Archive by Author

David Kirby – Thimerosal does not cause autism

29 Oct

In something of a jaw-on-chest admission, David has finally admitted that thimerosal does not cause autism:

David Kirby, a journalist and author of “Evidence of Harm: Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic: A Medical Controversy,” said he believed that thimerosal, which still exists in trace amounts in some childhood vaccines, was no longer the “smoking gun.” Several national studies have found no connection, and a California study found that, even after thimerosal was removed from vaccines, diagnoses of autism continued to rise.

I would go on to say then that the claim that mercury in vaccines ever caused a never-established autism ‘epidemic’ needs to be retracted also. I would further like to see David (who has appeared on TV, Radio and in the press speaking as if thimerosal was definitely the cause) question his previous belief that this was ever a medical controversy.

We need to be clear on this issue. In the US, the idea that mercury in vaccines cause autism is the reason so many parents are not vaccinating their children. David was the chief media spokesperson in this belief and whilst it is gratifying to hear him publicly admit thimerosal does not cause autism – it needs to be proclaimed widely and David needs be much more public than this.

However, its not all good.

But, he said, the links between vaccines and conditions like autism are still strong and more research is needed.

Conditions like autism or autism?

David seems to have moved from targetting thimerosal to simply targeting vaccines in general. Contrary to his statement that there are strong links between autism and vaccines, the fact is that there are none. No decent science supports this hypotheses and (with apologies to David) he has a now self-admittedly bad track record when talking about ‘strong links’ between vaccines and autism. David’s ‘strong link‘ between thiomersal and autism was CDDS data and we all know how that one turned out. I’d ask David to please consider very carefully his ideas about ‘strong links’ of today turning around to bite him in the future. Does international public health really need another three/four year gambol through the wilderness based on a non scientific ‘strong link’ which in reality is simply an opinion?

We all know the recent makeover the vaccine hypotheses has been getting. Generation Rescue now no longer claim that autism is simply mercury poisoning for which the cure is two years chelation resulting in a child 100% neurotypical, no different from their peers. SafeMinds – an organisation dedicated to Mercury in their very name – attack MMR, a vaccine that has never contained mercury. Jenny McCarthy is now on board and gives credence to the idea that an average parent (such as myself) knows more about the sciences of medicine, epidemiology, toxicology etc etc than specialists who have spent years in their field. Whilst at the same time Ms McCarthy simply cannot keep her story straight about incidents from her book or even when her son was recovered or not.

The inconsistencies mount and mount and whilst I am glad that David has admitted the non-role of thimerosal in autism causation this is simply the tip of the iceberg. Are Generation Rescue, SafeMinds, NAA, TreatingAutism, A-CHAMP queuing up to admit the same? Are these same organisation prepared to go back onto the same TV/Radio stations they first proudly proclaimed they knew the cause and had the cure and admit they were wrong? Or will it all continue to be held behind the Emerald City of the new ‘Green Our vaccines where we are urged to never, ever look behind the curtain in case we see the simple, obvious truth about the grand machinations?

Jenny McCarthy: a tale of two tales

28 Oct

I love public libraries. Always have. Sometimes I go a long time without stepping in one, but once I do, I love them all over. I love leaving with a huge stack of children’s books and reading them over and over (and over and over) to my kids.

I went to the library last nigh. Dropped off some overdue books and picked up “Mother Warriors”, Jenny McCarthy’s latest.

No, I didn’t read it all in one sitting. But, I did read some sections that have interested me. If you recall, I blogged recently about Jenny McCarthy’s interview where she talked about her interactions with Barbara Walters on “The View”.

At the time, my focus was on the fact that Jenny McCarthy waited over a year to talk about her story of the behind-the-scenes events of her interactions with Ms. Walters. Silly me, I didn’t realize that not only was she saving that story to create buzz for her book, but that the story was a part of the book. But, let’s see what I wrote then:

Story line two: Let’s go all the way back to September, 2007. Jenny McCarthy is on “The View” for her first autism-book tour. Barbara Walters committed a terrible “sin”: she actually treated it like an interview and questioned Jenny McCarthy. I’d like to show you the video, but the video is now pulled from YouTube and the link to the video from the more recent story (which included the bit from “The View” also doesn’t seem to work anymore.)

