands of children would develop symptoms within a week or two of a vaccination. Pure random chance can explain it.
There are children who NEVER have vaccinations, who become autistic at the same age as those who do have vaccinations. Autism also happens in places where vaccinations aren't available. It's the child's age that is the common element so far, and has been since the scientific research, back-checked, double-checked started.
Anne, it is not a "claim" that the connection has been debunked. It is a fact that the only study to suggest such a link was fraudulent.
Anne, that "regression" you speak of is called echolalia. It is well documented by psychologists that study autism extensively. Many parents believe their children are speaking meaningfully, but they are really just mimicking. Autism occurs in both non-vaccinated and vaccinated children. Also, please note that correlation never implies causation. Anyone who has taken even a high school level statistics class should know that. Getting a book published does not make you an expert.
Some people develop lung cancer without smoking. They may succumb to a genetic predisposition towards developing this disease. Same can be said for autism. Surely epigenetics may play a role. Meaning normal genetic expression can be adversely expressed due to exogenous factors. Vaccinations surely qualify as one of these factors. So comparison of vax/unvax individuals means very little. Especially when we are unwilling to admit they may contribute at all.
You might appreciate the following article:
http://sgo.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/04/11/2158244012444281.full
Thank you Topic Numb. I agree with much of this recent research. Especially the problem with the wrong ratio of LCPUFAs used in infant formulas. Thanks again.
A coincidence is a coincidence is a coincidence. There's no mystery involved except to you, Anne Dachel, and those who insist it matters.
The National Vaccine Information Center records all deaths after vaccines, even car accidents. If a child were killed by a meteor, it would have no proximal cause due to a vaccine but it could still be recorded in the National Vaccine Information Center. Parents would believe a connection exists between vaccines and meteor deaths!
There are experts on both sides and parents need to inform themselves.
See the book, Vaccine Epidemic and the National Vaccine Information Center
Anne Dachel, Media editor: Age of Autism
The National Vaccine Information Center records all deaths after vaccines, even car accidents.
If a child were killed by a meteor after a vaccination, it would have no proximal cause but it could still be recorded in the National Vaccine Information Center. Some parents would believe a connection exists between vaccines and meteor death!
You can't prove causation solely on the basis of coincidence.
Mothers generallly don't acknowledge the signs prior to diagnosis after the age of 2. Often they have to be told by an authority like a school.
There's no evidence that vaccines causes autism. They haven't been able to find a link.
Autism existed in the 1950's. Those children received only 4 vaccines; a significantly less amount than what children receive today.
I found something very interesting Anne.
Altered triacylglycerols of DHA used as infant formula supplements. Hear me out for a second....
Palm olein is used as a major source of fat in infant formulas. Due to its unnatural positioning of the palmitic and oleic acid among the glycerol backbone, the palmitic acid is found predominantly esterified in the SN-1 and SN-3 positions. This positioning allows the palmitic acid to react with calcium and magnesium to form insoluble soaps. This results in constipation and malabsorption issues as well as loss of calcium retention.
So changing the positioning of fatty acids among a triacylglycerol will affect its digestion and absorption.
When we change the positioning of DHA among a triacylglycerol, as with those found as infant formula supplements, we will also affect its digestion and absorption. But there is a more dubious consequence. DHA is very vulnerable to oxidation. Altering its position will affect its stability towards this oxidation.
The secondary products of DHA peroxidation are neurotoxic. Moreover, these DHA hydroperoxides may covalently modify protein signaling. These hydroperoxides may form adducts on lysine residues of proteins. This becomes problematic when we examine the ubiquination and degradation of damaged signaling proteins. Lysine residues of proteins require to be tagged with ubiquitin for proteasomal degradation. If an adduct was to be formed on one of these critical lysine residues, degradation of a damaged or non functional protein may be inhibited. This could result in accumulation and aggregation of damaged proteins that may form plaques. We see this in several other neurodegenerative diseases. Additionally, the adducts formed may extend the half life of protein expression. This may cause issues with proteins available for synaptic vesicle turnover.
I have found a few scientific publications that examine these issues. One is very important in regards to protein damage found exclusively among autistic patients. It involves DHA derived adducts on lysine.
Let me know if you would like the links-
Mike Pescatore, you're on the right track:
http://sgo.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/04/11/2158244012444281.full
I have been screaming about the dangers of adding structurally altered triacylglycerols of fatty acids in to infant formulas for many years now. For some reason, many think my concerns are absurd and unimportant. Think about this- Infant formula manufacturers marketed formulas as better for brain and eye development. They added long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids derived from fermented algae and fungus that are extracted with hexane. Then these fatty acids were attached to a glycerol backbone in positions that affect their digestion, absorption and oxidation. Why is this dangerous? Well, after digestive hydrolysis, more free DHA and ARA will be available to react via oxidation.
