CHARGE OF INTENTIONAL FRAUD CLOUDS STUDY DISPUTING VACCINE MERCURY LINK TO AUTISM

[Guest guest]

CHARGE OF " INTENTIONAL FRAUD " CLOUDS STUDY DISPUTING VACCINE MERCURY LINK TO

AUTISM

 

http://www.msnbc.com/m/pt/printthis_main.asp?storyID=988425

 

Study disputes vaccine, autism link

Associated Press

 

Government researchers say they found little evidence of a link between

vaccinations and developmental problems in a study of more than 140,000 U.S.

children.

THE REPORT didn't satisfy vaccine critics, who claimed the study's initial

results showed a stronger connection but were watered down. They also noted that

the study's lead author now works for a vaccine maker.

The study, published Monday in the December issue of Pediatrics, is one of the

latest attempts to determine whether older vaccines with the mercury-containing

preservative thimerosal led to nervous-system problems such as autism, as some

vocal critics contend.

In one group of children studied, routine vaccines in infancy appeared to

slightly increase the risk for tics. In another group, a slight association was

seen with language delays but not tics. A third group showed no associations

with any disorder.

In all, more than 140,000 children were studied and no link was found with any

other disorders, including autism, said co-researcher Dr. Frank DeStefano of the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Many previous studies of vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal also

failed to find strong evidence of any link.

The new results are reassuring, DeStefano said, and more definitive answers are

expected from in-person examinations the CDC is giving some of the study

participants.

But Dr. Mark Geier, a geneticist who has worked as a consultant on parents'

lawsuits against vaccine makers, said the researchers' own earlier analysis of

the study results found strong links between vaccines and such problems -- and

that the published results attempt to conceal those findings. He claimed the

final analysis " is intentional fraud. "

DeStefano acknowledged that the early results suggested stronger links with some

disorders, though not autism, but denied that there had been pressure or a

cover-up. He said the final data reflect a more thorough recent analysis.

The study's lead author, former CDC researcher Dr. Thomas Verstraeten, now works

for vaccine maker GlaxoSmithKline in Belgium, and Geier said that connection may

have influenced how the research was reported.

Verstraeten, who left the CDC in July 2001, did not respond to an e-mail request

seeking a response, and company spokeswoman Nancy Pekarek said he did not wish

to discuss the results. She provided a written statement in which Verstraeten

indicated that since leaving the CDC he has worked only as an adviser as the

study was finalized and prepared for publication.

The researchers analyzed data from three health maintenance organizations on

children born between 1992 and 1999 and tracked for several years. Information

was gathered on several neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism,

attention deficit disorders, stammering and emotional disturbances.

While the researchers were beginning to examine their results, public health

officials were beginning to publicly address concerns about the use of

thimerosal in childhood vaccines.

Mercury in high doses has been linked with neurodevelopmental problems. Parents

and others worried about potentially dangerous overexposure to thimerosal

because of the increasing number of vaccines recommended in childhood.

Vaccine makers have since phased out use of thimerosal as a preservative in

childhood vaccines used in the United States, though trace amounts remain in

some vaccines.

It is still used as a preservative elsewhere, especially in developing

countries, said Dr. Thomas Saari, a member of the American Academy of

Pediatrics' infections diseases committee and a pediatrics professor at the

University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Vaccine expert Dr. Neal Halsey of Johns Hopkins University said the study shows

that if there is any association between older vaccines and mild disorders, " it

must be relatively small. "

" A major health risk should have shown up in a consistent pattern in all three

of the HMOs, " Halsey said.

Still, he said the findings might have been different if the researchers had

done a separate analysis by gender, since boys are much more susceptible to

mercury exposure than girls.

 

 

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