MMR Vaccine & Autism: Is Whistleblower Dr Wakefield Right?

June 20, 2006

==========================================================================================http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi/20060612-023341-6204r.htmThe Washington PostJune 13, 2006, 16:22 GMTThe Age of Autism: But is Wakefield right?By Dan Olmsted, Senior Editor, UPI. (Courtesy www.nvic.org )------------------ 'There are very powerful people in positions of great authority in Britain and elsewhere who have staked their reputations and careers on the safety of MMR and they are willing to do almost anything to protect themselves,'

------------------WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- Dr. Andrew Wakefield, the British gastroenterologist who first raised the prospect of a link between themeasles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autism, is being pursued by Britishmedical authorities.According to the BBC: 'The Independent newspaper reports that the General Medical Council will accuse Mr. Andrew Wakefield of carrying out`inadequately founded` research. Vaccination rates fell sharply after Dr Wakefield questioned the safety of MMR, raising fears of a measles epidemic.His initial Lancet paper has since been disowned by the journal.'Let`s put aside the issues surrounding the Lancet paper and concerns about a measles epidemic and go straight to the heart of the matter: Does the MMR cause autism? In other words, is Wakefield right?After looking into the

topic for more than a year, I`m very concerned that he may be -- that, especially in children whose immune systems have been rendered susceptible by any number of possible exposures, the combinedlive-virus vaccine has its fingerprints all over numerous cases ofregressive autism.Until researching the seven-part Age of Autism series in Olympia, Wash., that concluded last month, I would not have said that. But when youencounter case after case of perfectly normal children regressing afterlive-virus vaccinations -- in this case, the MMR in close proximity to the chickenpox shot -- you have to keep your options open.The families in Olympia noticed a common thread: They had unusual histories of chickenpox and other herpesviruses in their families; their child got the chickenpox and MMR shots in close temporal proximity, often at the same12-month office visit when both are first recommended; and the childsubsequently

was diagnosed with regressive autism.Despite the sweeping assurances that there`s no link between the MMR and autism, no one seems to have looked at whether such a family history ofsusceptibility to viruses used in vaccines might raise a risk factor. Call me hypervigilant, but I would have expected that to be rigorously reviewed a long time ago.Two of the Olympia children, in fact, were in small trials at age 12 months of chickenpox and MMR vaccines. One of the vaccines, called ProQuad,combines the MMR and chickenpox, kicking in 10 times the standard amount of chickenpox vaccine to overcome the 'immune interference' that can occur when live viruses interact.Such interference is at the heart of Wakefield`s concern about the combined MMR vaccine -- that the viruses suppress the immune system in such a way that weakened-but-live measles viruses can set up house and trigger adelayed neurological infection:

autism.And measles is not benign -- that`s why there`s such a push to vaccinate against it. In a small percentage of cases, the wild, or naturallyoccurring, infection can lead to delayed brain damage and death.It`s a neurotoxic virus, in short. Wakefield`s question and concern iswhether in some cases the live-virus vaccine is neurotoxic, too.Not such a wild idea, really, and listening to him talk makes you hope to God the vaccine manufacturers and regulators are a lot smarter than he makes them sound:'What alarms me about the cavalier approach of the industry and everybody else, the regulators, to these viruses is they presume the wild infection to be nasty and the vaccines to be innocuous -- that they can manipulatesomething that is biologically highly intelligent and exploit it to their advantage.'And they can`t. The viruses don`t behave like that and they never will. They merely come back to

haunt you as something different.'Multiple epidemiological studies have allegedly ruled out this chillingscenario as a factor in autism -- the Institute of Medicine calls it'theoretical only.' But epidemiology is only as good as its data and its practitioners, and well-known for its potential pitfalls and flaws. What concerns me is, if the epidemiology is wrong, preventable cases of autism are going to keep happening till the cows come home.Recall, also, that Wakefield never suggested banning the measles, mumps or rubella immunizations. He suggested separating them and giving them a year apart.Especially concerning are the stories that parent after parent tells about physical illness after the shots, followed by autistic regression. It`s kind of freaky, really, the way they keep popping up.After finishing the Pox series, I attended the Autism One convention inChicago and happened to be interviewed by a