So what right? React with what? Carrageenan is also used in formulas. It is widely used in the lab to promote inflammation. It causes intestinal cell death and is possibly carcinogenic. It has been placed on a citizen's petition at the FDA for these safety issues in 2008. It remains in formulas despite recent research showing serious gastrointestinal issues.
If an infant were to suffer from carrageenan induced inflammation and intestinal cell death, this condition may be paradoxically amplified by DHA and ARA supplementation. So those serious digestive issues may not be due to lactose intolerance afterall.
While I'm on the subject of digestive issues, there is another source of fat used in formulas that causes adverse effects. Palm olein (also structurally altered), reacts after digestive hydrolysis. The free palmitic acid reacts with cations of calcium and magnesium to form insoluble soaps. This is turn causes constipation and loss of calcium retention as well as malabsorption issues. Yeah, they are aware of this as well. It doesn't stop them from using it as the main source of fat for a developing infant.
I guess I am crazy. When have fatty acids ever caused serious health issues? I remeber being told that trans fats were a sensible replacement for natural sources of saturated fats.
Here is another thought that always occurs to me - how many kids will be born with "defects" thanks to the kids today taking all those wonderful drugs like escatcy or their parents medications and other assorted drugs? How about all those kids on drugs for ADD, ADHD etc? Don't think that all these chemicals will NOT stay in a person's body and create issues down the road because THEY WILL. For years and years we used to be warned about smoking MJ and the long term side affects of harming our future children. How about all those babies born with fetal alcohol syndrome whose mother drank to excess while she was pregnant? I actually am not all that sure that the shots or vaccinations that we received as children is what is causing the problem since very few children that were born to so many of us years ago were never born with autism. It seems to be one of the NEW generation issues so maybe autism is or was caused by al the chemicals that are put into our foods today that are meant to make them last longer on the shelves???? How about all the dyes? We used to have all "fresh" products years ago and you never heard the word Autism - or Tourettes either for that matter - but you do today.
Remember the time when measles, whooping cough, colic, chicken pox, mumps, polio, etc. were raging? Many children and some adults died from these childhood diseases or were handicapped for life by them.
Back then, ADD, ADHD, and Autism, was nearly unknown and perhaps, were inappropriately assigned as having low intellect or being brain damaged, or mentally ill. Or could it be that we are our own worst enemy and it was we that brought these into existence. In today's world we live on prepared foods loaded with chemicals and growth enhancers, live in a man-made home made from man-made products,use man-made furniture made from chemicals or treated with chemicals, breathe in pollution indoors and outdoors, and drink previously contaminated water.
Now is the time to do a world-wide study of areas mostly free of ADD, ADHD, and Autism problems versus areas that are showing increases. Then examine the differences in living styles. I'll bet that there will be a marked difference between the areas with ADD, ADHD, and Autism and those without these problems, and that there will be a marked increase in certain areas as they change their lifestyle more to our lifestyles.
In this study, to substantiate the role of oxidative
stress in autism brain, we used antibodies against two
distinct lipid-derived oxidative protein modifications.
One of these, carboxyethyl pyrrole (CEP) is derived
exclusively from free radical-induced oxidative
cleavage of docosahexaenoates, e.g., the docohexaenoic
acid (DHA) ester of 2-lysophosphatidylcholine (PC)
DHA-PC, to afford HOHA-PC that then reacts with
protein to generate CEP modifications of the e-amino
groups of lysyl residues (Fig. 1)[28].
http://www.hriptc.org/pdfs/Autism%20Phenotype%20Brain%20Tissue%200108.pdf
Several lines of evidence suggest that lipid peroxidation products represent potential intermediates for the oxidative modification of proteins under oxidative stress [31–35]. In our previous study [4], we characterized a specific monoclonal antibody 2B12 against SUL, which is an N-acyl-type (amide-linkage) adduct generated from the reaction of DHA-OOH with lysine residue, but not from the reaction of aldehydes with the amino residues in vitro. Recently, by using mAb 2B12, we have observed an intensive SUL staining in the brain of Parkinson’s patients (Maruyama, Osawa, unpublished data), as well as we found that SUL significantly accumulated in the mitochondrial fraction isolated from the DHA-OOH-treated cells (Data not shown). Therefore, we suggest not only loss of mitochondria membrane potential but also protein modification happened in the mitochondria in the DHA-OOH-treated cells.
Pathologically, other than apoptosis as a common causal or resulting feature, several disorders have been implicated in neurodegenerative diseases, such as β-amyloid aggregation and a progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons which are mostly characterized in AD and PD [36], respectively. Our further challenge is to investigate the influence of a DHA peroxidative product, namely DHA-OOH, on the other neurodegenerative disorders.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2459249/
Should we be altering the structure of DHA triacylglycerols and adding them to infant formulas?
