Autism’s Causes and Biomarkers: An Interview with Helen Ratajczak, Ph.D.
In the most recent issue of the Journal of Immunotoxicology, Helen V. Ratajczak, PhD , had two separate reviews published. The first review, Theoretical Aspects of-Autism Causes a Review tackles a seemingly taboo topic in mainstream health: the many potential environmental causes of autism. Dr. Ratajczak writes:
“Autism could result from more than one cause, with different manifestations in different individuals that share common symptoms. Documented causes of autism include genetic mutations and/or deletions, viral infections, and encephalitis following vaccination. Therefore, autism is the result of genetic defects and/or inflammation of the brain. The inflammation could be caused by a defective placenta, immature blood-brain barrier, the immune response of the mother to infection while pregnant, a premature birth, encephalitis in the child after birth, or a toxic environment.”
Perhaps more controversially, Dr. Ratajczak also proposes a novel theory regarding the mechanism of action for a vaccine to cause autism:
“The MMR II vaccine is contaminated with human DNA from the cell line in which the rubella virus is grown. This human DNA could be the cause of the spikes in incidence. An additional increased spike in incidence of autism occurred in 1995 when the chicken pox vaccine was grown in human fetal tissue (Merck and Co., Inc., 2001; Breuer, 2003). The current incidence of autism in the United States, noted above, is approximately 1/100.
The human DNA from the vaccine can be randomly inserted into the recipient’s genes by homologous recom- bination, a process that occurs spontaneously only within a species. Hot spots for DNA insertion are found on the X chromosome in eight autism-associated genes involved in nerve cell synapse formation, central nervous system devel- opment, and mitochondrial function (Deisher, 2010). This could provide some explanation of why autism is predomi- nantly a disease of boys. Taken together, these data support the hypothesis that residual human DNA in some vaccines might cause autism.”
Her conclusion is something I’m sure many parents wish more researchers were willing to embrace:
“It is possible that autism results from more than one cause, with different manifestations in different individuals that share common symptoms. Integrating the data presented here, a hypothesis is that autism is the result of genetic defects, with the contributory effect of advancing age of the parents, and/or inflammation of the brain. The inflammation could be caused by a defective placenta, an immature blood- brain barrier, the immune response of the mother to a viral or bacterial infection, a premature birth, encephalitis in the child after birth, or a toxic environment. Also, intracellular pathogens could induce an immune response, resulting in neuro-inflammation, autoimmune reactions, brain injury, and autism.”
Dr. Ratajczak’s second paper is called Theoretical aspects of autism: biomarkers—a review. Here, Dr. Ratajczak seeks to summarize many of the previously established biomarkers of autism present in the “gastrointestinal, immunologic, neurologic, and toxicologic systems” of children with autism. She writes:
“Covering the literature from 1943 to the present in the PubMed and Ovid Medline databases, this review summarizes evidence of hormones, metabo- lites, amino acids, and other biomarkers present in significantly different quantities in autistic subjects compared to age- and sex-matched controls. These differences can be measured in the gastrointestinal, immunologic, neu- rologic, and toxicologic systems of the body, with some biomarkers showing ubiquitous application. In addition, there are unifying concepts, i.e., increased vulnerability to oxidative stress, immune glutamatergic dysfunction, and pineal gland malfunction. The variances of the biomarkers from the norm present the opportunity to create biomarker arrays that when properly developed and analyzed could result in an objective diagnosis with a ranking of the severity of autism for each subject. The contribution of each biomarker to the overall diagnosis could be calculated, thus providing a profile pattern unique to the individual. This profile could consequently provide information for therapeutic interventions on an individual basis.”
As a parent, I’d like to express my gratitude for Dr. Ratajczak’s work. A scientist who is willing to both stick her neck out and address unpopular theories around causation while also seeking to move the debate around biomarker diagnostics and treatment forward is a welcome scientist indeed.
Below is an email interview that I conducted with Dr. Ratajczak, and one I hope the AoA community will enjoy reading.
Q: Why did you become interested in looking into autism?
A: My first interest in autism was sparked when my grandson was diagnosed as having autism 15 years ago. He is now 18 years old. There are many similarities between autism and rheumatoid arthritis, which was my first area of study for the masters of science degree. The PhD was a study of respiratory syncytial virus vaccine. My scientific career was largely involved with immunology and toxicology, which are both intimately involved in autism. In effect, my current research is an extension of my education and experience. It is very important I do what I can to help my grandson and all others afflicted with this serious disorder.
