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Jenny McCarthy backs away from vaccines

3 Feb

As I blogged recently, Paul Offit was a guest on a US show called The Colbert report. Whilst emailing him about his appearance he mentioned the following:

Of interest, one of the show’s staff said that xe had been called by Jenny McCarthy (which I assumed meant Jenny McCarthy’s handlers), who told xyr not to mention Jenny’s name because *Jenny no longer speaks out against vaccines* . [Jenny’s handler was told] that Colbert wouldn’t mention her name but I was welcome to. The opening came when Colbert said he hadn’t heard about the science. But I didn’t mention McCarthy.

My, my. I wonder if anyone has told the founder members of Generation Rescue this little factoid? And what use to them is a Jenny McCarthy that won;t spout off about vaccines at the drop of an opinion?

Jenny McCarthy joins the defense of Andrew Wakefield

12 Jan

One of the defenses of Andrew Wakefield is that his paper doesn’t actually claim to have proven that MMR and autism are linked. You can find it in the interviews, you can find it on the Generation Rescue (Jenny McCarthy’s autism organization) website:

The mainstream media is in a frenzy over a new “study” claiming that Andrew Wakefield’s 1998 Lancet paper was fraudulent. For years, the media has mischaracterized Wakefield’s work as implicating the MMR vaccine in the autism epidemic. This was never true, as Wakefield himself wrote in the conclusion to his paper:

“We did not prove an association between measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine and the syndrome described.”

You can find it in Jenny McCarthy’s blog post on the Huffington Post:

Is that the whole story? Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s study of 12 children with autism actually looked at bowel disease, not vaccines. The study’s conclusion stated, “We did not prove an association between measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and the syndrome described [autism].”

And, they are correct. The paper does state that. And it is correct, the study did not prove any link. Which leaves us with the question: how could the press have made such a mistake as to think that the paper supported a link?

For starters, from Andrew Wakefield himself.

From the video that his employer at the time, the Royal Free Hospital put out:

DR ANDREW WAKEFIELD: I think if you asked members of the team that have investigated this they would give you different answers. And I have to say that there is sufficient anxiety in my own mind of the safety, the long term safety of the polyvalent, that is the MMR vaccination in combination, that I think that it should be suspended in favour of the single vaccines, that is continued use of the individual measles, mumps and rubella components.

He called for a suspension of the MMR vaccine at the time. Pretty strong message to send to parents.

In addition, as Jenny McCarthy tries to distance Andrew Wakefield from linking MMR and autism, let’s take a look at her own website, Generation Rescue dot com. They claim that the number one paper that supports the idea that a trigger of inflammation and the current resultant behaviors is the Wakefield 1998 study in The Lancet:

Children with neurological disorders are often suffering from severe gastrointestinal distress and inflammation. A trigger of this inflammation and the resultant behaviors is the MMR vaccine.

We cite four published studies that support this position:

Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children
Lancet 1998 Feb 28 Wakefield AJ, Murch SH, Anthony A, Linnell J, Casson DM, [University Department of Medicine, Royal Free Hospital and School of Medicine, London, UK]

Not surprisingly, the exact same text is included on the “14 studies” website, a site set up by Generation Rescue.

So, according to Generation Rescue, the Lancet article supports the position that the MMR is a trigger, even though the article itself says it doesn’t prove a link.

Generation Rescue and Jenny McCarthy have spent years putting the notion of a link between MMR and autism into the public’s mind. They have relied, heavily, upon the Lancet paper to make this assertion. And now they blame the media for propagating this idea?

2011 – The Last Year For ARI’s DAN! Doctors

2 Jan

As late as just a few months ago, The Autism Research Institute (ARI), promoted their upcoming Fall 2010 Defeat Autism Now! conference in a monthly newsletter. Note the name of the conference:

“Fall 2010 ARI/Defeat Autism Now! Conference”
http://www.ariconference.com/enews/enewsletter_201010.html

Now look at ARI’s promotion of their Spring 2011 conference.

“Spring 2011 ARI Conference
(formerly known as Defeat Autism Now!)”
http://www.ariconference.com/enews/enewsletter_201011.html

Do you see the difference? It’s pretty hard to miss. What about all those practitioners (physicians, nurses, chiropractors, nutritionists, naturopaths, and homeopaths, etc.) who want to participate in the “DAN! Physician Training”, you know, become “DAN! Practitioners”? How does one become a DAN! doctor, if Defeat Autism Now! is a former identity?

