Autism
Babies Delivered By C-Section Before 39 Weeks More Likely To Have Serious Health Problems
Low Birth Weight and Prematurity May Raise Baby’s Risk for Autism
Why children born by IVF may be more at risk of autism and childhood cancers
Autism cases still on rise after vaccine change
New Calif. finding refutes link between thimerosal and disorder, study says
LOS ANGELES - Autism cases in California continued to climb even after a mercury-based vaccine preservative that some people blame for the neurological disorder was removed from routine childhood shots, a new study found.
Researchers from the state Department of Public Health found the autism rate in children rose continuously during the 12-year study period from 1995 to 2007. The preservative thimerosal hasn’t been used in childhood vaccines since 2001, but is used in some flu shots.
Doctors say the latest study adds to existing evidence refuting a link between thimerosal exposure and autism risk and should reassure parents that the disorder is not caused by vaccinations. If there was a risk, they said, autism rates should have dropped between 2004 and 2007.
The findings show “no evidence of mercury poisoning in autism” since there was no decline in autism rates even after the elimination of thimerosal, said Dr. Eric Fombonne, an autism researcher at Montreal Children’s Hospital who had no role in the research.
Some advocacy groups blame thimerosal for the impaired social interaction typical of autism. Nearly 5,000 claims alleging a vaccine-autism link have been lodged with the federal government, which is deciding whether victims should receive compensation from a government fund.
Dr. Daniel Geschwind, a neurologist at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, said the focus now should be on exploring the causes of autism such as possible genetic links.
Something else must be at play and we need to know what that is if we’re really serious about preventing autism, said Geschwind, who had no connection with the study. For their study, California public health officials calculated the autism rate by analyzing a database of state-funded centers that care for people with autism and other developmental disorders.
Autism rate rose over decade
They found the prevalence of autism in children aged 3 to 12 increased throughout the study period. For example, 0.3 per 1,000 children born in 1993 had autism at age 3 compared with 1.3 per 1,000 children born in 2003. Similar trends were found in other age groups.
These time trends are inconsistent with the hypothesis that thimerosal exposure is a primary cause of autism in California, the researchers wrote.
Top Federal Autism Panel Votes For Millions in Vaccine Research
The Inter-Agency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) has voted to recommend earmarking millions of dollars in research funds from the Combating Autism Act of 2006 to study the possible role of vaccines in the causation of autism.
The panel also proposed spending an additional $75 million to study a wide variety of other environmental factors in autism, possibly including parental age, infections, heavy metals, neurotoxins, occupational exposures and "other biological agents."
The decision, made last month, received little or no attention in the media. The vaccine research provisions are now included in the official IACC Draft Strategic Plan for Autism Spectrum Research.
The IACC has 12 members from various health-related branches of the Federal Government, plus six "Public Members," including representatives from Autism Speaks, the Autism Society of America and the Coalition for Safe Minds, as well as Stephen Shore, an adult on the autism spectrum.
Section III of the Strategic Plan is titled, "WHAT CAUSED THIS TO HAPPEN AND CAN THIS BE PREVENTED?" The section is divided into various parts, including short- and long-term research objectives. Much of the section is devoted to studying the interactions of genetic susceptibilities with potential environmental triggers, including vaccines.
In fact, two vaccine-autism studies have been approved by the IACC, which has proposed spending $16 million to:
- "Study the effect of vaccines, vaccine components, and multiple vaccine administration in autism causation and severity through a variety of approaches, including cell and animal studies, and understand whether and how certain subpopulations in humans may be more susceptible to adverse effects of vaccines by 2011. Proposed costs: $6,000,000
- Determine the feasibility and design an epidemiological study to determine if the health outcomes, including ASD, among various populations with vaccinated, unvaccinated, and alternatively vaccinated groups by 2011. Proposed costs: $10,000,000
"Monitor the scientific literature regarding possible associations of vaccines and other environmental factors (e.g., ultrasound, pesticides, pollutants) with ASD to identify emerging opportunities for research and indicated studies."For proponents of vaccine-autism research, this is a resounding victory. It covers much of what these advocates have been supporting for a number of years. It is also sure to enrage those who are opposed to such research.
