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But…it’s toxic!

24 Nov

Warning, non autism subject. Rather, the subject is misinformation by pseudo-autism bloggers.

“It’s toxic”. We hear that a lot about vaccine ingredients, especially thimerosal. But, dose makes the poison. As if I need to say that, yet again. But, once again there is a campaign to scare people about vaccines, using mercury as the hammer. Frankly, I’d be glad to see thimerosal go away just to see what hammer pops up next. (My money is on a resurgence of “too many, too soon”)

In addition to the SafeMinds PSA that they are trying to put into movie theaters, a smaller effort is ongoing (as it always is) at the Age of Autism blog. They recently posted the MSDS for thimerosal. They also gave a screenshot. And, they are tweeting the message.

(Note, I had to add that as I feel a kinship with “female bloggers” as of late)

What can we tell from this? Well, thimerosal has a health safety rating of 2 (that’s the number in the . That’s a “moderate” hazard. If you check closer, you will see that there is a listing for toxicity. They give LD50 numbers. That’s the amount of the substance which given in a short period of time will kill about 1/2 of the test animals. For Thimerosal, the LD50 is 91 mg/kg [Mouse]. Give 91mg thimerosal to a group of 1Kg mice, and half will die.

But, hey, as long as we are looking at MSDS sheets, let’s check the sheet for, DMSA. DMSA, or meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid, is a chelating agent commonly used amongst those who “treat” autistic children as if they are heavy metal poisoned. The MSDS for DMSA shows, just like thimerosal, a 2 rating for health hazard. A moderate hazard. Again, for emphasis, the same rating as thimerosal. The LD50 is higher, acute: 5011 mg/kg [Mouse]. In other words, DMSA will kill mice (it is toxic) but it takes a larger amount than thimerosal.

But, how much DMSA is a child under this treatment exposed to? From one website, I found:

In one popular chelation protocol for children with autism, the dosage of DMSA is calculated based on the child’s weight, at 1/8 to 1/2 mg per pound. It is administered in divided doses, every four hours. This dose is given every day for three days, followed by a rest period of four days. Many children have remained on this regimen for as long as two to three years, with continued improvement over the course of therapy.

VRP now offers DMSA in a 25 mg dosage intended for children. However, it is always a good idea to work with a chelation doctor when treating children, and that is what we recommend.

OK, for simplicity sake, imagine the 1Kg mouse again. If you give that mouse a flu shot with 25 micrograms of thimerosal, you have given him 0.025mg/92mg or 0.03% of the LD50.

What about DMSA? Give that 1Kg mouse 25mg of DMSA and you have exposed it to 25mg/5011mg, or 0.5% of the LD50.

Both DMSA and thimerosal are well under the LD50 limit, but, by this measure, the 25mg of DMSA is over 15 times more toxic than the 25micrograms of thimerosal.

The thing about vaccines is that kids don’t get them every day. You can’t say the same thing about chelators. Kids have been on chelation “treatments” for weeks, months, even years.

If one wants to argue that “dose does not make the poison”, why are those same people supporting exposing disabled children to a chronic exposure of a toxic substance (DMSA)?

Perhaps I could tweet, “Female blogger ignores the fact that DMSA is poison. Perhaps send her the data sheet?”

The shame of the autism community

23 Nov

Sully wrote a post yesterday about how the so-called autism community that Safe Minds alleges it is part of is running blatantly antivax adverts in cinemas whilst ignoring autism related stories.

As counterpoint to that, I came across two stories in the online version of the Daily Mail yesterday with two supremely differing outcomes.

In story one, the Mail reports on the so-called ‘super-vaccination’ ie the 6 in 1 shot.

The ‘super-vaccination’ day will involve three injections to protect against measles, mumps, rubella, two forms of meningitis and bacteria that can cause pneumonia.

This post has 99 comments, mainly antivax and lots who try the emotive gambit of suggesting vaccines caused their childs autism.