A quick look at the ARI Conference website answers that right away.

The Autism Research Institute Conference Formerly known as Defeat Autism Now!

The practitioner seminars are still part of the conference. But there’s something potentially newsworthy here too.

As of 12/31/11, ARI will no longer be maintaining a clinician registry (a.k.a “the DAN list”). No new names will be added to the registry in 2011.

Source

You read that correctly – no new names in 2011, and at the end of this year, it’s over. No more list of DAN! Doctors.

According to ARI’s website, one is best served in finding a “talented clinician” by way a support group – local, or you know, out there on the interwebs.

As recently as 10 years ago it was nearly impossible for parents to find clinicians who approached treating patients with autism from a medical point of view, so ARI started keeping a clinician registry (the “DAN list”). We tried a number of measures to ensure that every clinician on our list provided high-quality care, but we are a small non-profit with limited resources. We have determined that those seeking a talented clinician are best served by connecting with support groups—either locally or online—instead of choosing from a list that cannot be vetted.

Source

I’m not sure what they mean by having tried “a number of measures to ensure that every clinician on our list provided high-quality care”. I understand that there were special “clinician training” sessions at DAN! conferences in the past, but as far as I understood it in the past, becoming a listed DAN! practitioner might have required little more than attend a conference, sign a statement pledging to “conduct their practice in accordance with DAN! philosophy”, and ask to be listed. Although I could be wrong, I find it incredibly difficult to believe that there were in fact any significant measures taken by ARI to ensure the provision of high quality care by clinicians on its list. I seem to recall that Roy Kerry was added to ARI’s list of DAN! practitioners in 2006 after the death of Tariq Nadma in 2005.

ARI’s notes and disclaimers for the remaining year of life for the list of DAN! doctors seem pretty careful:

If someone claims to be “DAN-certified,” they’re overstating; neither ARI nor Defeat Autism Now! has ever had a certification program.

The following are practitioners who have asked to be listed as providing Defeat Autism Now!®- based interventions for patients with autism. Most are physicians, others are licensed health-care professionals in related fields.

ARI has no means of certifying the competence nor quality of practice of any practitioner. The lists are provided as a community service. The Autism Research Institute disclaims and does not endorse or support any individual or entity listed; makes no representations, warranties, guarantees or promises on behalf of or for those listed, and assumes no liability nor responsibility for any service or product provided. ARI does not ‘certify’ practitioners or guarantee competence, skill, knowledge, or experience.

Source

So is that it? Is this really the end of DAN! doctors in less than a year? Isn’t there a D-List celebrity with apparent anti-vaccine leanings , who can save (or may have already saved) the day for all the poor physicians, nurses, chiropractors, nutritionists, naturopaths, and homeopaths who need be available to all those parents who are desperate to recover an “epidemic” of kids from autism, mercury poisoning, or “vaccine-induced” whatever?

Aha! Jenny McCarthy’s Generation Rescue! Where, from the home page, a parent can click on “Find A Doctor” and learn about the NGMD’s.

JMGR

What’s an NGMD according to Jenny McCarthy’s Generation Rescue?

Answer: According to Jenny McCarthy’s Generation Rescue website, an NGMD is a “New Generation Medical Doctor”, and “These clinicians share Generation Rescue’s ideologies, practices, and philosophies of treating the underlying medical issues of individuals with autism.”

Source

I think this is potentially an interesting development, because in the past, a parent brand-new to an autism diagnosis might have assumed scientific credibility from a movement’s (Defeat Autism Now!) list of practitioners associated with a name like “Autism Research Institute”. If nothing, ARI is a scientific sounding name. I don’t think that’s as likely to be the case for the “NGMD’s”, who could be seen by many as simply associated with a fringe anti-vaccine group promoted by Jenny McCarthy.

What do you think?

Autism does not cause divorce

19 May

A new study at IMFAR reports:

Brian Freedman, PhD, lead author of the study and clinical director of the Center for Autism and Related Disorders at Kennedy Krieger Institute, said the findings seem to debunk a lot of the general understanding about high divorce rates among parents of children with autism. Dr. Freedman and his research team found that 64 percent of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) belong to a family with two married biological or adoptive parents, compared with 65 percent of children who do not have an ASD.