But for now, it has been recommended that the US Federal Government spend millions of dollars to study not just thimerosal, (a mercury based vaccine preservative), not just the triple live virus MMR vaccine, but vaccines in general, all ingredients that go into vaccines and, most surprisingly, the effect of "multiple vaccine administration" in the causation of autism.
This document also marks the closest we have come, perhaps, to conducting a study of health outcomes among vaccinated vs. unvaccinated children in the United States. With a price tag of $10 million just to study its feasibility and to design a study, such a project would indeed be costly and cumbersome. But, as CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding has said, this is a study that "should and could be done." (There is a bill pending in Congress right now that would provide funding for a vaccinated-unvaccinated study).
But vaccines, of course, are not the only candidates for study in the etiology of autism. There is a growing consensus now that most autism cases arise from an unknown combination of environmental agents, probably interacting with certain genetic predispositions.
The IACC Strategic Plan contains an impressive array of objectives and ideas on studying possible environmental factors. Not surprisingly, there was significant dissention on whether vaccines should still be considered among the list. On this thorny subject, the Strategic Plan says the following:
"Research on environmental risk factors is also underway. An Institute of Medicine workshop held in 2007 summarized what is known and what is needed in this field (Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2007). Numerous epidemiological studies have found no relationship between ASD and vaccines containing the mercury based preservative, thimerosal (Immunization Safety Review Committee, 2004). These data, as well as subsequent research, indicate that the link between autism and vaccines is unsupported by the research literature. Some do not agree and remain concerned that ASD is linked or caused by vaccination through exposure to Measles Mumps Rubella (MMR), imposing challenges to a weakened immune system, or possibly due to mitochondrial disorder.Meanwhile, on the critical subject of interactions between genes and the environment, the panel says this:
Public comment to the Committee reflected opposing views on vaccines as a potential environmental cause. Some contend that cumulative research on this topic indicates no role of vaccines in autism. Others contend that definitive research has not been done. A third view argues that the persistent focus on vaccines and other possible causes is misplaced.
In addition, a number of other environmental agents are being explored through research that are known or suspected to influence early development of the brain and nervous system. Recent studies suggest factors such as parental age, exposure to infections, toxins, and other biological agents may confer environmental risk. These findings require further investigation and testing."
"Although most scientists believe that risk factors for ASD are both genetic and environmental, there is considerable debate about whether potential environmental causes, genetic precursors, or interactions between genes and environmental factors should be the highest priority for research aimed at identifying the causes of ASD.The panel also weighed in on the possibility that "de novo," or spontaneous changes in gene structure - perhaps triggered by environmental factors - may be a factor in the causation of autism:
To date, few studies have ruled in or ruled out specific environmental factors. While there are reports of associations of ASD with exposure to medications or toxicants prenatally, and to infections after birth, it is still not known whether any specific factor is necessary or sufficient to cause ASD. Similar to other disease areas, advancing research on the potential role of environmental factors requires resources and the attraction of scientific expertise. Bringing this to bear on autism will help focus the environmental factors to study, as well as the best approach for staging studies to examine environmental factors, interaction between factors, and between individual susceptibility and various environmental factors."
"(Recent) findings have contributed to new hypotheses about the inheritance of ASD. In families with just one affected member, spontaneous deletions and duplications may be causal factors of ASD. However, what causes these spontaneous deletions and duplications is not clear and possibly could be due to environmental exposures."It also voted to recommend the following studies of environmental factors in autism, for which it proposed a budget of more than $75 million:
- "Initiate efforts to expand existing large case-control and other studies to enhance capabilities for targeted gene - environment research by 2011."
