AGE OF AUTISM

Blockbuster Primate Study Shows Significant Harm from One Birth Dose of a Mercury-Containing Vaccine

[Editor's update: The article is now available for purchase at Science Direct. See link below.]

By Mark Blaxill

A research team led by scientists from the University of Pittsburgh and Thoughtful House  reported today that exposure to a birth dose of a hepatitis B vaccine that included an ethyl mercury preservative caused significant delays in the development of several survival reflexes in male rhesus macaque monkeys. The findings were published on line today in the journal Neurotoxicology. [See the abstract below and the link to a site where you can purchase the article on Science Direct HERE]

In the first safety study of its kind of the hepatitis vaccine birth dose, the researchers showed that male macaques vaccinated at birth with a hepatitis B vaccine (HBV) took more than twice as long as unexposed macaques to acquire three standardized skills typically used to measure infant brain development.  The thirteen vaccinated monkeys each received a dose of Merck’s Recombivax® hepatitis B vaccine to which a weight-adjusted amount of the ethyl mercury-containing vaccine preservative thimerosal had been added (each dose included 2 micrograms of ethyl mercury as opposed to the human infant dose of 12.5 micrograms). Seven unexposed monkeys received either a saline placebo injection or no shot at all.

Over a two week period following birth, the researchers examined the infant macaques daily for their ability to perform nine basic reflexes (four reflexes were tested in two ways, so the paper reports thirteen performance results). Three of nine reflexes showed significant delays in vaccinated macaques while two other reflexes were delayed and “approached significance.” As for the three significant reflexes, vaccinated macaques learned more slowly to: 1) turn their head in response to a brush on the cheek (the root reflex); 2) open their mouth in response to a brush on the forehead (the snout reflex); and 3) suck on a nipple placed in their mouth (the suck reflex).

Although the paper is carefully worded and the results reported modestly, these findings are certain to receive intense scrutiny. For while hepatitis B vaccines currently produced in the United States no longer contain thimerosal, the vast majority of American infants born during the 1990s received a vaccine formulation similar to the one the thirteen vaccinated macaques received. In addition, thimerosal-containing HBVs are still routinely administered to newborn infants in developing countries such as Brazil. Consequently, the finding that early exposure to potentially toxic vaccine formulations can cause significant neuro-developmental delays in primates has explosive implications for vaccine safety management. These implications go far beyond the domestic HBV program and raise concerns about HBV formulations sold abroad as well as the domestic influenza vaccine program. Most influenza vaccines, including the vaccines in the upcoming swine flu program, contain thimerosal and are routinely administered to pregnant women and infants.

IACC: They Had to Have it Their Way

By Katie Wright

When the IACC committee members were choosing outside scientists and parents to help inform their research plan, one would think they would reach out to different thinkers with diverse areas of expertise. Why create yet another sub-committee if IACC is only going to pack it with clones?  How will such an endeavor expose IACC members to innovative points of view or under-represented research opportunities? It won’t, but maybe that was the point!

Lyn Redwood and Lee Grossman nominated Dr. Bryan Jepson for the “What is causing autism committee.” Dr. Jepson is a father of 2 boys on the spectrum, published researcher, author and full time clinician at Thought House, a clinic treating ASD kids with medical problems. Fairly perfect credentials, right? But no…Team PreHistory, Insel, Landis, Singer, etc. all rejected this father and physician in favor of Dr. Matt State and Dr. Lars Perner, I suppose because genetics is such an under-represented area of autism research. Team Insel did not want to include a DAN! physician who actually treats autistic children everyday. No, Team PreHistory had to have Matt State and Lars Perner.

Neither Sell nor Perner bothered to take part in yesterday’s conference call. Well to be fair, Perner joined the call in the final 15 minutes and said nothing.

It seems to me, and I am sure many other families, that if you nominate someone to serve on this very important committee, that they actually a) want to do it and b) are committed to showing up. Bryan Jepson would have made this a priority and would have been an active participant and contributor to this committee. Listen, we are ALL busy and our families don’t want to hear excuses.

Story Landis could have seriously used the help of Bryan Jepson. Landis was the panel chair and was almost instantly lost amongst procedural points, current autism research content and the purpose of the committee. Landis may be a great steam cell scientist, I don’t know. But I do know Landis seemed frequently confused, exhibited little knowledge of both autism, as a disease and the current research literature.  She was a very poor choice.

From SafeMinds: Action Alert – Help Needed to Eliminate a Major Source of Mercury Pollution

As written previously HERE, SafeMinds  supports the effort lead by the environmental group Oceana to phase out the use of mercury in chlorine and caustic soda production by 2012.  The Mercury Pollution Reduction Act (H.R. 2190) will be considered by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Wednesday, September 30th at 10 AM and amendments have been proposed to weaken the bill, including a proposed delay of the phase out until 2018. 