This is the first scientific study (I believe) that has actually addressed this question. We can of course all recall the utterly unfounded scare stories of 80% put about by know-nothings such as Jenny McCarthy who said on an episode of Oprah:

Soon after Evan’s diagnosis, Jenny says the stress of raising a child with autism began to take a toll on her marriage. An autism advocacy organization reports that the divorce rate within the autism community is staggering. According to its research, 80 percent of all marriages end.

“I believe it, because I lived it,” she says. “I felt very alone in my marriage.”

and which autism organisation was that? You might not be amazed to discover its the equally know-nothing bunch at the National Autism Association.

NAA is presently conducting a national divorce survey of autism families. Several organizations and news outlets have used the often-quoted autism divorce rate of 80%–NAA hopes to confirm or update that percentage before referencing it in its program materials.

Get a clue NAA – maybe you should’ve done the research before letting rent-a-gob loose on the Oprah show.

Green Our Vaccines: science, slogan or smoke screen?

5 May

In June, 2008, Jenny McCarthy of Generation Rescue led the “Green Our Vaccines” rally in Washington. The stated reason for the rally was to “Demand Congress take action to Green Our Vaccine Supply while reassessing our current vaccine schedule.”

They weren’t anti-vaccine, they were anti-toxin.

How sincere was this movement?

Consider this question and answer from Jenny McCarthy’s interview for Frontline:

Tell me about “Green Our Vaccines” and what you want to happen.

I don’t think there is a green vaccine. The purpose in our statement of Green Our Vaccines really is: Let’s take a look at our environment. Let’s take a look at some of these toxic ingredients and pull them out. Let’s take a look at a safer schedule. I mean, our motto was “Too many, too soon” with the Green Our Vaccines march. And like I said, it’s not like I’m looking for a Whole Foods version of a shot. We’re looking for just a smarter and safer one in that title of Green Our Vaccines.

Repeated for emphasis–“I don’t think there is a green vaccine”. Sort of vague there. Is she saying there can be no green vaccine? That’s how I read it at first. Considering that Jenny McCarthy considers the active parts of vaccines (bacteria and viruses) to be “toxic” ingredients, I’m not sure if she can believe in a green vaccine.

So, was it really about “too many too soon”, the vaccine schedule? No. It’s still mercury. Consider Generation Rescue’s mission statement from their tax form (dated 2009-11-16). (click to enlarge)

Mission Statement for Generation Rescue

My own rough transcription:

Generation Rescue, inc. has a four point mission. Gather information that exists about mercury toxicity and publicize the truth so parents can make the best decision to help their children heal. 2. Organize doctors to treat the millions of affected children through education and conference sponsorship. Sponsor research to further the understanding between mercury and neurodevelopmental and other health disorders and to help organize the cure for mercury poisoning. 4. Support legislation to ban the use of thimerosal in medicine on a worldwide basis.

The mission statement has nothing about “green vaccines” or “too many too soon” or any of the talking points. Just mercury.

Why bring this up? Is anyone surprised that “Green Our Vaccines” and “Too Many Too Soon” are just slogans?

Well, it is worth bringing up from time to time. Generation Rescue would like you to believe that there has been a big fail by the public health establishment. They would like you to believe that the government has been avoiding looking at “the schedule” and has only looked at “one vaccine and one ingredient”.

Well, one ingredient is exactly what Generation Rescue’s mission is all about.

As long as the tax form is available, take a look. Jenny McCarthy seems to be good for generating new revenue. GR brought in $1,185,255 in 2008. Pretty respectable. That’s up from $424,698 the year before.

Generation Rescue’s expenses went up to. They spent $229,213 fund raising alone. This was part of total expenses totaling $745,238.

Let’s break that down a bit. Of the total expenses, $220,654 went to “MARKETING &AWARENESS COSTS”. Let’s consider that to be part of GR’s mission, spreading the word.

What does that leave? Expenses of $524,584. Or, about 44% of the donations.

Another way to look at it: if you donate a dollar to Generation Rescue, 44 cents goes to overhead.