- "Initiate studies on at least five environmental factors identified in the recommendations from the 2007 IOM report "Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research" as potential causes of ASD by 2010."
- "Determine the effect of at least five environmental factors on the risk for subtypes of ASD in the pre- and early postnatal period of development by 2015."
- "Conduct a multi-site study of the subsequent pregnancies of 1000 women with a child with ASD to assess the impact of environmental factors in a period most relevant to the progression of ASD by 2014."
- "Support ancillary studies within one or more large-scale, population-based surveillance and epidemiological studies, including U.S. populations, to collect nested, case-control data on environmental factors during preconception, and during prenatal and early postnatal development, as well as genetic data, that could be pooled (as needed), to analyze targets for potential gene/environment interactions by 2015.
- Heavy metals and cosmetics
- RhoGAM exposure (Rho-D immune-globulin, which contained thimerosal until 2003)
- "Major priority" pollutants
- Toxins from industrial disasters
- Prenatal exposures to infectious diseases
- Occupational exposures
Far more controversial will be the inclusion of any vaccine wording within the research matrix, even though Members of Congress made it clear in the Colloquy* and Report Language of the Combating Autism Act that vaccines and other environmental factors should be studied. But the dissenting voices are coming through loud and clear in the following proposed (but not yet finalized) passage:
"Those who are convinced by current data that vaccines do not play a causal role in autism argue against using a large proportion of limited autism research funding toward vaccine studies when many other scientific avenues remain to be explored. At the same time, those who believe that prior studies of the possible role of vaccines in ASD have been insufficient argue that investigation of a possible vaccine/ASD link should be a high priority for research (e.g., a large-scale study comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated groups). A third view urges shifting focus away from vaccines and onto much-needed attention toward the development of effective treatments, services and supports for those with ASD."
Of course, it remains to be seen if these vaccine studies survive into the final version of the IACC Strategic Plan. And even if they do, that does not guarantee they will be fully implemented.
But one thing seems pretty clear, as we head into the last year of the century's first decade: Much to the chagrin of many, the vaccine-autism debate is anything but over.
*NOTE: In the Senate Colloquy, Sen. Mike Enzi, who was Chairman of the Committee (H.E.L.P.) that developed the bill, said this: "I want to be clear that, for the purposes of biomedical research, no research avenue should be eliminated, including biomedical research examining potential links between vaccines, vaccine components, and autism spectrum disorder. Thus, I hope that the National Institutes of Health will consider broad research avenues into this critical area. No stone should remain unturned in trying to learn more about this baffling disorder, especially given how little we know.
Meanwhile, Co-Sponsors Santorum and Kennedy agreed with Enzi's statement, and Senator Chris Dodd added this: Through the Combating Autism Act, all biomedical research opportunities on ASD can be pursued, and they include environmental research examining potential links between vaccines, vaccine components and ASD."
Breastfeeding, infant formula supplementation, and Autistic Disorder: the results of a parent survey
Stephen T Schultz 1,2,5, Hillary S Klonoff-Cohen 1, Deborah L Wingard 1, Natacha A Akshoomoff 3, Caroline A Macera 2, Ming Ji 2 and Christopher Bacher 4
- Division of Epidemiology, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, USA
- Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, USA
- Autism Internet Research Survey, New Jersey, USA
- Dental Corps, United States Navy, San Diego, USA
The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: www.internationalbreastfeedingjournal.com/content/1/1/16
Received: 19 July 2006
Accepted: 15 September 2006
Published: 15 September 2006
© 2006 Schultz et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background
Although Autistic Disorder is associated with several congenital conditions, the cause for most cases is unknown. The present study was undertaken to determine whether breastfeeding or the use of infant formula supplemented with docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid is associated with Autistic Disorder. The hypothesis is that breastfeeding and use of infant formula supplemented with docosahexaenoic acid/arachidonic acid are protective for Autistic Disorder.