Some short time after taping “The View” Ms. McCarthy was at a TACA picnic where she is said to have made some rather rude suggestions towards Ms. Walters.

Fast-forward to the present. On September 29th, Ms. McCarthy “forgave” Barbara Walters.

No, really. After Ms. McCarthy got a bit cross on the show and then took it out on Barbara Walters at the TACA picnic, she “forgives” Barbara Walters.

Boggles the mind, doesn’t it?

In that same interview, according to Ms. McCarthy (and only according to her, since Ms. Walters seems above responding to this), there was a bit of a heated exchange backstage with Ms. Walters after taping “The View”. Ms. McCarthy gives no indication of whether she (Ms. McCarthy) lost her cool at all.

You can imagine that when I saw chapters on Barbara Walters in the new book, I had to read them.

In “Mother Warriors”, Jenny McCarthy tells about how before she went on the The View, “a girl” who worked for the show came to Jenny’s dressing room and told her that Barbara Walters got a call from someone at ABC who said that the treatment that Ms. McCarthy was talking about was B.S.. Jenny got called in to talk to Ms. Walters before the show, and, according to Ms. McCarthy, the exchange was somewhat heated and Ms. Walters told Jenny how to answer a question that would come up in the interview. (“The answer is YES, most doctors do not agree with anything you are saying”).

So, Jenny McCarthy went on anyway and, as the title of the book says, “Against All Odds”, told her story and stood her ground.

The chapter finishes with:

Barbara tried her best to ruffle my feathers during the rest of the interview but I stayed focused, stayed within my heart chakra, and just stuck to my story.

The show was over and as I left The View that morning, all I could think was, “I could really use a big hug from Oprah right now.”

Damned good drama.

Anyone else remember “Two Minute Mysteries”? I loved those books as a kid. Every story was told with one little detail that allowed the inspector to see that someone wasn’t telling a consistent story. Did you catch this one? Take a look at what I wrote in my previous blog…this time with some emphasis:

In that same interview, according to Ms. McCarthy (and only according to her, since Ms. Walters seems above responding to this), there was a bit of a heated exchange backstage with Ms. Walters after taping “The View”. Ms. McCarthy gives no indication of whether she (Ms. McCarthy) lost her cool at all.

Yep, in the interview Ms. McCarthy recently gave, the heated exchange came after the interview on The View, but in the book, it came before the interview.

I’d love to show that video—but as noted, it was pulled.

So, it’s Sullivan’s word alone. My “anecdote”. Or, is it?

When the video came out, Jenny McCarthy’s organization plugged it on their blog, the Age of Autism. Let’s take a look at what they had to say, with a little emphasis added by me:

Jenny McCarthy on Access Hollywood

Access Hollywood talks to Jenny McCarthy about her heated dressing down by Barbara Walters after she was on The View during her promotion for Louder Than Words. Jenny explains that she didn’t understand where Barbara’s anger and refusal to believe Evan was in recovery, was coming from, until she learned that Ms. Walters had a sister with special needs.

…

There’s no embed code, but you can click to the Access Hollywood on the OMG! site HERE.
http://omg.yahoo.com/videos/barbara-walters-jenny-mccarthy-feud-resolved/5446

Anyone want to venture a guess as to why the video interview in that last link was pulled from the OMG site?

This is not a minor, “look, there’s a mistake in Jenny’s book” issue. At least one of Jenny McCarthy’s stories about the events of that day are wrong. And, in the end, I think I need Barbara Walters and people like her. What I don’t need are autism “advocates” who tell inconsistent stories that could serve to alienate the press from the “autism community”.

But, this also serves as an example of anecdotes and memory. The events on The View were, by Jenny McCarthy’s account, rather traumatic. She tells in her story about how her mother always wanted Jenny to someday be on one of Barbara Walter’s specials, and how that dream was shattered. Jenny McCarthy wrote about her side of the events in her book. And, yet, when she was interviewed, she told a different story.