Web-based documentary filmmaker. During a break, I asked how he got involved. He told me his daughter got the MMR, came down immediately with a 103-degree fever and regressed forthwith into autism.'It`s like someone took out her good brain and replaced it with a badbrain,' he said. It was that immediate.I had another conversation with the mother of fraternal twins who told me this story: Both sons were scheduled to get two shots -- the MMR and another vaccination -- on the same day at the same office visit.But -- oops -- the healthcare worker gave the first child two MMR shots, not the MMR and the second vaccine. That child soon developed autism; the second one didn`t.And I spoke recently with a Texas man whose son got the MMR in 1993; the injection site swelled up to the size of his father`s fist; he had seizures at the dinner table that night, and within days was spinning, flapping,chewing wood

and not talking ever again.You get the picture. 'Anecdotal evidence.' But you have to wonder how many of these stories -- one is tempted to say, bodies -- must pile up before the medical authorities go back and take a fresh look at the issue.This blithe disregard for case histories -- for what parents, the supposed bedrock of our 'family-friendly' society, say -- is one of the mostappalling features of the current climate surrounding autism research. In fact, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., has talked publicly of forcing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which sets the childhoodimmunization schedule and stoutly rejects a link with autism, to actually go out and interview some of these parents.One person who is making things awkward for the authorities is Dr. Peter Fletcher, another British ne`er-do-well -- or, to use his official title, the former chief scientific officer at Britain`s Department

of Health.As I noted in a column earlier this year, the Daily Mail reported: 'A former British government medical officer responsible for deciding whethermedicines are safe has accused the government of `utterly inexplicablecomplacency` over the MMR triple vaccine for children.'The official, Dr. Peter Fletcher, became an expert witness for parents`lawyers, which of course creates a competing interest that needs to befactored in. But Fletcher said his new role gave him access to documents that deeply concerned him.'There are very powerful people in positions of great authority in Britain and elsewhere who have staked their reputations and careers on the safety of MMR and they are willing to do almost anything to protect themselves,' he said.Gosh, this is starting to get interesting, and not just for AndrewWakefield.--E-mail: dolmsted============================================= "Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest of life by the power of the spirit." - Aurobindo.

Want to be your own boss? Learn how on Small Business.

June 20, 2006

Yes,

As a parent of a normally developing child, I saw the change in my

child. She was a happy responsive baby who loved to be held, to

giggle, to look at you, etc.

After she got her vaccines she cried for 72 hours straight, the ped

told me just keep giving her tylenol, she's fine. When she stopped

crying 72 hours later, she was a shell of a child. She wouldn't

look at you, respond to you, play with you, etc and when you tried

to sit and hold her she just screamed. She was 4 years old before I

saw her smile again. That was after 3 years of PT 3 times a week,

sensory integration theropy, and being put in a special ed school

classroom. She does very well now, but I still have to wonder what

would she be like today if ....

We are a completely vaccine family and I find the most trouble at

pediatrician offices, I had one office tell me they won't see

children unless they are vaccinated. I can't believe that after the

well documented reaction my daughter had, these doctors still want

to inject more vaccine into her. The schools have never given us a

problem.

I did recently read (and I forget where) that since they stopped

putting thermosal into vaccines the number of newly reported cases

of Autism have decreased sharply. There are very few vaccines that

still contain this mercury additive, mainly just the flu shot.

, Jagannath

Chatterjee <jagchat01 wrote:

>

=====================================================================

=====================

> http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi/20060612-023341-6204r.htm

> The Washington Post

> June 13, 2006, 16:22 GMT

>

> The Age of Autism: But is Wakefield right?

> By Dan Olmsted, Senior Editor, UPI.

> (Courtesy www.nvic.org )

>

> -

-----------------------------

> 'There are very powerful people in positions of great authority

in

> Britain and elsewhere who have staked their reputations and

careers on the

> safety of MMR and they are willing to do almost anything to

protect themselves,'

> -

-----------------------------

> WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- Dr. Andrew Wakefield, the

> British gastroenterologist who first raised the prospect of a link

between the

> measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autism, is being pursued by

British

> medical authorities.

>

> According to the BBC: 'The Independent newspaper reports that the

> General Medical Council will accuse Mr. Andrew Wakefield of

carrying out

> `inadequately founded` research. Vaccination rates fell sharply

after

> Dr Wakefield questioned the safety of MMR, raising fears of a

measles

> epidemic.His initial Lancet paper has since been disowned by the

journal.'

>

> Let`s put aside the issues surrounding the Lancet paper and

concerns

> about a measles epidemic and go straight to the heart of the

matter: Does the

> MMR cause autism? In other words, is Wakefield right?

