SFARI, the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative, hosts one of the best autism research focused blogs there is. The Simons Foundation is the largest private funder of autism research.
SFARI has a list of 10 notable papers:
Notable papers of 2012
The list includes genetic, brain structure and treatment studies.
And a discussion of research events from 2012 I. Their director’s column:
Director’s column: 2012 in review
Which is a good discussion of highlighted results.
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By Matt Carey
Channel 10 news in San Diego reports Patricia Corby, woman accused in autistic son’s death, pleads guilty to murder charges, Corby faces sentence of 15 years to life.
The story begins
SAN DIEGO – A woman who drowned her 4-year-old autistic son in a bathtub, then drove his lifeless body to a police substation where she admitted the crime, pleaded guilty Thursday to second-degree murder.
Patricia Corby, 37, sobbed as she admitted killing her son, Daniel, last March 31.
The mother reportedly drowned her 4 year old son, attempted to drown herself and then drove to the police department to turn herself in.
As an aside: such events as these bother me a great deal. I have a great deal of difficulty discussing these stories and I resort to a rather clinical approach in my writing.
In a previous story it was reported that when she turned herself in:
…she told police that the boy was autistic and that she didn’t believe he would have a life or a future without her, so she decided to kill him, the prosecutor said.
Multiple sources are reporting that the the family had spent a large sum on therapy, implying that financial stress played into the decision to murder her son. This sort of inference is often a source of much controversy for, among other reasons, playing into the “autistic as burden” discussion. Also statements about the family’s debt are taken by some as an attempt to partially justify the murder.
Ironically, in most murder cases a financial incentive is seen as adding guilt to the crime. However, when a parent murders a disabled child, the financial incentive seems to be used to reduce guilt.
Not mentioned is the discussion of finances is that the murder happened just a few months before California law changed making autism therapies much easier to obtain through insurance. The family was reported to have a history of employment problems, but the father was employed at the time of the murder and may have had medical benefits.
Comments in online stories range from “I would have taken the child in” to “don’t judge the mother unless you have walked in her shoes” to comments that seem to emanate from a modern-day Ebeneezer Scrooge.
As an aside, it is my personal opinion that the “you haven’t walked in his/her shoes” discussion point is beyond meaningless. Consider a term that is often discussed in the context of autism: empathy.
Empathy is the capacity to recognize feelings that are being experienced by another sentient or fictional being. Someone may need to have a certain amount of empathy before they are able to feel compassion.
Somehow we are not supposed to be capable of empathy where it applies to being critical of the mother’s actions, but we are supposed to be capable of empathy in considering offering the mother sympathy.
Another term that comes up often in autism discussions is “balance”. As in “that news story needed to give both sides to show ‘balance’ “. Usually this is in regards to some totally unscientific or disproven idea about autism. News stories about parents murdering their autistic children almost never give balance in regards to presenting any one of the hundreds of thousands of stories where parents don’t murder their autistic children. Stories of how it is difficult, but does not warrant murder. How the norm for those of us who have “walked in her shoes” is to keep walking, not to commit murder. There is no balance in the form of autistic voices, except in the comments to no online stories. Comments that are often met with a “you haven’t walked in her shoes” reply.
Some question why so many parents actively shun the “pity politics” of autism, where real difficulties and challenges for our children and ourselves are colored by language of hopelessness and despair. Among the many excellent reasons I would include the desire to not encourage the sort of despair that Patricia Corby felt.
Discussions of these types of events are very difficult for many reasons. Not the least of which is being respectful to the family. I wish the father and the family well in this difficult time and apologize for intruding in this tragedy.
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By Matt Carey
A family of an autistic young adult have accused caregivers of abuse after secretly recording video. In apparently pretrial hearings, the mother explains what she saw. The defense causes her of withholding information.
Preliminary hearing Thursday for 2 men accused of abusing autistic man
The video is, as you might imagine, painful to watch. So far the embed code doesn’t work, which might be for the best.
San Diego, California News Station – KFMB Channel 8 – cbs8.com
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By Matt Carey
Autism Science Digest was an effort by AutismOne to publish their take on autism science in a magazine format for a general audience. AutismOne is best known for their annual parent convention which focused largely on alternative medicine and vaccine causation.