Methods
This is a case-control study using data from the Autism Internet Research Survey, an online parental survey conducted from February to April 2005 with results for 861 children with Autistic Disorder and 123 control children. The analyses were performed using logistic regression.
Results
Absence of breastfeeding when compared to breastfeeding for more than six months was significantly associated with an increase in the odds of having autistic disorder when all cases were considered (OR 2.48, 95% CI 1.42, 4.35) and after limiting cases to children with regression in development (OR 1.95, 95% CI 1.01, 3.78). Use of infant formula without docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid supplementation versus exclusive breastfeeding was associated with a significant increase in the odds of autistic disorder when all cases were considered (OR 4.41, 95% CI 1.24, 15.7) and after limiting cases to children with regression in development (OR 12.96, 95% CI 1.27, 132).
Conclusion
The results of this preliminary study indicate that children who were not breastfed or were fed infant formula without docosahexaenoic acid/arachidonic acid supplementation were significantly more likely to have autistic disorder.
AAP Recommends Autism Screening for All Infants CME/CE
This could lead to a rapid increase of false diagnosis and unnecessary treatment!
www.medscape.com/viewarticle/565094?src=rss
National
Press about theVaccine/ Autism Connection:
These recent articles in Washington Times reveal a very interesting
hypothesis. Author, Dan Olmsted writes: "Since the Amish have
been cut off for hundreds of years from American culture and scientific
progress, the Amish may have
had less exposure to some new factor triggering autism in the rest of population.
The likely culprit: vaccines.
Traveling to the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country in search of autistic Amish children, the reporter, based on national statistics, should have found as many as 200 children with autism in the community -- instead, he found only three, the oldest age 9 or 10.
The first autistic Amish child was a girl who had been brought over from China, adopted by one family only to be given up after becoming overwhelmed by her autism, and then re-adopted by an Amish Mennonite family. (China, India and Indonesia are among countries moving fast to mass-vaccination programs.)
The second autistic Amish child definitely had received a vaccination and developed autism shortly thereafter.
The reporter was unable
to determine the vaccination status of the third child.
Read the articles here: http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20050321-115921-9566r.htm and
here: http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20050417-052541-5549r.htm
The
Medical Debate:
This link leads you to an informative letter from one MD to another about the
connection between vaccines and autism. http://bbs.babycenter.com/board/baby/babyills/babyvaccine/11967/thread/2127794
Video on Autism:
The autism mailing group recently sent out this link: http://www.autism-recoveredchildren.com/
It is a one hour video from the DAN conference, about kids on the autistic
spectrum who have recovered through the use of nutritional intervention. The
interesting thing is that a lot of these kids became "autistic" after
vaccination. Some really interesting footage. And a fantastic shot of the audience
responding to Gov. Schwarzenager signing a bill to forbid the use of mercury
in vaccinations. The speaker has all parents in the audience stand and wave
their hands if they thought their child would not be autistic if not for their
vaccination.
RFK,
Jr on Autism:
Recent
press has been focusing on an article written by RFK, Jr on the effects
of thimerosal in vaccines and the vaccine connection.
Read the article here: http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0616-31.htm
Read his complete text on the subject here: http://www.robertfkennedyjr.com/docs/AutismHgPolitics_6_23.pdf
Increase in Autism Baffles Scientists
October 18, 2002 ~ Authors of California study say they cannot explain reasons for what they call epidemic of childhood autism in state; mysterious brain disorder affects person's ability to form relationships and to behave normally in everyday life; study discounts genetics, birth injuries and childhood immunizations as factors in tripling of autism cases from 1987 to 1998; Dr Catherine Lord, leading authority on autism, says it is unclear whether California findings apply to other states; federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working in 13 states to look at apparent increase in autism cases; there is no reliable count nationwide so far, since criteria and reporting practices vary from state to state.The full article is available for a fee from the New York Times.
