New York, NY (PRWEB) December 27, 2005 -- Jetti Katz Labs (NY,NY) and LookForHealth announce a licensing agreement for the technology developed by Look For Health for its proprietary test panels for gastrointestinal dysfunction in children wih Pervasive Developmental Disorder including those with ADD, ADHD and Autism. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“We are more than excited to have a lab of such prestige and renown” come aboard to perform the stool testing” states Dr. Joan Fallon, CEO of Look For Health. “Jetti Katz lab and its medical director Dr. John Asher are well known in the GI community, and Dr. Asher’s presence in this project is an honor” further states Fallon.
Jetti Katz Lab best known for its tropical medicine work has an 80 year history of performing the very testing that is necessary to examine the gastrointestinal health of the children with PDD. Utilized by many fortune 500 companies, its director Dr. John Asher is a nationally recognized expert in the field of tropical medicine, and gastrointestinal health who regularly appears as a expert on TV and radio. His expertise is regularly sought by the medical community both nationally and internationally.
LookForHealth’s proprietary and patented work has demonstrated that children with PDD including ADD, ADHD, and autism have gastrointestinal dysfunction. Questions regarding the gastrointestinal health of children with PDD and other conditions have been placed into question over the last few years. These test panels which include a screening panel and more definitive panels will allow the practitioner a unique window into the gastrointestinal health of the child.
Undigested protein and fat can potentially become allergens and cause substantial problems for the child. Further, these problems can create an environment where pathogens can begin to flourish and these test panels are designed to detect the antigenic presence of pathologic bacteria and viruses which can cause illness in the child.
“This agreement allows the child with autism, ADD and ADHD and others access to the finest laboratory in the US for detecting GI pathogens and functional changes in the gastrointestinal tract.” states Fallon "Dr. Asher’s expertise will no doubt be a value to the thousands of children with these disorders. If a parent or physician are interested in learning more or ordering a testing panel further questions can be addressed by calling: Jetti Katz Labs 212-207-4923 or Look For Health 914-779-9300.
# # #
LOOK FOR HEALTH 914-779-9300
E-mail Information _LFHealth@aol.com_ (mailto:LFHealth@aol.com)
For information, resources and practical strategies please visit: www.AutismConcepts.com.
Friday, December 30, 2005
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Article: How Autism Feels
By Kate Goldfield
December 20 2005
Courant.com
People with Asperger's Syndrome, or AS, I learned, have trouble reading social cues and understanding nonverbal language. They have trouble knowing what to say in conversations, when to start speaking and when to stop speaking. They fail to notice subtle conversational cues like change in tone of voice or body posture. In fact, they have trouble with social language in general.
They are often highly intelligent, especially with special interests that they pursue, but have trouble conversing. Because of this, they have trouble making friends and many will go through all of high school and college without having ever really made a good friend.
Sensory issues are very prevalent in people with AS. They can hear the sound of a person tapping their pencil from across the room. The smell of cigarette smoke or cleaning agents will drive them crazy. Lights are either too bright or too dim and they often have a difficult time finding clothes that they can bear wearing because of the way they feel on their skin. Often, they will have sensory overloads and need some time out from an activity to process all that is happening to them.
For this reason, eye contact can hurt. Social interactions for someone with AS can be like trying to put together a 500-piece puzzle before the time is up. We even speak differently; our conversational manner tends to be quite genuine. We say what we're thinking.
It is this genuineness, though, that endears us to many people. We don't play guessing games with people; we say what we mean. As employees and friends, we are loyal. We have the ability to focus completely on tasks of interest for hours at a time and also to remember huge amounts of facts related to our interests quite easily.
Excerpts from full article available at:
http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/op_ed/hc-autism1220.artdec20,0,3741561.story?coll=hc-headlines-oped
For information, resources and practical strategies please visit: www.AutismConcepts.com.
December 20 2005
Courant.com
People with Asperger's Syndrome, or AS, I learned, have trouble reading social cues and understanding nonverbal language. They have trouble knowing what to say in conversations, when to start speaking and when to stop speaking. They fail to notice subtle conversational cues like change in tone of voice or body posture. In fact, they have trouble with social language in general.
They are often highly intelligent, especially with special interests that they pursue, but have trouble conversing. Because of this, they have trouble making friends and many will go through all of high school and college without having ever really made a good friend.
Sensory issues are very prevalent in people with AS. They can hear the sound of a person tapping their pencil from across the room. The smell of cigarette smoke or cleaning agents will drive them crazy. Lights are either too bright or too dim and they often have a difficult time finding clothes that they can bear wearing because of the way they feel on their skin. Often, they will have sensory overloads and need some time out from an activity to process all that is happening to them.
For this reason, eye contact can hurt. Social interactions for someone with AS can be like trying to put together a 500-piece puzzle before the time is up. We even speak differently; our conversational manner tends to be quite genuine. We say what we're thinking.
It is this genuineness, though, that endears us to many people. We don't play guessing games with people; we say what we mean. As employees and friends, we are loyal. We have the ability to focus completely on tasks of interest for hours at a time and also to remember huge amounts of facts related to our interests quite easily.
Excerpts from full article available at:
http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/op_ed/hc-autism1220.artdec20,0,3741561.story?coll=hc-headlines-oped
For information, resources and practical strategies please visit: www.AutismConcepts.com.
Senate-passed Budget Reconciliation Bill Devastates Programs/Services For People with Disabilities
Disability Policy Colloboration
Vice President Cheney broke a 50-50 tie vote in the Senate this morning to pass one of the worst bills in our nation's history affecting people with disabilities and their families. The bill will provide states license to cut Medicaid services and supports to very low-income Medicaid recipients. It reauthorizes TANF with onerous work requirements that make it almost impossible for TANF recipients with disabilities or those caring for family members with disabilities to meet these requirements while putting states in a financial predicament for maintaining these individuals in the TANF program.
Forty-four Democrats, one Independent and five Republican Senators voted against the report while 50 Republican Senators voted for the report. Find out how your Senator voted by visiting: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00363#position.
During the bill’s debate, Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) raised a “Point of Order” on medical liability and two reports that were required under the bill. Senator Conrad’s point of order was permitted because the Republican leaders were unable to muster the 60 votes necessary to defeat it.
Next Steps
Since the Senate bill now varies from the House-passed version, the Budget Reconciliation Conference Report must go back to the House of Representatives for a final vote on the amended version. This report will now require the House to return to session to pass the revised Reconciliation bill, which could happen later this week or next week.
An Action Alert on the pending House vote on the revised Budget Reconciliation Conference Report will be distributed when the timing of the vote is determined.
What’s The Potential Impact On Our Constituents?
The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy can truthfully say this could be the darkest day in national public policy for people with disabilities due to the scaling back of critical services and supports now serving our constituents. Most low-income people with disabilities rely on Medicaid for their health and long-term care and Congress has now given Governors unprecedented flexibility to raise co-payments on Medicaid’s prescription medicines and therapies. States could also decide to deny certain medical care and long-term supports to those who needed it the most.
Finally, this bill would require some Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries to wait as long as an additional year to receive back benefits owed them by the Social Security Administration.
Passage of this bill represents a huge setback for services and supports for our constituents and their families. If this bill becomes law, State chapters of The Arc and UCP affiliates will now have to work within their states to protect Medicaid programs for our constituents, since implementation of the new policies in the Budget Reconciliation bill will be in the hands of governors and state legislatures.
The Disability Policy Collaboration is extraordinarily appreciative of the leadership of The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy for a tremendous grassroots advocacy effort in the fight against the Budget Reconciliation bill. More information will be provided as the DPC analyzes the bill’s impact.
For information, resources and practical strategies on autism please visit: www.AutismConcepts.com.
