UPDATE - I recently received a response to my query from Paul Stone, AFIP Public Affairs. He wrote that: "Dr. Centeno's presentation, entititled 'Mercury Poisoning: A Clinical and Toxicological Perspective,' did mention Thimerosal. However, its inclusion was specifically intended to point out that although there has been some speculation about a potential association between Thimerosal and Autism, currently there is no data or science to support such a claim. Neither the AFIP nor Dr. Centeno have been involved in or conducted research on Autism."
I have asked Mr. Stone to clarify why Methly B-12, DMPS and glutathione GSH appear under the heading "treatments" on Dr. Centeno's thimerosal slide -- DK
When it comes to fighting autism, maybe we should send in the Army.
Autism and the military have a deep history together. Children of service members are reportedly almost twice as likely to have autism (1-in-88) than those in the general population (1-in-150). Meanwhile, the Department of Defense quietly spends millions in taxpayer dollars researching the possible causes of autism at far-from-the-spotlight centers around the country.
Recently, several documents have been brought to my attention which, when viewed together, suggest that the Department of Defense has legitimate concerns about vaccine injuries and their possible connection to autism, perhaps more so than other branches of the Federal Government.
These documents raise several questions that I am currently trying to get answered from DOD officials:
1) Autism may be an "adverse event" of Tripedia (DTaP) use
According to the website of the Vaccine Healthcare Centers Network, run by DOD and CDC, autism is listed as an "adverse event" associated with use of the Tripedia triple vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.
My questions are: Why does autism appear here? Does VHC consider autism to be a possible adverse event of DTaP use, or has it simply been reported that way by parents?
2) Patients who have bad vaccine reactions should avoid multiple vaccines in the future
According to this VHC slide, any patient who has a "Systemic Event" following immunization - defined as "symptoms and signs of illness after vaccination" and "any reaction that does not involve the injection site" - should avoid multiple vaccines in the future, if possible.
My questions are: Is that standard DOD policy? Is there an alternative schedule for these patients? Does this advice apply to children of service members as well? Why is this information not shared with civilian doctors and pediatricians?
3) Patients who develop serious neurological diseases might need vaccine exemptions in the future
This VHC slide says that a patient who develops a severe neurologic disease following vaccination might need temporary or permanent exemption from future vaccines. Such diseases include peripheral neuropathy, encephalopathy (including autism, presumably) Guillain-Barré syndrome and progressive focal neurologic disease. Such patients should be given temporary exemptions from future vaccinations.
Meanwhile, risks for recurrent reactions should be assessed before additional doses are given, and "permanent vaccine exemption may be required."
Again, is this DOD policy? Are such exemptions given? Because autism is listed as a "severe neurological disease," would those patients (ie, children of service members) also be exempt from future vaccinations? And, on a related note, does VHC consider autism to be a "neurological disease," as opposed to a developmental/behavioral disorder?
4) Mercury, and possibly thimerosal may cause autism and dementia
According this slide (#22) on the vaccine preservative thimerosal, from the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), "exposure to mercury in utero and children may cause mild to severe mental retardation and mild to severe motor coordination impairment." The slide also seems to indicate that autism and dementia might questionably be "health effects" of mercury or thimerosal exposure.
My question is: Why does autism appear on a list of health effects on a slide about thimerosal, even if it is followed by a question mark?
5) Alternative biomedical treatments may be prescribed for thimerosal exposure
The same slide says that "treatments" for thimerosal exposure include: "Methyl-B12, ointment DMPS, & glutathione (GSH)." These are all alternative (some would say fringe, radical and dangerous) treatments being used today by thousands of autism parents and their children's physicians, with varying degrees of success (including reports of full recovery).
Methyl-B12 - has been shown to repair damage to the process of methylation, and to restore methionine and glutathione levels in patients with autism to within normal ranges.
DMPS - is a sulfur-based amino acid used in the process of chelation - in which sulfur molecules bind with heavy metals such as mercury, and eliminate them from the system.
Glutathione - is a sulfur-based protein that binds with heavy metals and eliminates them from the system. It is also a powerful anti-oxidant. Many children with autism show signs of glutathione depletion, heavy metal accumulation and oxidative stress.
My questions are: Was the speaker simply refering to treatments that some people have tried, or is the AFID endorsing these treatments for thimerosal toxicity and/or autism? On what evidence is this based? Are Methyl B-12 and GSH, like chelation, considered standard of care in the military for mercury toxicity? Can you explain why autism families in the military have these treatments covered, (at thousands of dollars a year), even if they also have an autism diagnosis? Is this why military insurance will pay for visits to doctors in the Defeat Autism Now network, which advocates the use of these non-traditional treatments?
I eagerly await the replies from VHC and AFID officials, and will update this blog as soon as I hear anything.
Meanwhile, regardless of the Pentagon's positions on the above questions, we know for certain that DOD is concerned about the risk of injury from multiple vaccines.
In fact, it may even need to reconsider the practice.
"We have preliminary findings from one of our many on-going research studies that suggest a relationship between adverse events and multiple vaccinations exist," US Army Colonel Renata J. M. Engler, MD, director of the VHC, (a "collaborative network" of the Defense Department and the CDC), wrote to Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY). "These findings will require validation, but heighten our concern for the current clinical practice of multiple vaccinations."
