"Mark Probert" wrote in message
...
On Apr 2, 9:25 pm, (David Wright) wrote:
In article
,

Myrl wrote:
This seems to be a fair and balanced analysis about vaccines and
autism. I have recently wondered if emphasis should be placed on
getting all suspected metals and components (i.e. Mercury and
Aluminum, etc.) out of all vaccines. At least as much as possible.

I would also be interested in revisiting the vaccine protocols that
subject infants and children to multiple vaccines at once. I am
concerned that imposing an usually high number of vaccines on young
tiny bodies at once, might not be a really good thing.

Depending on which news accounts presented regarding Hannah Poling, it
was reported that her mother stated that Hannah received as many as 9
vaccines at once. I don't see how that can be a good thing!

The reports I've seen said five, not nine.

It was five, and there is no evidence that this is a problem.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/...18/1008/NEWS01

Autism's simmering controversy
Area parents debate possible link to vaccinations

As a baby, Austin Pope seemed to be developing normally -- even at an
advanced pace, saying 75 words at 18 months.

But a month after getting five vaccines in one day, an unusually high number
at the time, Austin began regressing, said his mother, Janet Pope of
Crestwood.

One morning, he woke up with a stiff neck and just flopped in her arms.
Ultimately, he stopped talking, stopped making eye contact and retreated
into the world of autism.

Pope, whose son is now 16, tells a common story, one she compares to a
recent case that spotlights a long-simmering controversy about a possible
link between childhood vaccinations and autism that has been rejected by the
mainstream medical establishment.

This month, federal officials conceded that 9-year-old Hannah Poling of
Athens, Ga., should be awarded damages from a federal vaccine-injury fund
because vaccines worsened a rare mitochondrial dysfunction, a problem
involving cell metabolism. This, they said, led to autism-like symptoms.

"I'm hoping this will break the issue wide open," said Pope, 52, a former
emergency room nurse and Air Force major.

Boyd Haley, a University of Kentucky chemistry and biochemistry professor
who was an expert witness in support of the Poling case, argues that the
vaccine preservative thimerosal, which contains mercury, can cause autism
and mitochondrial dysfunction.

"This young girl probably didn't have a disorder until'' she was exposed to
thimerosal, Haley said.

Autism cases rise
There is little dispute that autism has risen dramatically in recent
decades; it now affects an estimated one in 150 children. In Kentucky, more
than 24,000 residents have autism spectrum disorder, up from about 1,500 in
1990.

But many experts strongly disagree that vaccines have anything to do with
the increase, attributing it instead to wider and better diagnosis. Some
theorize that genetic and unknown environmental factors may combine to cause
autism, and they view the Poling case as an exception rather than a
precedent.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say "the weight of the
evidence indicates that vaccines are not associated with autism" and cite an
Institute of Medicine review saying much the same.

The CDC also says that while children get more vaccines than in the past --
five in a day is no longer unusual -- thimerosal generally hasn't been used
as a preservative in routine childhood vaccines since 2001. The exception is
some flu vaccines, although more than 10 million doses of thimerosal-free
vaccine were expected to be produced for this flu season - using prefilled
syringes or vials that don't require preservatives.

Despite this change, a January study from California, published in the
Archives of General Psychiatry, concluded that there hasn't been any recent
decrease in autism in that state.

"There are scores of studies in millions of children that show absolutely no
link between any vaccines and autism. Yet this idea persists, and every once
in a while this fire is fed fuel," said Gary Marshall, chief of the division
of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Louisville School of
Medicine. "The parents latch onto it because they're looking for a cause. .

"The public health emergency is that if parents don't vaccinate their
children, it will not be long before we see these diseases raise their ugly
heads again."

5,000 pending cases
Almost 5,000 families of children with autism have cases pending through the
National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, which allows people to file
claims if they believe a vaccine seriously injured them or their children.

Media reports say the Polings' exact compensation hasn't been decided.

Several Kentucky and Indiana parents, who sat in a circle sharing their
stories at a preschool program called Endeavor in Louisville, said they hope
the Poling case leads to more money for autism research -- a hope shared by
many on the other side of the issue.

"It sends a big, loud message to the medical community," Betsy Gibbs of
Louisville said as her daughter Elizabeth, 14, rested her head on her
mother's lap.

Gibbs, 43, said vaccines harmed Elizabeth as a baby, and a shot for measles,
mumps and rubella "really sent her over the edge."

Rachel Lu of Louisville, 39, also blamed the MMR vaccine, saying her son
Noah screamed and suffered severe diarrhea within 24 hours of being
immunized as a baby. Now 5, he was diagnosed with autism at age 2, and Lu
suspects the disorder also affects her younger son, 3-year-old Chase.