News and Information Bulletin
December 21, 2005
Vice President Cheney broke a 50-50 tie vote in the Senate this morning to pass one of the worst bills in our nation's history affecting people with disabilities and their families. The bill will provide states license to cut Medicaid services and supports to very low-income Medicaid recipients. It reauthorizes TANF with onerous work requirements that make it almost impossible for TANF recipients with disabilities or those caring for family members with disabilities to meet these requirements while putting states in a financial predicament for maintaining these individuals in the TANF program.
Forty-four Democrats, one Independent and five Republican Senators voted against the report while 50 Republican Senators voted for the report. Find out how your Senator voted by visiting: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00363#position.
During the bill’s debate, Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) raised a “Point of Order” on medical liability and two reports that were required under the bill. Senator Conrad’s point of order was permitted because the Republican leaders were unable to muster the 60 votes necessary to defeat it.
Next Steps
Since the Senate bill now varies from the House-passed version, the Budget Reconciliation Conference Report must go back to the House of Representatives for a final vote on the amended version. This report will now require the House to return to session to pass the revised Reconciliation bill, which could happen later this week or next week.
An Action Alert on the pending House vote on the revised Budget Reconciliation Conference Report will be distributed when the timing of the vote is determined.
What’s The Potential Impact On Our Constituents?
The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy can truthfully say this could be the darkest day in national public policy for people with disabilities due to the scaling back of critical services and supports now serving our constituents. Most low-income people with disabilities rely on Medicaid for their health and long-term care and Congress has now given Governors unprecedented flexibility to raise co-payments on Medicaid’s prescription medicines and therapies. States could also decide to deny certain medical care and long-term supports to those who needed it the most.
Finally, this bill would require some Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries to wait as long as an additional year to receive back benefits owed them by the Social Security Administration.
Passage of this bill represents a huge setback for services and supports for our constituents and their families. If this bill becomes law, State chapters of The Arc and UCP affiliates will now have to work within their states to protect Medicaid programs for our constituents, since implementation of the new policies in the Budget Reconciliation bill will be in the hands of governors and state legislatures.
The Disability Policy Collaboration is extraordinarily appreciative of the leadership of The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy for a tremendous grassroots advocacy effort in the fight against the Budget Reconciliation bill. More information will be provided as the DPC analyzes the bill’s impact.
For information, resources and practical strategies on autism please visit: www.AutismConcepts.com.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Action Alert - National Vaccine Information Center
Action Alert - National Vaccine Information Center
As the holidays approach and Congress gets ready to adjourn, some Senators and Representatives in Congress with financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry are trying to pull a fast one on you and your family. These same politicians did the same thing in 2002 when they tried to sneak in liability protection for Big Pharma by inserting the thimerosal rider into the Homeland Security Bill.
Last night, legislators writing the Department of Defense (DOD) Appropriations Bill slipped in language in the Conference Report AT THE LAST MINUTE giving vaccine manufacturers TOTAL LIABILITY protection if experimental vaccines injure or kill citizens whenever the Secretary of Health declares an "emergency." That "emergency" could include everything from a "potential" bioterrorism attack to a potentially bad flu year.
And you may not have a choice about whether or not to take those experimental vaccines if your Governor follows the lead of the Secretary of Health, declares an "emergency" in your state and trots out the state militia to arrest, quarantine and forcibly vaccinate you and your family. Laws passed at the state and federal level since September 11, 2001 allow all of this to happen (go to www.nvic.com and read a letter to Col. Robert P. Kadlec, M.D., a staffer to Senator Burr which summarizes state and federal legislation since 9-11.).
But YOU can stand up TODAY and CALL YOUR OWN SENATOR AND CONGRESSPERSON and make your voice heard before it is too late. CALL NOW AND PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR LOVED ONES FROM BEING VICTIMIZED BY DRUG COMPANIES AND THEIR ALLIES WHO WANT TO ESCAPE ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR VACCINE INJURIES AND DEATHS.
To find out who your Senator is, go to www.senate.gov
To find out who your Representative is go to www.house.gov .
CALL YOUR SENATOR OR REPRESENTATIVE by dialing 202-224-3121. Capitol Switchboard Toll-free number is 800-839-5276.
Every call or fax makes a difference. DON'T GIVE UP! OUR VOICES ARE BEING HEARD!
http://search.csmonitor.com/search_content/1215/p13s02-uspo.html
The Christian Science Monitor
December 15, 2005 edition
A measure to shield drug manufacturers from lawsuits in an effort to encourage them to develop new vaccines is likely to be quietly attached to a "must pass" defense appropriation bill within the next few days.
"It looks like the liability-protection language is in [the defense bill], which will be very difficult for [members of Congress] to vote against," says Barbara Loe Fisher, president of the National Vaccine Information Center, a consumer watchdog group in Vienna, Va. Backers of the liability shield, led by Senate majority leader Bill Frist (R) of Tennessee, "were very smart in that strategy," says Ms. Fisher, who calls it "a threat to civil rights, to access to the judicial system, and to human rights."
The possibility of an avian flu epidemic, as well as the use of biological weapons, have spurred interest in stepping up production of new vaccines. Shield-law proponents has argued for years that the world's giant drugmakers, so-called Big Pharma, would never take much interest in that arena until they were given strong protections against lawsuits.
You "want to harness" Big Pharma "to really kick this thing off," says Christopher-Paul Milne, assistant director of the Center for the Study of Drug Development at Tufts University in Medford, Mass. "They have the resources and the expertise and the manufacturing capacity to get [development of new vaccines] done in a short period of time."
Today, five or six big companies are making vaccines compared with more than 20 several decades ago, Dr. Milne says. "Some of that is because of the consolidation of the companies," he says, but some is the result of the high risk. To attract Big Pharma, "the potential rewards are going to have to be high," he says. In a national emergency, vaccines might have to be produced quickly, and perhaps without sufficient testing. In that kind of high-risk scenario, "you're talking about the need for liability protection," he says.
Excerpts from full article available at: http://search.csmonitor.com/search_content/1215/p13s02-uspo.html
For information, resources and practical strategies on autism please visit: www.AutismConcepts.com.
As the holidays approach and Congress gets ready to adjourn, some Senators and Representatives in Congress with financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry are trying to pull a fast one on you and your family. These same politicians did the same thing in 2002 when they tried to sneak in liability protection for Big Pharma by inserting the thimerosal rider into the Homeland Security Bill.
Last night, legislators writing the Department of Defense (DOD) Appropriations Bill slipped in language in the Conference Report AT THE LAST MINUTE giving vaccine manufacturers TOTAL LIABILITY protection if experimental vaccines injure or kill citizens whenever the Secretary of Health declares an "emergency." That "emergency" could include everything from a "potential" bioterrorism attack to a potentially bad flu year.
And you may not have a choice about whether or not to take those experimental vaccines if your Governor follows the lead of the Secretary of Health, declares an "emergency" in your state and trots out the state militia to arrest, quarantine and forcibly vaccinate you and your family. Laws passed at the state and federal level since September 11, 2001 allow all of this to happen (go to www.nvic.com and read a letter to Col. Robert P. Kadlec, M.D., a staffer to Senator Burr which summarizes state and federal legislation since 9-11.).
But YOU can stand up TODAY and CALL YOUR OWN SENATOR AND CONGRESSPERSON and make your voice heard before it is too late. CALL NOW AND PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR LOVED ONES FROM BEING VICTIMIZED BY DRUG COMPANIES AND THEIR ALLIES WHO WANT TO ESCAPE ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR VACCINE INJURIES AND DEATHS.
To find out who your Senator is, go to www.senate.gov
To find out who your Representative is go to www.house.gov .
CALL YOUR SENATOR OR REPRESENTATIVE by dialing 202-224-3121. Capitol Switchboard Toll-free number is 800-839-5276.
Every call or fax makes a difference. DON'T GIVE UP! OUR VOICES ARE BEING HEARD!
http://search.csmonitor.com/search_content/1215/p13s02-uspo.html
The Christian Science Monitor
December 15, 2005 edition
A measure to shield drug manufacturers from lawsuits in an effort to encourage them to develop new vaccines is likely to be quietly attached to a "must pass" defense appropriation bill within the next few days.
