Vaccines, Auto-immunity, and Autism

[TheFaithfulStone]

So, I've always considered the "Vaccines Cause Autism" crowd to be more than a little bit crazy. But lately I've been seeing some kind of disturbing trends that make me think that even if they're barking up the wrong tree with the thimerosal thing, that they might actually be on to something.

 

Anyway, it turns out that my wife is likely suffering from lupus, which although a serious disorder is not (usually) life threatening. While researching lupus, we found out that Live vaccines are contraindicated for people with SLE. Whether this is because SLE sufferers are susceptible to infection from live vaccines or because the treatments for SLE leave them susceptible is an open question.

 

Furthermore, there's some evidence that certain types of autism are linked to autoimmune disease in family members.

Autism is an autoimmune disease

Troubling case study

Outspoken neurobiologist who things autism is autoimmune related.

 

And then today, on Slashdot I saw this

Immuno suppressant drug restores function in autistic mice.

 

I'm increasingly of the opinion that my infant son, with a family history of autoimmune disorders on both sides of the family may be at greater risk receiving live virus vaccines like MMR than not.

 

Measles, mumps, rubella are all bad, yes, but not really THAT frequently encountered. Autism strikes me as much, much worse.

 

Somebody with a medical background point me to appropriate journal articles. I posted this in another location and was frankly appalled by the response that I got - telling me that I was no better than a child abuser for even considering such a thing as skipping the MMR.

 

The information that I'm operating on is not from a bunch of hippies with crystals - these are all peer reviewed articles in respectable medical journals by real scientists and doctors. (Of course Halton Arp is a real scientist, and ALSO a anti-big-bang maniac.)

 

If I'm wrong, then I'm wrong here - but I need some hard facts, not just strident repetition of the conventional wisdom.

 

TFS

[GAHD]

I was opted out of most shots by my parents, and later on myself. Quite frankly I don't feel any WORSE off than other people...but that's just anecdotal.

[InfiniteNow]

I didn't spend too much time searching, but I wasn't able to find a single one suggesting a causal relationship:

 

Google Scholar - Search Results

[Dr. Nancy Malik]

According to FDA, All vaccines are scheduled 4 poisons.

 

Different vaccines have different preservatives, but two preservatives: formaldehyde, and mercury is present in most of the vaccines.

There is no published literature about the level of formaldehyde which is toxin in human body. But mercury in tiniest of amount is considered unsafe.

 

But still the benefits of vacination outweighs the risks associated with it.

[Michaelangelica]

Vaccines are often made with chicken eggs. Some people are allergic to eggs.

 

This may be of interest:

Food Intolerances and Allergies

Autistic children often suffer from numerous kinds of food intolerances and digestive problems. My son was so sensitive to dairy, he would begin banging his head hard on the floor about three hours after eating it. While this reaction occurred with other foods and stimuli, we knew that dairy was a specific trigger. To resolve it we found a product containing several proteases including one known as DPP IV, which breaks down dairy and gluten proteins.

 

Unlike many drug therapies, enzymes are a quick and relatively inexpensive option to try, with a high probability for success

. . .

The Bug Connection

Many children with autism related conditions also suffer from candida yeast or bacterial overgrowth in the gut. To resolve the problem try yeast-targeting products with high levels of fiber-digesting enzymes (like cellulases) to break down the outer walls of yeast cells. The product should also contain a high level of proteases to help clear out pathogenic yeast and reduce any die-off reactions. Consider combining a yeast-controlling herbal supplement such as grapefruit seed extract or oregano with the enzymes for a synergistic effect.

 

Underlying persistent viral infections also seem prevalent in autistic children, and when these are addressed, the children show some permanent improvements in language, socialization, behavior, and cognitive ability. Several autism specialists are turning to Valtrex, a prescription antiviral medication that provides good results. Another alternative, ViraStop, is a specialty blend of enzymes used between meals at high therapeutic doses (12 to 15 capsules per day)

Enzyme Therapy for Autism | Healthy and Green Living

[Michaelangelica]

New Study: Autism Linked to Environment

Research links soaring incidence of the mysterious neurological disorder to fetal and infant exposure to pesticides, viruses, household chemicals

 

By Marla Cone

More than 3,000 new cases of autism were reported in California in 2006, compared with 205 in 1990. In 1990, 6.2 of every 10,000 children born in the state were diagnosed with autism by the age of five, compared with 42.5 in 10,000 born in 2001, according to the study, published in the journal Epidemiology. The numbers have continued to rise since then.

