MMR and autism....again.
Andrew Wakefield is a douche. Plain and simple. Here is a link to a real hero, Brian Deer and his history of the whole Wakefield-mmr-autism thing. It's very comprehensive, but if you aren't into it, you might not care to read it. If you haven't heard the story, I'll give the Cliff's notes, as it were.
Basically, Mr. Wakedouche developed some studies and used some tests which he claimed showed that thimerosol in the MMR vaccine directly caused autism. What supposedly made this make sense was that the symptoms of autism resemble the symptoms of mercury poisoning, and *gasp* there is mercury in thimerosol. The thimerosol was necessary as a preservative to the vaccine to keep the pathogens from getting out of control, and has been used since the early 1930s.
Something that never appears to bet accounted for, especially by the likes of Jenny McCarthy (who used to pick her nose on TV) is that autism rates went up, not when thimerosol was introduced in the 30s, but when doctors broadened the definition of what autism was and started actively looking for it in the 90s. Yes, she has a son that was born in, I think, 2002. Or that in 1999, the government started pulling back the vaccines with thimerosal in them and that now our kids get hardly any at all, or that mercury poising typically is linked to methylmercury compounds, as opposed to ethylmercury, which is in thimerosal, or, most importantly, that despite all this, AUTISM RATES CONTINUE TO INCREASE. So it would seem to a rational person that if you give few kids thimerosal, and autism rates increase, then the two are probably not related. Did I mention that Wakefield stood to make a lot of money off his thimerosal-free mmr vaccine? Or that somebody working in the same lab as him and his (in)famous study of 11 (eleven, no typo) kids "proving" the link between autism and mmr vaccines telling him that his methods and results were flawed?
That's what makes him a douchbag, because god only knows how many people have decided against vaccines and exposed their children and the children of others to deadly diseases. And don't think that your kids are decidedly safe because they got their vaccinations. Once the vaccination rate drops somewhere below the 90% range, I think, ANYBODY could get it, vaccinated or not. I think it has to do with mutation rates or something such, but the only way to keep diseases down is to push their faces into the dirt with the heels of our boots.
This is why we don't listen to rogue doctors.
Basically, Mr. Wakedouche developed some studies and used some tests which he claimed showed that thimerosol in the MMR vaccine directly caused autism. What supposedly made this make sense was that the symptoms of autism resemble the symptoms of mercury poisoning, and *gasp* there is mercury in thimerosol. The thimerosol was necessary as a preservative to the vaccine to keep the pathogens from getting out of control, and has been used since the early 1930s.
Something that never appears to bet accounted for, especially by the likes of Jenny McCarthy (who used to pick her nose on TV) is that autism rates went up, not when thimerosol was introduced in the 30s, but when doctors broadened the definition of what autism was and started actively looking for it in the 90s. Yes, she has a son that was born in, I think, 2002. Or that in 1999, the government started pulling back the vaccines with thimerosal in them and that now our kids get hardly any at all, or that mercury poising typically is linked to methylmercury compounds, as opposed to ethylmercury, which is in thimerosal, or, most importantly, that despite all this, AUTISM RATES CONTINUE TO INCREASE. So it would seem to a rational person that if you give few kids thimerosal, and autism rates increase, then the two are probably not related. Did I mention that Wakefield stood to make a lot of money off his thimerosal-free mmr vaccine? Or that somebody working in the same lab as him and his (in)famous study of 11 (eleven, no typo) kids "proving" the link between autism and mmr vaccines telling him that his methods and results were flawed?
That's what makes him a douchbag, because god only knows how many people have decided against vaccines and exposed their children and the children of others to deadly diseases. And don't think that your kids are decidedly safe because they got their vaccinations. Once the vaccination rate drops somewhere below the 90% range, I think, ANYBODY could get it, vaccinated or not. I think it has to do with mutation rates or something such, but the only way to keep diseases down is to push their faces into the dirt with the heels of our boots.
This is why we don't listen to rogue doctors.
UK Press Complaints Commission Orders Sunday Times
“Remove MMR Journalist’s Stories”
on Dr. Wakefield from Paper’s Web Site
Work by Reporter Brian Deer is at Center of
Investigation Being Conducted by Medical Regulators
(Austin, Texas) – The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) of London, an independent body that oversees journalism fairness in the UK, has issued an interim order calling for the Sunday Times to remove stories written by Brian Deer about Dr. Andrew Wakefield from its web site. Dr. Wakefield had filed an extensive complaint with the PCC regarding errors of fact in Deer’s reportage on the MMR vaccine and its possible relationship to autism. The General Medical Council (GMC) in the UK is presently hearing evidence involving Dr. Wakefield and two of his colleagues following a complaint to the GMC by Deer himself. The PCC decision today appears to indicate there are questions about the accuracy of the Deer stories.
The PCC complaint by Dr. Wakefield provides clear evidence that Deer’s allegations of “data fixing” by him are false.
READ ON FOR MORE:-
Sunday Times Ordered ‘Remove Wakefield MMR “Data Fixing” Story’
http://childhealthsafety.wordpress.com/2009/07/02/briandeerdowninflames/
Brian Deer is NO hero.
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Nice post,
keep up the good work,
Thanks
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The current vaccine/autism research has been like this obese lady.
She eats pies, cakes, cookies, ice cream, and candies. She give us eating peanut-butter fudge. Then she moans and groans. She has proven over and over and over again every time that she gives up one food that sweets do not cause obesity. She gave up the fudge for a year and didn't lose an ounce!