It is about the time that AutismOne should be publishing their speaker list for next year’s conference so I checked their website. For those interested, the speaker list reads like most past lists. Andrew Wakefield, the former researcher who promoted the idea that the MMR vaccine causes autism, will speak. So will Keri Rivera, who last year gathered much criticism for promoting forcing disabled children to ingest bleach or undergo bleach laced enemas. Interestingly, neither Mark nor David Geier are on the list. The Geiers have been frequent speakers at AutismOne and other venues favorable to their failed ideas about mercury in vaccines causing autism, as well as bizarre proposals that using drugs to shut down sex hormone production can be used to treat autism. While not a regular at AutismOne, Luc Montagnier will not make a return visit. Last year Dr. Montagnier brought the prestige of a Nobel Laureate to the convention. While his presence was touted strongly by supporters of AutismOne, Dr. Montagnier’s ideas were lacking the scientific rigor one might expect from a Nobel laureate (to put it mildly). Of course Jenny McCarthy returns, perhaps to tell us all once again that those who don’t follow her ideas wish for our children to remain disabled so we can bask in the sympathy of our acquaintances.
That all said, while perusing the AutismOne website I noted that the cover for their “Autism Science Digest” hadn’t changed since my last visit. That was some time ago. The cover informs readers about the then upcoming 2012 AutismOne convention (last April), so my interest was piqued and I checked the page for the “Digest” and found this announcement: Autism Science Digest is temporarily unavailable.
One is left wondering how “temporary” temporary is in this case. Autism Science Digest was launched in August 2011 so the lifespan (should temporary=permanent) seems a bit short.
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By Matt Carey
Andrew Wakefield, the person most responsible for propagating the now failed notion that the MMR vaccine causes autism, has been awarded the “Golden Duck” award for 2012 by the Good Thinking Society. The announcement begins:
Good Thinking launched its annual Golden Duck award for quackery in 2012, which seeks to recognize those who have supported or practiced pseudoscience in the most ludicrous, dangerous, irrational or irresponsible manner. It was decided that the inaugural award should be for lifetime achievement in any field, and the winner is Andrew Wakefield. His nomination statement can be found here…
One of the members of Winchester Skeptics in the Pub is quoted:
We were very keen to team up with the Good Thinking Society to help choose the winner of the inaugural Golden Duck.
“All candidates fared well in the voting, but it became clear that the one thing the good thinking people of Winchester really can’t stand is a doctor who blatantly abandons and abuses the scientific method.”
Further reading at The Guardian in Struck off MMR doctor handed award for ‘lifetime achievement in quackery’
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By Matt Carey
Alex Plank of wrong planet.com and Autism Rights Watch has an opinion piece at CNN.com: Leave autism out of mass shootings. The article begins:
(CNN) — After the horrific shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, a parade of self-appointed experts tried to insinuate that people with autism are prone to inexplicable acts of violence because they lack the ability for empathy and social connection. This is because the shooter, Adam Lanza, had been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism.
These speculations are needless, untrue and hurtful.
The full article, and over sixty comments so far, can be found at Leave autism out of mass shootings.
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By Matt Carey
Bloomberg has an article out on how genetic testing is being misused by alternative medical practitioners to justify their “treatments”. The article includes names which might be familiar to those who have followed the online discussions of autism and alt-med: Amy Yasko whose RNA therapy has been widely criticized for implausibility; James Laidler, a doctor who once worked with the DAN movement; and parent-writer Kim Wombles.
The article, Autism Cures Promised by DNA Testers Belied by Regulators begins:
April Hauge, a nurse practitioner in Weimar, California, spent $500 on a genetic test for her autistic son in 2009 that led to purchasing thousands of dollars in vitamins and supplements. Impressed with the results, she’s now selling advice on the approach to others.
There’s just one problem: the DNA tests and related treatments have scant backing from science and U.S. government officials. They’re untested, unproven, and may constitute “health fraud,” doctors, regulators and concerned parents said.
Yes, practitioners order genetic testing ($495 in one example) and then sell therapies supposedly based on these results which can cost the consumer thousands of dollars over the course of “treatment”. The tests are marketing, not science. There is no real link between the tests, the condition and the treatment.