>

> After looking into the topic for more than a year, I`m very

concerned

> that he may be -- that, especially in children whose immune

systems have

> been rendered susceptible by any number of possible exposures, the

combined

> live-virus vaccine has its fingerprints all over numerous cases of

> regressive autism.

>

> Until researching the seven-part Age of Autism series in Olympia,

> Wash., that concluded last month, I would not have said that. But

when you

> encounter case after case of perfectly normal children regressing

after

> live-virus vaccinations -- in this case, the MMR in close

proximity to

> the chickenpox shot -- you have to keep your options open.

>

> The families in Olympia noticed a common thread: They had unusual

> histories of chickenpox and other herpesviruses in their families;

their child

> got the chickenpox and MMR shots in close temporal proximity,

often at the same

> 12-month office visit when both are first recommended; and the

child

> subsequently was diagnosed with regressive autism.

>

> Despite the sweeping assurances that there`s no link between the

MMR

> and autism, no one seems to have looked at whether such a family

history of

> susceptibility to viruses used in vaccines might raise a risk

factor.

> Call me hypervigilant, but I would have expected that to be

rigorously

> reviewed a long time ago.

>

> Two of the Olympia children, in fact, were in small trials at age

12

> months of chickenpox and MMR vaccines. One of the vaccines, called

ProQuad,

> combines the MMR and chickenpox, kicking in 10 times the standard

> amount of chickenpox vaccine to overcome the 'immune interference'

that can occur

> when live viruses interact.

>

> Such interference is at the heart of Wakefield`s concern about the

> combined MMR vaccine -- that the viruses suppress the immune

system in such a

> way that weakened-but-live measles viruses can set up house and

trigger a

> delayed neurological infection: autism.

>

> And measles is not benign -- that`s why there`s such a push to

> vaccinate against it. In a small percentage of cases, the wild, or

naturally

> occurring, infection can lead to delayed brain damage and death.

>

> It`s a neurotoxic virus, in short. Wakefield`s question and

concern is

> whether in some cases the live-virus vaccine is neurotoxic, too.

>

> Not such a wild idea, really, and listening to him talk makes you

hope

> to God the vaccine manufacturers and regulators are a lot smarter

than he

> makes them sound:

>

> 'What alarms me about the cavalier approach of the industry and

> everybody else, the regulators, to these viruses is they presume

the wild

> infection to be nasty and the vaccines to be innocuous -- that

they can manipulate

> something that is biologically highly intelligent and exploit it

to

> their advantage.

>

> 'And they can`t. The viruses don`t behave like that and they never

> will. They merely come back to haunt you as something different.'

>

> Multiple epidemiological studies have allegedly ruled out this

chilling

> scenario as a factor in autism -- the Institute of Medicine calls

it

> 'theoretical only.' But epidemiology is only as good as its data

and

> its practitioners, and well-known for its potential pitfalls and

flaws.

> What concerns me is, if the epidemiology is wrong, preventable

cases of

> autism are going to keep happening till the cows come home.

>

> Recall, also, that Wakefield never suggested banning the measles,

mumps

> or rubella immunizations. He suggested separating them and giving

them a

> year apart.

>

> Especially concerning are the stories that parent after parent

tells

> about physical illness after the shots, followed by autistic

regression. It`s

> kind of freaky, really, the way they keep popping up.

>

> After finishing the Pox series, I attended the Autism One

convention in

> Chicago and happened to be interviewed by a Web-based documentary

> filmmaker. During a break, I asked how he got involved. He told me

his daughter

> got the MMR, came down immediately with a 103-degree fever and

regressed

> forthwith into autism.

>

> 'It`s like someone took out her good brain and replaced it with a

bad

> brain,' he said. It was that immediate.

>

> I had another conversation with the mother of fraternal twins who

told

> me this story: Both sons were scheduled to get two shots -- the

MMR and

> another vaccination -- on the same day at the same office visit.

>

> But -- oops -- the healthcare worker gave the first child two MMR

> shots, not the MMR and the second vaccine. That child soon

developed autism; the

> second one didn`t.

>

> And I spoke recently with a Texas man whose son got the MMR in

1993;

> the injection site swelled up to the size of his father`s fist; he

had

> seizures at the dinner table that night, and within days was

spinning, flapping,

> chewing wood and not talking ever again.