Of course, one could compare Generation Rescue to Autism Speaks, who takes in $66,000,000 in order to put out $27,000,000 in grants–or about 41 cents on the dollar goes to the mission. Autism Speaks has about $14,000,000 in fund raising expenses and about $18,000,000 in salaries.

Ah, but I am getting off topic.

Generation Rescue has a single mission. The same mission they’ve always had. They appear to expanding to “too many too soon” but, in reality, it is just about mercury.

Watch Frontline’s Vaccine War online

28 Apr

I’ve only been able to watch the first few minutes so far, but I wanted to make this available.

(I’ve emailed asking if there is a captioned version)

If you want to read–written interviews:

Jenny McCarthy
She’s an actress, celebrity and activist. Her son was diagnosed with autism following a series of vaccinations, and she’s helped organize a movement of parents concerned about a vaccine-autism link.

Cynthia Cristofani, M.D.
A pediatric intensivist who takes care of children who need critical care, Cristofani decided to start documenting the rare cases of vaccine-preventable illness that turned up in her Portland, Oregon ICU.

Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.
He is an immunologist and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases [NIAID].

Alvaro and Myrian Fontan
They watched in anguish as their 40 day-old baby Vanessa — not yet old enough for the pertussis vaccination — fought for her life.

J.B. Handley
A businessman whose son was diagnosed with autism, Handley co-founded with his wife the autism advocacy site Generation Rescue.

Paul Offit, M.D.
Co-developer of a vaccine for rotavirus, the leading cause of severe diarrhea in children, Offit is chief of the infectious diseases division at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

PBS Frontline: The Vaccine War

16 Apr

I first heard that the show Frontline, from the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), would be doing a show on “The Vaccine Wars” by reading comments posted online by supporters of groups like Generation Rescue. I was somewhat taken aback that they were happy to hear this was coming as Frontline is a very evidence-based show. I couldn’t see it being very supportive of Jenny McCarthy.

Frontline’s website had this to say about the show:

Public health scientists and clinicians tout vaccines as one of the greatest achievements of modern medicine. But for many ordinary Americans vaccines have become controversial. Young parents are concerned at the sheer number of shots–some 26 inoculations for 14 different diseases by age 6–and follow alternative vaccination schedules advocated by gurus like Dr. Robert Sears. Other parents go further. In communities like Ashland, Oregon, up to one-third of parents are choosing not to vaccinate their kids at all. And some advocacy groups, like Generation Rescue, argue that vaccines are no longer a public health miracle but a scourge; they view vaccines as responsible for alarming rises in certain disorders, including ADHD and autism. This is the vaccine war: On one side sits scientific medicine and the public health establishment; on the other a populist coalition of parents, celebrities (like Jenny McCarthy), politicians and activists. It’s a war that increasingly takes place on the Internet with both sides using the latest social media tools, including Facebook and Twitter, to win the hearts and minds of the public.

I guess I am not on the “latest” social media tools, but I am blogging on the topic so I figure I count as a small part of the “war”.

Reading the above I felt that “The Vaccine Wars” was not going to be the Jenny McCarthy friendly show some were expecting. Being put on the side against “scientific medicine” is usually not a good thing. Also, Generation Rescue tries to pitch itself as being “pro safe vaccine” rather than anti vaccine. I doubt they would like to see themselves as being characterized as arguing “that vaccines are no longer a public health miracle but a scourge”. Then again, times may be changing with the founder of Generation Rescue stating:

With less than a half-dozen full-time activists, annual budgets of six figures or less, and umpteen thousand courageous, undaunted, and selfless volunteer parents, our community, held together with duct tape and bailing wire, is in the early to middle stages of bringing the U.S. vaccine program to its knees.

That’s hard to fit into a “pro safe vaccine” image.

One way to tell for certain if Generation Rescue and other groups are afraid of upcoming media attention is when they start attacking spokespeople like Paul Offit (chief of infectious diseases at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and co-inventor of the RotaTeq vaccine against rotavirus). When that happened (recent blog posts on the Age of Autism, resurrecting old, incorrect information) I knew it was likely that “The Vaccine Wars” was not going to be a pro-Jenny program.

As it turns out, a video clip has been added to the Frontline website for “The Vaccine Wars”:

And, guess what, Dr. Offit was interviewed by Frontline for the piece.

The show airs on April 27th, and will be available online then as well.