We need your help to contact Representatives on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Wednesday morning to oppose any weakening amendments to H.R. 2190.  To get more information and take action, go to the Oceana Take Action site HERE.

IACC Scientific Workshop on Autism Strategic Plan Webcast

Click HERE to view the IACC site. Info on how to participate in the webcast below.

IACC Scientific Workshop
 
Date:  September 30 - October 1, 2009
Time:  9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET - September 30, 2009
9:00a.m. to 5:00p.m. ET - October 1, 2009

Agenda:  The workshop will cover the six questions in the strategic plan, focusing on noted research gaps, new opportunities for advancing research and knowledge about ASD, and the prioritization of short-term and long-term objectives in the plan. The format of the meeting will include presentations by invited panelists (clinicians, researchers and people with ASD or family members of people with ASD), as well as discussions by panelists, the public and members of the IACC.

Place:  The Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center
5701 Marinelli Road
Bethesda, MD 20852 
Webcast Live:  http://videocast.nih.gov/
Conference Call Access:  Dial: 888-455-2920
Access code: 4173827
Cost:  The meeting is free and open to the public.

Pre-Registration:  http://www.acclaroresearch.com/oarc/9-30-09_workshop/
Pre-registration is strongly recommended, but PRE-REGISTRATION DOES NOT GUARANTEE YOU A SEAT. Seating is first come, first served, with expedited check-in for those pre-registered. Seating is limited to room capacity. Limited overflow seating with videocast viewing will be available. 
Access:  Metro accessible - Red Line - White Flint Metro Station
Onsite parking available - $4.00 hourly, $12.00 daily
Contact Person:  Ms. Lina Perez
Office of Autism Research Coordination
National Institute of Mental Health, NIH
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 8185a
Rockville, MD 20892-9669
Phone: 301-443-6040
Email: IACCPublicInquiries@mail.nih.gov 

Please Note:  Pre-registration is strongly recommended. Seating will be limited to the room capacity and seats will be on a first come, first serve basis, with expedited check-in for those who are pre-registered. As part of security procedures, attendees should be prepared to present a photo ID at the meeting registration desk during the check-in process.

The meeting will be open to the public through a conference call phone number and webcast live on the Internet. Members of the public who participate using the conference call phone number will be able to listen to the meeting but will not be heard. Individuals who participate in person or by using these electronic services and who need special assistance, such as captioning of the converence call or other reasonable accommodations, should submit a request at least 7 days prior to the meeting.

To access the webcast live on the Internet the following computer capabilities are required: A) Internet Explorer 5.0 or later, Netscape Navigator 6.0 or later or Mozilla Firefox 1.0 or later; B) Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server or Vista; C) Stable 56k, cable modem, ISDN, DSL or better Internet connection; D) Minimum of Pentium 400 with 256 MB of RAM (Recommended); E) Java Virtual Machine enabled (Recommended).

Information about the IACC is available on the website:
http://www.iacc.hhs.gov

Schedule subject to change.
 

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H1N1 Meeting Live Today

Vaccine Program: Health, Safety, and Distribution.  Time 2:00 Tuesday. The link will go up on the Committee's webpage shortly before the hearing begins: www.oversight.house.gov .

H1N1 Meeting Live Today

The House Committee on Government Reform will be streaming its H1N1 hearing today. "The Administration’’s Flu Vaccine Program: Health, Safety, and Distribution." Time 2:00 Tuesday. The link will go up on the Committee's webpage shortly before the hearing begins: www.oversight.house.gov.

MMR: Overview of the Studies

By Julie Obradovic
 
You know, I was wondering. Is the rate of pizza consumption in Chicago related to the rate of obesity in Boston?
 
Or, just what is the likelihood of being diagnosed with obesity in a hospital within 3 month intervals over several years after eating pizza in Finland back in the early 1980's?
 
Or, how likely is it that I will have evidence in my gut of having eaten pizza that made me sick 12 years ago, but not by actually looking at my gut?
 
Or, in Japan, when nobody ate pizza with sausage, pepperoni, and mushrooms for a little while, but still ate pizza with either sausage or mushrooms, any chance the obesity rate dropped?
 
Or, what about the chance that if we looked at a whole bunch of people in the US who ate pizza that all gained weight afterwards, the pizza had something to do with it if only a significant amount of them developed obesity?
 
Or how about the likelihood that if you eat this pizza in the UK before you gain weight the higher the rate of obesity?
 
And finally, among those same people in the UK who eat this pizza, any evidence they are thin, then gain weight and then develop obesity in that order? And if a significant number of them don't, like say they were already gaining weight when they ate the pizza, nobody became obese from the pizza?
 
Oh, I'll stop. I'm just being silly. A little humor to introduce a really not so funny topic. And now I'm hungry.
 
What has been studied about the MMR?

Educating Arne and ARRA

Managing Editor's Note:  Arne Duncan is Secretary of the US Dept. of Ed.  Alison's post below indicates a need for better oversight of funds spent on education.