Dr. Andrew Moulden has done the research that connects vaccines and autism. You can watch his videos on youtube or his website brainguardmd. All vaccines cause ministrokes.
Also many autistic children have severe food allergies which is also caused by vaccinations! There is a new book out "The History of the Peanut Allergy Epidemic" by Heather Fraser. She found some interesting facts:
The WHO and FDA decided that refined peanut oil is GRAS and does not have to be listed on the package insert of pharmaceuticals. If you want to know if peanut oil is an ingredient in a vaccine, you are not entitled to know because it is a protected trade secret.
Peanut allergy is epidemic among our vaccinated children. 1 in 125 have a SEVERE peanut allergy which means they could die if they smell peanuts.
I want full disclosure of all ingredients on all pharmaceutical products... how about you?
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Firstly, thanks for your interest in my humble little blog. I certainly don't get much traffic over here, and I appreciate the attention. As the parent of four young children, I am as interested in the vaccine debate as anyone, especially since my two youngest have not even had all their shots yet. Please accept my dialog in the spirit given. That said...
The problem with the analogy you gave, while I see what you're getting at, is that diet guidelines and principles have been established, proven, and verified. Not so with the autism-vaccine link. For instance, sweets don't make you fat at all. Eating more calories than you burn for extended periods of time does. In fact, if you eat all your calories sugar, provided you eat the correct AMOUNT of calories, you won't balloon overnight, over a week, maybe even over a couple of weeks like you might if you ate 1500 calories too many each day in whole wheat pasta, whole grain breads, starchy vegetables, and lean meat. Grant, your health would begin to suffer by the end of day 1 on the sugar diet, and that would have a longterm adverse effect on your weight control, but that's another topic altogether. Like medicine, nutrition is complex.
Again, the difference is in evidence. That obese lady in your example has been seen in REALITY time and again, by the entire country. Up until last season I watched Biggest Loser each week and 90% of the stories were the same: "I've tried everything. Diet, excersize machines, pills, shakes, programs, shots, and nothing works." Right. Everything but eating well and being active. And under the guidance of a professional who has expectations and knowledge of sound principles, these folks drop 4,15, and some even 30 pounds in one week.
Where I'm going with this is that the vaccine debate is in fact like that obese woman, but from the other side of the coin. Unfortunately, there is no clear evidence as to what even causes autism, never mind whether or not it is something in the vaccines. When a well founded theory, or more usually, a not-so-well-founded theory of what it might be surfaces, it is investigated and tried. The last best hope for the autism-vaccine link was the thimerosal used as a preservative in vaccines. When over half of 20 or so children in the 20s died from a vaccine, doctors realized the need for preservatives to stabilize the vaccines. Of those available, thimerosal was the only one that didn't render the vaccine less effective. Unfortunately, there wasn't and still isn't any information on the effects of thimerosal in humans. It seems to be metabolized rather quickly in the body into a compound containing ethylmercury, which is also still not very understood, but there was plenty of data on the inorganic methylmercury. A couple of concerned individuals noticed how toxic ethylmercury was, bent some observations to say that mercury poisoning is similar to autism (it isn't) and voila, quacks came out to make a quick buck. Unfortunately, two things happened.
First, several countries, including the USofA phased out thimerosal from vaccines for children under 2 as a precaution. This isn't unfortunate. What is, is that the incidence of autism CONTINUED TO INCREASE. This leads to the conclusion that something other than thimerosal is increasing autism in children. My favorite hypothesis is that it's the increased awareness of autism. The second is that the WHO studied children in countries that still used the thimerosal vaccines and found that there was no significant risk of toxicity from the thimerosal in the vaccines or the vaccine schedules. Look here. Also look here. Note the result that mercury levels return to normal within 30 days, and that the halflife of ethylmercury is less than 4 days. Trace the originating link from thimerosal to the vaccine research that "exposed" it, and you'll find a doctor sponsored by a drug company; a doctor who stood to make a mint if his thimerosal-free vaccine gained precedence in the field.
I realize that you aren't arguing against vaccines for thimerosal. My point is that when even a slightly plausible, but for a few facts, theory is published in peer reviewed literature, it is taken seriously, and for the sake of our children, action was taken. This guy Dr. Andrew Moulden hasn't published anything for peer review. He hasn't established plausibility of white blood cells "blocking up" blood vessels. After all, they aren't platelets, right? In fact, I couldn't find where he pointed to any evidence of what he claims. Just a few analogies about transports and some stories. What I DID find was a program he was trying to sell for $2500 to try and mop up a bit on the shirt tales of the antivaccine movement. When I see a payday for the originating scientist, forgive me for being on guard.
I would really like to read some studies pointing food allergies to vaccines, since this is the first I've heard of it. I'll reserve comments for now.
At least we're on the same page about disclosure. I agree that we SHOULD be able to know what we are allowing into our bodies. The caveat is that we have to be responsible about what we do with the information and not go listening to every quack who has an opinion, and that's a real danger. I'm not sure where the middle ground is, but I'm positive it involves a lot of education.
As an aside, you may be interested in this post about peanut allergies. Something suggests that the body doesn't react the same way to measles as it does peanuts. After all, people get injections all the time that the body doesn't send white blood cells out to destroy.
Thanks for taking the time to slug through this long, long post.
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