Q: The CDC and AAP do not acknowledge that the increase in prevalence of autism is real, but rather continue to infer that it MAY be real, or it may be the product of improved and shifting diagnosis. You seem to think the evidence supports a real rise. Why can't scientists agree on this simple yet critically important topic?
A: The CDC is reevaluating its position on different issues. There are a lot of politics and money issues which interfere with presentation of the truth as perceived by scientists and parents. The increase in incidence and prevalence of autism in the USA is real, and is being replicated in different countries throughout the world, based on epidemiology studies.
Q: How would you characterize the reaction to your 2 papers? Was it what you expected?
A: So far, most of the response is about different aspects of vaccines presented in the paper about causes of autism. It is good that some people are reading the two papers together, getting an overall view of the magnitude of the problem, the size of the epidemic, and the manifestations that these present. The costs are staggering. I hope to do research to establish an objective measure of autism that can be used therapeutically. The measure would be achieved by the quantitation of an array of biomarkers in body fluids of subjects with autism and of neurotypical, age- and sex-matched control individuals. A ranking of the degree of autism can then be determined, and the contribution of each of the biomarkers to the diagnosis. A physician could use the resultant profile to treat each patient.
Q: Dr. Brian Strom was critical of your work in a CBS News piece. He was quoted as saying that "the prevailing medical opinion is that vaccines are scientifically linked to encephalopathy (brain damage), but not scientifically linked to autism." Given your understanding of autism, is Dr. Strom being dogmatic or playing with semantics?
A: Perhaps Dr. Strom is playing with semantics. There is great encephalopathy in autism. They are not separate entities.
Q: You tackle the vaccine-autism connection in your Causes paper. Yet, many assert that the vaccine-autism relationship has been "asked and answered" and state that an overwhelming amount of science has explored this issue and found no relationship. Do you agree?
A: I do not agree. The data show that when more vaccines were given, and were given at earlier ages, the incidence and prevalence of autism increased. There are many aspects of vaccines that cause autism. Some components of vaccines are toxic, such as the mercury in thimerosal, a preservative that is still present in some vaccines, the most pertinent being influenza, which is given to pregnant women. The fetus is thus exposed to mercury, a nerve toxin, when the brain is in its most formative stages. In addition, the pertussis component of the DPT vaccine integrates into the G proteins, which are regulatory proteins, inhibiting their function. Furthermore, the heavy metal (Aluminum) in the adjuvant(s) accompanying the vaccine(s) is toxic.
Q: What is your basis for suspecting human DNA within certain vaccines might cause autism?
A: When thimerosal was removed from most childhood vaccines, there was still a rise in incidence and prevalence of autism.
About the same time as the removal of thimerosal, some vaccines (such as MMRII [measles, mumps, rubella], and, a little later, Varicella zoster [both given to your son]) were made in human tissue. When a virus matures and divides (grows), it has some of the DNA in it from the cells in which it was grown. When the virus is incorporated into the vaccine, it has human DNA in it, and this vaccine with the human DNA is injected into another human. Because the new DNA is from the same species as the recipient of the vaccine, homologous recombination of the DNA occurs. The body of the recipient recognizes that self has been altered, and the immune response kills the altered self (inflammation). Now the recipient has an autoimmune response in his body, which continues throughout life.
It is critical that vaccines not be given to immunologically incompetent or compromised individuals. It would be very helpful if the vaccine schedule were delayed until the immune response of the child is more mature.
Dr. Ratajczak wrote back to add the following: In "sleeping on" our interview, I fell it important to tell you that although there is no doubt that human DNA is in some vaccines (The information is available not only through http://www.cogforlife.org/, but from Wikipedia and other sources.), to my knowledge there is no data published in a peer-reviewed journal that documents homologous recombination in the body of autistics. That part is theory. The theory is based on facts, but, so far as I know, there is no direct connection between homologous recombination of DNA and autism.You see, it is logical that the homologous recombination would cause an autoimmune condition. Many scientists consider autism to be an autoimmune condition, like rheumatoid arthritis, for example.
This information is a more complete explanation of the importance of the possibility that homologous recombination is a cause of autism. Homologous recombination could explain the epidemic of autism.
Q: Dr. Strom goes on to say, ""This is a review of theories. Science is based on facts. To draw conclusions on effects of an exposure on people, you need data on people. The data on people do not support that there is a relationship. As such, any speculation about an explanation for a (non-existing) relationship is irrelevant." Are your papers irrelevant?
A: My two review articles about autism are very relevant. The manuscripts are both based on facts, data presented in articles in peer-reviewed journals, with each aberrance mentioned about autism being significantly different from those of age- and sex-matched neurotypical controls. The data support several relationships between adverse reactions to vaccines and autism.