Maybe we should understand this fatty acid before tinkering with it and feeding to infants during critical stages of neurodevelopment.
This is interesting. I had my son at 35,not young but not so old. He was nursed exclusively and fed only organic foods,and I was big on the Omegas. I didn't supplement D,ididn't to do it and wish I had. There is no Autism on either side of the family(however dad and I are both artists,visual thinkers,both have artist and musicians in the family) My son was diagnosed at age 9 but he's also in academically gifted classes. He's sensitive to gluten,casein and peanuts and diet has a big impact in his behavior. I'm investigating,like all other autism parents,and I will certainly investigate the DHA connection now. Thanks for sharing.
Besides chemical load,nobody's talking about Candida or Lyme. There's also a large toxic inheritance,many of us,grew up in the 70's and I remember all the fun instant food,colorful food,we ate a lot of garbageeven if it wasn't "junk food". If GMOs might affect the reproductive system of animals(us) what else are all these influences affecting? All these changes have occured in a very short amount of time,few generations. The vacine controversy is not over,it can't be completely tossed to the side YET,there are many influences at play in the matter besides the truth. It's wonderful to be able to protect our children but maybe the manufacturing of vaccines can be altered,studied still,this is very new in human history,scientist should never be defensive.
Autism will certain turn out to actually be several diseases, not one, just like fibromyalgia. Both are just what I call garbage can diagnoses in that people with similar symptoms are linked together. I think we will find the same thing in multiple sclerosis.
It is no wonder we're not making much progress in finding the causes of these disease, since in each population studied, we may be looking at 5-10 different causes. Then a different group in another location is studied, in a totally different environment AND genetic background and it is little surprise that the findings for the first group don't fit with the second.
Thus, we need to look at the underlying common ground for the different diseases. In multiple sclerosis, it is the immune system. In fibromyalgia, many of these are immune caused, we just don't yet have the specific tests for them yet. Autism will probably be yet harder to sort out, partially because of the age when it starts affecting people, but I also think we will find genetic susceptibility, combined with environmental causes, including immune disorders, are probably contributing.
Thus, research for these 3 diseases should initially concentrate on using our genetic methods to find genetic profiles, especially immune related, that indicate susceptibility and for these people we could avoid the triggers, potentially, and decrease the disease. In utero testing may be necessary for autism, so that will make it a lot tougher.
Last, I think we will find that there is a certain evolutionary benefit to autism, which is why it has survived so far. This may relate to how the environment affects the in utero child and increases the child's survival after birth. In certain instances, something like Asperger's syndrome would actually increase a child's survival, especially if they had some sort of savant abilities. As an example, I suspect these twins that were discussed in the article are exeptional in the aspects of football that they are so caught up in.
Actually most true Autistic children excel more in Mathematics, Fine Arts, and other endeavors than normal children. In fact, many can do higher mathematics in their head faster than using a computer. Their minds are there in every way but they cannot communicate until their talent shows up in music, paintings, or mathematics and they use it as their means of communication. Now for those called Autistic that never display any ability to communicate, perhaps, they belong in another category.
While I am really happy for the family in this story I can't imagine that many Autistic kids "grow out" of thier disability.
My son is 13 and pretty deep into the spectrum. "Growing out" of autism doesn't look like an option for him. College is a dream - instead I am planning on more of a life-skills group-home learning experience for him as he grows into adulthood.
According to recent studies, somewhere between 30-40% of children who are diagnosed with autism "grow out of it"- but nobody knows whether they were misdiagnosed, received more effective therapies, or did not have other complications (epilepsy, hearing problems, etc). If you Google "grow out of autism" (since links usually don't work here), you'll find several articles published in January about this. The ABC news article from 23 January is especially informative.
If you have a kid beyond 35, that is a huge risk factor for a plethora of issues, including Down's Syndrome and it seems autism is similar in that aspect. This isn't surprising for other developmental delay issues, so why is it so questionable with autism--which displays similar, nearly identical symptoms to many other development disorders.
I have had roughly 40 children in my time of teaching and I only have had 5 students who had parents under 35 at the time of conception. When I meet with other teachers in my field, that experience is common, yet remains unvoiced.
Also, as a special ed teacher who works with autistic children, I can tell you that probably a half of them in my public school system should be designated with "MR" or mental retardation (that IS the actual term utilized in Special Education, although "intellectual disability" is gaining ground. No parent wants the MR designation because it is emotionally and mentally difficult to deal with. At a young age, when autism, MR, DS, and other intellectual disabilities are diagnosed they are very, VERY similar. But it is easier for a parent to say a chid has autism than come to terms with having their bundle of joy be 'marred' (according to one parent) with the MR label. Once they hit the 'wall' though (the point at which learning takes an enormous amount of time and effort and capabilities begin to show) it becomes difficult to deny it. For example, even kids with autism should be able to use the potty by a certain age. I have an eleven year old labeled as a mid-functioning autistic child who still wears diapers and has to be changed. Part of it a lack on the parent's part and part of it is because he needs a TSS aide and extra intervention an MR designation would afford him.