"It looks like the liability-protection language is in [the defense bill], which will be very difficult for [members of Congress] to vote against," says Barbara Loe Fisher, president of the National Vaccine Information Center, a consumer watchdog group in Vienna, Va. Backers of the liability shield, led by Senate majority leader Bill Frist (R) of Tennessee, "were very smart in that strategy," says Ms. Fisher, who calls it "a threat to civil rights, to access to the judicial system, and to human rights."
The possibility of an avian flu epidemic, as well as the use of biological weapons, have spurred interest in stepping up production of new vaccines. Shield-law proponents has argued for years that the world's giant drugmakers, so-called Big Pharma, would never take much interest in that arena until they were given strong protections against lawsuits.
You "want to harness" Big Pharma "to really kick this thing off," says Christopher-Paul Milne, assistant director of the Center for the Study of Drug Development at Tufts University in Medford, Mass. "They have the resources and the expertise and the manufacturing capacity to get [development of new vaccines] done in a short period of time."
Today, five or six big companies are making vaccines compared with more than 20 several decades ago, Dr. Milne says. "Some of that is because of the consolidation of the companies," he says, but some is the result of the high risk. To attract Big Pharma, "the potential rewards are going to have to be high," he says. In a national emergency, vaccines might have to be produced quickly, and perhaps without sufficient testing. In that kind of high-risk scenario, "you're talking about the need for liability protection," he says.
Excerpts from full article available at: http://search.csmonitor.com/search_content/1215/p13s02-uspo.html
For information, resources and practical strategies on autism please visit: www.AutismConcepts.com.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Text remarks of Dr. Kenneth Stoller to NM Bd of Pharmacy
PR Web (press release), WA
November 10, 2005
New Mexico Board of Pharmacy to Hear Petition to Limit Exposure to Aspartameand Thimerosal
Dr. Kenneth Stoller, Santa Fe Pediatrician and Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of New Mexico, School of Medicine, has released the text of his remarks to be made on November 14th 2005, at the New Mexico Board of Pharmacy's next meeting.Santa Fe, NM
(PRWEB) November 10, 2005 -- Dr. Kenneth Stoller, Santa Fe Pediatrician and Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of New Mexico, School of Medicine, has released the text of his remarks to be made on November 14th 2005, at the New Mexico Board of Pharmacy's next meeting.
He is requesting that the New Mexico Board of Pharmacy issue an immediate advisory so that all New Mexicans who desire to receive the current flu vaccine receive information about what is being injected in terms of the amount of neurotoxic mercury in the vaccine, which is a labeling omission, and thus a violation of the New Mexico Drug Act (NMSA 2-1-9). Stoller further requests that the New Mexico Board of Pharmacy prohibit the use of this flu vaccine containing thimerosal to all New Mexico pregnant woman and children under 50 lbs.
Speech to new mexico pharmacy board on november (Advance copy):
"There is an acute public health issue that very few understand even though several states have banned or limited the use of vaccines containing Thimerosal. In the months and years to come this iatrogenic poisoning of Americans and New Mexicans will be fully understood; what you decide to do here today will be noted in the not too distant future.
The mercury-based preservative, Thimerosal (49.6% ethyl mercury), has been used in killed bacterial vaccines since the 1930's without ever having undergone adequate testing for toxicity. In the past two decades, as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have added many more vaccines containing Thimerosal to the routine vaccination schedule for all children and states have mandated these vaccines, children have been exposed to much higher levels of mercury through vaccination. During this same time period, childhood developmental disabilities have dramatically increased to the point where today the CDC estimates 1 in 6 American children is developmentally delayed with a diagnosis of autism, learning disabilities, attention problems or other learning or behavioral problems. The CDC estimates that 1 in 166 American children has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (the incidence in boys is more like 1 in every 100). Clinical and scientific evidence is now emerging which is linking mercury-containing vaccines to the regressive type of autism in some children. There has been a 2000% increase in reported cases of autism in New Mexico in the last decade.
Mercury is an in controvertibly proven neuro-toxin that has been proven to cause brain damage in the developing fetus as well as to children and adults exposed to it. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed guidelines for limiting mercury exposures to humans from many different sources, including air and water pollution; contaminated foods, such as tuna; as well as in products sold over-the-counter, such as contact lens solution.
In 1999, the AAP and the Public Health Service (PHS) asked that Thimerosal be eliminated in childhood vaccines, and the EPA and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) directed the vaccine manufacturers to remove mercury from childhood vaccines. This did not occur immediately, and six years later, has still not yet been fully realized.
Since 1999, vaccine manufacturers have been reducing the amount of mercury preservatives in killed bacterial vaccines (live virus vaccines such as MMR and chicken pox do not contain Thimerosal) and some now only contain trace amounts, depending upon the vaccine manufacturer, type of vaccine and whether the vaccine is being packaged in multi-dose or single-dose vials. Single-dose vials of killed bacterial vaccines usually only contain trace amounts of mercury.
The thimerosal vaccines were never recalled and lots of the thimerosal vaccines didn't expire till September of this year. So, it has only been in the last two years that most children stopped receiving most of the thimerosal laden routine vaccinations.
In 1995, a 10 pound two month old infant who got the CDC and AAP recommended DPT and HIB vaccines could have been 110 times over the EPA limit and an 18 pound six month old given the recommended DPT, HIB, and Hep B vaccines could have been 76 times over the EPA limit, depending upon the manufacturers of the vaccines.
Ten years later, in 2005, a 10 pound two month old baby who receives the recommended DTaP, HIB, IPV, and pneumococcal vaccines may or may not be at all over the EPA limit for single mercury exposure, depending upon the manufacturers, while an 18 pound six month old who got these vaccines as well as a dose of flu vaccine, could be 31 times over the EPA limit.
A 125 pound teenager or adult, who gets a recommended flu and meningococcal vaccination, could be 4-8 times over the EPA limit for a single mercury exposure, depending upon the manufacturers. A teen or adult who got a mercury-containing flu vaccine would have to weigh 551 pounds to be under the EPA limit for a single mercury exposure.
On January 14, 2005, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR from the HHS/CDC printed a white paper entitled "Case Definitions for Chemical Poisoning." On page 12, the definition for organic mercury toxicity is defined as >10 mcg/L in whole blood. In other words, aside form the EPA, we now have the CDC stating what their definition of a chemical toxicity is for organic mercury.
All the flu vaccine destined for children three years old and older in New Mexico contain thimerosal, which means they will be receiving 25 mcg of organic mercury per dose.
A rough estimate of total blood is 16% of body weight. So, for a 30 lb.child (13.64 kilograms or liters, which is the average weight of a 3 year old), this would be 13.64 X 0.16 = 2.18 liters of blood.
All the ethylmercury moves thru the blood initially at 25mcg/2.18L or 11.48mcg/liter. This meets the definition of a chemical toxicity by the CDC. However, ethylmercury doesn't stay in the blood long and is assimilated into the body where it does the damage to the brain and potentially other organs as well, such as the heart.
Giving a three year old child the flu vaccine will raise their blood levelof organic mercury beyond what the CDC has defined as a chemical poisoning.
Furthermore, the MMWR toxicity level of 10mcg/liter is based on mercury inhalation of older factory workers and also on individuals with normalability to excrete mercury. This does not represent the subsets, such as autistic children, that are deficient in their ability to excrete mercury.
Therefore, the current flu vaccine will deliver a dose of organic mercury to 3 year old that meets the definition of a chemical poisoning by the MMWR, CDC and HHS. Furthermore, the recommended schedule requires that this dose be given twice (one month apart).
It is of interest to note that the EPA considers any material that has greater than 200 ppb of mercury to be hazardous waste. The flu vaccine, as well as tetanus booster, has thimerosal levels that exceed this value by 250 times or 50,000 ppb mercury.