Q: As a father of a child with autism, I was deeply moved by your biomarkers paper because it reminded me of how sick my son really is. Is it fair to say that most children with autism are medically ill?
A: Yes, most children with autism have associated medical conditions.
Q: Your “Causes” paper considers many different possible causes for autism. Using the simple 80/20 rule of life, do you feel like you are in a position to calibrate the likelihood that certain of these causes are either more or less likely to impact children than others? Said differently, how would you rank research priorities in getting to the bottom of causation?
A: To rank causation, I would first measure biomarkers that are in statistically different concentrations in autistic individuals than in age- and sex-matched neurotypical control subjects. The different concentrations of the biomarkers are the result of environmental insults to genetically-prone individuals. In at least some cases the biomarkers are specific for certain types of insults. Those environmental insults are the causes of autism.
Q: If it was discovered that vaccines did indeed cause autism, how do you think the pharmaceutical companies that make vaccines would handle this news?
A: If the data clearly prove that vaccines cause autism, I think the wise pharmaceutical companies would carefully study the data, design vaccines that would be more safe, do safety tests on animal models prior to clinical safety tests, and recommend appropriate schedules for vaccination (wait for the child to become more immunologically mature before giving vaccines, and withhold vaccines from any individual who is sick or has a fever until he recovers).
Q: Many characterize autism as a mystery and a puzzle. Do you agree?
A: Autism is very complicated, but I do not think it is a mystery or a puzzle. Many of the genetic predispositions, environmental insults, metabolic pathways, immune dysfunction, etc. that contribute to autism are well-known.
Q: The vaccine-autism connection continues to cause extreme fractures within the autism community. If you could structure 2-3 studies to try to put this debate to rest, what would they look like?
A: It would be helpful to use a non-human primate model of autism to study different aspects of vaccines: the effect of the different components of each vaccine (the antigen [such as bacterium or virus] itself, the adjuvant, the route of administration); the effect of giving multiple vaccines at the same time versus giving them individually with a resting interval in between injections; the effect of combining live virus vaccines (such as measles, mumps and rubella) or giving them in close sequence time-wise; the timing of the injections with respect to the age of the host; measuring the maturity of the immune system before administering the vaccine; studying the sequelae of each vaccine over time - in short, doing appropriate safety testing.
Q: How do you feel about the calls for a study of never-vaccinated children?
A: The data show that the prevalence of autism in never-vaccinated children is approximately 1-5/10,000, similar to that when autism was first described in 1943 by Kanner. I do not think more study of this aspect is needed. Vaccines provide protection against some devastating diseases. However, as stated in the Hippocratic Oath, "it is first important to do no harm". The safety testing is critically important prior to the use of vaccines clinically.
Q: Your summary of biomarkers left me feeling that we perhaps know more about these kids than we thought. How does the scientific community take this disparate knowledge to the next level and make it cohesive and actionable?
A: My suggestion of the determination of an objective measure of autism does just that. The array of biomarkers to be measured must be comprehensive of the manifestations of autism. The result will be an individual profile for each subject with autism that can be used therapeutically. The proof of concept has been shown in two settings already (1) increasing melatonin in patients with too low concentrations and 2) increasing deficient components of the methionine pathway. In both cases, the symptoms of autism improved when reconstitution of the deficient biomarkers was made.
Again, my heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Ratajczak for her pioneering work.
Dr. Ratajczak has validated what has been shelved to the bottom of all the studies on the MMR vaccine and autism. The valid points are: A complete, safe study would include the:
1) The study of the human body or a primate, before being given the MMR vaccine and after.
At no time, has this study ever been undertaken and you have to wonder why?
2) A study that includes children that have received NO vaccines and those that receive the mandated schedule.Compare both children's biomarkers, symptoms, blood chemistry, tests for mercury, toxins -the whole ball of wax.
Fifty years ago, when I was a child, kids did not receive vaccines until they were at least 2 or 3 years old, or older. I have my vaccine schedule if anyone wishes to see it.
Further, I only received 12 shots including minor boosters in total. What is the total today, approximately 36 vaccines, given days from birth?
Until the pro-vaccine scientists study a non-vaccinated child and the above, they cannot prove vaccines are safe and harmless. If you keep doing the same studies over and over you will get the same results, and many more children are being harmed in the process.