"The more drugs one is exposed to, the greater the likelihood of having an adverse event so as vaccine numbers increase, and (sic) we will see more people who have efficacy or safety issues," Col. Engler said. "The standard of care (ie, in the context of mixing vaccines) is to minimize drug exposures because of the recognition that the more drugs being used, the greater the chance of a reaction and potentially a serious adverse event."
I wonder when the CDC and America's pediatricians will issue an equally thoughtful and cautionary statement, instead of their usual reassurance that small children can easily get 100,000 shots at once, without a single "serious adverse event" among them.
PS: For a list of scientists and government leaders who called for more vaccine-autism research in 2008, please CLICK HERE.
Loading comments… 
After you have taken the time to think about Human Rights that we all enjoy and are very thankful for. I want you to make sure you are comfortabl
http://www
Are they being poisoned by the air, food, water, and vaccinatio
This week they had to add another. Cover up as fast as you can. Thanks to ongoing digging by David Kirby and dedicated Parent advocates for our children dealing with Autism (Vaccine injury). We discovered a number of documents that were written by the Government stating that Autism was in fact an adverse event caused by Vaccines. As soon as that was pointed out in the blogospher
http://www
No you didn't. You found a web-based product informatio
I'm willing to bet that your claims of autism (caused by vaccines) was reported to VAERS if, in fact, you reported your observatio
My question is....why not the needle? Can't all of this be the result of needles? I mean, that is the only factor that is the same in each of the aforementi
For someone who spends a lot of time surfing the web, you should have a good idea what research is being done, by whom, and what the current models are. Take a bit of advice from me, AoA and Kirby are not on the right track.
Given that Dr. Offit, who seems to be your hero, has said that children are able to handle 100,000 vaccines at once, would you submit to an experiment such as the following?
10,000 needle jabs with saline -- observe for 15 days for adverse affects
10,000 rides to the Dr's office -- observe for 15 days for adverse affects
10,000 jabs with a mixture of the 10 vaccines that were required for children in 1991 -- observe for 15 days for adverse affects
It seems like a really good way to determine whether Dr. Offit is correct or not. And, we can eliminate your snide alternativ
If you're a reasonable person you'll figure out which one is most likely to have adverse affects ahead of time. But we still need to run the experiment to prove our case.
10,000 rides to the Dr's office -- observe for 15 days for adverse affects
10,000 jabs with a mixture of the 10 vaccines that were required for children in 1991 -- observe for 15 days for adverse affects"
OK! Run the study! Apply for a grant, get a small staff and lab together, define your observatio
"If you're a reasonable person you'll figure out which one is most likely to have adverse affects ahead of time."
I am a scientist, sir. I let the data form the conclusion
According this slide (#22) on the vaccine preservati
My question is: Why does autism appear on a list of health effects on a slide about thimerosal
Uhhh, perhaps because it was a topic under descussion several years ago when the slides were made. It might, just might Dave (work with me here)....j
BTW, you failed to mention...
According to this VHC slide, any patient who has a "Systemic Event" following immunizati
My questions are: Is that standard DOD policy? Is there an alternativ
David. If a patient has an adverse event following a series of vaccinatio
Anyone can report to VAERS. Anything can be reported to VAERS. It is a database. A report is not a confirmati
http://vae
http://74.
Please try to be 100% accurate on this point in the future. The military only pays for ABA for treatment for autism.Thi
Hang in there, Jan. 20 brings science back to Washington
Immunologi
Integrity and Accountabi
Secret Government bailout for Pharmaceut
I am a witness...
http://www
"According to the website of the Vaccine Healthcare Centers Network, run by DOD and CDC, autism is listed as an "adverse event" associated with use of the Tripedia triple vaccine for diphtheria
Just a wild guess here. The PDF is over 3 years old. There was still speculatio
Lots of opinions and not much hard research in there - you are just telling me that other people think the same things as you do. As to the main piece of research, Sallie Bernard's detailed critique of the data is available on the open web here:
http://www
Can you tell us why Hviid is right and Barnard is wrong?
You state "Lots of opinions and not much hard research in there...", disregardi
I think it's time to use some common sense when it comes to medical interventi
http://jam
http://www
http://www
http://aut
Pick any article here: http://www
http://www
http://www
http://www
Really? Why the change?
"However, seeing that you linked over to Kenny's site as a source (I know, I'm still laughing about it), you've lost all credibilit
I wasn't aware I had any credibilit
"Sorry man, but it appears as if you are following the rest of the herd."
Aren't we all following some sort of herd? There are times when the vast majority are correct, especially when they have a prepondera
Pseudoscie
For the full article: http://www
Scientists
"Professio
Like those from Columbia, Northeaste
Pseudo-sci
"Use bold or absolute statements
"Fail(ure) to consider all hypotheses
"The fundamenta
Your position, as I understand it, is that the epidemiolo
Anyhoo, I'm not scared at all. Please cite the peer reviewed studies that conclusive
I agree, more science is needed... to find the REAL culprit(s) of autism. The vaccine connection doesn't exist, according to the scientific community. Mr. Kirby is a journalist
The great error in this argument is starting with a result - vaccines are a cause of autism - then trying to fit the evidence to support it. Good science starts blind and lets the result occur despite what may be anticipate
Teresa
Steven P. Novella is an American clinical neurologis
That there's some pretty impressive credential