There is a set of severely autistic twin boys who live in my community. I understand that they were not vaccinated until after the diagnoses was made.
All my children were vaccinated. All of my grandchildren were vaccinated. Only one grandchild has autism. What happened to the rest you suppose they were just lucky?
One fact beyond question is that without immunizations there is an increase in infectious diseases which can be deadly. One huge reason the life span today is as long as it is, is because of the decrease in infectious diseases. My daughter, who works in pediatric intensive care, is seeing an increase in children admitted with preventable diseases. Recently a boy died of complications with measles, a disease that could have been easily prevented by having him immunized. There are many others needlessly sick also. The increase in children with these illnesses poses a risk for the patients who are immunocompromised from various causes such as cancer or transplant medications.
Dini - you are the voice of reason.
Read the book 'Evidence of Harm'....nuff said!!
The story's title says it all. There is no one cause.
Err on the side of caution. My daughter has made certain that her three little girls were vaccinated, but she also made sure that the vaccines used did not contain mercury. She also broke up the vaccinations so that not all of them were given at once. Just in case . . . Mercury has a terrible effect on an infants developing brain. There is no way to know if the vaccination you are getting is from the top of the vaccine bottle (mercury is a heavy metal and settles down at the bottom of the bottle), or if you are getting the last dose with a majority of the mercury in it. California outlawed mercury as a preservative in vaccines, but many other states still allow it.
Phthalates (which mimic estrogen ) in shampoos an soaps can't be a good thing to wash your newborn boy in...concentrate there and in the high levels of antidepressants and birth control hormones in tap water.
The vaccine story is a smokescreen used to steer people away from the real causes. That autism appears in un-vaccinated children too should be a clue.
You cannot take vaccines out of the picture until that fully vaxed vs fully unvaxed children is done. No excuses like it's unethical or it cannot be done. There are thousands of unvaxed children in this country. You can blame the cause on a lot of things but there is one thing that a huge majority have in common all over the country and that is vaccines. The number of children diagnosed with autism began it's big climb in the early 90's--the same time the number of vaccines began increasing.
Maurine Meleck SC
grandmother to 2 vaccine injured boys-one recovered.
I think the real picture is that we have moved on to the
final stage: the vaccines cause autism
crowd facing fraud charges in court.
I suppose this is inevitable when you have a really simple
fact--there is data on the risk of autism in 100% unvaccinated kids and it is
the same as for vaccinated kids--and the same people keep misrepresenting this
fact year after year after year....
Good news: anyone can
use Google and find the truth.
Just like they can easily find how some parents are deceived
by snake-oil sellers into believing they have "recovered" their
kids.
Hard as it is to believe, this is a scam that requires
(grand)parents to not bother to look up the prognosis for autism. It also requires to (grand)parents to forgive
the very long list of ethical/scientific/medical misconduct of the vaccines
cause autism crew.
W&N
Who is defending in court ? you said vaccines cause autism crowd facing fraud charges in court.
Who are you referring to? I know of only one, and that is the CDC paid researcher Poul Thorsen
that has been indicted on 13 counts of wire fraud and 9 counts of money laundering. he allegedly
stole almost 2 million dollars.
I will enlighten others here later, on what this researcher did with the money. Heck I will just
tell you now. He bought a house, next to the CDC whom he allegedly stole from?, two cars and a Harley Davidson motorcycle and wired himself almost 1 million in cold hard cash.
While the parents with the suffering children, were waiting for good Data from Denmark.
It wasn't coming, you see parents and PHD's. When the CDC contacted Poul and handed him
11 to14 million dollars they informed him that they were only interested in what would exonerate the CDC and Vaccines.
No wonder, he was so comfortable taking the money and moving right next to the CDC. Again he allegedly stole from. The indictment, gives us a little hint of why he wasn't worried.
You see, he according to the indictment worked with others known and unknown by this grand jury.
I left out the best part, he came to the US. to be the head of the new DSM V.
It appears, creating science out of thin air to exonerate the CDC and Vaccines. evidently pays big dividends.
You mean like Coman v Usman, Rossignol, Creation's Own and
Doctor's Data?
"Biomed" docs and their testing labs.....
It is very, very striking how the vaccine critics continue
to ignore the very sordid history of legal/ethical/scientific/medical
misconduct of those that claim vaccines cause autism.
Even when it results in grievous injury or death of our
children.