Perhaps it is time for those who support the vaccine-causation idea to re-evaluate their position. I can’t tell how many times I’ve been told I need to be “open minded” about the subject. Open minded includes being willing to admit that your ideas on vaccines-causing-autism were wrong.

Let’s see–

One of the main proponents of the idea, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, was found to be unethical and dishonest
The two main theories, really the only two theories, have failed (“not even close”) in the courts
The media is moving away from giving the vaccine-causation idea much weight.

Of course, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe FrontLine will finally tell the story the vaccine-causation groups believe. Maybe they will uncover the vast conspiracies that are hiding the truth. Maybe. I doubt it.

Jenny McCarthy asking for grant from Pepsi for Generation Rescue

9 Apr

Pepsi has a grant program, the Pepsi Refresh Project. The idea is simple, organizations and people can apply for grants in different categories ($5K, $25K, $50K and $250K). Those projects that get the most votes each month get funded.

Jenny McCarthy is asking people to vote for Generation Rescue’s plea: Help children with Autism throughout the USA. The stated purpose is:

– Provide biomedical treatment grants for families who can not afford it. Each grant provides two visits with a physician specifically trained to treat autism and diagnose the child’s needs. The grant also provides essential vitamins and minerals that scientific studies have shown are deficient in children with autism, as well as science-based laboratory testing.

– Each grant costs $2,500. The support of $250,000 will allow us to provide treatment for 100 families.

Here is what Generation Rescue had to say about their program on their website:

Generations Rescue’s Rescue Family grants are designed to provide support to individuals and families affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders. Each grant recipient will receive 2-doctor visits with a specially trained physician who treats autism; vitamins, minerals and supplements for 90 days, a Generation Rescue Rescue Mentor and dietary intervention training.

$2,500 buys $90 worth of supplements and two doctor visits?

The Pepsi idea is pretty cool. Here’s my suggestion: go to the website, search under the term disability, and vote for some cool projects.

What changes are in store for Generation Rescue?

9 Apr

If you haven’t read the celebrity gossip news you may have missed it (and good for you!). Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey have split. As an aside, in classic Hollywood fashion, news also just came out that her ex husband is in a new celebrity relationship. I’ll never understand the way Hollywood uses relationships for image promotion.

That said, this is not an easy thing to blog about. First, there is the fluff component. This isn’t a celebrity gossip blog. Second, Jenny McCarthy’s kid is only seven. He doesn’t deserve to lose another father figure. I wish him well.

One question this poses is whether Jim Carrey will continue with Generation Rescue?

It appears not. Generation Rescue has revamped their website. The picture of Jim Carrey, Jenny McCarthy and Evan McCarthy is gone. GR is now just “Jenny McCarthy’s autism organization”. Jim Carrey is no longer on the page of the Board of Directors.

Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey were the wealthy celebrity couple that revitalized Generation Rescue. And, let’s face it, Jim Carrey is the part of the couple with most of the celebrity and wealth.

The Generation Rescue website is probably in flux so we shouldn’t jump to any conclusions about what is missing as of now. That said, consider this:

Not only is Jim Carrey missing, but Dr. Jill James is no longer listed as a part of their science advisory board.

Mention of Desiree Jennings is gone. (She is the person who claimed that a flu vaccination caused dystonia, a claim that didn’t appear to hold up to scrutiny ). I don’t think this signals anything other than it was a convenient time to quietly pull support for someone who was, well, a liability.

On the main page for Generation Rescue, Jenny McCarthy is pushing hard to get a $250,000 grant from Pepsi. Is this prompted by the loss of Jim Carrey’s financial support? If you haven’t seen the plea from Ms. McCarthy, consider it. At least the first 20 seconds. That way you can hear her state that Generation Rescue “…helps and Treats thousands, millions of children with autism”

Yes, millions of children are supposedly helped by Generation Rescue. That would be more autistic kids than in the entire U.S..

I remember when Jim Carrey first hit the scene. He paid for a full page ad for Generation Rescue in USA Today. Just up and paid for it. Those ads cost over $200,000 as I recall. Now GR is pushing hard for a grant of that size.

Jim Carrey was a bit of a lightweight when it came to autism and disability issues. He demonstrated that clearly at the Green Our Vaccines rally. But, he was an asset to Generation Rescue. His leaving can’t be helping GR.