The Manufacturer's inserts, the package labeling, do not address nor do they warn about the dangerous levels of organic mercury being given. This omission is in violation of the New Mexico Drug Act, section 26-1-9.
Given that most New Mexicans have yet to receive this year's flu vaccine, thanks to delivery delays, there is still time for the Board of Pharmacy to issue an advisory that informs the public of this labeling oversight if action is taken immediately. The violation of the Drug Act was not caught before now, but having so come to the fore, the Board of Pharmacy must take immediate action to defend the health and welfare of the citizens of our state, and uphold the integrity of the existing statues of the NM Drug Act itself.
Even though I have just presented the cold facts about thimerosal (facts that can be backed up with references) - we all wonder, "How can this be? How did it come to this? How was this allowed to happen?" We must leave the answers to these questions to others. Perhaps the State Attorney General's office?
Nevertheless, we have a responsibility to perform here and the Board of Pharmacy has the regulatory power to perform it. As the truth about Thimerosal and Aspartame becomes better know to our state's citizens, New Mexicans will expect no less of their Board of Pharmacy.
Proposed Additions to New Mexico Administrative Code that permanently bans the use of the neurotoxins thimerosal and aspartame have been presented to you to act upon. Giving neurotoxins to children, pregnant woman, and the rest of us under the guise of improving our health is a violation of human rights as well as numerous New Mexico Statutes. Certainly, there is absolutely no need for you to capitulate to industry's demands of acquiescence and capitulation to the FDA and its sloppy industry-manipulated substandards, both in the case of Aspartame and in the case of Thimerosal.
Please schedule the necessary evidentiary hearings before the Board of Pharmacy at your earliest convenience.
I am requesting that you issue an immediate advisory so that all NewMexicans who desire to receive the current flu vaccine receive informationabout what is being injected as there has been a labeling omission(violation). And lastly, I request that you prohibit the use of this fluvaccine that contains thimerosal to all pregnant woman and children under 50lbs.
Thank you."
For information, resources and practical strategies on autism please visit: www.AutismConcepts.com.
November 10, 2005
New Mexico Board of Pharmacy to Hear Petition to Limit Exposure to Aspartameand Thimerosal
Dr. Kenneth Stoller, Santa Fe Pediatrician and Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of New Mexico, School of Medicine, has released the text of his remarks to be made on November 14th 2005, at the New Mexico Board of Pharmacy's next meeting.Santa Fe, NM
(PRWEB) November 10, 2005 -- Dr. Kenneth Stoller, Santa Fe Pediatrician and Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of New Mexico, School of Medicine, has released the text of his remarks to be made on November 14th 2005, at the New Mexico Board of Pharmacy's next meeting.
He is requesting that the New Mexico Board of Pharmacy issue an immediate advisory so that all New Mexicans who desire to receive the current flu vaccine receive information about what is being injected in terms of the amount of neurotoxic mercury in the vaccine, which is a labeling omission, and thus a violation of the New Mexico Drug Act (NMSA 2-1-9). Stoller further requests that the New Mexico Board of Pharmacy prohibit the use of this flu vaccine containing thimerosal to all New Mexico pregnant woman and children under 50 lbs.
Speech to new mexico pharmacy board on november (Advance copy):
"There is an acute public health issue that very few understand even though several states have banned or limited the use of vaccines containing Thimerosal. In the months and years to come this iatrogenic poisoning of Americans and New Mexicans will be fully understood; what you decide to do here today will be noted in the not too distant future.
The mercury-based preservative, Thimerosal (49.6% ethyl mercury), has been used in killed bacterial vaccines since the 1930's without ever having undergone adequate testing for toxicity. In the past two decades, as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have added many more vaccines containing Thimerosal to the routine vaccination schedule for all children and states have mandated these vaccines, children have been exposed to much higher levels of mercury through vaccination. During this same time period, childhood developmental disabilities have dramatically increased to the point where today the CDC estimates 1 in 6 American children is developmentally delayed with a diagnosis of autism, learning disabilities, attention problems or other learning or behavioral problems. The CDC estimates that 1 in 166 American children has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (the incidence in boys is more like 1 in every 100). Clinical and scientific evidence is now emerging which is linking mercury-containing vaccines to the regressive type of autism in some children. There has been a 2000% increase in reported cases of autism in New Mexico in the last decade.
Mercury is an in controvertibly proven neuro-toxin that has been proven to cause brain damage in the developing fetus as well as to children and adults exposed to it. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed guidelines for limiting mercury exposures to humans from many different sources, including air and water pollution; contaminated foods, such as tuna; as well as in products sold over-the-counter, such as contact lens solution.
In 1999, the AAP and the Public Health Service (PHS) asked that Thimerosal be eliminated in childhood vaccines, and the EPA and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) directed the vaccine manufacturers to remove mercury from childhood vaccines. This did not occur immediately, and six years later, has still not yet been fully realized.
Since 1999, vaccine manufacturers have been reducing the amount of mercury preservatives in killed bacterial vaccines (live virus vaccines such as MMR and chicken pox do not contain Thimerosal) and some now only contain trace amounts, depending upon the vaccine manufacturer, type of vaccine and whether the vaccine is being packaged in multi-dose or single-dose vials. Single-dose vials of killed bacterial vaccines usually only contain trace amounts of mercury.
The thimerosal vaccines were never recalled and lots of the thimerosal vaccines didn't expire till September of this year. So, it has only been in the last two years that most children stopped receiving most of the thimerosal laden routine vaccinations.
In 1995, a 10 pound two month old infant who got the CDC and AAP recommended DPT and HIB vaccines could have been 110 times over the EPA limit and an 18 pound six month old given the recommended DPT, HIB, and Hep B vaccines could have been 76 times over the EPA limit, depending upon the manufacturers of the vaccines.
Ten years later, in 2005, a 10 pound two month old baby who receives the recommended DTaP, HIB, IPV, and pneumococcal vaccines may or may not be at all over the EPA limit for single mercury exposure, depending upon the manufacturers, while an 18 pound six month old who got these vaccines as well as a dose of flu vaccine, could be 31 times over the EPA limit.
A 125 pound teenager or adult, who gets a recommended flu and meningococcal vaccination, could be 4-8 times over the EPA limit for a single mercury exposure, depending upon the manufacturers. A teen or adult who got a mercury-containing flu vaccine would have to weigh 551 pounds to be under the EPA limit for a single mercury exposure.
On January 14, 2005, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR from the HHS/CDC printed a white paper entitled "Case Definitions for Chemical Poisoning." On page 12, the definition for organic mercury toxicity is defined as >10 mcg/L in whole blood. In other words, aside form the EPA, we now have the CDC stating what their definition of a chemical toxicity is for organic mercury.
All the flu vaccine destined for children three years old and older in New Mexico contain thimerosal, which means they will be receiving 25 mcg of organic mercury per dose.
A rough estimate of total blood is 16% of body weight. So, for a 30 lb.child (13.64 kilograms or liters, which is the average weight of a 3 year old), this would be 13.64 X 0.16 = 2.18 liters of blood.
All the ethylmercury moves thru the blood initially at 25mcg/2.18L or 11.48mcg/liter. This meets the definition of a chemical toxicity by the CDC. However, ethylmercury doesn't stay in the blood long and is assimilated into the body where it does the damage to the brain and potentially other organs as well, such as the heart.
Giving a three year old child the flu vaccine will raise their blood levelof organic mercury beyond what the CDC has defined as a chemical poisoning.
Furthermore, the MMWR toxicity level of 10mcg/liter is based on mercury inhalation of older factory workers and also on individuals with normalability to excrete mercury. This does not represent the subsets, such as autistic children, that are deficient in their ability to excrete mercury.
