ELI STONE -- THE NEW PATRON SAINT OF AUTISM
By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.
I wish “Eli Stone” a long and successful run.
Beginning life just after the season premiere of “Lost”, one of the most engaging shows ever put on television, I applaud the show for its exploration of science and faith. Like “Lost” it ricochets back and forth between those things which are plausible, and others which seem downright crazy.
It's also just so damned entertaining!
I was expecting the show to be heavy-handed on the side of "faith" rather than "science", but it was a surprise. There were good reasons for finding in favor of the autistic child and his mother, not the least of which was an internal report suggesting that "mercuritol" (thimerosal) caused cognitive problems, including possibly autism. For those of us who have labored in the trenches to expose these issues (and the fact that such reports do exist) it was a breath of fresh air.
It's difficult to put into words what a fantastic job I believe ABC and the creators of "Eli Stone" did in their premiere episode. In the past year we've had Jenny McCarthy, and now Eli Stone. Maybe by the end of this school year we'll have a favorable verdict in the Autism Omnibus Proceeding and then things will really get interesting!
Isn't it curious that the more people research this topic (i.e. - mother extraordinaire Jenny McCarthy, and now the network bigs of ABC), they think it's something worth discussing?
Maybe it’s the lawyer in me which remains even though I’ve become a science teacher, but if I was putting together the brief for Eli Stone about autism, here are the additional arguments I’d have had him make in that courtroom:
1) There is an autism epidemic - The numbers from the United States Department of Education show a staggering increase! In the 1992-1993 school year the Department of Education listed 12, 222 children with autism between the ages of 6-21 years old. In 2007 that number had skyrocketed to 224, 415, an eighteen-fold increase!
When the MIND Institute at UC Davis looked at the California numbers in their October 2002 report to the California Legislature they found, “There is no evidence that a loosening in the diagnostic criteria has contributed to increased number of autism clients . . . we conclude that some, if not all, of the observed increase represents a true increase in cases of autism in California . . . a purely genetic basis for autism does not fully explain the increasing autism prevalence.”
A similar conclusion was reached by Dr. Craig J. Newschaffer, Ph.D. from John Hopkins University regarding the national prevalence of autism trends and reported in the March 2005 issue of Pediatrics. Curiously, he found that the greatest increase took place between 1987 and 1992, which coincides with the timing of the near-tripling of vaccines given to U.S. children and the near-tripling of mercury contained in those vaccines.
2) Mercury from the environment and vaccines is linked to this epidemic – A study released by the University of Texas Health Science Center and published in 2006 found, “On average, for each 1,000 lb of environmentally released mercury, there was a 43% increase in the rate of special education services and a 61% increase in the rate of autism. The association between environmentally released mercury and special education rates was fully mediated by increased autism rates. This ecological study suggests the need for further research regarding the association between environmentally released mercury and developmental disorders such as autism."
One of the most provocative pieces of research has come from Columbia University where Dr. Mady Horning gave time and dose equivalent amounts of thimerosal to mice with differing genetic profiles. The following is an excerpt from Dr. Hornig’s testimony before Congress in September of 2004:
“The premise of our research is that if mercury in vaccines creates risk for neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, genetic differences are likely to contribute to that risk. Earlier studies, however, did not use the form of mercury present in vaccines, known in thimerosal, and did not consider whether intramuscular, repetitive administration during early postnatal development when the brain an immune system are still maturing, might intensify toxicity. Our predictions were confirmed. Using thimerosal dosages and timing that approximated the childhood immunization schedule, our model of postnatal thimerosal neurotoxicity demonstrated that the genes in mice that predict mercury-related immunotoxicity also predicted neurodevelopmental damage. Features reminiscent of those observed in autism occurred in the mice of the genetically sensitive strain.”
A recent study from Dr. Elizabeth Sadjel-Sulkowsa of Harvard Medical School entitled, “Oxidative Stress in Autism:Elevated Cerebellar 3-nitrotyrosine Levels” and published in the American Journal of Biochemistry and Biotechnology in which the brains of autistic children who had died were examined for signs of heavy metal toxicity supports the assertion that mercury may be associated with the development of autism.
Significantly, the researchers found, “Based on the cumulative evidence of aforementioned data and the findings derived from our study, we propose a tentative oxidative-stress-mediated model of autistic pathology (Fig. 3). This model incorporates possible environmental impacts and is also consistent with recent genetic analysis that identified several genes linked to autism. Interestingly enough, some of these genes code for factors involved in the antioxidant defense mechanism such as glutathione-Stransferase (GST M1) an allele involved in the metabolism of glutathione, which is an intrinsic antioxidant, as well as differences in allele frequency for genes encoding reduced folate carrier[12]. Polymorphism for metal-responsive transcription factor (MTF-1) in autism, potentially alters expression of metallothionein and tissue levels of heavy metals such as mercury.”