Although Marshall said MMR has never included thimerosal, a British
researcher led a high-profile but controversial 1998 study of 12 children
suggesting a link between live viruses in the vaccine, bowel inflammation
and autism. Several authors involved later retracted their initial
interpretations.

Steve and Stephanie Shultz of Louisville, whose 4-year-old twins Ryan and
Cody were diagnosed with autism in December, said they think vaccines might
have triggered a genetic predisposition in their children.

The boys speak mostly in single words and socialize far less than typical
children. On a recent morning at Endeavor, Cody sat perfectly still,
oblivious to two nearby teachers, mesmerized by a video showing signs to
help children with autism communicate.

As the couple struggles with their children's disability, they said they
don't think the government will ever fully concede a vaccine-autism link.
"They're going to do all they can to fight any liability they might have,"
said Steve Shultz, 42.

Complicating factors
Some parents said they believe the link between vaccines and autism is
complicated by other factors.

Todd Popson of Sellersburg, Ind., said he thinks his son, Jeremy, had a
genetic predisposition and might have gotten too many vaccines at once. A
father of six, Popson said he has had his other children vaccinated, but on
a different schedule so they didn't get as many at the same time.

Lisa Neal, whose 8-year-old son Jonathan has autism, is one of several
parents who said their children might have more difficulty than usual
eliminating certain toxins. She had Jonathan tested for heavy-metal
toxicity, she said, and the amount of lead and other toxins was "off the
charts," despite never having lived in a house with lead paint.

"I do think vaccines played a part in his injury," Neal, 44, said. "But I
don't think it was one thing. I think it was everything."

Haley said mercury is the particular toxin at fault and cited several
studies showing its toxic effect. "We showed at the University of Kentucky
that if you take neurons (nerve cells that send and receive messages) in
culture and add thimerosal, it will kill them," he said.

He said the rise in autism occurred just after children started getting more
vaccines. "Since 1988," a 1995 CDC report said, "the U.S. childhood
immunization schedule has rapidly expanded to accommodate the introduction
of new, universally recommended vaccines."

Now that new vaccines don't use thimerosal, Haley said he would expect the
numbers of children with autism to eventually go down. But he said many
doctors and clinics gave vaccines with the preservative even after 2001, so
the California study showing a continuing increase was done too early.

"I'm not anti-vaccine," Haley said. "I'm just for a safe vaccine."

Anecdotal link?
Many doctors are just as passionate that the only connection between
vaccines and autism is that the condition often shows its first symptoms
around the time babies typically get shots.

Marshall said the link is purely anecdotal and cannot be given equal weight
to the vast scientific evidence disputing it.

A transcript of a recent press briefing on the Poling case quoted Dr. Julie
Gerberding, the CDC director, as saying, "Let me be clear that government
has made absolutely no statement about indicating that vaccines are a cause
of autism." To suggest that "is a complete mischaracterization of the
findings of the case and a complete mischaracterization of any of the
science that we have at our disposal today."

Dr. Edwin Trevathan, director of the CDC's National Center for Birth Defects
and Developmental Disabilities, spoke about the mitochrondrial dysfunction
affecting children such as Hannah Poling.

He said such children can appear normal initially, but when placed under
stress, such as infections, fever or malnutrition "are actually somewhat
predestined to have a regression of neurological function."

Trevathan said researchers don't yet know whether vaccines, independent of
things like high fevers, can cause regression in children with mitochondrial
disorders.

While some parents have suggested children with autism might have
higher-than-average rates of mitochondrial disorders, Trevathan said there
are little data on the subject, and Dr. Joseph Hersh, director of U of L's
Weisskopf Child Evaluation Center, said they probably don't.

Other symptoms
Autism-like symptoms are only one way the condition can present itself,
Hersh said; others include muscle weakness or cardiac disease. He said
parents whose children have mitochondrial disorders should discuss the
vaccine issue with their doctors.

But experts say the vast majority of children with autism don't have
mitochondrial disorders -- and many of their parents reject the idea of a
vaccine-autism link.

Loralyn Cecil, 39, of Lexington, and Dr. Erich Maul, 36, a UK pediatrics
hospitalist, both said they suspected problems with their sons in the first
few months of life. For example, Maul said his son, Charlie, now 7, wouldn't
look at him and his wife. Both Cecil and Maul said that they believe the
disorder is largely genetic and that there might be more than one cause.

But overall, Maul said, focusing so much on the cause draws energy from
something at least as important -- treating and caring for children with
autism.

"This is the situation you have," Maul said. "God gives the special kids to
the special families who can take care of them and love them."

Reporter Laura Ungar can be reached at (502) 582-7190.