My son was bright as a button, attentive and talking before MMR jab and I chose to give it to him thinking that the government must have researched it.. what a fool I was thinking that the MMR jab must be better than the threat of becominng sterile, blind, or brain damaged by the possible effects of mumps, measles or rubella. Instead within 3 months of the jab, my boy stopped talking, started flapping his arms and running on tip toes. He’s now nearly 7 and hasn’t said a word for about 5 and a half years.

and thats just one example, there are a lot more along those lines.

In the second story, last updated on the same day, the Mail reports on the story of one Nicole Wilson who was struck with Meningitis – a vaccine preventable disease.

Nicole survived — just — but, as a result of the disease, the once active teenager who loved gymnastics and dancing has lost both legs, most of her fingers, and the sight in one eye. She has also been left infertile.

…

more than 10 per cent of students have never even heard of the disease, while half don’t know if they’ve been vaccinated against it…

This story? Zero comments.

It is incredible to me how uncaring the ‘autism’ community has become, truly incredible.

And now for something completely different: biblical autism

23 Nov

A strange abstract showed up in my pubmed search the other day: the paper Newer insights to the neurological diseases among biblical characters of old testament. A friend sent me the paper recently, but it turns out the paper is free on pubmed.

From the abstract you can see that one of the claims is that a biblical character was autistic. The character? Samson. I found the idea amusing (my wife laughed out loud at it). I was going to pass on blogging this until I read the paper. You’ll see why below.

Here is the abstract:

Many people over the years have studied the Bible from a medical point of view offering diagnoses for the symptoms and signs that appear to have afflicted numerous individuals in the Bible. We review the biblical characters in the Old Testament and offer newer insights to their neurological diseases. We first look at the battle between Goliath and David. Interestingly, Goliath probably suffered from acromegaly. We propose autism as a diagnosis for Samson which would precede the first known case of autism by centuries. Isaac was a diabetic, and he probably had autonomic neuropathy. Few verses from the books of I Samuel, Psalms, and Ezekiel reveal symptoms suggestive of stroke. Jacob suffered from sciatica, and the child of the Shunnamite woman in II Kings had a subarachnoid hemorrhage. These instances among others found in the Old Testament of the Bible offer newer insights on the history of current neurological diseases.

How do they go about claiming that Samson was autistic? Here’s a taste:

One of the earliest incidents recorded from Samson’s adult life is the journey to Timnath with his parents where he tears a lion
with his bare hands. On his return, he finds a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion, which he eats, and offers his
parents (Judges 14:8–9). Abnormal eating is one of the atypical behaviors noted among children with autism.

“Abnormal eating”. OK. I accept that eating honey from the carcass of a lion might not be the most common behavior in the world. Then again, I sort of assumed that…it was a story. I didn’t really take it as serious.

There is more. Samson, as you may know, was famed for his great strength (and his idea that his strength was dependent on his hair). This was possibly (according to the authors) due to a lack of the ability to sense pain. Also, they conclude with this gem:

A study of hospitalized individuals carried out in Sweden had reached the conclusion that individuals with autism or autism spectrum disorders are prone to acts of violence.

By that reasoning, a lot of old testament characters had a sign of autism (ever read the old testament? Lots and lots of violence).

That aside, this is a terrible stereotype to put forth. One which is not well supported by the reference they cite. Let’s take a look at the study they reference about autistics being “prone to violence”. Risk Factors for Violent Offending in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A National Study of Hospitalized Individuals

A brief narrative description of the journal article, document, or resource. Little is known about risk factors for violence among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study uses data from Swedish longitudinal registers for all 422 individuals hospitalized with autistic disorder or Asperger syndrome during 1988-2000 and compares those committing violent or sexual offenses with those who did not. Thirty-one individuals with ASD (7%) were convicted of violent nonsexual crimes and two of sexual offenses. Violent individuals with ASD are more often male and diagnosed with Asperger syndrome rather than autistic disorder. Furthermore, comorbid psychotic and substance use disorders are associated with violent offending. We conclude that violent offending in ASD is related to similar co-occurring psychopathology as previously found among violent individuals without ASD. Although this study does not answer whether ASDs are associated with increased risk of violent offending compared with the general population, careful risk assessment and management may be indicated for some individuals with Asperger syndrome. (Contains 2 tables.)