By Alison Davis

I'm waiting for my school system’s Board of Education meeting in October to find out how they are spending the American Recovery and Revitalization Act’s (ARRA) IDEA Part B Stimulus funds.  Towards the end of last school year, Schafer Autism Report had an article on this that caught my eye.  How much did your school system get?  We got almost $8M.  And I want to know where it’s going.

Guidelines to spending, transparency, and accountability appear muddled from every level of federal, state, and local Education agencies.  It’s time for some- what I like to call- Little Red Hen Actions (“’Then I’ll do it myself’, Said the Little Red Hen.  And she did.”).

Here are some questions you may want to ask your children’s Special Education Director:

1. How are we obtaining assistive technology devices (PDAs, Smartboards, alphasmarts, netbooks, etc.) and providing funding for training teachers in assistive technology to aid Special Education students?

2. How many Special Education teaching jobs are we saving?  How many are we creating?

3. What new Special Education professional development will take place to improve:

• Early learning?
• Inclusion of Special Ed. students?
• Transitions, including preparation for college? (Are we hiring transition coordinators/coaches and job developers?)
• Training school staff to partner with families by supporting parent trainings, family nights, and home visits?

4. How are we spending these funds to introduce reliable data collection and assessments for students with disabilities?

5. What new evidence-based curriculums with instructional materials and imbedded assessments are we purchasing for Special Ed. students?

6. Are we using funds for extended learning time for Special Ed. students (after school/summer programs)?

7. How are we measuring the effectiveness of our use of the allotment?

Alison Davis lives in Durham, NC with her husband (thank God!) and her three boys with autism.  She sincerely hopes that No Child Left Behind does not mean if it’s meant to be it’s up to me.  Additionally, it’s her fervent wish that IDEIA no longer means if you don’t know your rights you don’t have any.

Defend American Freedom: Albany NY Forced Vaccination Rally

Rally to Stop Forced Vaccinations
East Capitol Park, Albany, NY
Tuesday, September 29, 2009, 10 am - Noon

New York State has issued an illegal order forcing all healthcare workers in the state to get seasonal flu shots by November 30 or face termination. The State has already announced that the experimental H1N1 shot will be next.

Every state health department in the United States is carefully watching what happens in New York. If they get away with is here, your state will be next.
 
The stakes are getting higher all the time. Come fight for Vacccine Choice.

Followed by visits to your legislators, the Governor's Office,
the Department of Health
 
Speakers include Mayer Eisenstein, MD, JD, MPH, Sue Fields, RN, Ralph Fucetola, JD, John Gilmore, Louise Kuo Habakus, MA, HHP, Gary Null, PhD, Alan Phillips, JD and Heather Walker
 
What You Can Do if you can't get to the rally:
 
Email, Click on THIS LINK to send email messages to your State Senator, your Assemblymember, Commissioner of Health Richard Daines, and his boss, Governor David Paterson, and demand that this illegal action stop immediately.

Autism Not Really on the Rise? 96.7% Impossible.

By J.B. Handley

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."
- Mark Twain

In America’s health care debate, Republicans seem to have the upper hand by using a tried and true PR strategy: confuse the living hell out of everyone and shout really loud while doing it. The same can be said for the ridiculously confusing debate over how many people do, and as importantly did, have autism.

Are prevalence rates of autism actually on the rise? If they are, the environment is playing a role, and the crazy parents on this site may actually be on to something. If they’re not, well, this is much ado about nothing. Autism has always been with us, let’s learn to accept our children as they are and bend society to accommodate this very large group of people who have always been with us but only recently acknowledged.

Which is it? Well, a recent “report” from the UK seems to support the position that we have just as many adults with autism as we do kids. You can read the report for yourself  HERE, it’s featured prominently on the UK CDC’s website, and appears to support the idea that 1% of British adults have autism, too, so let’s all stop talking about the MMR.

My guess is that this report will do little to move the debate forward. The investigators only surveyed 7,500 people, and their definition of “adult” included anyone age 16 or older. As we all know, the rise in autism appears to have started somewhere in the early 1990s, which means “adults” between 16-20 are really part of the age of autism. Further, the study isn’t peer reviewed and the subjects with “autism” were directly interviewed over the phone but never seen in person (if they were interviewed over the phone, that means they can all talk and process questions, which is another head-scratcher.)

At any rate, I’m not here to nitpick the UK report because it appears to be absurdly useless, and I’d rather redirect you to the simple math that we can all do to look at some of the unsupportable arguments the other side uses to try to convince the world autism has always been with us at the exact same rate.

Devilish, devilish details

OK, here’s a quick quiz for you: your stock portfolio loses 75% of its value. Bummer. But, you’re a risk-taker, and you’re going to stick with stocks. So, how much does your now much smaller portfolio need to grow to get back to breakeven?