W&N
Dr. Alycia Halladay of Autism Speaks says, the Vaccines as a cause for Autism has been debunked.
Let see if that statement is valid, in light of the latest findings of Arsenic in Apple juice .
We just receintly found out on the Dr. Oz show, that he had found 30 ppb of Inorganic Arsenic in apple juice. Dr.Oz was very concerned about the low level long term effects,including Developmental disorders Heart disease, Cancer, Skin disorders,.
When this all began, Dr. Oz was attacked by those in the main stream medicine saying you are not
finding Inorganic Arsenic it's probably Organic (here's where it sounds eerily familiar) Organic is the harmless Arsenic. You see, they said the same about the Vaccineal mercury. It's the friendlier,gentle type of Mercury. They were wrong!!!! about the Arsenic, and I will prove later they were wrong on
the Vaccineal Mercury also.
Dianne Sawyer said, that today we learned there was troubling levels of Arsenic and lead also in the Apple juice. She went on to say, Dr. Oz was right! It was not the harmless kind, it was in-fact the Dangerous, In Organic kind. She asked Dr. Besser, make you mad you went into battle with insufficient incorrect facts from the FDA? Oh Yeah! What bothers me most, is that when Mehmet and I spoke before, that the information I had from the FDA. Was incorrect! you were, right.
Now, we draw a parallel to the preservative Thimerosal in children's Vaccines. It is absolutely, impossible!
to be concerned about 30 ppb Ingested [ In organic Arsenic ] and say 10's of thousands of ppb of a type of an [injected Mercury]! that an NIH study on Baby primates says crosses the Blood Brain Barrier easier than does the fish Mercury.
Here is where it gets even worse,the same study goes on to say. After Thimerosal crosses into the brain, it turns into ( here is where, it gets familiar ) [In organic mercury] Now, it gets even more worse. If that's at all possible. In organic Mercury, is the most damaging to the Mitochondria. Why, is that revelation so very important? Because, that's what most of the children with Autism have in common. The Mitochondria in Autistic children, is damaged. Inorganic Mercury, is also very efficient at depleting the the bodies Mercury transport system, the Glutathione. This is where they really look stupid,they expose a child to Thimerosal at birth. Thimerosal, that is efficient at depleting the bodies Mercury transport system. The Glutathione. After they lower the Glutathione, they expose the child to multiple vaccines at on point in time. And all, may contain the Mercury.
A child in the 90's, that received the hep-b vaccine at birth received in that one vaccine. 10's of thousands of ppb of, again! a mercury that crosses the BBB easier than does the fish Mercury.
Dr. Oz said, we believe that elevated chronic exposures can lead to Heart disease, Cancer, Developmental disorders and also Skin disorders.
Can't, elevated chronic exposures be 10's of thousands of ppb of Mercury in each vaccine given over and
over and over? Till the child is 2yr's of age, and then even more after that was given in the 90's all through the child's life.
Lets add a little more fuel to that fire, you see that was just 1 vaccine with 10′s of thousands of ppb’s
of injected mercury. The CDC and AAP vaccine schedule, allows children to get up to 9 vaccines with
7 containing the injected mercury. And all can be on one day, at one setting. Add up, all the ppb’s.
Now, considering that 30 ppb ingested is something to worry about. We should be frantic! knowing the fact, that we exposed our children to elevated levels of injected In organic Mercury.
In the 10's of thousands of ppb each, times maybe 7 vaccines at one point in time.
With the new found revelation, that 30 ppb ingested In organic Arsenic in Apple juice is considered a serious health concern. It is absolutely impossible! To say this kind of massive exposure to injected
In organic Mercury is safe, and not dangerous to children.
Here is a few facts from the Manufacturers Safety Data Sheet MSDS from the children's preservative Thimerosal.
Thimerosal is accumulative in the body, it targets the organs of the body in particular the brain and the lining around the brain.
Thimerosal is a mutagenic, Translation it has the ability to mutate genes. Sound familiar? considering,
they are finding mutated genes in the Autistic children. It appears, they may just be finding the damage
of the preservative Thimerosal.
If you are exposed to Thimerosal, it can make you susceptible to Mercury poisoning, if you have any future exposures.
It warns under re-activity data to not mix with Aluminum, that warning is impossible to heed considering
Aluminum is in children's vaccines as a catalyst. The reason the MSDS says to not mix Thimerosal with Aluminum, is the toxicity rate climbs by 10 times.
Here is one for pregnant women, it appears the Manufacturers warned to not expose pregnant women to Thimerosal for it can cross the placenta and go into the baby and cause mild to severe mental retardation.
If this is true, and I assure you it is. Why is the CDC and the AAP, recommending a flu shot that 80% still
have Thimerosal in them? And now, we know it is for a poultry 59 % benefit at best. At worse, if they miss the target virus strain they are putting the baby in danger for - 0 - percent benefit.