 

To nail down the causes, scientists must unravel a mystery: What in the environment has changed since the early 1990s that could account for such an enormous rise in the brain disorder?

. . .

 

"There's genetics and there's environment. And genetics don't change in such short periods of time," Hertz-Picciotto, a researcher at UC Davis' M.I.N.D. Institute, a leading autism research facility, said in an interview Thursday.

 

Many researchers have theorized that a pregnant woman's exposure to chemical pollutants, particularly metals and pesticides, could be altering a developing baby's brain structure, triggering autism.

 

Many parent groups believe that childhood vaccines are responsible because they contained thimerosal, a mercury compound used as a preservative. But thimerosal was removed from most vaccines in 1999, and autism rates are still rising.

. . .

While exposure to some--such as PCBs--has declined in recent decades, others--including flame retardants used in furniture and electronics, and pyrethroid insecticides--have increased.

 

Mothers of autistic children were twice as likely to use pet flea shampoos, which contain organophosphates or pyrethroids, according to one study that has not yet been published. Another new study has found a link between autism and phthalates, which are compounds used in vinyl and cosmetics. Other household products such as antibacterial soaps also could have ingredients that harm the brain by changing immune systems, Hertz-Picciotto said.

. . .

Funding for studying genetic causes of autism is 10 to 20 times higher than funding for environmental causes, she said. "It's very off-balance," she said.

 

. . .

The surge in autism is similar to the rise in childhood asthma, which has reached epidemic proportions for unexplained reasons

New Study: Autism Linked to Environment: Scientific American

[belovelife]

UCTV--University of California Television

 

i know someone with autism

although he doesn't communicate wel on a normal level

i can communicate with him

w/o saying much more

in some types of autistics

through mri imaging it is found that the have an enlarges hippocampus

this is the fight or flight region of the brain

now in the person i knows case

they can hear me wisper from across the room

but when you talk to him at a normal level

he sways his head, his eyes roll around, and sometimes

holds his hands on his ears

[Michaelangelica]

Interesting observation.

what is he/she/ probably he like with music?

 

When i was nursing autistic kids at a kid's Psych unit when governments spent money on health

I was on night duty

Between night rounds we heard singing

"We all live in a Yellow Submarine"

We finally traced to the sound to a severely autistic (permanently hospitalised) kid's private room as he sang the Beatles song while decorating his walls with faeces. (Which we had to fix before the day shift came on -not impressed).Before this episode I have never heard him talk or make any sound.

 

 

The same kid we took to the beach with a number of psychologically disturbed kids on the train.

On minute he was sitting quietly ; next he was tearing to the open (moving) train door. Fortunately I had fast reflexes otherwise he would have been dead and I would have been filling out paperwork for the rest of my life

 

Strangely now I find Austistic kids hard to handle

Give me an obsessive compulsive or YY chromosome any day -at least there is communication

 

We used to have a wonderful therapist Juliet Harper who came dressed like a stunning, ravishing, beautiful gypsy all colour and bangles and jingling, glittering earrings.

The female nurses eyes all turned to daggers when she came. A grey uniform was not much of a match for Juliet; and she was Regal into the bargain.

 

She certainly was able to do more with the autistic kids than most at that time 1970s

She did a PhD in psychology in about the same time it took me to do an undergraduate degree. It is sad I have lost contact with her now (She is probably dead like many friends).

[belovelife]

it is a he, and he is 6 or 7 years old

it was interesting, about 2 years ago, i was chillin with him

his room he drew all chaotic with crayons

so i sat with him for a day, and we colored math problems

using the dice pattern for numbers

now, he is pretty quick at math

my theory was that in his mind, there is lots of chaos

considering i can barely wisper in my softest voice

and he responds from across the room

so i figured a direct representation of finding

order in his chaos would be to draw with him

(with good vibrations [see beach boys])

and make math ideas

basics 1+1

9+9

you know

well now he can solve them really quick

[Michaelangelica]

Many autistic kids have high functioning abilities in some cognitive areas.

Similar to the servant in "Rainman".

 

My guy just happened to be good as singing and painting with ****.:rolleyes:

[pamela]

Michaelangelica, i wonder, were the walls a pale shade of yellow?