The study “does not answer whether ASD’s are associated with increased risk of violent offending” and “We conclude that violent offending in ASD is related to similar co-occurring psychopathology as previously found among violent individuals without ASD”. But this is used as evidence that “…individuals with autism or autism spectrum disorders are prone to acts of violence.”

Wow. Just, wow.

I see that I have been beaten to the punch on blogging this. Neuroskeptic has a post Autism Gives You Biblical Superpowers

What would you expect if you gave $1,500 to an “autism” charity

22 Nov

If you do a Google search for SafeMinds the link you get says “SafeMinds Autism Mercury Thimerosal”. SafeMinds considers itself to be a part of the “Autism Collaboration” (which, as far as I can tell, is the group that is supporting Andrew Wakefield now that he has lost his job with Thoughful House). A member of SafeMinds holds a chair on the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee.

So I think it safe to say that they pitch themselves as an autism charity. If you were to donate, say, $1,560, would you expect some or all of that money to go towards something that might help the autism community?

Well, if you had paid for the the Pass the Popcorn but HOLD THE MERCURY! Safeminds Theatre PSA Campaign that SafeMinds recently put on, you would be mistaken. The campaign was an effort to raise money to put this public service announcement (PSA) into theaters this week.

You can find details, where else, on the Age of Autism blog. If you go there, you will see that three people donated at the $1,560 level, each such donation would put the PSA on 25 screens all week in New York or Los Angeles. Many others donated at lower levels.

The Age of Autism had another fund-raiser recently. That story was met with skepticism even though it was, I have been told, supported by Andrew Wakefield himself. The fundraiser was for legal aide for an autism family. So far, about $1800: enough to put the PSA on a little more than 25 screens. None of the prominent “editors” of the Age of Autism blog came forward in support.

SafeMinds. Age of Autism. At least you know what their priorities are. Autism isn’t number 1, vaccines are.

One might respond that to SafeMinds (and Age of Autism), vaccines and autism are not separate issues. They still subscribe to the idea that thimerosal in vaccines caused an autism epidemic. That by preventing thimerosal containing vaccines being given to infants and pregnant women is, in their view, preventing autism.

To that I answer: why spend money putting the PSA on screens in Los Angeles? In 2006, California law prohibited administering thimerosal containing vaccines to children under 3 and to women who are pregnant. Yeah, they are warning pregnant women and parents of young children against—something they aren’t going to get anyway. But that doesn’t stop SafeMinds from putting an image of a syringe next to big puddles of mercury in front of families.

addendum: it appears that at least one theater chain said no to the PSA.

Montagnier and the Autism Treatment Trust

22 Nov

This summer the Nobel Prizewinner, Luc Montagnier, seemed to lend credibility to homeopathy.

French virologist Luc Montagnier stunned his colleagues at a prestigious international conference when he presented a new method for detecting viral infections that bore close parallels to the basic tenets of homeopathy.

Although fellow Nobel prize winners — who view homeopathy as quackery — were left openly shaking their heads, Montagnier’s comments were rapidly embraced by homeopaths eager for greater credibility.

Montagnier told the conference last week that solutions containing the DNA of pathogenic bacteria and viruses, including HIV, “could emit low frequency radio waves” that induced surrounding water molecules to become arranged into “nanostructures”. These water molecules, he said, could also emit radio waves

He suggested water could retain such properties even after the original solutions were massively diluted, to the point where the original DNA had effectively vanished. In this way, he suggested, water could retain the “memory” of substances with which it had been in contact — and doctors could use the emissions to detect disease.