You might ask if the Pediatrician knew about this warning, and if so why does he or she want them to have a product injected into her body that will cross the placenta go into the baby and cause mild ADD, ADHD, Speech delay, Severe Autism? Retardation
Now the question here should be, how can someone such as the Great Dr. Oz raise a red flag about a mouse and ignore elephant in the room.
Mouse = 30 ppb ingested in apple juice.
Elephant = 10's of thousands of ppb injected per vaccine x maybe 7 vaccines.
Ingested in Apple juice, goes through the bodies filtering organs.
Injected by vaccines, goes directly to brain after leaving the blood.
Care to argue, with those facts?
Thanks Joe,
The relevant facts are that you have grossly misrepresented
the toxicology and the chemistry and thus come to clearly incorrect
conclusions.
Yes the claim that vaccines cause autism has been completely
debunked.
All that is left is to watch the vaccine critics keep
getting all the science wrong and to ask why when actual scientists have
corrected their errors over and over....
W&N
I stand by what I said; When you talk scientist, are you talking about scientist like at the
Simpson wood meeting? Talking about how bad their science was on their side,and coming to the conclusion that they would all be in a bad position from the stand point of defending lawsuits if they were initiated. The lead person there that day, said just that and this that he was concerned
They were so concerned, they talked about how they could move the data around any way they want and look justified in doing so and get any results they want. Now! that's real science. Right!
If you say I am spreading misinformation, it was released through the FOIA act. So no! it's a fact, they were willing to change the data to cover their (here's a nice way to put it) rears.
Also, these actual scientist as you put it. They were so full of scientific integrity, they tried to hide all the seriously bad Data and findings from their own committee. Hence the letter I have that states;
"we have recently learned, that safe minds has obtained the minutes of the Simpson wood meeting and there were some findings. We did not. tell you about"
What findings? All the BAD! especially this concern from the only Dr. there with any integrity.
Dr. Weil his concern; "You can play with this all you want, they are linear and statistically significant"
Here is Dr. Dr. Weil: Page 207: “The number of dose related relationships are linear andstatistically significant. You can play with this all you want. They are linear. Theyare statistically significant. The positive relationships are those that one might expectfrom the Faroe Islands studies. They are also related to those data we do have onexperimental animal data and similar to the neurodevelopmental tox data on othersubstances, so that I think you can’t accept that this is out of the ordinary. It isn’t out ofthe ordinary. The Seychelles Island studies and somebody said the Faeroe Islands studiesboth, were chronic exposures. We are not talking necessarily about chronic exposure. Weare talking about a series of acute exposures and at one point in time that exposure ismuch greater on one day than any of the Seychelles Islands. The increased incidence ofneurobehavioral problems in children in the past few decades is probably real…Iwork in the school system where my effort is entirely in special education and I haveto say that the number of kids getting help in special education is growing nationallyand state by state at a rate we have not seen before.Dr. Weil: Page 208: “The rise in the frequency of neurobehavioral disorders whether it isascertainment or real, is not too bad. It is much too graphic. We don’t see that kind ofgenetic change in 30 years.”
He appears to be in a battle for morality and justice, and it appears he is out numbered by corrupted
arrogant and prideful as you put it [actual scientist] The Lord said, I reserve the right to make vessels of honor and dishonor. Guess one has Honor in Gods eyes?The one defending, the children.
Not those, defending the trillion dollar pharmaceutical Ind.
Like I said, the only one there with any integrity. and also willing to call a poison a poison.
Dr. Weil: Page 24: “One, up until this last discussion we have been talking about chronic exposure. I think it’s clear to me anyway that we are talking about a problem that is probably more related to bolus acute exposures, and we also need to know that the migration problems and some of the other developmental problems in the central nervous system go on for quite a period after birth. But from all of the other studies of toxic substances, the earlier you work with the central nervous system, the more likely you are to run into a sensitive period for one of these effects, so that moving from one month or one day of birth to six months of birth changes enormously the potential for toxicity.There are just a host of neurodevelopmental data that would suggest that we’ve got aserious problem. The earlier we go, the more serious the problem. The second point I could make is that in relationship to aluminum, being a nephrologist for a long time, thepotential for aluminum and central nervous system toxicity was established by dialysis data. To think there isn’t some possible problem here is unreal.”
I will quote the late Dr. Hilliman the grandfather of the Merck children's vaccine program. He sent a memo to the president of Merck, trying to get them to acknowledge the possible dangers of Bolus doses.
He warns, on the next vaccine schedule children will be getting 87 times what the EPA considers safe. "were not talking daily allowances as such, were talking BOLUS doses given at one point in time"
He then said "when viewed in this manner, it appears to be rather large"
It appears, you are wrong W&N as usual. And the actual scientist you speak of, have no integrity or for that matter even a moral compass at all.