Why do I think this is important? Take a look at another quote from the book. This is what Ms. McCarthy relates as her thoughts after Oprah Winfrey read the statement from the CDC (that there is no science to support the connection between vaccines and autism) during the “Louder than Words” book tour:

“Who needs science when I’m witnessing it every day in my own home? I watched it happen.”

There is an excellent discussion going on at AutismStreet about anecdotal evidence. Prometheus made some good comments, one of which I quote here:

In science, anecdotes are a form of data, albeit of the lowest quality. A series of consistent anecdotes can be used to construct a hypothesis, which can then be tested by experimental means.

The anecdotes from Ms. McCarthy give a good example of why anecdotes are the “lowest quality” form of data. Her stories just do not jive.

Rethinking Expertise II

25 Oct

Recenty, I discussed a new book, Rethinking Expertise. The author took the position that there is a danger in the idea that everyone can be an expert on anything–all that is needed is an internet connection.

What I found most troublesome was the idea that “vaccine scares” were used as a prime example of this false expertise. At the time, I assumed that the author likely meant the autism/vaccine link.

The author, Harry Collins of Cardiff University, was recently interviewed by Ira Flatow of Science Friday. You an listen to the interview on the Science Friday website (or download from there).

In the interview, he specifically mentions the Wakefield/MMR scare.

The autism community is being used as a big example of the dangers of false-expertise. Not a good sign.

Sometimes the HuffPo gets it almost right

25 Oct

Regular readers will know of my concern regarding the HuffingtonPost and its clear antivax agenda. Kim Stagliano, David Kirby and (I think) Barbara Loe Fischer post there and whilst I don’t believe David has an antivax belief, I do think he is unfortunately promoting unfounded statements that feed antivax talking points (eg the claim HHS conceded vaccines caused Hannah Polings autism).

However, I was really pleased to see a post today in my Google Alerts from HuffPo that got it 95% right. Before I say why I have to clarify once again my position as a UK citizen and therefore my belief that I really shouldn’t take a position on the upcoming US elections. However, thats becoming increasingly difficult to do as I read such monumentally stupid things from McCain as:

[Sarah Palin knows]…more about autism then anyone I know…

Which I take to mean that the only person he knows with a connection to autism is Sarah Palin. Also his confused and pretty desperate looking pandering to the antivax crowd is downright annoying. But anyway.

The HuffPo post I’m referring to is Obama and autism by Elaine Hall. She describes:

Neal is my resident expert on autism. Now 14 years old, Neal was adopted from a Russian Orphanage at 23 months, and diagnosed with severe autism at age 3 . Neal is non verbal (or as we prefer to refer to him “a man of few words”) so when he speaks his truth through typing – WE LISTEN.

Me like.

Last January at one of his sessions with Darlene she asked, “”So, Neal, what have you been thinking about lately?”

“The Elections,” he typed on his Alpha Smart keyboard.

“What about the elections?” asked Darlene.

“I’m for Obama, he typed.”

“Obama? Why?”

“Obama is for Autism, ” he finished.

That evening my husband and I Googled Obama and Autism. And there it was, pages and pages from people with autism. Supporting Obama.

Me like even more.

This tells me a number of things. First it tells me that Elaine Hall and her partner are smart enough to see their autistic son as the resident autism expert. What a refreshing attitude. Second it tells me that when their expert speaks – THEY LISTEN. Also a refreshing attitude. Thirdly it tells me that someone being non-verbal does not mean they cannot communicate. I can think of more than a few people who read this blog who need that lesson drummed into their heads. Fourthly, it tells me that autistic people by and large support Obama. This means (for whatever the opinion of a non-voting Brit is worth) that I’m for Obama too.