If they were, then indeed his actions would imply, that he was trapped in something yellow, unable to breathe the free air and attempt to change his environment.

In my experiences with varying degrees of autism among children, they are most responsive to being treated "normally".

Engaging in fun, age appropriate activities , while talking in a calm, but happy tone, ellicited more of a response from them, than repetition and the obvious treating them differently.

We often react differently to that which we do not understand. The child may be fully aware that they are being treated differently, and react in nonresponsiveness. Not being in their heads, I cannot say for sure, but having experienced them trying to reach out to me, the gap lies in how we communicate.

I have applied this same thinking/actions to many children ranging from developmentally delayed to downs syndrome, all with positive results.

Most children, do not want to be considered different, where as adults like myself, prefer it.:rolleyes:

[Michaelangelica]

Michaelangelica, i wonder, were the walls a pale shade of yellow?

I can't remember it was along time ago-but they could have been. We only kept a few very severely affected children overnight on the ward. Their rooms were locked for their protection.

 

On the auto-immune thing some Orthomolecular Psychiatrists feel that there are food or chemical/protein sensitivities that challenge/jag the immune system until adrenal exhaustion occurs.

eg While some may not be coeliac they may be allergic to some other protein of wheat. Alternatively they may not have the digestive enzymes to fully de-construct wheat proteins.

One orthomolecular Guy in Sydney says if Down's syndrome children are not feed wheat, and their breastfeeding mother also abstains, there will be no intellectual loss in the child.

 

"Adrenal exhaustion" is not a term used by doctors but I think there is a lot of it about.

People smoke (nicotine), get stressed, drink caffeine, eat things that stress the adrenals. Sugar levels ("fight or flight response") go up and down. Till the adrenals give up and/or we end up with type2 Diabetes.

A shot of ACTH might help some.

 

Here is a new website on Autism from Australia

Australian Labor Party : Autism website to help parents and carers

 

Raising Children Network | Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

[Michaelangelica]

An interesting lecture

AGE OF AUTISM: Part 1 David Kirby's Autism One Presentation: Metals, Myelin & Mitochondria Pathways to Autism?

[maikeru]

Pesticides, air pollution, and autism.

 

Pesticides?

 

http://www.ehponline.org/members/2007/10168/10168.pdf

 

Air pollution?

 

http://www.ehponline.org/members/2006/9120/9120.pdf

[Michaelangelica]

 

Invitation to Doctors to participate in a pilot study of vitamin D and autism.

 

This is an invitation to doctors who are interested in vitamin D and have access to families with autism to participate in a pilot study entitled: "Study of Vitamin D to prevent Autism in Newborn Siblings" . We are using vitamin D during pregnancy and lactation to prevent the recurrence of autism in newborn siblings in families who already have one child with autism.

 

If you are interested in participating in this pilot study or have questions, please call Dr. Gene Stubbs at 503-939-7351 or call Kathy Henley at 503-351-9255. Or send us an email at [email protected] or [email protected]. If sending a letter is preferred, send it to:

Gene Stubbs, M.D.,P.C.,

7032 SW 3rd Avenue,

Portland, OR 97219.

 

Thank you,

John Cannell, MD

Vitamin D Council

585 Leff Street

San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

 

See also the "Magic Mushrooms" thread here.

[Michaelangelica]

 

Cracking the Autism Riddle: Toxic Chemicals, A Serious Suspect in the Autism Outbreak

. . .

One group of substances of particular concern is a ubiquitous family of hormone twisting compounds, known as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). These substances are the focus of intense scrutiny because: 1) they're found in every home in America 2) they're increasingly linked to human disease 3) our exposure to them has risen in parallel with the surge in autism diagnoses and 4) they may theoretically affect the developing fetal brain.

 

In recent years, research has mounted against a virtual police lineup of EDCs, like BPA (in food cans, hard plastic water bottles), phthlates (in soft plastics, cosmetics) and fire retardants (in sofas, computers, flame-resistant clothing). Multiple animal and human studies have linked EDC exposure (during or after fetal development) with a host of hormone-related disorders, like low sperm count, cancer (breast, ovarian, prostate, testicular), congenital malformation of the genitals and even obesity.

 

In 1996, pediatricians and other concerned scientists convinced Congress to order the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to test hundreds of chemicals for endocrine disrupting effects.

Harvey Karp: Cracking the Autism Riddle: Toxic Chemicals, A Serious Suspect in the Autism Outbreak