Does The NIH Want To Study Jenny McCarthy’s Son?

22 Mar

Why would the National Institutes Of Health want to study Jenny McCarthy’s son?

Similarly, there are a large number of anecdotal reports of children with autism who, following intensive biomedical intervention (e.g., gluten/casein free diets, vitamin supplements, chelation), are indistinguishable from their typically developing peers.

Jenny McCarthy seems to have pretty much claimed she cured her son’s autism.

Yeah, I know, she’s apparently claimed a lot of stupid things though:

You know, I could in two months turn Evan completely autistic again. I could do it completely through diet. And maybe getting some vaccine boosters.

I really can’t keep up with Jenny McCarthy’s anti-vaccination and autism nonsense.

If you’re one of those types who’s attracted to McCarthy’s silliness like many are to a car accident, but are smart enough to just keep driving and later try to catch a thumbnail report of what much of the nonsense seems to be about, I recommend reading Kev’s recent piece in response to an article of hers in the Huffington Post.

An Open Letter To Jenny McCarthy

In that Huffington Post article, she wrote the following:

Parents of recovered children, and I’ve met hundreds, all share the same experience of doubters and deniers telling us our child must have never even had autism or that the recovery was simply nature’s course. We all know better, and frankly we’re too busy helping other parents to really care.

Uh huh.

And remember when Jenny McCarthy wrote this a couple of years ago at a CNN blog?

Evan is now 5 years old and what might surprise a lot of you is that we’ve never been contacted by a single member of the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics, or any other health authority to evaluate and understand how Evan recovered from autism. When Evan meets doctors and neurologists, to this day they tell us he was misdiagnosed — that he never had autism to begin with. It’s as if they are wired to believe that children can’t recover from autism.

So where’s the cavalry? Where are all the doctors beating down our door to take a closer look at Evan? We think we know why they haven’t arrived. Most of the parents we’ve met who have recovered their child from autism as we did (and we have met many) blame vaccines for their child’s autism.

Source (and emphasis mine)

Autism research was being funded and conducted by U.S. “health authorities” long before Jenny McCarthy entered and re-entered the public eye (rebranded from IndigoMoms.com to Generation Rescue back sometime between 2006 and 2008), of course. But I suppose it’s quite possible they weren’t interested in stories like Jenny’s. That’s apparently a thing of the past (and so should be McCarthy’s claim that they aren’t interested).

While it might not meet McCarthy’s apparent expectation of a personal contact, indeed the NIH is interested in the subject.

Identification of Characteristics Associated With Symptom Remission in Autism

Additional detail here.

This study has apparently been listed since June, and it’s still recruiting!

LBRB blogger, Sullivan, noted this not too long ago:

NIH to study recovered autistics

He had an interesting observation too:

This is a study that should be done, in my opinion. I will note that this study has supposedly been one of the key pieces being sought by multiple parent groups. I will further note that I have not seen any of them mention this study. Quite the opposite, in fact. I see comments occasionally on blogs about how their frustration that such a study is not being performed. Perhaps I missed it, but I am curious why their leadership doesn’t make a big deal out of this.

To repeat, a component of this study (which is also looking at other possible reasons for remission) is looking for Jenny McCarthy:

Similarly, there are a large number of anecdotal reports of children with autism who, following intensive biomedical intervention (e.g., gluten/casein free diets, vitamin supplements, chelation), are indistinguishable from their typically developing peers.

The Sponsor and Researcher for this study? The NIH.
(Note to Jenny: that’s a “Health Authority: United States: Federal Government”)

They’re looking for Jenny. They want to hear her/Evan’s story (they’ll want substantiating detail too, but that won’t be a problem).

I wonder how many of the “Rescue Angels” or other AoA followers have signed up to participate? Did Jenny McCarthy get the word out to her people? I’m sure she did, right? Like Sullivan, did I miss it too? I could have.

If you don’t think she might have, and if you know Jenny McCarthy (cause lord knows, I don’t), please make sure she gets this info:

Patient Recruitment and Public Liaison Office
Building 61
10 Cloister Court
Bethesda, Maryland 20892-4754
Toll Free: 1-800-411-1222
TTY: 301-594-9774 (local),1-866-411-1010 (toll free)
Fax: 301-480-9793

Electronic Mail:prpl@mail.cc.nih.gov