Posted by: P.Neisman | July 10, 2011 at 10:21 AM
I am doing a research paper on ADS( autism ) and vaccines. I have been looking at a lot of data and it is quite overwhelming. I am not on anyones side but I am looking at it from a larger picture. Maybe this is mother natures way of curbing the population. These children will never be able to live a normal productive life which then causes millions of children not to reproduce.I know this may anger some but frankly I feel that this is going to be a no win situation. If anyone but your side ( anti vaccine or pro-vaccinate ) finds an answer that you do not agree with you will never believe it anyway. So even if science states a fact that vaccines don't cause these certain disorders you wouldn't believe it no matter what and vice versa. I do find it to be truely disturbing how both sides are really bickering back and forth about htis matter. Now this question will really turn your heads. So if you had a heart attack you would want to be fixed by the same doctors that support vaccines. So they are good enough to listen to when you are sick with other things but just not this subject???? Or do people who support this agenda not go to doctors? I can't help but to pick/lean to the doctors side. There is a link that states that mothers milk is poising the babies in this website and a variety of other things that seem to be more of everything is hurting everybody and what can we do to make it stop scare tatic thing going on.
Posted by: Natalie | June 03, 2011 at 04:33 PM
Nancy,
No, I haven't told you where the 1-5 per 10,000 comes from….why would I? That's something you feel the need to challenge, not me.
I have no reason to doubt Dr. Ratajczak on this matter, but I am very wary of any person who regularly visits this web site, and has THAT as their initial reaction to her findings. Far too much time has already been on dead end research, while the biggest, most obvious cause of autism continues to be hidden behind industry funded tobacco science. I'm not saying that unvaccinated autistic children don’t exist, and neither is Dr. Ratajczak. Today’s expectant mothers are exposed to an frightening number of pollutants, some of which leach from their own teeth.
Hurt feelings aside, the site is really about our kids, not you and me. I have also networked with a lot of parents of autistic children, and my experience to date has been the exact opposite of yours. I have yet to meet even one parent of an un-vaccinated autistic child. That experience alone makes Dr. Ratajczak 1-5 per 10,000 figure for never-vaccinated children, seems a whole lot more credible than the enormously high incidence that you claim to be seeing.
As for your comment that you’re not being made to feel welcome, all I’m really doing is challenging your 100% reported incidence of autism in unvaccinated children, the same way you that you challenged Dr. Ratajczak 1-5 per 10,000 figure... in one of your first ever posts on this forum
Posted by: Barry | May 12, 2011 at 11:50 PM
Jen,
This information is geared to the U.S., but may be applicable:
http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/SafetyAvailability/BloodSafety/ucm095529.htm
Posted by: JenB | May 11, 2011 at 02:56 PM
Jen;
Your Anti-D(Rho) shot; On the Kawasaki's website I go to there are a lot of parents that mentions this shot.
I know that in this case you are between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. And I am sorry for that.
Do you know what the shot has in it?
Do you know how it works to help the baby?
I don't, I just keep hearing it mentioned.
Posted by: Benedetta | May 11, 2011 at 12:14 PM
I've been in contact with close to a thousand families in my journey. I know of a family in Texas that had two autistic children; one vaccinated and one not. The mother pointed out that she lived in one of the worst parts of the country as far as mercury emissions.
Posted by: Diane W Farr | May 11, 2011 at 09:28 AM
It is worth saying that I had nothing during pregnancy either, no flu shots etc... except the Anti-D(Rho) shot as I am rhesus negative. With the eldest in 2003 I had D-Gam by BPL, 500 iU at 28 weeks and again at 34 weeks. With the little one in 2008, they'd changed their policy as to how it was done, and I had Rhophylac 1500iU at 28 weeks only.
Perhaps these are how it happened to the girls? I need to look up their contents I guess!
Posted by: Jen | May 11, 2011 at 09:27 AM
Nancy
I did in fact post a note below about 1-5 in 10,000.
"I would imagine that Dr Ratajczak was referring to autism prevalence figures prior to the ratchetting of the vaccine programme. I gather (courtesy of Geri Dawson yesterday) 1 in 38 is the new normal. I guess it will be even more normal when everybody is autistic (which is only a matter of time as things are going)."
Actually, the context of what Helen Ratajczak is saying is quite plain if you read the paper, like it or leave it.
I don't think people here doubt that there are other environmental influences, but too often it seems to be the vaccines which are the straw which breaks the camel's back. We are now being told that 1 in 38 is the new normal - well we are certainly going to be even more aware of autism in the coming years - but the indifference and fatalism of a medical profession that refuses to consider objectively its own practices, is obviously the place to start.
Posted by: John Stone | May 11, 2011 at 06:35 AM
Personally, I think the vaccine explosion and the general health (or lack of) in our children should be sending researchers down the fast-track to explaining much and thereby reversing and preventing much of these mysterious, believed to be "genetic" health disorders on the rise, and the experiences of those who haven't vaccinated and still deal with these disorders can only, I would think, further accelerate our understanding of the factors involved. So I hope nobody feels unwelcome sharing their experiences here.