MMR/ Austism Link -- New Research
Ever since Andrew Wakefield's work on the MMR Vaccine and Autism came out there has been multiple papers, comments and disputes about its validity. Search for collection of previous studies
Now a new study adds additional reason to believe there is a a direct correlation between the two.
This news article sums it up well. New Research Suggests Autism Link to MMR
Here is Singh's abstract on: Abnormal Measles-Mumps-Rubella Antibodies and CNSAutoimmunity in Children with Autism Read the abstract in PubMed
“The Status of Research into Vaccine Safety and Autism"
Washington, D.C. - On June 19, 2002, at 11:00 a.m., in Room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building, the Committee on Government Reform, chaired by Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN), will conduct a hearing to evaluate the status of research concerning the possible relationship between vaccines and neurological disorders, including autism. Ten years ago, autism was estimated to affect 1 in 10,000 children. According to the National Institutes of Health, it is now anticipated to affect 1 in 250 children.Read the Report
New
Study Supports Link Between MMR Vaccine and Autism
The newest research on the vaccine-autism relationship
has just come out showing a link between mercury in vaccines and autism
when there is genetic predisposition.The measles virus was detected
in spinal fluid of children with autism, but not in controls.The findings
challenge the results of several large studies on autism and bolster
the fears of parents who have long believed their children were harmed
by the vaccines.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-autism9jun09,1,5059086.story?coll=la-news-science
Prenatal Risk Factors for Infantile Autism
The following study, "Prenatal
risk factors for infantile autism", poses an interesting correlation
between infantile autism and intrauterine growth restriction. Reuter's
article begins, "Intrauterine and neonatal factors related to restricted
intrauterine growth or fetal distress may be associated with the development
of autism, according to a report in the July issue of Epidemiology.
In a case-control study nested within a population-based cohort, Dr.
Christina M. Hultman, of the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden,
and colleagues examined various maternal characteristics and pregnancy
outcomes among 408 children diagnosed with infantile autism before 10
years of age and 2040 matched controls." And concludes with . "Although
several of the reported associations could be a function of genetic
risk in the fetus, several of the findings are consistent with nongenetic
environmental mediation of risks."
(Read the complete article)
The chiropractic correlation here comes in the conclusion drawn by the
authors: "Our findings suggest that intrauterine and neonatal factors
related to deviant intrauterine growth or fetal distress are important
in the pathogenesis of autism."
Intrauterine constraint can lead to deviant growth and fetal distress. 1,2 This new study isjust one more reason why removing constraint to the woman's uterus throughout pregnancy leads to easier, safer births for both the mother and baby.
Specific chiropractic care balances pelvic muscles and
ligaments and removes constraint to the woman's uterus. 3 When we understand
the physiological relationship between the woman's uterus and the developing
baby, it is clear to see that specific chiropractic adjustments throughout
pregnancy can decrease the potential of deviant intrauterine growth
and/ or fetal distress. 4
1.Hellstrom
B, Sallmander U "Prevention of Spinal Cord Injury in Hyperextension
of the Fetal Head" JAMA 1968; 204(12): 1041-4
4. Chiropractic Care in Pregnancy for Safer, Easier Births
Umbilical Cord Clamping a Cause of Autism?
This particular study examines the potential relationship
between early cord clamping, infant asphyxia and autism. It summarizes:
Brain lesions are associated with autism and related disorders[1]. Hypoxic
brain lesions in monkeys are associated with intelligence/memory defects
similar to autism. [2] Immediate cord clamping causes newborn hypoxia.
Placental oxygenation until the lungs are functioning prevents newborn
hypoxia. Placental oxygenation until the lungs are functioning should
prevent autism that is caused by hypoxic brain lesions.