Luc Montagnier won his Nobel Prize just two years ago, for the discovery of HIV in 1983.

The excellent Gimpy’s blog reports that Montagnier has turned his eye towards autism. He is seeking to use his new found ability to detect infections using “low frequency radiowaves” at the Autism Treatment Trust with a Dr. Skorupka and Dr Amet. Skorupka is described as a DAN! practitioner from Paris; Dr Amet is a neuroscientist, but not a registered medical practitioner. As readers of this blog will be aware DAN! (Defeat Autism Now!) practitioners use non-standard biomedical treatments that have little in the way of supporting evidence. Often “studies” in this area (in the US) will be funded by parents.

The Montagnier study as published at the Autism Treatment Trust, hopes to use Montagnier’s alleged ability to detect viruses and bacteria from the “low frequency radio waves” they emit. Montagnier is of the view that “some abnormalities in autism as well as in a whole range of neurological conditions, such as chronic fatigue and multiple sclerosis may be caused by potential infective agents.”, and has recently received a grant from the Autism Research Institute to study bacterial DNA in autism.

There are three main aims to the study:

1- Investigate the possibility that some cases of autism are associated with a range of bacterial infections, based on laboratory testing and clinical examination conducted by Dr. C. Skorupka in Edinburgh.

2- Assess the ASD children for the presence of nanobacteria following Prof Luc Montagnier’s protocol of investigations. The protocol would require a blood draw conducted at the clinic with the help of our nurse. The blood normally has to be centrifugated immediately and the supernatant extracted, then frozen to -80C and shipped on carboice to France.

3- Evaluate the efficacy of antibiotic intervention as well as behavioural evaluations (ATEC and ADOS). This would involve meeting with Dr Skopurpka and Dr. Amet every 2 months and reviewing progress over the phone in the interim month.

The opportunity to take part in this study is going to cost parents serious money:

Cost of study: £1800 (over 6 months).
Antibiotic treatment: £30-60 a month.

For that, you will get:

1. A scan using Montagnier’s new “resonance” screening system for bacterial and virological material.

2. A “very sensitive PCR assay”

3. A progress review by Dr Skorupka and Dr Amet every two month’s, plus interim phone reviews.

4. A blood test at the start of the treatment, and after 6 months of treatment.

5. Behavioral evaluations at the start, and after 6 months of treatment.

The study is restricted to 12 autistic children, involves PCR, has no controls, and involves blood tests. Any alarm bells ringing yet?

The webpage about the study does not show evidence of authorisation by the MHRA (perhaps surprising given the anti-biotic treatment), or having undergone any ethical review in the UK (perhaps surprising given the blood tests and antibiotic treatment in a vulnerable group of children). I have emailed the Autism Research Institute to ask for clarification on this point, and have yet to receive any confirmation of any authorisation. I have therefore emailed the National Research Ethics Service and the MHRA Clinical Trial unit to see if they are aware of the study being registered.

In 2008, when Montagnier was receiving his Nobel prize, The Daily Mail ran a news story “The Great Autism Rip-Off” about the biomedical industry that feeds on vulnerable families with autistic children. The Autism Treatment Trust and Dr Amet were featured in the article (consultation £120, £480 for tests including urine and hair tests, follow-up £400).

At the time, Richard Mills, a director of Research Autism, stated:

“Many of the practitioners who sell these treatments are no better than snake-oil salesmen. This kind of hard-sell approach is completely immoral. Lack of regulation means anyone can set themselves up and claim to be able to successfully treat autism, without any proof that it’s actually possible,”

Who would have guessed that an industry the Daily Mail exposed, would eventually attract the interest of a Nobel Prize Winner?

See also Gimpy’s blog on this study as well.

Gender Genie: JB Handley’s Results

18 Nov

In amongst the fun and games of “I’m Bonnie” something that JB Handley said intrigued me.