I remember watching a video of Dr. Rimland asking parents to raise their hand if they believed vaccination caused their children's autism, something he felt was significant to get on tape, and the vast majority in the room raised their hands, but he also added that his own son had never been vaccinated.
A study in the 80s(?) found a higher than average percentage of parents of children with autism working in occupations involving chemical exposure.
I also wonder if sometimes the general use of the live viral vaccines, MMR, MMRV, with a potential for transmission is causing latent but chronic injury in some whether or not they are vaccinated themselves.
Posted by: JenB | May 11, 2011 at 05:30 AM
My children were born in the UK and never left my side. Therefore none of them had a hepb vax, because they are not done here. The only vax we were offered was vitamin K and i declined it twice. The girls never left my side.
They have not, ever, had a vaccine.
Posted by: Jen | May 11, 2011 at 02:54 AM
I am here because, for the most part, I agree with the ideas in this blog, although at the point I am feeling most unwelcome.
I believe that vaccines can have a neurotoxic effect on many. I believe that people that are part of this movement are protecting my right to choose whether or not to vaccinate my child. (and I appreciate that.) I believe in bio-medical solutions and environmental causes for autism. I believe that there should be more studies that compare vaccinated and unvacinated children. I thought with all that I would fit in well here. I guess I was mistaken.
You are correct in suspecting that I don't know 330 unvaccinated children. When you have an unvaccinated child with autism you seek out others like yourself. One child is my own, so I didn't have to seek her out. One mother I met at a support group for families with autism and another mother I started corresponding with on-line. We found that we lived close to each other and met up. That is my experience and you are free to believe that it is a coincidence that I just happened to meet 2 of 10,000 unvaccinated people or that I am lying.
You still haven't told me where the prevalence of 1-5 per 10,000 unvaccinated data comes from. Why does asking for some references defy logic? I guess the best defense is a good offense.
There are many like me that believe vaccines are a significant factor in autism, but we also believe there are other factors that are just as significant. When statistical evidence is thrown around without reference, when people automatically dismiss studies that give some insight into other factors involved and when disbelief is expressed in response to any experience that doesn't line up with your own, those same people doubt start to doubt the credibility of this movement.
Posted by: Nancy | May 11, 2011 at 12:00 AM
I think Nancy is here, because she suspects that vaccines DID play some role.
She maybe right - there may be a lot more children unaccounted for that has not been vaccinated that still have autism.
The immune system has a very long memory, and it does not forget over many generations- if it ever does! That is what the Dow Chemical Environmental labs already knew if anything involved the immune system, and most poisons do.
The lady that is now my son's psych. (government is paying for it) so even if he did not get compenstated by the government for his vaccine injury - they are still paying something, well - I am getting off track - her grandson has autism. Her daughter had him at home to make sure he would not be vaccinated. She believes he would be worse if he had been vaccinated.
I can't get it out of her why she chose to do all this. Goodness knows there had to be something that clicked in the back of her mind. But I have heard from more than one source that this is happening to a lot to a lot of people, including a nurse in a private practice for immune diseases - she admits she damaged her two kids with vaccines and thus went into this type of practice and she knows a lot about methylation of the krebs cycle. She said she was finding a lot of people showing up that have not vaccinated their kids and yet they have autism. I am really scared now - have we already let the horse get out of the barn and it is too late to close the gate?
And Jen; Fathers contribute a lot to the immune system of their childern. Fathers' immune systems remember what they have been exposed to and passes it along to their offsprings. I think a lot of people do not realize this. I learned this in a college text book, a long time ago.
Posted by: Benedetta | May 10, 2011 at 07:08 PM
Jen,
Unless you're babies were born at home, then it might be hard to say for sure that your children were never vaccinated.
Many people believed that their children were un-vaccinated, only to discover later on that their child was given the Hep B vaccine shortly after birth, without any recollection of them ever having authorized it.
Posted by: Barry | May 10, 2011 at 06:51 PM
Nancy,
So… you doubt Dr Ratajczak's finding that " .. the prevalence of autism in never-vaccinated children is approximately 1-5/10,000", and then you claim to know 3 un-vaccinated children... all of whom are autistic??
Unless you know about 330 un-vaccinated children, what you're trying to say is that the prevalence of autism is enormously higher in non-vaccinated children than it is in vaccinated children. That is preposterous.