Discussion of “Dr. Amy’s” RNA therapies go back at least six years. The idea that ingesting small doses of RNA could treat anything fails the biological plausibility test. Per the Photon in the Darkness blog:
This would be earth-shaking news…if it were true. The sad fact is that the cells in our body have a “thing” about stray RNA. There are enzymes – RNAse’s – that chew up RNA in order to prevent unauthorized “communication” from RNA viruses. These enzymes are in every cell and every body fluid.
There is enough RNAse in a fingerprint to degrade milligrams (1000 micrograms) of RNA in a few minutes. And it’s even worse if you try to ingest the RNA. There are high concentrations of RNAse in both saliva and pancreatic digestive enzymes, so it is highly unlikely that any RNA would survive to be absorbed.
Yes, one’s body is designed to attack and destroy foreign RNA. The full discussion The Alternate RNA Universe. Another can be found at Science Blogs as Autism & RNA????.
Government agencies are aware of the claims made and the lack of a logical link between the tests and the “treatments”.
“A lot of this skims on the edge of health fraud,” said Janet Woodcock, director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, referring to the use of DNA testing to recommend alternative therapies.
But for now, those offering the tests are allowed to “skim” health fraud laws. Laws which may change:
Following public hearings in July 2010, the agency developed guidance for regulating complex genetic and other tests sold by laboratories. The rules have been under review by the Obama administration since late 2011, he said. Until they are finalized, the agency is “somewhat hamstrung” in cracking down on companies that sell the tests, Gutierrez said.
The full article, Autism Cures Promised by DNA Testers Belied by Regulators is online at Blomberg.com
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By Matt Carey
The U.S. Interagency Autism Coordinating Commitee (IACC) has posted a Statement Related to the Sandy Hook Tragedy. I have copied the statement and the rest of that web page below:
Statement of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) Related to the Sandy Hook Tragedy
The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, an independent Federal advisory committee that provides advice to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on activities related to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), has issued the following statement regarding the tragedy that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on December 13, 2012:
Here is the statement:
The events of December 14 in Newtown, Connecticut shocked and saddened people worldwide. All of the members of the IACC express our deepest sympathy and support for the families and community affected by these terrible killings. Some news reports suggested the gunman had Asperger syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Because this tragic event has shaken so many, the IACC wants to ensure that continued speculation about the gunman’s diagnosis does not hurt others in the community. Our committee has collectively prepared this statement to address public concerns and questions about the implied association between autism and extreme violence directed at others.
There is no scientific evidence linking ASD with homicides or other violent crimes. In fact, studies of court records suggest that people with autism are less likely to engage in criminal behavior of any kind compared with the general population, and people with Asperger syndrome, specifically, are not convicted of crimes at higher rates than the general population (Ghaziuddin et al., 1991, Mouridsen et al., 2008, Mouridsen, 2012).[1, 2, 3]
Officials do not yet know whether the person associated with the school shooting in Newtown had been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, another developmental or mental disorder or disability, or multiple disorders. We may never know what undiagnosed conditions or motivations he may have had. Whatever his diagnosis, this individual’s acts are not representative of people with developmental or mental disorders or disabilities, very few of whom are violent or dangerous towards others.
While a rare event, the impact of violence is a tragedy for all of those involved. These devastating events remind us of the importance of providing the best care and support for those challenged by developmental or mental disorders or disabilities. We do know that individuals with autism spectrum disorders, including Asperger syndrome, do better with the appropriate medical, educational, mental health and community supports in place. The IACC strongly supports the development and expansion of those services and believes that more research is needed to identify predictors of violence, and to develop appropriate prevention and treatment strategies.
References
1 Ghaziuddin M, et al. Brief Report: Violence in Asperger Syndrome, A Critique. J Autism Dev Disorders. 1991 Sep; 21(3): 349-54. [PMID 1938780]2 Mouridsen SE, et al. Pervasive Developmental Disorders and Criminal Behavior: A Case Control Study. Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. 2008 Apr; 52 (2): 196. [PMID 17615427]
3 Mouridsen SE. Current status of research on autism spectrum disorders and offending. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. 2012 Jan-Mar; 6 (1): 79-86.