Sullivan claims to be a man, and is actually a woman. Anyone who reads dozens of Sullivan’s posts, as I have, would probably reach the same conclusion. It’s hard to hide your gender when you write…

I wondered what The Gender Genie would make of JB Handley’s own writing style:

There you have it – the Gender Genie thinks JB Handley writes like a girl. Now, what about Sullivan?

Woah – the Gender Genie thinks Sully is all man. Hmm.

Restraint and Seclusion bill stalled

18 Nov

The United States legislature has been considering a bill to limit seclusion and restraints in schools. The bill, Senate Bill 3895, Keeping All Students Safe Act , has not passed and is now stalled.

Here is the statement from the “Capital Insider”, an email sent weekly by The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy.

Restraint and Seclusion – Bill Not Moving Forward this Congress

DPC staff and representatives of other national disability organizations met with staff of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee and learned that S.3895, The Keeping All Kids Safe Act, will not move forward in this session of Congress. It is possible that new legislation could be introduced in the next session of Congress. Senator Burr (R-NC) indicated his continuing interest in addressing restraint and seclusion in schools. Advocates will be looking for a Democratic sponsor given the retirement of Senator Dodd (D-CT) from the Senate.

” It is possible that new legislation could be introduced in the next session of Congress. ” That means that this bill is dead. A new bill would have to be introduced to start this over.

The Senate version of the bill (the one cited above) had an IEP provision that would allow seclusion/restraint plans. Here is a section from WrightsLaw discussing this bill:

The Senate version of the “Keeping All Students Safe Act” (S.3895) is significantly different from the House bill, and includes a provision that is creating substantial controversy. The controversial provision would allow schools to … include seclusion/restraint plans in Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), safety plans, educational plans, and behavior plans.

And

Other organizations – including Wrightslaw and Our Children Left Behind – say the IEP provision is fatal to the bill. We cannot accept legislation that will permit the planned use of seclusion /restraint by including it in the IEPs of children with disabilities, and other similar plans.

A seclusion and restraints bill is needed but it appears that this bill may be better off dying this session.

Society vs Individuals

17 Nov

In amongst yesterdays fun and games, the author of the paranoid piece itself, JB Handley included the following statement:

What parent of an autistic child would write, “my main concern is to create a better world for all people, but especially for people with disabilities. Autism is a great challenge. People with autism deserve respect and support”? Give me a break! A real parent would only have one main concern, the concern we all share: giving our own child the best possible life!

I commented briefly on this paragraph by Handley but the more I mulled it over, the more I thought it deserved its own blog entry.

There are those that believe that even though they are parents, they have a responsibility to society and particularly to the society in which their own child belongs. Sullivan’s child, like mine, is autistic and therefore disabled (amongst other things) and so we (and many of our online friends and colleagues) believe that we owe a debt of responsibility in our writing to both this particular society. We believe this for numerous reasons:

1) The betterment of that society is the betterment of the society in which our child resides.
2) Its simply the right thing to do.

However people such as JB Handley clearly believe their own child and no one elses is important. There is no such thing as society in this world view.

This tallies neatly with their other set of beliefs. I’m talking of course about vaccination. To choose to vaccinate is a supremely societal act. When you vaccinate you are saying that not only do you believe in protecting your _own_ child, you believe in protecting the society around him/her. The concept of herd immunity illustrates this perfectly:

More than a hundred years ago, scientists were noting that not everyone had to be vaccinated against smallpox to stop an epidemic in its tracks*. Scientists also noticed that when they were wiping out smallpox, not everyone needed to be vaccinated to have the disease disappear. In many places, it was enough if 80% of the population could be vaccinated and revaccinated in a 4-5 year period.

Why do we do this? Why do we need to protect the herd? We do this because no vaccine is 100% effective. There will always be people who cannot be vaccinated and these people need to be protected. Why? Because its the right thing to do.