The main reason I'm here Nancy, is that I've been led down the garden path before. And my son is paying a heavy price for that mistake. I appreciate that this site is not meant for confrontation, but the argument that you're making defies all logic. And that, quite frankly, make me wonder why you're REALLY here
Posted by: Barry | May 10, 2011 at 05:47 PM
Yes, I was vaccinated. I didn't have my daughter vaccinated, because I learned of the dangers of vaccines when I attended the School of Natural Therapeutics in New Mexico. I believe that vaccines are an important factor in autism. I still believe that there are neurological and other health risks associated with vaccines. However, there are other significant factors in autism and there are unvaccinated children with autism. Dr. Ratajczak's statement that the prevalence rate unvaccinated children is only 1-5 in 10,000, suggests that were it not for vaccines, autism would be incredibly rare. I don't believe this is true and if it is, she had better back it up with fact. She also stated that more study of this aspect isn't needed. I disagree. Again, if it's not needed, back it up with fact that sufficient study of unvaccintated children with autism has been done. ('Asked and answered' is a phrase that makes us cringe when the other side of this debate chimes in. Why is it okay when our side basically says the same thing?)
I think we need to do a vaccinated vs. unvaccinated autism study. I thought that most of the people on this site would agree with that. Dismissing that need with data that has no reference is irresponsible.
Posted by: Nancy | May 10, 2011 at 01:02 PM
Nancy: Were you vaccinated?
And why did you not vaccinate your children?
What went through your mind that made you not do so?
I would like to repeat - Dow chemical - Test their rats, mice, rabbits, chickens, and fish in their environmental lab (have tooooo because it is mandated by the EPA of the federal government) not only the first generation for the effects of any pesticides - but the second, the third all the way up to the seventh.
I am certian with my 28 year old daughter - a nurse - high SED rates from her vaccines, that her child would be born with autism. Where as ---- She and her brother were born perfect untill I took them in for their vaccines.
So big fat deal here!
Posted by: Benedetta | May 10, 2011 at 11:03 AM
Nancy
I would imagine that Dr Ratajczak was referring to autism prevalence figures prior to the ratchetting of the vaccine programme. I gather (courtesy of Geri Dawson yesterday) 1 in 38 is the new normal. I guess it will be even more normal when everybody is autistic (which is only a matter of time as things are going).
Posted by: John Stone | May 10, 2011 at 10:34 AM
Barry,
Yes, I know 3 unvaccinated children with autism. One of them is my daughter. Your suggestion that I am lying is offensive so "no offense" means nothing. Obviously, Jen also knows some unvaccinated people with autism. (Thanks for your imput Jen.) You may find there are cases out there if you bothered to ask. I noticed you couldn't point to the data, but simply said "No way." How expertly scientific! (No offense!)
Posted by: Nancy | May 10, 2011 at 10:17 AM
Barry,
I know two unvaccinated children who have autism and am unvaccinated 38 year old man who was diagnosed with autism aged 35.
That is my family. My children have high functioning autism and my husband has it as well. My kids never had a vaccine, NOT even vitamin K at birth. My husband never had a vaccine.
Apart from our genes (his autistic ones), the only place for vaccines to affect us is ME - I was a fully vaccinated child in the US in the 80s. He was not vaccinated here in the UK, his parents chose not to.
So, i guess i could be the weakest link?
Posted by: Jen | May 10, 2011 at 09:30 AM
Nancy,
You actually know 3 un-vaccinated children? And all three have autism?
No offense, but no way.
Posted by: Barry | May 10, 2011 at 07:04 AM
patron99
I realize that methyl mercury is the problems in the article and have known about the detox pathway and proposed ways mercury causes damage in the brain and body for a good while. The explanations I was looking for in the article were about exactly how the behavior in animals, that the Dr. referred to, would be changed by methyl mercury. Some on this board have their own understanding/belief of how mercury effects the brain and other functions
in neurological and other functions. The really interesting point for me was the fact that the bacteria in the marsh converted sulfate into sulfide which causes relatively harmless mercury to become toxic methyl mercury. The sidebar article proposed the importance of sulfate in the mother for the fetus and the article I linked tied sulfate reducing bacteria to methyl mercury. It made me consider the idea that sulfate reducing bacteria that may be in a person's gut or even other regions could convert what is considered relatively harmless mercuy into methyl mercury in that person and be part of inital mercury damage or load in a fetus or infant to where mercury triggers or increased toxic loads could push an infant or toddler over the edge in autism.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1374298/?page=1
Posted by: Nick | May 10, 2011 at 01:14 AM
Correction:
I meant to write Vaccine Injury Compensation Program in my post about Seth Mnookin. Calling it the Autism Compensation Program must have been wishful thinking.