Read the article at: http://www.redflagsweekly.com/features/Morley.html
Check out this compilation of additional resources on
the subject by the same author:
www.cordclamp.com
Send your patients to:
http://www.icpa4kids.org/pregnancy/umbilical.htm so they can download
additional info and present documentation to their birth care providers.
http://bmj.com/cgi/eletters/323/7326/1389
http://www.birthlove.com/pages/health/cords.html
More Resources:
Research on Autism and Chiropractic
Center for the Study of Autism
The Autism Autoimmunity Project
Families for Early Autism Treatment
Articles in Mothering Magazine
Vaccine-Autism Link
Over the past several years, parents have been hearing about the possible link between mercury in vaccines and its potential cause of autism. Studies have been published on either side of the fence , however the most recent published research is swaying the controversy back to the probable side.
Here is a highlighted timeline of this controversy::
1998:
Andrew Wakefield and the Autism Link:
In 1998, Dr. Andrew Wakefield first published a paper in the Lancet associating the MMR vaccine to autism.
2001:
Wakefield resigns:
Scorned and rebutted by his peers, Dr. Wakefield did not give up his search for truth and real science. Read about his struggles here: http://autism.about.com/cs/autisminprint/a/wakefieldfired.htm and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3513365.stm and http://www.melaniephillips.com/articles/archives/000345.html
2002:
Wakefield disputes study in NEJM:
In November 2002, the New England Joural of Medicine published a study to rebut Wakefield's findings about the MMR Vaccine/ Autism link. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12421889&dopt=Abstract
Dr. Andrew Wakefield had this to say about their findings: http://www.freewebz.com/schafer/wakefield.htm
February
2004:
CDC
Vaccine Data Leads Scientists to Shocking Discovery.
In February 2004 this headline hit the presses: CHILDREN 27-TIMES MORE LIKELY TO DEVELOP AUTISM WITH EXPOSURE TO MERCURY- CONTAINING VACCINES, FINDINGS REVIEWED AT TODAY'S IOM MEETING IN DC. Read article here: http://www.bioprobe.com/ReadNews.asp?article=76
Parents Show Increasing Concern about Autism and Vaccines
More parents refusing to
get kids vaccinated. Physicians are increasingly confronting parents
who are concerned about the safety of childhood immunizations.
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/02/09/hlsd0209.htm
May 2004:
Immunization
Safety Review: Vaccines and Autism
The committee
concludes that the body of epidemiological evidence favors rejection
of a causal relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism. The committee
also concludes that the body of epidemiological evidence favors rejection
of a causal relationship between thimerosal-containing vaccines and
autism. The committee further finds that potential biological mechanisms
for vaccine-induced autism that have been generated to date are theoretical
only.
http://www.iom.edu/report.asp?id=20155
National Vaccine Information Center Comments
on Review:
SAYS IOM PLAYED POLITICS IN REPORT ON
AUTISM AND VACCINES. http://www.909shot.com/PressReleases/pr51804iom.htm
June
2004: New Study Supports Possible Link Between MMR Vaccine and Autism
The newest research on the vaccine-autism relationship
has just come out showing a link between mercury in vaccines and autism
when there is genetic predisposition.The measles virus was detected
in spinal fluid of children with autism, but not in controls.The findings
challenge the results of several large studies on autism and bolster
the fears of parents who have long believed their children were harmed
by the vaccines.
http://www.sutterhealth.org/health/healthinfo/reutershome_top.cfm?fx=article&id=17345
For
a recent TV News clip on the vaccine issue visit: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/18/health/main618142.shtml
Clips on the right hand side of the page
Resources on Mercury in Vaccines: http://www.909shot.com/Issues/mercury.htm
For additional articles on autism visit:
http://www.icpa4kids.org/research/children/autism.htm
For information
on vaccines visit:
http://www.icpa4kids.org/research/children/vac_info.htm
For information
on chiropractic and autism visit:
http://www.icpa4kids.org/research/chiropractic/autism.htm
Visit this
site for clips from the Autism Conference:
http://www.lighthousestudios.info/autismone95.html
This Family Wellness First Issue is co-sponsored by Mothering Magazine
Family Wellness First comes to you as a courtesy of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association: http://www.icpa4kids.com/
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