3) That other vaccine ingredients may also be causing neurological harm – Dr. Christopher Shaw, Ph.D. of the University of British Columbia tested the toxicity of the aluminum adjuvant used in commercial vaccines as he was studying Gulf War Syndrome, which some have claimed is due to the large number of vaccines our troops received before deploying to the Persian Gulf.
In his article entitled “Aluminum Adjuvant Linked to Gulf War Illness Induces Motor Neuron Death in Mice” and published in the journal Neuromolecular Medicine in 2007 he reports, “testing showed motor deficits in the aluminum treatment group that expressed as a progressive decrease in strength measured . . . Significant cognitive deficits in water-maze learning were observed in the combined aluminum and squalene group . . . Apoptotic neurons were identified in aluminum-injected animals that showed significantly increased activated capsase-3 labeling in lumbar spinal cord (255%) and primary motor cortex (192%) compared with the controls. Aluminum-treated groups also showed significant motor neuron loss (35%) and increased numbers of astrocytes (350%) in the lumbar spinal cord.”
In a newspaper article commenting on his research Dr. Shaw said, "No one in my lab wants to get vaccinated. This totally creeped us out. We weren't out there to poke holes in vaccines. But all of a sudden, oh my God-we've got neuron death!"
4) High officials in medicine and government are preventing the release of evidence which would support contention that mercury from vaccines is involved in the development of neurological problems – It is difficult to read accounts of what has become known as the “Simpsonwood Conference”, the private meeting which was convened in June of 2000 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to review a disturbing internal study by CDC epidemiologist Tom Verstraeten which raised disturbing questions about the safety of common childhood vaccines, and believe that our public officials are truly concerned about public safety.
In his analysis of the agency’s massive database of the medical records of more than 100,000 children Verstraetan told the assembled group of 52 attendees (which included high-level officials from the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration, the top vaccine specialist from the World Health Organization in Geneva, and representatives of every major vaccine manufacturer, including GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Wyeth, and Aventis Pasteur) that “I was actually stunned by what I saw.” He then cited the staggering number of earlier studies which indicated a link between thimerosal and speech delays, attention-deficit disorder, hyper-activity, and autism.
In response to what Verstraeten presented Dr. Bill Weil, a consultant for the American Academy of Pediatrics told the group, “You can play with this all you want.” In his opinion the results were “statistically significant.”
Perhaps the most human comment of all from the record (which was released only in response to a Freedom of Information request) was from Dr. Richard Johnston, a pediatrician and immunologist from the University of Colorado. On the morning of the meeting’s first day his grandson had been born and he was worried about the child’s future health. “Forgive this personal comment,” said the new grandfather, “I do not want my grandson to get a thimerosal-containing vaccine until we know better what is going on.”
In light of the autism epidemic and the claimed link to vaccinations, one would think the government would be in a hurry to allow independent researchers to comb through the more than medical records of more than 100,000 children collected by the CDC to refute such a claim.
However, that public database has been turned over to a private agency, America’s Health Insurance Plans, placing it off-limits for additional research. Even though the data has been developed through the use of taxpayer funds, we the taxpaying public, are not allowed to see it.
If there’s nothing incriminating in the records CDC researcher Tom Verstraeten looked at, then why can’t we look through it? It’s difficult to come to any conclusion other than that public officials in both the medical community and the governments are trying to hide something.
Until the time when we can look through the records as easily as Tom Verstraeten and the attendees at the Simpsonwood Conference were able to, many parents will be unable to trust what the medical and governmental authorities say on the subject of autism.
5) Because of our own experiences with our children – We do not live our lives under scientific observation. Instead, we rely on what we know to be true because we were there and lived through it. We are the experts on our own lives.
As parents we have been the most careful observers of our children’s lives. We were there the moment they were born, and all of the moments in between. If we saw them developing normally, then saw that change after a vaccination, you should believe us. If we claim they got better, maybe even recovered after a change in diet, or the addition of certain supplements, or after a period of chelation, you should listen to us.
Thanks to Eli Stone, our new patron saint of autism, we are no longer “Lost” to the mainstream media.
Now that we have been found, I hope we will be able to tell the entire story.
Kent Heckenlively is Legal Editor for Age of Autism.
Maybe by the end of this school year we'll have a favorable verdict in the Autism Omnibus Proceeding and then things will really get interesting!