Resources
If you are concerned about violence or possible symptoms of mental illness in a family member or yourself, contact a health care provider or your local health department. You can also contact the treatment referral line at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit the online treatment locator.Information about coping with stress after a traumatic event can be found at
•National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) “Children and Violence”
•Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “Coping with Stress”
•American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) “Talking to Children About Disasters”
•American Red Cross “Recovering Emotionally”
•American Red Cross “Helping Children Cope with Disaster” (PDF – 472 KB)
Other Resources
•American Psychological Association
•American Psychiatric Association
•American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Here is a statement about what the IACC is:
The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee is an independent Federal advisory committee that provides advice to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on activities related to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Members of the committee include representatives of Federal agencies involved in ASD research and services, as well as members of the public who are on the autism spectrum, parents of children with ASD, representatives of leading research, service and advocacy organizations, and other community stakeholders. The IACC develops and annually updates a Strategic Plan to guide ASD research efforts and publishes an annual Summary of Advances in ASD Research and the ASD Research Portfolio Analysis Report. More information about the membership and activities of the IACC is available at: http://iacc.hhs.gov/.
Please note that the IACC is an independent Federal advisory committee, and as such, the views expressed by the IACC do not represent the views of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or other Federal agencies and Departments.
Earlier this week the IACC met via conference call to finalize the Strategic Plan updates for 2012. A 2-day workshop on the updates had to be cancelled due to hurricane Sandy. Below are just a few fragments of discussions that occurred during the meeting.
Drafts of the updates can be found on the IACC’s website. And final versions will be posted as soon as they are completed.
The meeting started with a discussion of whether the IACC should issue a statement following the speculation that the shooter at Newtown Connecticut was autistic. Such a statement has been prepared and will be released shortly.
One public comment noted the lack of support for a family trying to navigate the extra hurdles a family with disabilities faced following Sandy. Some of the federal members noted that there are resources specifically focused on vulnerable populations. I am trying to get more specifics on that now.
Each question of the Plan was discussed and modified, sometimes with word smithing and sometimes with more extensive edits. The question on treatments in particular had a great deal of discussion and edits were prepared real-time by OARC staff. There is a good team supporting IACC and it was impressive to see them continue to keep making notes on the discussion while preparing significant edits for approval during the call.
One question that came up during the discussions was that of immigrant populations and autism prevalence. There has been much discussion of the Somali-American community and autism and Idil Abdul spoke of the concerns of that community. Two studies had come out in then past year, one from Sweden and one from the Netherlands, suggesting higher autism prevalence for immigrant communities in those countries. This highlights the fact that we don’t have autism prevalence data for most of the world. To my knowledge there are a few from northern Africa, possibly none from sub-Saharan Africa and South America, little or none from south Asia.
The UK adult autism prevalence study was discussed and the fact that little is known about the adult population in the U.S..
Obviously much more was discussed in the whole day meeting. Much of that can be found in the draft documents linked to above.
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By Matt Carey
Note: I serve as a public member to the IACC but my comments here and elsewhere are my own.
There was much discussion of the possible imprtance of the xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) in conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME), prostate cancer and autism. To be clear, the possibility of an autism association was made in the press, not in the research literature. For XMRV in general, there was much discussion in the press, in journals and online as it became clear over time that there were possible problems with the analyses that led to the main papers on the topic. The present study includes work by a multi-site team including the principle author of the original study linking XMRV with CFS/ME.
If one can boil a large, multi-site study result into one line, it would be this:
Here, the original investigators who found XMRV and pMLV (polytropic murine leukemia virus) in blood of subjects with this disorder report that this association is not confirmed in a blinded analysis of samples from rigorously characterized subjects
I.e. there is no link between XMRV and CFS/ME.