Now, I said at the start of this piece that HuffPo only got it 95% right. They would’ve got it 100% right if they’d let Neal do the typing. However, he is only 14 and maybe thats why he’s not contributing publicly just yet. For now, I’m more than happy to read Elaine Hall’s words. This is from the front page of her website The Miracle Project:

The Miracle Project is a theatre and film arts program for children with special needs and their typically developing siblings and peers. Our mission is to provide a loving, accepting nurturing environment which celebrates and honors the unique and often unrecognized talents of these young people by guiding them through creative workshops and artistic programs.

Thank you Elaine Hall and thank you Neal. I’ll be looking out for more from both of you.

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Story Time With Darwin

24 Oct

When Autism’s False Prophets hit the shelves–heck even before–there was a lot of buzz in the online community. Lot’s of reviews were posted on blogs. There seemed to be a strong correlation between people who actually read the book and people who favorably reviewed the book. AFP was chosen for the Science Blogs Book Club.

There have been a lot of approaches to discussing Autism’s False Prophets online, but I don’t think I would have ever predicted this:

Darwin-AFP Introduction

Yep, someone (not just someone, and autistic adult) reading from Autism’s False Prophets.

I saw that video and thought, “AFP isn’t a really long book, but there’s no way that this guy can cover much of the book.”

I underestimated the will and stamina of Darwin. He has 59 videos up. He’s at least to chapter 8.

Here’s a “commercial” for the YouTube series. You gotta click on this one. It’s short, and made me laugh out loud.

Darwin-AFP commercial

Note: I’m having a little trouble embedding the YouTube videos. I hope to figure that out soon.

More presidential autism politics

23 Oct

I don’t know how things work in the U.K., but in the U.S. there is a long tradition of giving the Vice President a special role. The VP gets to say the the controversial things the president wants to try as a “Trial Balloon”.

You see, people in America vote against candidates as much or more as the vote for candidates. Every time a candidate opens his or her mouth with a clear statement, he turns some people off. If Candidate X says, “I’m all for fresh tomatoes” the people whose lives revolve around canned tomatoes immediately want to vote for Candidate Y. (to use a silly example).

The reverse doesn’t work. Candidate X may not really collect as many “Fresh Tomato” voters as he lost other voters.

Take a look at the early polls for any office. Often you will see something like, “Well, if McCain runs against Clinton, he is shown to lead by 5%, but against an un-named democrat, he would lose by 5%”.

American’s love hypothetical “un-named” candidates. We don’t have anything to hate.

That’s where the VP comes in. The VP can say the more controversial things. Americans who like the idea will say, “Dang, that team is doing what I want!”. Conversely, others will say, “Well, I hate the VP, but I vote for the president”.

See how that works?

Well, I bet you know that I’m getting around to the McCain/Autism question. Since the debate, he’s pushed the idea more. The title of a recent interview with the VP candidate Sara Palin tells a lot: Palin advocates for children with autism, no plan specifics.

Ms. Palin addressed issues brought up by Mr. Obama in the recent debate: how to fund autism research and have an across the board spending freeze. Ms. Palin noted:

“We want to give every child a chance,” Palin told News 4’s Shelby Sheehan in an exclusive interview during a campaign stop in Reno on Tuesday.

Palin’s running mate John McCain said in the third and final presidential debate, “We must find out the cause of autism and help those families dealing with autism.” McCain also promised to freeze all unnecessary spending in the federal budget.

Palin says it’s possible to do both.

For the moment, let’s compare this to what Mr. McCain said at the debate:

OK, what — what would I cut? I would have, first of all, across-the-board spending freeze, OK? Some people say that’s a hatchet. That’s a hatchet, and then I would get out a scalpel, OK?

Notice that the current statement is “unnecessary” spending now, but it was all spending a week ago?

Also in the debate, Mr. McCain said:

The mayor of New York, Mayor Bloomberg, just imposed an across- the-board spending freeze on New York City. They’re doing it all over America because they have to. Because they have to balance their budgets. I will balance our budgets and I will get them and I will…

So, a few days ago, it was an across-the-board spending freeze, with extra cuts via scalpel. Now, autism is going to get extra funding by diverting funds cut from other programs.