Therefore, the current flu vaccine will deliver a dose of organic mercury to 3 year old that meets the definition of a chemical poisoning by the MMWR, CDC and HHS. Furthermore, the recommended schedule requires that this dose be given twice (one month apart).
It is of interest to note that the EPA considers any material that has greater than 200 ppb of mercury to be hazardous waste. The flu vaccine, as well as tetanus booster, has thimerosal levels that exceed this value by 250 times or 50,000 ppb mercury.
The Manufacturer's inserts, the package labeling, do not address nor do they warn about the dangerous levels of organic mercury being given. This omission is in violation of the New Mexico Drug Act, section 26-1-9.
Given that most New Mexicans have yet to receive this year's flu vaccine, thanks to delivery delays, there is still time for the Board of Pharmacy to issue an advisory that informs the public of this labeling oversight if action is taken immediately. The violation of the Drug Act was not caught before now, but having so come to the fore, the Board of Pharmacy must take immediate action to defend the health and welfare of the citizens of our state, and uphold the integrity of the existing statues of the NM Drug Act itself.
Even though I have just presented the cold facts about thimerosal (facts that can be backed up with references) - we all wonder, "How can this be? How did it come to this? How was this allowed to happen?" We must leave the answers to these questions to others. Perhaps the State Attorney General's office?
Nevertheless, we have a responsibility to perform here and the Board of Pharmacy has the regulatory power to perform it. As the truth about Thimerosal and Aspartame becomes better know to our state's citizens, New Mexicans will expect no less of their Board of Pharmacy.
Proposed Additions to New Mexico Administrative Code that permanently bans the use of the neurotoxins thimerosal and aspartame have been presented to you to act upon. Giving neurotoxins to children, pregnant woman, and the rest of us under the guise of improving our health is a violation of human rights as well as numerous New Mexico Statutes. Certainly, there is absolutely no need for you to capitulate to industry's demands of acquiescence and capitulation to the FDA and its sloppy industry-manipulated substandards, both in the case of Aspartame and in the case of Thimerosal.
Please schedule the necessary evidentiary hearings before the Board of Pharmacy at your earliest convenience.
I am requesting that you issue an immediate advisory so that all NewMexicans who desire to receive the current flu vaccine receive informationabout what is being injected as there has been a labeling omission(violation). And lastly, I request that you prohibit the use of this fluvaccine that contains thimerosal to all pregnant woman and children under 50lbs.
Thank you."
For information, resources and practical strategies on autism please visit: www.AutismConcepts.com.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Surprising autism finding
Medical Research News
Published: Tuesday, 13-Dec-2005
New brain imaging research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill indicates that when people with autism look at a face, activity in the brain area that responds is similar to that of people without autism.
The finding is surprising, as it is widely known that autistic individuals tend to avoid looking directly at faces. The research also counters previous published reports that the face-processing area at the back of the brain is under-responsive in people with autism, and it suggests that specific behavioral interventions may help people with autism improve their ability to interact socially.
They propose that the use of behavioral interventions aimed, perhaps, at de-sensitizing autistic individuals to the anxiety triggered by looking at faces may help to improve the quality of social interactions, at least from the perspective of caregivers and others involved with them. "The idea is that maybe behavioral methods can help a child with autism approach facial stimuli without anxiety. This is strictly conjecture, but it is a tantalizing possibility," Dichter said.
Excerpts from full article available at: http://www.med.unc.edu/
For information, resources and practical strategies on autism please visit: www.AutismConcepts.com
Published: Tuesday, 13-Dec-2005
New brain imaging research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill indicates that when people with autism look at a face, activity in the brain area that responds is similar to that of people without autism.
The finding is surprising, as it is widely known that autistic individuals tend to avoid looking directly at faces. The research also counters previous published reports that the face-processing area at the back of the brain is under-responsive in people with autism, and it suggests that specific behavioral interventions may help people with autism improve their ability to interact socially.
They propose that the use of behavioral interventions aimed, perhaps, at de-sensitizing autistic individuals to the anxiety triggered by looking at faces may help to improve the quality of social interactions, at least from the perspective of caregivers and others involved with them. "The idea is that maybe behavioral methods can help a child with autism approach facial stimuli without anxiety. This is strictly conjecture, but it is a tantalizing possibility," Dichter said.
Excerpts from full article available at: http://www.med.unc.edu/
For information, resources and practical strategies on autism please visit: www.AutismConcepts.com
Monday, December 12, 2005
New Clinical Trial for Gastrointestinal Problems in Autistic Children in Baton Rouge
Gulf Coast Research, LLC Opens Clinical Trial Site in Baton Rouge to Research an Investigational Medicine for Gastrointestinal Problems in Autistic Children
BATON ROUGE, La., December 08, 2005 /PRNewswire/ -- Gulf Coast Research, LLC has begun accepting candidates for a research study to evaluate an investigational medication for persistent gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction in autistic children. Gulf Coast Research, LLC is one of only 12 sites in the nation to be selected to participate in this medical study.
The study aims to determine the impact on GI function through treatment as well as assess the effect of GI symptoms on physical or emotional behavior.
To be considered for participation in the study, a child must be between 2 and 17 years of age; be diagnosed with autism, and experience some of the following symptoms:
* Chronic diarrhea or constipation
* Bloating
* Gas
* Abdominal pain
Research volunteers will receive study medication and medical care at no cost to the family.
For more information contact Michelle Hurst (225) 757-1084, email: michelle@gulfcoastra.com.
Full article available at: http://www.medadnews.com/News/Index.cfm?articleid=297386#
For information, resources and practical strategies please visit: www.AutismConcepts.com.
BATON ROUGE, La., December 08, 2005 /PRNewswire/ -- Gulf Coast Research, LLC has begun accepting candidates for a research study to evaluate an investigational medication for persistent gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction in autistic children. Gulf Coast Research, LLC is one of only 12 sites in the nation to be selected to participate in this medical study.
The study aims to determine the impact on GI function through treatment as well as assess the effect of GI symptoms on physical or emotional behavior.
To be considered for participation in the study, a child must be between 2 and 17 years of age; be diagnosed with autism, and experience some of the following symptoms:
* Chronic diarrhea or constipation
* Bloating
* Gas
* Abdominal pain
Research volunteers will receive study medication and medical care at no cost to the family.
For more information contact Michelle Hurst (225) 757-1084, email: michelle@gulfcoastra.com.
Full article available at: http://www.medadnews.com/News/Index.cfm?articleid=297386#
For information, resources and practical strategies please visit: www.AutismConcepts.com.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
The Age of Autism: 'A pretty big secret'
By Dan Olmsted
UPI Senior Editor
CHICAGO, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- It's a far piece from the horse-and-buggies of Lancaster County, Pa., to the cars and freeways of Cook County, Ill.
But thousands of children cared for by Homefirst Health Services in metropolitan Chicago have at least two things in common with thousands of Amish children in rural Lancaster: They have never been vaccinated. And they don't have autism.
"We have a fairly large practice. We have about 30,000 or 35,000 children that we've taken care of over the years, and I don't think we have a single case of autism in children delivered by us who never received vaccines," said Dr. Mayer Eisenstein, Homefirst's medical director who founded the practice in 1973. Homefirst doctors have delivered more than 15,000 babies at home, and thousands of them have never been vaccinated.
The few autistic children Homefirst sees were vaccinated before their families became patients, Eisenstein said. "I can think of two or three autistic children who we've delivered their mother's next baby, and we aren't really totally taking care of that child -- they have special care needs. But they bring the younger children to us. I don't have a single case that I can think of that wasn't vaccinated."
The autism rate in Illinois public schools is 38 per 10,000, according to state Education Department data; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts the national rate of autism spectrum disorders at 1 in 166 -- 60 per 10,000.
"We do have enough of a sample," Eisenstein said. "The numbers are too large to not see it. We would absolutely know. We're all family doctors. If I have a child with autism come in, there's no communication. It's frightening. You can't touch them. It's not something that anyone would miss."