Here is the abstract, and the full paper is online as well:
The disabling disorder known as chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) has been linked in two independent studies to infection with xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) and polytropic murine leukemia virus (pMLV). Although the associations were not confirmed in subsequent studies by other investigators, patients continue to question the consensus of the scientific community in rejecting the validity of the association. Here we report blinded analysis of peripheral blood from a rigorously characterized, geographically diverse population of 147 patients with CFS/ME and 146 healthy subjects by the investigators describing the original association. This analysis reveals no evidence of either XMRV or pMLV infection. IMPORTANCE Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis has an estimated prevalence of 42/10,000 in the United States, with annual direct medical costs of $7 billion. Here, the original investigators who found XMRV and pMLV (polytropic murine leukemia virus) in blood of subjects with this disorder report that this association is not confirmed in a blinded analysis of samples from rigorously characterized subjects. The increasing frequency with which molecular methods are used for pathogen discovery poses new challenges to public health and support of science. It is imperative that strategies be developed to rapidly and coherently address discoveries so that they can be carried forward for translation to clinical medicine or abandoned to focus resource investment more productively. Our study provides a paradigm for pathogen dediscovery that may be helpful to others working in this field.
There was a lot of hope in the CFS/ME community that this was a breakthrough that could lead to a treatment. Unfortunately, the answers they seek are elsewhere.
As this is an autism-focused site, allow me to bring this back to autism. Unlike CFS/ME, there were no papers claiming an association between autism and XMRV. Instead there were public comments by the researcher involved and inflammatory journalism. In a search for XMRV autism the first article I get is: Is Autism Associated with A Viral Infection?, by David Kirby published at the Huffington Post. Mr. Kirby’s article was probably the first that pushed the (now failed) XMRV/autism hypothesis strongly into the public’s eye. Mr. Kirby was well known for some time previous for his work promoting the idea that vaccines cause autism. In specific, he was a major proponent of the idea that thimerosal in vaccines caused autism, having published a book Evidence of Harm: Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic. For his Huffington Post article on XMRV, Mr. Kirby had some rather irresponsbile speculations from XMRV researcher Judy Mikovits and the founder of her reseach institute Annette Whittemore. From those quotes, Mr. Kirby proceeded to present the XMRV news story in his own way, as a series of speculative questions to create an impression built like a house of cards. The impression he left the reader with was that the XMRV story helped to explain a possible link between autism and vaccines. Following a quoted statement by Mikovits, Mr. Kirby wrote
So there you have it – a possible explanation of regressive autism in a significant number of cases associated with immune system deregulation triggered by vaccination.
Of course, much more work is needed to nail down the exact significance of such an association. For example, is the virus implicated in the cause of autism, or do children harbor the virus as a result of autism?
Notice that he doesn’t say, “much more work is needed to show that this is a real association“. No, rather than stress again that the hypothesis was poorly supported, he jumps to assuming the association and asking what significance it has. Classic David Kirby.
To be fair, the comments by Mikovits and the founder of the research center where she worked (Annette Whittemore) fed directly into his story. To say it again, those statements by Mikovits and Whittemore were irresponsible given the early stage this work was in. But even with those statements, Mr. Kirby had no justification to go into this speculative paragraph:
The discovery raises more questions than it answers. What, exactly, is it about immunization that might switch on XMRV viral expression? Could the effect of heavy metals upon cytokine balances be at play? Where did this retrovirus come from, and how did it apparently become so prevalent in children with autism? Did these children inherit the virus from a parent, or was there some other unexplained route of transmission? Why has the NIH said nothing about XMRV in association with autism, and did Dr. Insel know about these findings without sharing them with the IACC
Again, we see the series-of-questions approach that is Mr. Kirby’s style. He isn’t saying immunization switches on XMRV viral expression (whatever he meant by “XMRV viral expression”. It sounds technical though). He’s posing it as a question. Notice how he brought in his mercury hypothesis, but as “heavy metals”. “Could the effect of heavy metals upon cytokine balances be at play?”. This is a great example of a sciency-sounding sentence that has no substance. Whoever was his editor at the Huffington Post should have shot that back with “do you even know what your talking about here?” But if the editor at the Huffington Post was doing his/her job, this article (and many more by Mr. Kirby) wouldn’t have been published there anyway. It is worth noting that by the time this article was written, the evidence was overwhelmingly against the idea that mercury in vaccines raised autism risk, but this was Mr. Kirby’s way of loosely tying his failed hypothesis to his then current speculation.
To pull the last sentence out of Mr. Kirby’s paragraph: “And why had the NIH said nothing about XMRV?”. Perhaps because they were more responsible than Mr. Kirby.