“There are a lot of wasteful expenditures in the federal (government),” Palin said. “Let’s get rid of those and put them into strengthening NIH (National Institutes of Health) and these other areas where we can help our kids with autism.”

Palin did not name any specific expenditure she wanted to cut in favor of funding for autism research or services, nor did she name what specific programs she’d like to fund in order to help those families.

That sounds good. But, that is a VP message and it doesn’t have any firm commitments.

The McCain campaign also talked about autism in an interview on FoxNews. The interview was with Cindy McCain, John McCain’s wife (and potential first lady). She noted:

…you know, obviously, autism has been on his agenda for a while.

But, again, not much of a commitment. And, it’s too similar to a VP comment.

Well, if these are trial balloons–here’s a respnse: Mr. McCain, I think it’s great that you have autism on your agenda. Either as president or as a senator, you will be in a great position to really help out. But, when I search your website for “autism” I get one hit:

Need to find out what the cause of autism is. We have to put a brake on increasing incidence of autism in America. That has to be highest priority. This will place a very dramatically increased burden on special education programs. I would fully fund special education program but also make sure teachers don’t just put discipline problems in those programs, that screening is a little more conscientious.

Now, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen more on your site in the past–I need to look harder. But it wasn’t much.

I like the suggestion above that you will fully fund special ed. Does this mean having the Federal Government fully fund IDEA? Because, that would be an increase in spending. An increase in spending to finally reach the level promised to special ed kids for decades, but an increase in budget terms.

That statement was a little too vague, and you made it before the “spending freeze” idea was a big part of your plan.

I guess what I’m saying here is: I want you, Presidential Candidate John McCain, to say, “I will support an increase in IDEA spending to match the commitment we have made as a people”. I’d like it if you said that would be a priority even if you remain a senator.

You see, I’ve been to enough IEP meetings to understand what a measurable goal is. I realize the difference between a vague commitment and hard goal.

I want something I can quote and fax and email to your office (be it White House or Senate) and say, “what is happening with this?”

I am not a one-issue voter. But, this is an issue I am watching closely. How it is handled will tell a lot about the type of President you might be. A candidate who offers vague promises is not what I want, on any issue.

As I said, I found scant information on autism on your website. Here are links from Mr. Obama’s website:

Here’s a statement on Autism Spectrum Disorders. Yes, I want Senator Obama to tighten up this language:

Obama is a strong supporter of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and supports full federal funding of the law to truly ensure that no child is left behind.

Luckily, elsewhere on his website, he says,

They will fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to ensure that no child with ASD or any other disability is left behind.

And also,

President Obama will fully fund the Combating Autism Act

Those are real statements. They are something measurable. They call out the specific projects by real name and they don’t just “support”, they say “fully fund”.

I will ad that I like the fact that autism isn’t a single issue to Mr. Obama’s campaign. It is part of a broader policy on disabilities.

Now, I am old enough to know that promises made and promises kept are different things entirely. But, as I’ve said above, when I call your office in a year, I’d like to have something substantial to quote to hold you accountable. I don’t want to call and have this conversation:

Sullivan: You said you’d support funding IDEA.
President McCain’s staffer: Of course we support that!

So, a few suggestions (for both sides).

1) Make real commitments
2) Have the presidential candidate say them (not the VP, not a spouse)

but, mostly

3) Follow through.

We as a community have seen promises un-kept since long before I was a member. Don’t promise what you can’t keep. Not to us. Tell the trial lawyers, the oil companies, other groups things that you may or may not be able to actually accomplish. Don’t do that to people with disabilities.

Memo to Bob and Suzanne Wright

22 Oct

Bob, Suzanne – welcome to the UK.

I read your interview in the Telegraph. Fascinating. I’d like to highlight a few points.

“We want the best minds in the world to focus on this,” says Wright. “And we want the UK to be a big player in the global movement.”

“Until now it seems to have passed under your radar,” adds Suzanne – a statement that could anger all the British activists who have been working in the field for decades.

