Vaccine and Autism Link: Study Retracted

This morning, the Lancet, one of the world's top medical journals, made a historic retraction: it expunged from the published scientific record the research report that first linked autism to the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine.

Full article: http://blogs.forbes.com/sciencebiz/2010 ... etraction/

But on the other hand, autism and SDB?

Finally they retracted this study. Good news.

rooster wrote:

This morning, the Lancet, one of the world's top medical journals, made a historic retraction: it expunged from the published scientific record the research report that first linked autism to the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine.

Full article: http://blogs.forbes.com/sciencebiz/2010 ... etraction/

But on the other hand, autism and SDB?

A little late and unfortunately won't put things to rest......many folks just refuse to get MMR for their children!

Retracting the study still doesn't address some of the issues the study uncovered. That's why many will stand by Dr. Wakefield still. The more detailed aspects are never discussed in the press. But, our (autistic) daughter's doctor explained some very important points that still need to be researched thoroughly before they'll be able to say conclusively that MMR (or any other vaccine) play NO role in autism.

Essentially, our dr disagreed with the conclusion of Wakefield's study but not with the data. He didn't accept that the MMR itself caused autism. But, much larger studies have confirmed something rather alarming. A huge percentage of autistic children have measles in their bowels. This is not something found in neuro-typical children if they don't have a bowel disorder. Or you could say that an alarming number of autistic children have this rare bowel disorder. This finding of Dr. Wakefield's has actually played out in many studies. Even Johns-Hopkins has issued recommendations to gastroenterologists to treat autistic children's gastro problems. What they haven't been able to prove is how the measles got there. Some of these children never even had the MMR vaccine.

So.... what's really going on? Our dr works with researchers at several university hospitals to find the answer to that question. They've discovered a distinctive immune response that they actually identify it as a specific auto-immune disorder. The test cells show a peculiar response to both naturally occuring measles and the vaccine. These kids can't win either way! But something is already working against these kids before the measles is even introduced. And that's what they need to discover. Once they know which kids are at risk they'll know who needs to avoid the vaccine and also avoid any exposure to measles. They've already proven that children with a mitochondrial disorder (which they used to think was extremely rare but now have found might be common among autistic children) are severely injured by vaccines.

So... what I'm saying is... don't expect parents to just run in for MMR now. Our daughter's dr is recommending that our daughter not get her MMR booster until she's 12.

Its all quite scary. As a new parent, I know I was quite concerned about it. Still am. Especially because autism is really common in my family.

Wish we had answers to all the questions out there. Guess thats why the symbol for autism is the puzzle piece.

I personally feel like its a combination of genetic and enviromental factors that can trigger or amplify the condition. I hope some day we all have a better understanding of what exactly causes all of it, and what we can do to treat/prevent/lessen the effects of autism.

A lot of the autistic people out there cant raise their voice and take a stand for more understanding and research and they need those who can to join in the cause. Even just raising awareness helps.

I can state that a number of the 5000 parents represented on the Pecanbread list (treating autistic children's gut issues often leads to an amelioration of the autism) are deeply disturbed by this finding -- because there are so many issues as yet unanswered.

And before someone says, "Pish, tosh!" keep in mind what all of us have experienced in relation to what should be medical care and profit. Vaccines are highly profitable, and therefore, research discrediting some of them could cut into profits.

I had maybe a half dozen vaccinations, including smallpox, when I started first grade. Now I hear of 30-40 vaccinations. I think that's an awful lot to put a developing immune system through.

I think more research is needed -- and I think parents shuld have a right to decide what's best for their children.

frazzled-snoozer wrote:
So.... what's really going on? Our dr works with researchers at several university hospitals to find the answer to that question.

Frazz,

I would be interested to hear your thoughts on an article where Dr. Parks speculates about a causative link between autism and SDB: http://doctorstevenpark.com/index.php?s=autism

Regards,

Although nonconclusive, this article in WSJ about autism is interesting. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 63996.html

rooster wrote:Frazz,

I would be interested to hear your thoughts on an article where Dr. Parks speculates about a causative link between autism and SDB: http://doctorstevenpark.com/index.php?s=autism

Regards,

rooster wrote:Although nonconclusive, this article in WSJ about autism is interesting. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 63996.html

These were both very interesting articles. The first one about the tonsils---- I don't really think the child's own tonsils are the issue. For one thing.... even though children are often not diagnosed until they're 3 or 4 years old, they usually begin showing symptoms at around 18 months old. Our daughter was showing symptoms from the moment she was born. Dr. Park's theory mentions the growth of the tonsils as a cause of sleep apnea for them... but that would be long after they would already be having problems. Now.... tonsils in the mother could be an issue... maybe not because of sleep apnea but because of the immune system that the tonsils contribute to.