Posted by: Is there a shot for Manic Virus? | May 10, 2011 at 01:00 AM
"The data show that the prevalence of autism in never-vaccinated children is approximately 1-5/10,000"
I have to ask: What data? Please be specific because I want to know. I know 3 unvaccinated children with autism. I don't know 10,000 people so unless there is real 'data', I won't just take it on faith. I thought we wanted a study on vaccinated vs. unvaccinated children because there wasn't one. Where is this data on unvaccinated children? If there is a study that shows this, let's see the results. We won't have to ask the CDC to carry it out anymore. It's been done. Even Generation Rescue's own phone survey showed a greater incidence of autism in unvaccinated children than this.
If you "do not think more study of this aspect is needed" then you'd better have some pretty hard evidence that what you say is scientific fact.
Posted by: Nancy | May 10, 2011 at 12:55 AM
It's time to stop the rat race and just start chelating mercury and aluminum.
Posted by: Elizabeth S | May 10, 2011 at 12:18 AM
@ Nick - very good pickup about the In the News sidebar on sulfate. The problem in the Everglades is not the sulfate, it is the methyl mercury! Organomercurials bind to sulfur with very high affinity. They bind to sulfhydryl groups stoichiometrically. Our bodies have numerous sulfhydryl-containing proteins, including sulfhydryl groups at the active site of various enzymes. Consider, also, the essential role of glutathione and S-adenosylmethionine. Sulfur is essential to life. Mercurials are extremely potent toxins that are incompatible with life. We need to get completely rid of mercury - yesterday! Mercury-containing vaccines and mercury amalgam dentisty is criminal!
Posted by: patrons99 | May 09, 2011 at 09:29 PM
CT teacher wrote, "Of course you cannot find the cure if you cannot find the cause."
A homeopath would disagree.
Posted by: Kristina | May 09, 2011 at 08:13 PM
Thank you, Mr. Handley and Dr. Ratajczak for pursuing the truth to heal and protect our kids.
"The data show that the prevalence of autism in never-vaccinated children is approximately 1-5/10,000, similar to that when autism was first described in 1943 by Kanner."
I hope there will be more follow-up on this statement.
Posted by: JenB | May 09, 2011 at 06:28 PM
Finally a scientist is thinking through all of the issues with an eye toward healing. I believe that the human body has an infinite capacity for healing.....it is just finding the correct treatment for each malady that is the real challenge. Of course you cannot find the cure if you cannot find the cause. Dr. Ratajczak's is a voice of reason. What an incredible interview!
Posted by: CT teacher | May 09, 2011 at 04:23 PM
Thank you Dr. Ratajczak.
Posted by: My heartfelt gratitude too. | May 09, 2011 at 03:55 PM
Most doctors have no clue there is legally abortd fetal remains in our vaccines. Most people don't know,,, and most people I tell don't want to believe me and I have often been told when relaying the info that it is sciencefiction that I picked up off the internet.
Posted by: joyous | May 09, 2011 at 03:35 PM
Off Topic, but only a little. The "In The News" side bar has a link on sulphate which has a tie to mercury via bacteria in the article linked below. This article is not heavy on explantions nor do I know the credentials of the Dr. quoted in the piece. But, it is intersting.
http://floridaindependent.com/27200/everglades-mercury-methylmercury-sulfate-runoff/
Posted by: Nick | May 09, 2011 at 12:51 PM
The elder of my two autistic sons began his autistic regression after he received the chickenpox vaccine when he was 2 1/2. Dr. R's explanation that the vaccine is contaminated with human DNA may be the explanation.
Posted by: Theodore Van Oosbree | May 09, 2011 at 12:25 PM
The fact that human DNA is in certain vaccines is stated in the vaccine package inserts. One does not need to go to a pro-life website or Wikipedia to verify that information.
Also, thimerosal *began* to be removed from most vaccines in 2001. The MMR and chickenpox vaccines were in regular use many years before that. Has autism continued to rise after thimerosal exposure was reduced? We don't know, because the most recent autism statistics released by the CDC are from children born in 1998.
Human DNA contamination in vaccines very well could be a factor in autism, but I hope Dr. Ratajczak will stop mentioning the rise in autism after thimerosal's reduction and the years MMR and chickenpox vaccine were introduced as evidence for her theory, because those points are easily refuted, and distract from her theory.