Um yes, just a bit. You see, in the UK, we already have some of the best minds ‘working on this’.

And ‘passed under our radar’? One could assume that Suzanne Wright has a monumental gift for saying stupid things after reading that. Maybe she hasn’t heard of the National Autistic Society a parent founded organisation formed over 40 years ago in 1962. Maybe she hasn’t heard of it because it doesn’t cry about ‘the children’ all the time and because it recognises the fact that autistic people have a voice (no autistic people are on AS board whereas autistic people are represented at many levels of NAS) and are – in the main – adults and it tailors its aim appropriately. Whilst NAS is far from perfect it has learnt the necessity to respect autistic people for the fact that they are autistic. Something the Wrights aren’t even close to. If the Wrights want to get any traction in the UK they need to shut their mouths and listen to NAS.

And then the anti-vax rhetoric starts, giving lie to the idea that AS are pro-vaccine.

….The last vaccine Christian had before he regressed was MMR – that’s why my daughter concentrates on that. I don’t know whether his autism is linked: it was certainly coincidental, what we don’t know is if it was causal. Nor do we know whether the thimerosal (the mercury-based preservative used in vaccines) is a factor, although mercury is clearly poisonous. Governments want to run from that issue but they should become more aggressively involved. They have to follow children through to see if there are any effects.

Well Bob actually we do know if his MMR shot was causal. It wasn’t. We also do know if thiomersal is a factor. It isn’t.

I personally haven’t seen a government ‘running from the issue’. I’ve seen government spokespeople repeat what science tells us. There is no link. No matter how much people think there is or believe there is, based on the available evidence, there isn’t. Science has followed through to see if there were any effects. There weren’t. How much clearer does it need to be Bob?

Virginia Bovill perfectly sums up my own concerns about you and your wife’s organisation:

The other major source of concern is Wright’s focus on prevention and cure. This upsets Virginia Bovill, founder of TreeHouse, the charity hosting the lecture, who is currently studying for a DPhil on whether the quest to prevent and cure autism is morally justified. “Where would prevention lead – to ante-natal testing and abortion?” she asks. “The thought of a world without all the people I have met with autism is not a world I would want to live in. I would rather people said: ‘They are here, autism is here – how can we help these children fulfil their potential; how can we support their parents?'”

This is a very British pragmatism. The issue is right here and needs to be addressed. Do you want to help or do you want to force through your own beliefs simply because they are your beliefs? If the latter please just hop back on the plane. We don’t want you here.

Every Child By Two: Oprah, Jenny McCarthy et al

20 Oct

An email from Amy Pisani – a thoroughly charming lady who runs the organisation Every Child By Two – made me nod appreciatively today. I’ll quote it in full:

It has been quite some time since Every Child By Two (ECBT) has asked you to take action on an issue related to immunizations. I write to you today with an urgent request for your assistance in reaching out to the Oprah Winfrey Show to urge that she dedicate a show to the science behind the question of whether vaccines cause autism.

More than fourteen credible studies have been conducted worldwide exonerating vaccines and yet the media and entertainment industry continue to frame this as a debate. ECBT and our public health partners have reached out to Oprah’s producers countless times without success. However, I recently had a lengthy conversation with one of the producers who recommended that we initiate a letter writing campaign by commenting within the Oprah.com feedback section of the website. This information is tabulated to determine whether there is enough interest to conduct follow up shows.

I urge you to take five minutes to fill out the Oprah Winfrey Show online form by following the link below. In your comments, please request that Oprah invite credible scientists and/or physicians to explain the science of vaccines to her viewers. We also would like her to invite parents who have suffered the loss of a child from a vaccine-preventable disease, and a parent of an autistic child who can speak on behalf of the many families that are frustrated over the continued focus on vaccines and their supposed link to autism and the therapies that focus on “repairing vaccine damage”. Please relate any personal experiences you may have with vaccine-preventable diseases or autism. In addition, please refer the Oprah Winfrey Show to Amy Pisani, Executive Director of Every Child By Two, for any follow-up questions.