No one knows what causes autism, but federal health authorities say it isn't childhood immunizations. Some parents and a small minority of doctors and scientists, however, assert vaccines are responsible.
This column has been looking for autism in never-vaccinated U.S. children in an effort to shed light on the issue. We went to Chicago to meet with Eisenstein at the suggestion of a reader, and we also visited Homefirst's office in northwest suburban Rolling Meadows. Homefirst has four other offices in the Chicago area and a total of six doctors.
Eisenstein stresses his observations are not scientific. "The trouble is this is just anecdotal in a sense, because what if every autistic child goes somewhere else and (their family) never calls us or they moved out of state?"
In practice, that's unlikely to account for the pronounced absence of autism, says Eisenstein, who also has a bachelor's degree in statistics, a master's degree in public health and a law degree.
Homefirst follows state immunization mandates, but Illinois allows religious exemptions if parents object based either on tenets of their faith or specific personal religious views. Homefirst does not exclude or discourage such families. Eisenstein, in fact, is author of the book "Don't Vaccinate Before You Educate!" and is critical of the CDC's vaccination policy in the 1990s, when several new immunizations were added to the schedule, including Hepatitis B as early as the day of birth. Several of the vaccines -- HepB included -- contained a mercury-based preservative that has since been phased out of most childhood vaccines in the United States.
Medical practices with Homefirst's approach to immunizations are rare. "Because of that, we tend to attract families that have questions about that issue," said Dr. Paul Schattauer, who has been with Homefirst for 20 years and treats "at least" 100 children a week.
Schattauer seconded Eisenstein's observations. "All I know is in my practice I don't see autism. There is no striking 1-in-166," he said.
Earlier this year we reported the same phenomenon in the mostly unvaccinated Amish. CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding told us the Amish "have genetic connectivity that would make them different from populations that are in other sectors of the United States." Gerberding said, however, studies "could and should be done" in more representative unvaccinated groups -- if they could be found and their autism rate documented.
Chicago is America's prototypical "City of Big Shoulders," to quote Carl Sandburg, and Homefirst's mostly middle-class families seem fairly representative. A substantial number are conservative Christians who home-school their children. They are mostly white, but the Homefirst practice also includes black and Hispanic families and non-home-schooling Jews, Catholics and Muslims.
They tend to be better educated, follow healthier diets and breast-feed their children much longer than the norm -- half of Homefirst's mothers are still breast-feeding at two years. Also, because Homefirst relies less on prescription drugs including antibiotics as a first line of treatment, these children have less exposure to other medicines, not just vaccines.
Schattauer, interviewed at the Rolling Meadows office, said his caseload is too limited to draw conclusions about a possible link between vaccines and autism. "With these numbers you'd have a hard time proving or disproving anything," he said. "You can only get a feeling about it.
"In no way would I be an advocate to stand up and say we need to look at vaccines, because I don't have the science to say that," Schattauer said. "But I don't think the science is there to say that it's not."
Schattauer said Homefirst's patients also have significantly less childhood asthma and juvenile diabetes compared to national rates. An office manager who has been with Homefirst for 17 years said she is aware of only one case of severe asthma in an unvaccinated child.
"Sometimes you feel frustrated because you feel like you've got a pretty big secret," Schattauer said. He argues for more research on all those disorders, independent of political or business pressures.
The asthma rate among Homefirst patients is so low it was noticed by the Blue Cross group with which Homefirst is affiliated, according to Eisenstein.
"In the alternative-medicine network which Homefirst is part of, there are virtually no cases of childhood asthma, in contrast to the overall Blue Cross rate of childhood asthma which is approximately 10 percent," he said. "At first I thought it was because they (Homefirst's children) were breast-fed, but even among the breast-fed we've had asthma. We have virtually no asthma if you're breast-fed and not vaccinated."
Because the diagnosis of asthma is based on emergency-room visits and hospital admissions, Eisenstein said, Homefirst's low rate is hard to dispute. "It's quantifiable -- the definition is not reliant on the doctor's perception of asthma."
Several studies have found a risk of asthma from vaccination; others have not. Studies that include never-vaccinated children generally find little or no asthma in that group.
Earlier this year Florida pediatrician Dr. Jeff Bradstreet said there is virtually no autism in home-schooling families who decline to vaccinate for religious reasons -- lending credence to Eisenstein's observations.
"It's largely non-existent," said Bradstreet, who treats children with autism from around the country. "It's an extremely rare event."
Bradstreet has a son whose autism he attributes to a vaccine reaction at 15 months. His daughter has been home-schooled, he describes himself as a "Christian family physician," and he knows many of the leaders in the home-school movement.
"There was this whole subculture of folks who went into home-schooling so they would never have to vaccinate their kids," he said. "There's this whole cadre who were never vaccinated for religious reasons."
In that subset, he said, "unless they were massively exposed to mercury through lots of amalgams (mercury dental fillings in the mother) and/or big-time fish eating, I've not had a single case."
Federal health authorities and mainstream medical groups emphatically dismiss any link between autism and vaccines, including the mercury-based preservative thimerosal. Last year a panel of the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academies, said there is no evidence of such a link, and funding should henceforth go to "promising" research.
Thimerosal, which is 49.6 percent ethyl mercury by weight, was phased out of most U.S. childhood immunizations beginning in 1999, but the CDC recommends flu shots for pregnant women and last year began recommending them for children 6 to 23 months old. Most of those shots contain thimerosal.
Thimerosal-preserved vaccines are currently being injected into millions of children in developing countries around the world. "My mandate ... is to make sure at the end of the day that 100,000,000 are immunized ... this year, next year and for many years to come ... and that will have to be with thimerosal-containing vaccines," said John Clements of the World Health Organization at a June 2000 meeting called by the CDC.
That meeting was held to review data that thimerosal might be linked with autism and other neurological problems. But in 2004 the Institute of Medicine panel said evidence against a link is so strong that health authorities, "whether in the United States or other countries, should not include autism as a potential risk" when formulating immunization policies.
But where is the simple, straightforward study of autism in never-vaccinated U.S. children? Based on our admittedly anecdotal and limited reporting among the Amish, the home-schooled and now Chicago's Homefirst, that may prove to be a significant omission.
This ongoing series on the roots and rise of autism welcomes comment. E-mail: dolmsted@upi.com
© Copyright 2005 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved
For information, resources and practical strategies on autism please visit: www.AutismConcepts.com.
UPI Senior Editor
CHICAGO, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- It's a far piece from the horse-and-buggies of Lancaster County, Pa., to the cars and freeways of Cook County, Ill.
But thousands of children cared for by Homefirst Health Services in metropolitan Chicago have at least two things in common with thousands of Amish children in rural Lancaster: They have never been vaccinated. And they don't have autism.
"We have a fairly large practice. We have about 30,000 or 35,000 children that we've taken care of over the years, and I don't think we have a single case of autism in children delivered by us who never received vaccines," said Dr. Mayer Eisenstein, Homefirst's medical director who founded the practice in 1973. Homefirst doctors have delivered more than 15,000 babies at home, and thousands of them have never been vaccinated.
The few autistic children Homefirst sees were vaccinated before their families became patients, Eisenstein said. "I can think of two or three autistic children who we've delivered their mother's next baby, and we aren't really totally taking care of that child -- they have special care needs. But they bring the younger children to us. I don't have a single case that I can think of that wasn't vaccinated."
The autism rate in Illinois public schools is 38 per 10,000, according to state Education Department data; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts the national rate of autism spectrum disorders at 1 in 166 -- 60 per 10,000.
"We do have enough of a sample," Eisenstein said. "The numbers are too large to not see it. We would absolutely know. We're all family doctors. If I have a child with autism come in, there's no communication. It's frightening. You can't touch them. It's not something that anyone would miss."