The second article has made a stir where I live. The idea that more educated people are discovering their child's autism more readilly than those with less education.... I don't buy it completely. Now, with the higher functioning kids anything's possible. We're finding now that many prominent people in history may have had high-functioning autism or Asperger's syndrome. But the criteria for DSS services in CA excludes those with Asperger's Syndrome so we're only talking about the children diagnosed with "classic" autism. There's no way that parents don't notice they have a child with this problem! You'd notice if your child didn't speak until they're 5 or ever. You'd notice if your child screamed frequently for unknown reasons. You'd notice if your child repeatedly hit himelf or pulled out his hair or destroyed everything he got his hands on. You just can't ignore classic autism and you can't mistake it for mental retardation either. There's just something specifically "weird" about autism.

However, our oldest daughter wasn't diagnosed when she was young. She never said a single word until she was 2. And her first words were a complete sentence. She didn't crawl on her hands and knees. She crawled on her back. She did many peculiar things, but was mostly an aloof child with no behavioral problems. Her dr thought she was emotional. Her teachers thought she was immature. The school psychologist thought she had ADHD even though she could sit still for hours on end looking at a single thing (such as a 3 hour opera.) We thought she might be some sort of genius (Einstein didn't talk until he was older.) After our youngest was born we saw some similarities but she was very severely effected. After the youngest was diagnosised with autism we took our oldest in for evaluation. The state (Regional Center) diagnosed her with Asperger's syndrome and denied her services. We didn't really think she needed any services anyway. But it was good to have the diagnosis. Our youngest needed further evaluation at UCLA so we took her there. They encouraged us to also have our oldest evaluated. They ammended the oldest's diagnosis to autism based on her history before age 3 which made her eligible for Regional Center services. The only thing this means to us is that she can get employment training and she has someone checking up on her if we're not around. She functions as someone with Asperger's, but she didn't start out the same.

So, I think they should keep doing their statistical studies but I think they might need to create a film library of every child diagnosed at the time they're diagnosed and at age 3. That would tell whether or not the argument that "we're just recognizing it more" has any validity. I could swear that when researchers look at our children after years of therapy they get a skewed view of how the diagnosis occured. Even when they read my daughters' reports they don't seem to get it.

I'm headed to an autism conference this weekend. We'll see if there's anything new to report.

frazzled-snoozer wrote:
I'm headed to an autism conference this weekend. We'll see if there's anything new to report.

Not to derail the line of discussion, but I thought Adam, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185836/ , was one of the best movies I saw last year. Just wondering if someone who has a child with Asperger's could enjoy the film? I am sure our perspectives are very different.

Worth reading:
http://web.mac.com/rblaylock/Russell_Bl ... rders.html

I come with a bias. Having received 52 small pox vaccinations during one year as a young man, quite a few vaccinations of various kinds for travel to newly developing countries throughout my adulthood, one or two vaccinations per year for flu for the last forty years, and most recently vaccinations for pneumonia and shingles, I have no fear of them. Other than a temporarily sore arm, I never had any side effects.

rooster wrote:...52 small pox vaccinations during one year...

Wow, I only had about 18 over 3 yrs or so! I think all of us have varying degrees of sensitivity to these things. I now have reactions to 'stuff' that are significant. I still have the sore thumb joint that started after my IV antibiotics last Feb. I got cyctokine storms after the 3 flu shots I had. I hyper-react to 'stuff'...not fun. I know there are others out there whose body has changed over time or were born esp sensitive to 'stuff'...they might not know what 'stuff' might cause problems or might explain these odd reactions to 'stuff'.

rooster wrote:I come with a bias. Having received 52 small pox vaccinations during one year as a young man, quite a few vaccinations of various kinds for travel to newly developing countries throughout my adulthood, one or two vaccinations per year for flu for the last forty years, and most recently vaccinations for pneumonia and shingles, I have no fear of them. Other than a temporarily sore arm, I never had any side effects.

I think part of the theory out there is that the majority of the population can get vaccines and are fine. BUT a percentage of the population has a built in genetic sensitivity to them that can possibly cause permanent damage to the individual.

Its kind of like if I said.. "well, I eat a peanut butter sandwich every day and peanuts have never done anything bad to me. They don't do anything to most of the population, so they are fine." Well, as we all know, the allergies of some people make peanuts deadly to them.

The whole thing is just so complicated and complex that I'm not sure we can say anything is 100% for sure for or against the cause of autism. All we can do is keep looking for clues and connections.

blakepro wrote:Its kind of like if I said.. "well, I eat a peanut butter sandwich every day and peanuts have never done anything bad to me. They don't do anything to most of the population, so they are fine." Well, as we all know, the allergies of some people make peanuts deadly to them.

My point was not that "vaccines are fine". That's why I said I have a bias - vaccines are fine for me. At least so far. I guess the next one could kill me. Same with bee stings - been stung many times, but my understanding is that the next one could kill me. If it gave me autism, a lot of my friends would be happy: "He's a lot nicer to be around now that he shut up."

Peanuts I don't understand. Grew up on a farm rotating crops and about every third year dad would plant 30 acres of peanuts. We never heard of anyone with a peanut allergy. Did they just drop dead and no one knew what caused it in those days? They did not know about sleep apnea in those days (and too many still don't).