Guest guest Posted August 5, 2008 Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 [hasibaltimore.com] Dear Reader, There are all kinds of ways to stumble into a hornet's nest. You can do it the way talk-radio host Michael Savage did it recently when he made this comment: " I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. " I would find that offensive if I thought he believed a word of it. But I'm sure Michael was just being Michael: boosting ratings by making outrageous, narrow-minded, inflammatory comments. Another way to stumble into a hornet's nest is to make a connection between autism and childhood vaccines. That's how Senator John McCain did it last February when he noted that there's " strong evidence " that autism is linked to a vaccine preservative. He didn't mention the mercury- based preservative thimerosal by name, but he didn't have to. In the days that followed, from blogs to mainstream media reports, Senator McCain's comments were widely dismissed and mocked. And that's how it goes these days for anyone who dares suggest vaccines might play any role in prompting autism. You're labeled a quack, a crackpot, a lunatic. And that's why a credible alternative therapy for autism might never receive the research it deserves. Heavy metal hysteria A proposed government study that would test chelation as an autism treatment was recently postponed. Apparently there's a safety concern. But there's another concern that doctors and researchers would rather not talk about: The safety of childhood vaccines would receive unwanted scrutiny if chelation were proven effective in curbing autism. Chelation was first developed in the 1940s by the U.S. Navy to treat lead poisoning. But the medical mainstream generally regards chelation as a borderline quack treatment for two reasons: Chelation not only binds with heavy metals, it also binds with mineral deposits so it's sometimes used by alternative practitioners to treat arterial disease by removing plaque from artery walls. Ah, but if you have a treatment that removes arterial plaque, then you're providing direct competition for statin drugs – the best selling prescription drugs of all time. So over the past couple of decades, the mainstream has generally portrayed chelation as a bizarre fringe treatment. Individual case studies have shown that chelation has been successful in treating autism. Of course, the current widespread mindset that mercury toxicity does not cause autism is deeply threatened by the success of chelation therapy. We certainly can't allow research to contradict our stubborn beliefs! FDA-approved voodoo In a recent Associated Press article, several doctors sounded the alarm about chelation's dangers. Commenting on the proposed study, one Johns Hopkins doctor said, " I don't really know why we have to do this in helpless children. " And a former director of the National Vaccine Program Office told the AP that giving chelation therapy to autistic children is unethical. In fact, the article's opening paragraph notes that some scientists look on chelation at an " unethical experiment in voodoo medicine. " But the article fails to note that in 1991 the FDA approved chelation as a treatment for lead poisoning in adults and children. So if it's been an acceptable treatment for children for more than 15 years, why in the world would it now be unethical to test it in " helpless " children? For a possible answer, let's connect the dots. It's easy! Dot One: Mercury-based preservative thimerosal has been removed from most vaccines Dot Two: But if chelation is found to successfully treat autism in kids who received multiple shots during the time thimerosal was widely used, mainstream insistence that the preservative didn't play a role in prompting autism will be threatened Dot Three: Lawsuits against vaccine makers might be significantly strengthened by research that shows chelation to be effective against autism Mainstream practitioners are probably most concerned about a small percentage of parents who are beginning to say no to the incredible barrage of childhood vaccinations. And that's a trend the government wants no part of. Even if it means stopping the advance of research that could help thousands of autistic kids lead more normal lives. **************************************************** Sources: " Fringe Autism Treatment Could Get Federal Study " Carla K. Johnson, Associated Press, 7/9/08, ap.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 5, 2008 Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 Hi Robert, Thank you for this article. I do think its appalling that the writer gives Michael Savage a pass for making that unconscionable statement. Sorry, I could just not let this pass by. grrrrrrr...... Hugs, oleander soup , robert-blau wrote: > > [hasibaltimore.com] > > Dear Reader, > > There are all kinds of ways to stumble into a hornet's nest. > > You can do it the way talk-radio host Michael Savage did it recently > when he made this comment: " I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent > of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. " > > I would find that offensive if I thought he believed a word of it. But > I'm sure Michael was just being Michael: boosting ratings by making > outrageous, narrow-minded, inflammatory comments. > > Another way to stumble into a hornet's nest is to make a connection > between autism and childhood vaccines. > > That's how Senator John McCain did it last February when he noted that > there's " strong evidence " that autism is linked to a vaccine > preservative. He didn't mention the mercury- based preservative > thimerosal by name, but he didn't have to. In the days that followed, > from blogs to mainstream media reports, Senator McCain's comments were > widely dismissed and mocked. > > And that's how it goes these days for anyone who dares suggest vaccines > might play any role in prompting autism. You're labeled a quack, a > crackpot, a lunatic. > And that's why a credible alternative therapy for autism might never > receive the research it deserves. > > Heavy metal hysteria > > A proposed government study that would test chelation as an autism > treatment was recently postponed. Apparently there's a safety concern. > But there's another concern that doctors and researchers would rather > not talk about: The safety of childhood vaccines would receive unwanted > scrutiny if chelation were proven effective in curbing autism. > > Chelation was first developed in the 1940s by the U.S. Navy to treat > lead poisoning. But the medical mainstream generally regards chelation > as a borderline quack treatment for two reasons: > > Chelation not only binds with heavy metals, it also binds with mineral > deposits so it's sometimes used by alternative practitioners to treat > arterial disease by removing plaque from artery walls. Ah, but if you > have a treatment that removes arterial plaque, then you're providing > direct competition for statin drugs – the best selling prescription > drugs of all time. > > So over the past couple of decades, the mainstream has generally > portrayed chelation as a bizarre fringe treatment. > Individual case studies have shown that chelation has been successful in > treating autism. Of course, the current widespread mindset that mercury > toxicity does not cause autism is deeply threatened by the success of > chelation therapy. > > We certainly can't allow research to contradict our stubborn beliefs! > > FDA-approved voodoo > > In a recent Associated Press article, several doctors sounded the alarm > about chelation's dangers. Commenting on the proposed study, one Johns > Hopkins doctor said, " I don't really know why we have to do this in > helpless children. " > And a former director of the National Vaccine Program Office told the AP > that giving chelation therapy to autistic children is unethical. In > fact, the article's opening paragraph notes that some scientists look on > chelation at an " unethical experiment in voodoo medicine. " > > But the article fails to note that in 1991 the FDA approved chelation as > a treatment for lead poisoning in adults and children. So if it's been > an acceptable treatment for children for more than 15 years, why in the > world would it now be unethical to test it in " helpless " children? > For a possible answer, let's connect the dots. It's easy! > > Dot One: Mercury-based preservative thimerosal has been removed from > most vaccines > > Dot Two: But if chelation is found to successfully treat autism in kids > who received multiple shots during the time thimerosal was widely used, > mainstream insistence that the preservative didn't play a role in > prompting autism will be threatened > > Dot Three: Lawsuits against vaccine makers might be significantly > strengthened by research that shows chelation to be effective against > autism > > Mainstream practitioners are probably most concerned about a small > percentage of parents who are beginning to say no to the incredible > barrage of childhood vaccinations. And that's a trend the government > wants no part of. Even if it means stopping the advance of research that > could help thousands of autistic kids lead more normal lives. > **************************************************** > Sources: > " Fringe Autism Treatment Could Get Federal Study " Carla K. Johnson, > Associated Press, 7/9/08, ap.org > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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