As a point of fact, XMRV is not prevalent in autistics (Lack of infection with XMRV or other MLV-related viruses in blood, post-mortem brains and paternal gametes of autistic individuals and PCR and serology find no association between xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) and autism.) In fact, as will be discussed below, it appears to not infect humans. Unfortunately, Mr. Kirby has not seen fit to post corrections. To the XMRV story or others.
The impression Mr. Kirby created with his story was strong. For example, he gathered 298 comments to his article, largely focused on vaccines. Here’s the last one, prominently at the top of the list:
David: As big as this autism story is, it is only one toe of the elephant. Here is another: There are no protections in place to prevent more XMRV from entering the nation’s blood supply. There is as of yet no XMRV screening test for donated blood. And — I just called my local Red Cross – there is as of yet nothing to prevent people diagnosed with CFS from donating blood. We are all at risk.
The elephant: How did our government let this potentially deadly retrovirus spread unchecked for twenty-five years? XMRV has, so far, now has been found to occur in people with autism, lymphoma, a severe form of prostate cancer, atypical MS, ME/CFS, and fibromyalgia. Twenty-three years ago the CDC was first informed of an outbreak of what we now know to be an XMRV-associated local epidemic. Eighteen years ago a study showed a retrovirus was associated with ME/CFS.
The band played on.
Yes, let’s spread fear about the blood supply, based on news reports, speculation and bad science.
Some of the authors of this present XMRV and CFS/ME study were also involved in a separate major multisite study on MMR and autism. I am referring to a study intended to replicate the key findings of some of Andrew Wakefield’s research. That study, by Mady Hornig, W. Ian Lipkin and others, Lack of association between measles virus vaccine and autism with enteropathy: a case-control study been re-interpreted by some as supporting Mr. Wakefield’s work. Some have gone so far as to claim that Mr. Lipkin’s team is signalling support for Mr. Wakefield’s work by citing it in other studies. It’s a stretch, a mind boggling stretch, and it’s wrong.
From the CFS/ME paper:
Sensitive molecular methods for microbial discovery and surveillance have enabled unique insights into biology and medicine. However, increased sensitivity for bona fide signal increases the risk that low-level contaminants may also be amplified. This can lead to spurious findings that pose challenges for public health and require an expensive and complex pathogen dediscovery process. Examples wherein authors of this paper have been engaged in this process include refutation of associations between enterovirus 71 and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (24) and MMR vaccine and autism (25).
Lipkin and Hornig consider their work to be a “refutation” of the association between MMR and autism. But don’t take that one sentence from the paper as the only proof. Here’s an interveiw with Prof. Lipkin at Nature.
Had we done this when Andrew Wakefield [the former medical researcher who proposed that autism was caused by vaccines] came out with the initial report about the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism, and had something this definitive, there are many more children who would have been vaccinated against measles during the ten years it took us to finally complete the MMR–autism work. So I think it’s crucial that we don’t do things in a half-baked fashion, so we can test hypotheses and move on to new ones.
The interviewer even includes the MMR refutation as part of a question: “You have disproved the autism–MMR connection and other controversial disease links.”
In general, what can one say about XMRV? Aside from the drama involved in the story (which I did not discuss in detail in this article), and the questions about CFS/ME, autism, prostate cancer and more, what can we say? Prof. Lipkin says it very clearly in the interview:
We did not find any genetic sequences [of XMRV or related viruses] in the people with CFS or the controls. As far as we know, there is no human being that is infected with XMRV.
But there were papers (some now retracted) claiming some links between XMRV and human disease? What about those? Another quote pulled from the interview:
I think the explanation is that there was contamination. I don’t see any reason to invoke anything beyond that.
For this you have to give Judy Mikovits some credit. She worked with the team that was attempting to replicate her results. Contrast this with, say, Andrew Wakefield. A man whose hospital offered him the opportunity to replicate his own results, and he quit rather than accept that offer. A man who has repeatedly denied the science which has been clearly against his hypothesis. A man who denies the fact that he acted unethically in many ways in conducting his research. Judy Mikovits made some mistakes, both scientific and socially, but she seems to be part of the solution.
But that’s a bit of a sideshow. The main conclusion is that XMRV is not involved with autism. Or, apparently, any human disease.
With apologies for revisiting David Kirby and Andrew Wakefield.
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By Matt Carey
Left Brain Right Brain 
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