Anti-vaccinationism takes the directly opposite path. They claim – as does JB Handley – that it is only ones _own_ child that matters and that society can go hang. By electing not to vaccinate they not only put their own child at risk, they also put the herd at risk. They have forgotten that one of societies greatest accomplishments was learning to work together for the common betterment of us all.

One of the things that speaks most to not just Handley’s set of beliefs but the beliefs of those he speaks to is the idea that anyone could find what Sullivan said as anything but crazy:

A real parent would only have one main concern, the concern we all share: giving our own child the best possible life!

Remember that when these parents march ‘together’ they are nothing of the sort. They are a group of individuals looking out for No.1 and No.1 only.

Callous Disregard: Epilogue

17 Nov

We’ve already discussed Andrew Wakefield’s book, Callous Disregard, a few times here at LeftBrainRightBrain. I discussed his chapter discussed “Why”, which is painful to read, both for Mr. Wakefield’s approach to the subject and his attempt at creative writing. I discussed his chapter 1, and some of the “myths” he claims there are in the discussion of the paper in The Lancet. In that piece I referred to wading through “Callous Disregard” as a land war in Asia. Around every corner there is a statement which just doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. Given that, you probably won’t be surprised to see that I have skipped to the end, the epilogue of the book. I’ll quote two paragraphs.

The first is voiced as a statement to those those would promote vaccines:

There is no place for indulging futile displacement activity, sanctimonious posturing, and self protectionism. In the battle for the hearts and minds of the public, you have already lost… Why? Because the parents are right; their stories are true; their children’s brains are damaged; there is a major, major problem. In the US, increasingly coercive vaccine mandates and fear mongering advertising campaigns are a measure of your failure–vaccine uptake is not a reflection of public confidence, but of those coercive measures, and without public confidence, you have nothing.

Mr. Wakefield likes to position himself as a moderate, someone still asking whether MMR causes autism. How exactly that squares with a clear statement, “..their children’s brains are damaged…” I don’t know.

The final paragraph is a closer to his “why” chapter.

Sinking low, out over Crystal Mountain, the Texan sun still hurts the land. The cedars draw on parched earth. And the sun is gone. Stars creep into the night sky and the forest begins to move. My children are asleep and my beer is cold. From the lops of Willie Nelson, the ballad of Bobby McGee falls with a salty melancholy: “I’d trade all my tomorrows for a single yesterday”. And for a moment I am there, on the cold, wet precipice of Hounds Ghyll viaduct, 180 feet above oblivion as a small boy looks questioningly into my face, slips my hand, and is gone.

I found the essay (for want of a better word) “Why” to be a bit disturbing. This closing paragraph only confirms that impression.

Study finds evidence of gender bias toward diagnosing boys with autism

17 Nov

As dad to a daughter and ‘step-dad’ to a ‘step-daughter’ who are both autistic, I always find stories and studies like this interesting:

With the severity of autistic traits held constant, boys were more likely to receive an ASD diagnosis than girls.

And

“We wanted to find out what distinguishes those children without diagnosis but with autistic traits from those who have received a formal ASD diagnosis in the clinic,” explained lead researcher Ginny Russell, from Egenis at the University of Exeter. “We thought that there may be social and demographic factors that explain why some children are diagnosed and others are not. Understanding social factors that act as access barriers may provide useful insights for clinicians in practice.”

And one of those things that they found was that boys were more likely to be diagnosed than girls. Also found was the results that ethnic origin, maternal class and mother’s marital status played no part in receiving a diagnosis whereas the average age of mothers with an ASD diagnosis was 3 years higher than in the population generally.

Financial hardship, partner cruelty and affection, home ownership status, maternal mental health, substance abuse, maternal psychopathology, and being in trouble with the police showed no significant associations with a child receiving an ASD diagnosis.

All this backs up the idea that diagnoses – or the art of diagnosing – autism depend on social factors as well as behavioural and biological factors.

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