Posted by: moby wraps | April 30, 2010 at 05:03 PM
"Kent: ...genetics alone can't explain the increase..."
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it true that genetics alone can't explain most effects of genetics? That most things are a result of a combination of genetics and environment and that its just a matter of degree?
Posted by: Scotty B | February 05, 2008 at 11:02 AM
Lisa:
You can go to www.generationrescue.org to get the 70 page report from UC Davis which supports their conclusion that genetics alone can't explain the increase, as well as getting Dr. Newschaffer's article.
Hope this helps.
All the best,
Kent Heckenlively
Posted by: Kent Heckenlively | February 02, 2008 at 10:58 AM
I read this citation over and over again: "we conclude that some, if not all, of the observed increase represents a true increase in cases of autism in California . . . a purely genetic basis for autism does not fully explain the increasing autism prevalence."
Problem is, I don't know on what basis this statement is made - and, of course, it's only related to genetics, not to all the other factors that may be a part of the rise in diagnoses.
WHY wouldn't, for example, a combination of genetics, changing diagnostic criteria, growing awareness, new laws and services available, and new cultural acceptance all combine to explain increasing autism prevalence?
I've asked several researchers whether the rise in autism is largely a rise in high functioning/Asperger syndrome as opposed to a rise in "classic" autism (symptoms that would have been diagnosed as autism prior to, say 1990). So far, I haven't received a definitive answer. I'm guessing that's because diagnoses don't focus on symptoms, and a PDD-NOS or even "ASD" diagnosis doesn't reflect level of functioning.
If anyone has studies, stats, or other tools to actually parse out who is being diagnosed, and why the increase in diagnoses MUST be absolute rather than perceived, I'd be grateful to learn about them.
Thanks,
Lisa Rudy (about.com guide to autism)
Posted by: Lisa Rudy | February 02, 2008 at 09:53 AM
Excellent, Kent, in every way.
Your comment about now being "found" moved me to tears.
Posted by: Sandy Gottstein | February 01, 2008 at 06:22 PM
Indeed, but then it's perhaps a bit premature to make him a saint----but since he is a TV character, perhaps it might work.
Posted by: kristina chew | February 01, 2008 at 04:46 PM
February 1, 2008
Congratulations to ABC for being the first to stand up and reveal a slight glimpse into the world of autistic children with their new show Eli Stone on Thursday nights. Even though the majority of autistic children are not so quiet and well behaved like the boy actor in the show, it gives a "glimmer of hope" to the overwhelming number of families affected that someone is listening.
Parents deserve to know all the facts before making decisions about their children's health and welfare. For more information go online to read "The Truth Behind The Vaccines Cover-Up" by Dr. Russell Blaylock. For information about the current vaccines that continue to contain mercury go to www.vaccinesafety.edu/thi-table.htm .
I am the author of "A Shocking Discovery,Observations of a Speech/Language Pathologist from 1975-2005, What Have We Done to Our Children?", a book about my 30 year experience of working with children, my observations of how children's communication abilities have declined and how that relates to the changes in the childhood vaccination schedule.
In his article. "Mercury on the Mind", Dr. Donald W. Miller, cardiac surgeon and Professor of Surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle, states, "The hypothesis that mercury causes autism and Alzheimer's disease is a new truth. And as Schopenhauer points out, each new truth passes through three states: First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. And third, it is accepted as self-evident. The mercury truth is now in the second stage."
Thanks ABC for starting the discussion on this controversial subject. Hopefully we can begin to put aside our strong opinions and just merely look at the facts so we can come together to heal a generation of children and adults.
Marcia Abbott, M.S., CCC/SLP
Speech/Language Pathologist
Posted by: Marcia | February 01, 2008 at 02:52 PM
"Not sure how far a fictional TV character might get in the canonization process..........."
Beatification will serve Eli well. Nobody leads an exemplary life anymore, its the lessons learned from the butchering from life's experiences that count. Just so you know.
Posted by: Lessons Learned | February 01, 2008 at 02:14 PM
Not sure how far a fictional TV character might get in the canonization process...........
Posted by: kristina chew | February 01, 2008 at 01:21 PM
This is a great compilation of research incriminating both mercury AND aluminum as neurotoxic metals that have absolutely no place in vaccines. Thank you.
Did you happen to send this to the AAP? Would you let us know what response you get? Maybe you could also send it to ABC and CNN so that they would know what questions they should be asking the next AAP pediatrician who gets on to protest the vaccine issue.
Posted by: Kathy | February 01, 2008 at 10:48 AM