And finally, please forward this to your family and friends and request that they also reach out to the Oprah Winfrey Show.

https://www.oprah.com/ord/plugform.jsp?plugId=215

An excellent idea. I’d like to see a show that mirrors the one sided show that Jenny McCarthy recently got – the one where she was free to spout off her latest game of ‘cure the Evan‘ (he’s cured, no he’s not, yes he is….) but this time with a careful step by step walk through the science that:

…is largely complete. Ten epidemiological studies [plus two clinical ones and the testimony of Stephen Bustin] have shown MMR doesn’t cause autism; six have shown thimerosal doesn’t cause autism; three have shown thimerosal doesn’t cause subtle neurological problems; a growing body of evidence now points to the genes that are linked to autism; and despite the removal of thimerosal from vaccines in 2001 [and the 10% drop in MMR uptake between 1997-2007], the number of children with continues to rise.

– Autism’s False Prophets, Page 247. Dr Paul Offit.

Compare this hard, clinical, transparent (and thus independent) science with Mother Warrior Jenny McCarthy’s recent evangelical call to arms:

“I made a deal with God,” she explains. “I said, ‘You fix my boy, you show me the way and I’ll teach the world how I did it.'”

Hallelujah! Or whatever. To misquote the Pythons – she’s not the Messiah, she’s just a very silly girl.

Please act on Amy Pisani’s request – do it right now.

The next mito-autism case?

20 Oct

It’s been nearly a year since the first autism/mitochondria case was conceded. The question of mitochondrial dysfunction and autism has evolved significantly in the minds of the public and insiders in that time.

Shortly after the concession, Tom Powers, lead attorney for the petitions was asked

.”..whether this was a possible break in the case, he replied that the particular case dealt with a claimant who had a diagnosed mitochondrial disorder. As a result, it probably won’t have much of an effect on the other cases.”

It wasn’t really on the radar for the Petitioners.

But, that was in December of 2007. In February of 2008, the concession document was leaked, followed by TV, online and print news-stories on the topic. Coincidentally, mitochondria and autism has changed from not “much of an effect on the other cases” to some people claiming as much as 1/2 of the Autism Omnibus cases being associated with mitochondria.

We’ve seen one Omnibus test case removed from the Omnibus because, the parents claim, the child’s case needs to be argued as a mitochondrial dysfunction case. We’ve gone from diagnosing mitochondrial dysfunction involving a difficult task of many tests and specialist’s opinions, to the point where David Kirby, a blogger, claims to be identifying mitochondrial dysfunction based on parental reports. We now have self-taught “experts” ready to answer questions on discussion boards about mitochondrial disorders, one of the extreme specialties of medicine.

While this is all lamentable, we now have the first “test case” for the mitochondrial autism notion, post concession. A family is arguing mitochondrial disorder (or an oxygen depletion disorder).

The case has gone through the first steps in the Court of Federal Claims (the “vaccine court”). The case hasn’t concluded, but a decision has been published. To summarize:

First, note that the parents are representing themselves, it appears. The decision notes:

On August 29, 2008, petitioners filed a Reply to the Order, making two assertions: (1) [The child] suffered from a mitochondrial disorder and oxygen depletion disorder which a later vaccination significantly aggravated, leading to autistic like symptoms (somewhat similar to the Hannah Poling case that respondent agreed to compensate); and (2) the vaccinations which [the child] received caused him mercury poisoning from thimerosal or ethyl mercury (which is the subject matter of the second round of autism cases in the Omnibus Autism Proceeding, the first round of cases having to do with MMR and autism).

Tthey seem to be both arguing the mitochondrial disorder idea and the Omnibus thimerosal theory. In support, they gave no expert medical reports. Instead, they submitted a single paper (which presumably is supposed to cover both, very different assertions):

by D.S. Baskin, et al., entitled “Thimerosal Induces DNA Breaks, Caspase-3 Activation, Membrane Damage, and Cell Death in Cultured Human Neurons and Fibroblasts,” published in 74 Toxicological Sciences (2003), available on the internet.