Posted by: Kristina | May 09, 2011 at 12:06 PM
It is an incredible interview, yet I feel I'm exiting into the alley holding my pen and notes. This "STUFF" needs mainstream blasting, this interview providing this information could save ONE beautiful little boy, just because mom had on cbs nightly news on her way to get her flu shot. Yet we continue to smile and take baby steps toward those in power, all the while almost apologizing for getting in their way, stroking them for the smallest and weakest of efforts, "good job", NOOO, they have their hands in the money pot, and are taking our future away . As Patron suggests, "greening" is not the answer, these vaccines are "substantially dangerous" and should be recalled as any other very dangerous product would have been. In Utah as example, one of 49 boys was diagnosed autistic in the last count. Two percent of their boys may never be a part of the functioning community in Utah, but another important issue to consider is, from wellness to autism there was a road...and a lot of damage occured on the way, damage we have not as yet considered. Some early on "survivors" may be exhibiting more minor social or psychological issues than asd, some as my children may be fighting to live with crohn's and asthma, the diabetes epidemic ( so nicely put on mom as overfeeding) is likely a part of the damage as well along with myriad other autoimmune syndromes. One only need study the general population of children born before this pharm effort, that made children their most profitable commodity by way of victimizing, to see just a generation ago, the generation of our parents, children were not depressed, were not hyper, were generally well, and grew up able to count their doctors visits with available fingers!
Posted by: barbaraj | May 09, 2011 at 11:10 AM
Thank you so much JB..Her statement below makes me excited for the 1st time in a long time. This is the area of research, thought and direction I've been waiting for. In reading pubmed weekly I've seen differing biomarker studies in ASD vs. contols flowing in that completely correlate to severity. In these studies autism vs controls have such differring levels but the kicker is I NEVER hear one news or medical report on them. No pedi even is aware of this research. It's critical this information gets out so that we may treat our children as individuals medically. I thank Dr. Ratajczak from the bottom of my heart!
"I hope to do research to establish an objective measure of autism that can be used therapeutically. The measure would be achieved by the quantitation of an array of biomarkers in body fluids of subjects with autism and of neurotypical, age- and sex-matched control individuals. A ranking of the degree of autism can then be determined, and the contribution of each of the biomarkers to the diagnosis. A physician could use the resultant profile to treat each patient"
Posted by: Allison | May 09, 2011 at 09:43 AM
This was a great article. Hope more scientists have the courage to explore this very important area.
Posted by: Anne | May 09, 2011 at 09:31 AM
Fantastic post and interview, Mr Handley.
“There is great encephalopathy in autism. They are not separate entities.” – Dr. Ratajczak
“Why Autism, Alzheimer’s and Schizophrenia May Be... Epilepsy - At Its Worse!!!”
http://www.autismhelpforyou.com/New%20-%20Epilepsy.htm
“Autism... Alzheimer’s... Schizophrenia - Comparison: Is all this “Just Coincidence”?”
http://www.autismhelpforyou.com/Autism%20Alzheimer%27s%20Schizophrenia%20Compared.htm
“The data show that when more vaccines were given, and were given at earlier ages, the incidence and prevalence of autism increased.” – Dr. Ratajczak
“Infant mortality rates regressed against number of vaccine doses routinely given: Is there a biochemical or synergistic toxicity?” by Neil Z. Miller and Gary S. Goldman on May 4, 2011.
http://thinktwice.com/HET_study.pdf
“When thimerosal was removed from most childhood vaccines, there was still a rise in incidence and prevalence of autism.” – Dr. Ratajczak
“If two dozen once-jittery mice at UBC are telling the truth postmortem, the world’s governments may soon be facing one hell of a lawsuit.”
“Vaccines show sinister side” by Pieta Woolley on March 23, 2006.
http://www.straight.com/article/vaccines-show-sinister-side
“Aluminum, Vaccines and Autism: Deja vu!” by David Ayoub, MD
http://drtenpenny.com/Documents/Aluminum%20part%201.pdf
“Those environmental insults are the causes of autism.” – Dr. Ratajczak
While “those environmental insults” are not found only in vaccines, vaccines are a “portal” for many diseases and provocation epidemics, including ASD. ASD is certainly not the only vaccine-induced brain injury. ASD is far from being the only vaccine epidemic or provocation epidemic. Complete elimination of mercury from the scheduled vaccines will not eliminate ASD, although it might lessen it - only IF every other vaccine ingredient, excipient, contaminant, recombinant, including various other environmental exposures, remains constant. That’s a very big IF. Personally, I don’t believe that we should take a nuanced approach to vaccine safety. They are all unreasonably dangerous. “Greening” our vaccines is not the answer.
Posted by: patrons99 | May 09, 2011 at 08:39 AM
Thank you J.B. and thank you to Dr. Ratajczak for this incredible interview.
Posted by: Alison MacNeil | May 09, 2011 at 06:52 AM