>

> You get the picture. 'Anecdotal evidence.' But you have to wonder

how

> many of these stories -- one is tempted to say, bodies -- must

pile up

> before the medical authorities go back and take a fresh look at

the issue.

>

> This blithe disregard for case histories -- for what parents, the

> supposed bedrock of our 'family-friendly' society, say -- is one

of the most

> appalling features of the current climate surrounding autism

research.

> In fact, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., has talked publicly of

forcing

> the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which sets the

childhood

> immunization schedule and stoutly rejects a link with autism, to

> actually go out and interview some of these parents.

>

> One person who is making things awkward for the authorities is Dr.

> Peter Fletcher, another British ne`er-do-well -- or, to use his

official

> title, the former chief scientific officer at Britain`s Department

of Health.

>

> As I noted in a column earlier this year, the Daily Mail

reported: 'A

> former British government medical officer responsible for deciding

whether

> medicines are safe has accused the government of `utterly

inexplicable

> complacency` over the MMR triple vaccine for children.'

>

> The official, Dr. Peter Fletcher, became an expert witness for

parents`

> lawyers, which of course creates a competing interest that needs

to be

> factored in. But Fletcher said his new role gave him access to

> documents that deeply concerned him.

>

> 'There are very powerful people in positions of great authority in

> Britain and elsewhere who have staked their reputations and

careers on the

> safety of MMR and they are willing to do almost anything to

protect themselves,'

> he said.

>

> Gosh, this is starting to get interesting, and not just for Andrew

> Wakefield.

>

> --

>

> E-mail: dolmsted

>

> =============================================

>

> " Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life

but the conquest of life by the power of the spirit. " - Aurobindo.

>

> Want to be your own boss? Learn how on Small Business.

>

June 21, 2006

Re: MMR Vaccine & Autism: Is Whistleblower Dr Wakefield Right? (response from tnchef2) Yes,As a parent of a normally developing child, I saw the change in mychild. She was a happy responsive baby who loved to be held, togiggle, to look at you, etc.After she got her vaccines she cried for 72 hours straight, the pedtold me just keep giving her tylenol, she's fine. When she stoppedcrying 72 hours later, she was a shell of a child. She wouldn'tlook at you, respond to you, play with you, etc and when you triedto sit and hold her she just screamed. She was 4 years old before Isaw her smile again. That was after 3 years of PT 3 times a week,sensory integration theropy, and being put in a special ed schoolclassroom. She does very well now, but I still have to wonder whatwould she be like today if

.....We are a completely vaccine family and I find the most trouble atpediatrician offices, I had one office tell me they won't seechildren unless they are vaccinated. I can't believe that after thewell documented reaction my daughter had, these doctors still wantto inject more vaccine into her. The schools have never given us aproblem.I did recently read (and I forget where) that since they stoppedputting thermosal into vaccines the number of newly reported casesof Autism have decreased sharply. There are very few vaccines thatstill contain this mercury additive, mainly just the flu shot.tnchef2. "Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest of life by the power of the spirit." - Aurobindo.

How low will we go? Check out Messenger’s low PC-to-Phone call rates.

June 21, 2006

Re: MMR Vaccine & Autism: Is Whistleblower Dr Wakefield Right? (response from tnchef2) Yes,As a parent of a normally developing child, I saw the change in mychild. She was a happy responsive baby who loved to be held, togiggle, to look at you, etc.After she got her vaccines she cried for 72 hours straight, the pedtold me just keep giving her tylenol, she's fine. When she stoppedcrying 72 hours later, she was a shell of a child. She wouldn'tlook at you, respond to you, play with you, etc and when you triedto sit and hold her she just screamed. She was 4 years old before Isaw her smile again. That was after 3 years of PT 3 times a week,sensory integration theropy, and being put in a special ed schoolclassroom. She does very well now, but I still have to wonder whatwould she be like today if

.....We are a completely vaccine family and I find the most trouble atpediatrician offices, I had one office tell me they won't seechildren unless they are vaccinated. I can't believe that after thewell documented reaction my daughter had, these doctors still wantto inject more vaccine into her. The schools have never given us aproblem.I did recently read (and I forget where) that since they stoppedputting thermosal into vaccines the number of newly reported casesof Autism have decreased sharply. There are very few vaccines thatstill contain this mercury additive, mainly just the flu shot.tnchef2. "Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest of life by the power of the spirit." - Aurobindo.

How low will we go? Check out Messenger’s low PC-to-Phone call rates.