That’s really thin evidence (as discussed at some length by the Special Master). Some sort of expert report should link the theory to the specific child. The parents state:

They have not filed a medical report in support of their assertion of significant aggravation of [the child’s] autistic like disorder, claiming that no doctor would risk criticism from the medical community by providing such a report.

Anyone want to volunteer some names of people who would risk the criticism?

But, seriously, diagnosing a mitochondrial disorder is not a simple task. This isn’t something a parent (or David Kirby) can do by looking for similar markers to another case. Heck, it isn’t as though all the biomarkers for the conceded case are universally accepted by mitochondrial experts.

With such little support for the case, the Special Master was forced to conclude:

Petitioners have still not proved their assertion of significant aggravation.

Basically, the decision ends with a statement that the family has not made its case, but they have a chance to come back with a status report as to what their intentions are.

They have already signaled a possible intention:

Petitioners express an interest in suing civilly.

This case is built on even thinner evidence than most internet-discussion-group claims. At least with those, there are challenge tests, porphyrin tests or some other questionable test, together with the opinion of the doctor who ordered the questionable tests to support an idea of “mercury poisoning” or some such diagnosis. But here, we seem to have: the child is autistic, therefore it is mercury and/or mitochondrial disorder aggravated by vaccines.

The Special Master gave the family information on how to contact a lawyer familiar with the vaccine court. I hope, for their sake, they did. I doubt it will have much of an effect on their case, but at least they would have some advice as they move forward to civil court–where the expenses will be charged to the family.

Savage Autism

19 Oct

So Denis Leary, one time comedian and currently insulting disabled children, has joined forces with that other prime idiot Micheal Savage to call autistic kids dumb:

There is a huge boom in autism right now because inattentive mothers and competitive dads want an explanation for why their dumb-ass kids can’t compete academically, so they throw money into the happy laps of shrinks.

So, whilst I wipe away the tears of mirth (and only so recently after I had to sew my head back on after I laughed my head off at Tropic Thunder) from my eyes I think to myself – what is it about autism that attracts so much ire from comedians? Well, if I listened to silly people like Ginger Taylor, I’d think it was the CDC’s fault:

It is AAP and CDC’s job to investigate illness and educate the public on said illnesses, but every time a health professional gets on TV and utters the ignorant words, “Mysterious disorder, no know cause or cure” they make one more Dennis Leary, one more Michael Savage…

Thats right, by telling the scientific truth, the AAP and CDC – not only evil promoters of the evil vaccines – also ‘make’ Micheal savage and Denis Leary say stupid things.

Newsflash Ginger – you just said a stoopid thing too. Nobody makes people like savage and Leary say these things. They say it because deep down, they really believe it. Just like Tom Cruise and the other idiot Scientologists really believe that autism doesn’t exist (despite them getting involved with DAN!), the likes of Savage and Leary really believe that parents like you and I _are_ lazy. And its nothing to do with vaccines and its nothing to do with causes. Its to do with lazy thinking.

Ginger goes on to ask:

Or are you perhaps hoping to be able to up the ante and replace the phrase “Refrigerator Mother” with the phrase “Münchhausen Mother”?

Newsflash Number two Ginger – some of your Mother Warrior friends are pretty close to that right now. Not that long ago I posted an entry that described parents chelating 13 month old babies. And here’s a snippet from another Mother Warrior:

My son is 6 and I have to hold him down for the IVs – we’ve done 10. Today he got poked 3 times and has purple hands from blowing veins.

Yummy.

Newsflash Number three Ginger. Although you firmly believe otherwise, there is no science to support the beliefs you have about vaccines and no science to support the ‘treatments’ these people are doing to their children. Without any sort of evidence at all what you and your fellow Mother Warriors are doing _is_ child experimentation. Maybe you should give some thought to the possibility that Savage and Leary are being fed by the endless stream of middleclass know-nothings who think that they know everything there is to know about vaccines? Just a thought

Anyway, I put together a little something for us all to get a little payback against the idiots in celebville. Enjoy

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