In other words you don't understand the science and you
won't consult with actual scientists.
The fact that the world rejects your POV entirely reflects your failure
to understand.
BTW #1: you have grossly misrepresented the basic English
meaning of the words in the Simpsonwood transcript which I suppose is why you
didn't bother to post it:
BTW #2: you have
grossly misrepresented the basic English meaning of the words in the Hillman
memo and even after more than a decade of correcting your math error you still
can't figure out that no kid ever received a dose that exceeded the safety
limits. Which I suppose is why you
didn't bother to post the memo:
BTW #3: you still
can't do middle-school chemistry and see the obvious absurdity of your comments
on thimersoal/aluminum. Despite many
years of them being pointed out.
The reality is that your comments about moral compasses etc are
simply a very poor substitute for basic literacy, math, or science skills.
W&N
Albus, Please explain the science that has been revealed in autism causation.
Albus, are you suggesting that vaccination injury has never resulted in encephalopathy that manifests as symptoms of autism?
Help me understand your position. No child has ever received vaccinations that resulted in permanent brain damage. After such a vaccination injury, no child was later diagnosed with autism.
Or do we just label this type of injury and acquired neurological damage as something other than autism?
I'm just curious. I get the feeling that you believe that we understand exactly how an infant's immune system develops. I guess we also fully understand how neurodevelopment occurs.
Given the fact that we don't, how can we conclude that vaccinations given during these critical developmental processes will not cause some individuals neurological damage?
You are fighting, a person that has no dog in the fight. And we believe, in fact we have proof many
have so called PR businesses and are being paid to defend Pharma. and Vaccines.
The bible says, to not cast your pearls before a swine.
The reason the vaccine explanation for autism is so compelling is that it is the only one that answers all the questions. My baby was born healthy, but, although I had said I didn't want her to get it, was given the hep-B vaccine at the hospital the day she was born. She reacted with four days and nights of inconsolable, unremitting screaming, vaccine-induced encephalitis, and was later diagnosed with autism. Vaccines are supposed to trigger inflammation, which then makes the immune system produce antibodies. Often this inflammation is excessive and causes encephalitis, which may have symptoms as mild as staring episodes, crying constantly for three hours, or unusual sleepiness. The Merck Manual in its definition of encephalitis states that it can be caused by vaccines. Hundreds of thousands of parents report that their child's problems began with a vaccine and symptoms of encephalitis. Vaccines can skew the immune response from a primarily Th1 response to threats over to a primarily Th2 autoimmune response, when the immune system can't understand the meaning of the injected antigens and dementedly identifies similar-appearing cells in its own body as threats, and attacks them chronically, starting an autoimmune disease, like asthma, allergies, bowel disease, or diabetes. The federal government has compensated many children with bizarre seizure disorders because it has found it beyond a doubt that the vaccines caused them. Hannah Poliing's autism was deemed proven to have been caused by vaccines, and she was awarded millions of dollars. Autism only began a few years after the first pertussis vaccine began to be given to rich children in the 1930s, and for decades it was a mystery as to why only rich children were affected. All social classes began to be affected in the 1960s, when government programs offered the DTP to all. The autism epidemic began in the late 1980s, with the addition over several decades of the MMR, hep-B at birth when the newborn's brain is most vulnerable to damage, the varicella vaccine, Prevnar, hep-A, meningococcal, HPV, flu, and rotavirus. Now one in 88 children has autism, one in 48 boys. While the officials pretend to be totally mystified as to the cause, thousands more children are damaged every day. There is no autism among the unvaccinated Amish, except one boy who lives near a mercury-producing power plant.
Soon, when the thousands of completely unvaccinated American children are shown to be much healthier than the vaccinated ones, we will have our proof. In the meantime, increasing numbers of American parents are refusing the vaccines because they can see the vaccine-damaged children on every block in the U.S.A. now, and are deciding that blind trust in the medical, pharmaceutical, and government agencies entrusted with their child's health, is completely misplaced, and that they must protect their child themselves.
I take great comfort from the fact that all it takes is
basic literacy skills to:
Read the Poling decision and see that her case wasn't about
autism,
Read the history of autism and see that many cases were
documented centuries before you claim,
Read the facts about the Amish and see that the majority do
vaccinate,
Anyone that does take a minute to look up the facts will see
that your claims are entirely lacking in facts.
Overachievers that invest a bit of time to look at the
science will see that you are clueless about how vaccines work, or
autoimmunity, or the health of unvaccinated kids.
An excellent reminder that the vaccine critics are universally
rejected because they have nothing rational to offer.