No one knows what causes autism, but federal health authorities say it isn't childhood immunizations. Some parents and a small minority of doctors and scientists, however, assert vaccines are responsible.
This column has been looking for autism in never-vaccinated U.S. children in an effort to shed light on the issue. We went to Chicago to meet with Eisenstein at the suggestion of a reader, and we also visited Homefirst's office in northwest suburban Rolling Meadows. Homefirst has four other offices in the Chicago area and a total of six doctors.
Eisenstein stresses his observations are not scientific. "The trouble is this is just anecdotal in a sense, because what if every autistic child goes somewhere else and (their family) never calls us or they moved out of state?"
In practice, that's unlikely to account for the pronounced absence of autism, says Eisenstein, who also has a bachelor's degree in statistics, a master's degree in public health and a law degree.
Homefirst follows state immunization mandates, but Illinois allows religious exemptions if parents object based either on tenets of their faith or specific personal religious views. Homefirst does not exclude or discourage such families. Eisenstein, in fact, is author of the book "Don't Vaccinate Before You Educate!" and is critical of the CDC's vaccination policy in the 1990s, when several new immunizations were added to the schedule, including Hepatitis B as early as the day of birth. Several of the vaccines -- HepB included -- contained a mercury-based preservative that has since been phased out of most childhood vaccines in the United States.
Medical practices with Homefirst's approach to immunizations are rare. "Because of that, we tend to attract families that have questions about that issue," said Dr. Paul Schattauer, who has been with Homefirst for 20 years and treats "at least" 100 children a week.
Schattauer seconded Eisenstein's observations. "All I know is in my practice I don't see autism. There is no striking 1-in-166," he said.
Earlier this year we reported the same phenomenon in the mostly unvaccinated Amish. CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding told us the Amish "have genetic connectivity that would make them different from populations that are in other sectors of the United States." Gerberding said, however, studies "could and should be done" in more representative unvaccinated groups -- if they could be found and their autism rate documented.
Chicago is America's prototypical "City of Big Shoulders," to quote Carl Sandburg, and Homefirst's mostly middle-class families seem fairly representative. A substantial number are conservative Christians who home-school their children. They are mostly white, but the Homefirst practice also includes black and Hispanic families and non-home-schooling Jews, Catholics and Muslims.
They tend to be better educated, follow healthier diets and breast-feed their children much longer than the norm -- half of Homefirst's mothers are still breast-feeding at two years. Also, because Homefirst relies less on prescription drugs including antibiotics as a first line of treatment, these children have less exposure to other medicines, not just vaccines.
Schattauer, interviewed at the Rolling Meadows office, said his caseload is too limited to draw conclusions about a possible link between vaccines and autism. "With these numbers you'd have a hard time proving or disproving anything," he said. "You can only get a feeling about it.
"In no way would I be an advocate to stand up and say we need to look at vaccines, because I don't have the science to say that," Schattauer said. "But I don't think the science is there to say that it's not."
Schattauer said Homefirst's patients also have significantly less childhood asthma and juvenile diabetes compared to national rates. An office manager who has been with Homefirst for 17 years said she is aware of only one case of severe asthma in an unvaccinated child.
"Sometimes you feel frustrated because you feel like you've got a pretty big secret," Schattauer said. He argues for more research on all those disorders, independent of political or business pressures.
The asthma rate among Homefirst patients is so low it was noticed by the Blue Cross group with which Homefirst is affiliated, according to Eisenstein.
"In the alternative-medicine network which Homefirst is part of, there are virtually no cases of childhood asthma, in contrast to the overall Blue Cross rate of childhood asthma which is approximately 10 percent," he said. "At first I thought it was because they (Homefirst's children) were breast-fed, but even among the breast-fed we've had asthma. We have virtually no asthma if you're breast-fed and not vaccinated."
Because the diagnosis of asthma is based on emergency-room visits and hospital admissions, Eisenstein said, Homefirst's low rate is hard to dispute. "It's quantifiable -- the definition is not reliant on the doctor's perception of asthma."
Several studies have found a risk of asthma from vaccination; others have not. Studies that include never-vaccinated children generally find little or no asthma in that group.
Earlier this year Florida pediatrician Dr. Jeff Bradstreet said there is virtually no autism in home-schooling families who decline to vaccinate for religious reasons -- lending credence to Eisenstein's observations.
"It's largely non-existent," said Bradstreet, who treats children with autism from around the country. "It's an extremely rare event."
Bradstreet has a son whose autism he attributes to a vaccine reaction at 15 months. His daughter has been home-schooled, he describes himself as a "Christian family physician," and he knows many of the leaders in the home-school movement.
"There was this whole subculture of folks who went into home-schooling so they would never have to vaccinate their kids," he said. "There's this whole cadre who were never vaccinated for religious reasons."
In that subset, he said, "unless they were massively exposed to mercury through lots of amalgams (mercury dental fillings in the mother) and/or big-time fish eating, I've not had a single case."
Federal health authorities and mainstream medical groups emphatically dismiss any link between autism and vaccines, including the mercury-based preservative thimerosal. Last year a panel of the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academies, said there is no evidence of such a link, and funding should henceforth go to "promising" research.
Thimerosal, which is 49.6 percent ethyl mercury by weight, was phased out of most U.S. childhood immunizations beginning in 1999, but the CDC recommends flu shots for pregnant women and last year began recommending them for children 6 to 23 months old. Most of those shots contain thimerosal.
Thimerosal-preserved vaccines are currently being injected into millions of children in developing countries around the world. "My mandate ... is to make sure at the end of the day that 100,000,000 are immunized ... this year, next year and for many years to come ... and that will have to be with thimerosal-containing vaccines," said John Clements of the World Health Organization at a June 2000 meeting called by the CDC.
That meeting was held to review data that thimerosal might be linked with autism and other neurological problems. But in 2004 the Institute of Medicine panel said evidence against a link is so strong that health authorities, "whether in the United States or other countries, should not include autism as a potential risk" when formulating immunization policies.
But where is the simple, straightforward study of autism in never-vaccinated U.S. children? Based on our admittedly anecdotal and limited reporting among the Amish, the home-schooled and now Chicago's Homefirst, that may prove to be a significant omission.
This ongoing series on the roots and rise of autism welcomes comment. E-mail: dolmsted@upi.com
© Copyright 2005 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved
For information, resources and practical strategies on autism please visit: www.AutismConcepts.com.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Autism Speaks Participate in Final Two Episodes of NBC-TV show The Apprentice
Autism Speaks, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation Both Winners in Apprentice Finale Contestants to Raise Awareness and Funds to Support Charities
(New York, New York - December 6, 2005) Autism Speaks and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation today announced that they will participate in the final two episodes of the hit NBC-TV show The Apprentice. In the final task, to be assigned by Donald Trump on Thursday's program and concluding with the season finale December 15, one set of contestants will be assigned to produce an event to benefit Autism Speaks and the other an event to benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation.
Autism Speaks is dedicated to increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorder and its effect on individuals and families, and is committed to raising money to fund scientists who are searching for the causes, treatments, prevention and cure. The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation is the worldwide leader in the fight against pediatric AIDS and other serious and life-threatening illnesses affecting children. Mark Burnett Productions selects the charities that participate in The Apprentice, and Mr. Trump makes all decisions about contestants.
"Both Donald Trump and I strongly believe that investing in charitable causes is just good business," said Mark Burnett, executive producer of The Apprentice, and board member of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
"Building awareness of this devastating and prevalent disorder is among our top priorities," said Alison Singer, Senior Vice President of Autism Speaks. "We hope the large audience that tunes in to The Apprentice will learn a good deal about autism and the terrible toll it takes on families".
"The Foundation is very appreciative of the support we receive from both Mr. Trump and Mr. Burnett, as they share our concern about doing all we can to help children with HIV/AIDS all over the world," said Pam Barnes, COO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
"Philanthropy has been given an important role on The Apprentice, and for that we are all winners."
The Apprentice airs on NBC-TV on Thursdays from 9 PM ET/PT.
About Autism Speaks
Autism Speaks is committed to aggressively funding global biomedical research into the causes, prevention, treatments and cure for autism. It is devoted to raising public awareness about autism and its effects on individuals, families and society, and to bringing hope to all who deal with the hardships of the disorder. To learn more about Autism Speaks, please visit its web site at www.autismspeaks.org
Today, one in 166 individuals is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. It occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups and is four times more likely to strike boys than girls. Autism impairs a person's ability to communicate and relate to others. It is also associated with rigid routines and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects or following very specific routines.
About the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation is the worldwide leader in the fight against pediatric AIDS and other serious and life-threatening illnesses affecting children. The Foundation's innovative research programs, collaborative training initiatives, advocacy efforts, and rapidly expanding international programs are bringing dramatic changes to the lives of children worldwide. To learn more, please visit the Foundation's Web site at www.pedaids.org.
AIDS is the result of damage to the immune system after infection with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). AIDS involves the diminished function of the immune system as critical immune cells are infected and destroyed. The immune system is no longer able to guard against illness, making the person vulnerable to other infections and cancers. Each day 1,900 children around the world become newly infected with HIV.
About Mark Burnett Productions
Mark Burnett Productions (MBP) is one of the world's leading television production companies. MBP revolutionized television with hits such as Eco-Challenge, Survivor, The Apprentice, The Contender, Rock Star: INXS, MARTHA and The Apprentice: Martha Stewart. MBP also successfully reintroduced product placement as an integral part of each of its shows and has garnered a total of 33 Emmy nominations since 2001. Mark Burnett was listed as the #1 Most Valuable Player by TV Guide and also in Time's Top 100 most influential people in the world today.
Press Contacts:
Autism Speaks: Adam Pockriss, (212) 843-8286, adam.pockriss@rubenstein.com
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
Darin Dusan, (310) 314-1459, ddusan@pedaids.org
For information, resources and practical strategies on autism please visit: www.AutismConcepts.com.
(New York, New York - December 6, 2005) Autism Speaks and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation today announced that they will participate in the final two episodes of the hit NBC-TV show The Apprentice. In the final task, to be assigned by Donald Trump on Thursday's program and concluding with the season finale December 15, one set of contestants will be assigned to produce an event to benefit Autism Speaks and the other an event to benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation.
Autism Speaks is dedicated to increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorder and its effect on individuals and families, and is committed to raising money to fund scientists who are searching for the causes, treatments, prevention and cure. The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation is the worldwide leader in the fight against pediatric AIDS and other serious and life-threatening illnesses affecting children. Mark Burnett Productions selects the charities that participate in The Apprentice, and Mr. Trump makes all decisions about contestants.
"Both Donald Trump and I strongly believe that investing in charitable causes is just good business," said Mark Burnett, executive producer of The Apprentice, and board member of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
"Building awareness of this devastating and prevalent disorder is among our top priorities," said Alison Singer, Senior Vice President of Autism Speaks. "We hope the large audience that tunes in to The Apprentice will learn a good deal about autism and the terrible toll it takes on families".
"The Foundation is very appreciative of the support we receive from both Mr. Trump and Mr. Burnett, as they share our concern about doing all we can to help children with HIV/AIDS all over the world," said Pam Barnes, COO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
"Philanthropy has been given an important role on The Apprentice, and for that we are all winners."
The Apprentice airs on NBC-TV on Thursdays from 9 PM ET/PT.
About Autism Speaks
Autism Speaks is committed to aggressively funding global biomedical research into the causes, prevention, treatments and cure for autism. It is devoted to raising public awareness about autism and its effects on individuals, families and society, and to bringing hope to all who deal with the hardships of the disorder. To learn more about Autism Speaks, please visit its web site at www.autismspeaks.org
Today, one in 166 individuals is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. It occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups and is four times more likely to strike boys than girls. Autism impairs a person's ability to communicate and relate to others. It is also associated with rigid routines and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects or following very specific routines.
About the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation is the worldwide leader in the fight against pediatric AIDS and other serious and life-threatening illnesses affecting children. The Foundation's innovative research programs, collaborative training initiatives, advocacy efforts, and rapidly expanding international programs are bringing dramatic changes to the lives of children worldwide. To learn more, please visit the Foundation's Web site at www.pedaids.org.
AIDS is the result of damage to the immune system after infection with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). AIDS involves the diminished function of the immune system as critical immune cells are infected and destroyed. The immune system is no longer able to guard against illness, making the person vulnerable to other infections and cancers. Each day 1,900 children around the world become newly infected with HIV.
About Mark Burnett Productions
Mark Burnett Productions (MBP) is one of the world's leading television production companies. MBP revolutionized television with hits such as Eco-Challenge, Survivor, The Apprentice, The Contender, Rock Star: INXS, MARTHA and The Apprentice: Martha Stewart. MBP also successfully reintroduced product placement as an integral part of each of its shows and has garnered a total of 33 Emmy nominations since 2001. Mark Burnett was listed as the #1 Most Valuable Player by TV Guide and also in Time's Top 100 most influential people in the world today.
Press Contacts:
Autism Speaks: Adam Pockriss, (212) 843-8286, adam.pockriss@rubenstein.com
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
Darin Dusan, (310) 314-1459, ddusan@pedaids.org
For information, resources and practical strategies on autism please visit: www.AutismConcepts.com.
Study: The prevalence of teachers who bully students in schools with differing levels of behavioral problems
1: Am J Psychiatry. 2005 Dec;162(12):2387-9
The prevalence of teachers who bully students in schools with differing levels of behavioral problems.
Twemlow SW, Fonagy P.
the Menninger Clinic, P.O. Box 809045, 2801 Gessner Dr., Houston, TX 77280-9045.
stwemlow@aol.com.
OBJECTIVE: This study looked for a relationship between the prevalence of teachers who bully students and school behavioral problems reflected in suspensions from school. METHOD: A convenience sample of 214 teachers answered an anonymous questionnaire about their perceptions of teachers who bully students and their own practices. Teachers were grouped into whether they taught at schools with low, medium, or high rates of suspensions. Analyses of variance were used to analyze continuous variables, and chi-square statistics were used to study categorical variables. RESULTS: Teachers from schools with high rates of suspensions reported that they themselves bullied more students, had experienced more bullying when they were students, had worked with more bullying teachers over the past 3 years, and had seen more bullying teachers over the past year. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that teachers who bully students may have some role in the etiology of behavioral problems in schoolchildren.
PMID: 16330608 [PubMed - in process]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16330608&itool=iconabstr&query_hl=2
For information, resources and practical strategies please visit:
www.AutismConcepts.com.
The prevalence of teachers who bully students in schools with differing levels of behavioral problems.
Twemlow SW, Fonagy P.
the Menninger Clinic, P.O. Box 809045, 2801 Gessner Dr., Houston, TX 77280-9045.
stwemlow@aol.com.
OBJECTIVE: This study looked for a relationship between the prevalence of teachers who bully students and school behavioral problems reflected in suspensions from school. METHOD: A convenience sample of 214 teachers answered an anonymous questionnaire about their perceptions of teachers who bully students and their own practices. Teachers were grouped into whether they taught at schools with low, medium, or high rates of suspensions. Analyses of variance were used to analyze continuous variables, and chi-square statistics were used to study categorical variables. RESULTS: Teachers from schools with high rates of suspensions reported that they themselves bullied more students, had experienced more bullying when they were students, had worked with more bullying teachers over the past 3 years, and had seen more bullying teachers over the past year. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that teachers who bully students may have some role in the etiology of behavioral problems in schoolchildren.
PMID: 16330608 [PubMed - in process]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16330608&itool=iconabstr&query_hl=2
For information, resources and practical strategies please visit:
www.AutismConcepts.com.
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