Thanks,
W&N
"Read the Poling decision and see that her case wasn't about
autism,:
Yeah, Hannah doesn't have autism. She has autistic like symptoms that were a result of vaccination injury. Explain the difference Albus. If a child displays autistic-like symptoms, may they be diagnosed as autistic? If these symptoms manifest after vaccination induced encephalopathy, could one argue that autistic-like symptoms may result after vaccination injury?
And before you start claiming that a mitochondrial abnormality is the rare underlying condition that resulted in Hannah's neurological decline, explain how often screening for this pre-existing condition is performed before infants are vaccinated. You know, whom may be a risk as well?
Yawn,
Poling was awarded compensation for encephalopathy and for
seizer disorder.
Encephalopathies can cause some behaviors similar to
autism.
However, claiming she was awarded compensation for vaccines
causing autism is factually incorrect.
It is an error predicated on a total failure to understand
the diagnosis and symptoms of the two diseases.
And it is an error that has been corrected over and over for many years
now.
Since the vaccine critics still can't get the words in the decision
correct, it is no surprise that they also can't get the science of her mito disorder correct.
W&N
"Since the vaccine critics still can't get the words in the decision
correct, it is no surprise that they also can't get the science of her mito disorder correct."
I see, so only the pro-vaccine crowd understands/applies the science correctly.
"Poling was awarded compensation for encephalopathy and for
seizer disorder."
Yes, that resulted in autistic-like symptoms. She appears to be autistic and exhibits enough of the symptoms to be diagnosed as autistic.
Abstract
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).
Again, how often are infants screened for abnormalities in mitochondrial respiration and energy production prior to vaccinations?
Yawn, It's simple. Whenever we see evidence of vaccinations causing symptoms of autism, we call it just that-autistic-like symptoms. Can't call it autism because vaccination injury can't cause autism. It can only cause autistic-like symptoms.
Albus, you seem to have all the answers. By your yawn intro above, are you suggesting that you understand how an underlying mitochondrial abnormality plays a role in vaccination injury that manifests as symptoms of autism? Do tell.
"It is an error predicated on a total failure to understand
the diagnosis and symptoms of the two diseases.
And it is an error that has been corrected over and over for many years
now."
"Since the vaccine critics still can't get the words in the decision
correct, it is no surprise that they also can't get the science of her mito disorder correct."
Albus, what are you talking about? What error has been corrected over and over again? Hannah's mitochondrial dysfunction caused her to exhibit symptoms of severe autism after she received a round of vaccinations. These are the facts.
Are you suggesting that vaccination induced encephalopathy will not cause brain damage that manifests as symptoms of severe autism? How did you separate vaccination induced brain inflammation and damage from the resulting neurological impairments that occured in Hannah's case?
I get it. You like to post on facebook and pretend to be well educated in this area of science. Post your answers to my questions above. Explain how vaccinations can not cause brain damage in an individual with a pre-existing mitochondrial abnormality/ Explain how a vaccination induced encephalopathy will not result in autistic-like symptoms. Explain how symptoms of autism will not result in an autism diagnosis. Show all your facebook buddies how intelligent you really are.
Yeah that's right. When the pro-vax experts are asked the right questions, they avoid answering and move on to another blog to spread their nonsense. Pro-vax typical.
People need to go to the site of the new film, "Greater Good," an in-depth look at the vaccine safety debate. (Links don't post here.)
I would encourage people to view short trailer to this movie on their website . makes it clear that there are experts on both side and a lot of serious questions that need to be asked. The medical community and health officials promote vaccines as the greatest achievement in modern medicine yet there is growing fear over vaccine side effects.
Anne Dachel, Media editor: Age of Autism
My son was vacinated as well as my other children - only my son was diagnosed with Autism.
I truly don't know if vaccines have anything to do with this. For me - I don't really care WHY he has autism (because if it is linked to vaccines - then it's too late for him anyway - he's already been vacinated).
The only thing I know is that he does have Autism and I as his Mother, must simply deal with WHAT IS. Now that I know he's Autistic, I'm better able to help him. (He was mis-diagnosed with ADHD at age 5 and wasn't properly diagnosed until age 11).
We can debate the vaccine issue til the cows come home. Doesn't help us parents who are currently dealing with the issue.
It's interesting that these twins recovered as they got older. I have seen a somewhat different scenario - our son was very symptomatic for the first few years, seemed to get better during grade school, worsened into junior high and high school, but was relatively stable through those years into his upper twenties. Now in his 30's, he lives independently, with a little help, holds a warehouse job, but appears to me to be gradually regressing.
There seems to be no support for the fairly functional autistic older population - and I expect the problem will grow as it is unaddressed for many symptomatic people. I'm quite concerned about who will provide the support he needs when we are gone.
As a vote, because most of this chat seems dedicated to it - I think there is no credible evidence for a vaccine link.