Cracking the Autism Riddle: Toxic Chemicals, A Serious Suspect in the Autism Outbreak
Over the past 30 years, toxic chemicals, like Teflon, plastics, and formaldehyde have increasingly invaded our homes. We used to think these substances were harmless, but a rising tide of evidence has turned the spotlight on chemical exposures as a possible poison to our children's developing brains.
One group of substances of particular concern is a ubiquitous family of hormone twisting compounds, known as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). These substances are the focus of intense scrutiny because: 1) they're found in every home in America 2) they're increasingly linked to human disease 3) our exposure to them has risen in parallel with the surge in autism diagnoses and 4) they may theoretically affect the developing fetal brain.
In recent years, research has mounted against a virtual police lineup of EDCs, like BPA (in food cans, hard plastic water bottles), phthlates (in soft plastics, cosmetics) and fire retardants (in sofas, computers, flame-resistant clothing). Multiple animal and human studies have linked EDC exposure (during or after fetal development) with a host of hormone-related disorders, like low sperm count, cancer (breast, ovarian, prostate, testicular), congenital malformation of the genitals and even obesity.
In 1996, pediatricians and other concerned scientists convinced Congress to order the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to test hundreds of chemicals for endocrine disrupting effects. The Clinton administration began the process of designing these tests, but the Bush administration defied the law. It ignored this mandate to protect the public health...and organized medicine watched impotently from the sidelines. Today, ten years and tens of millions of dollars later, not a single chemical has been evaluated for endocrine disrupting effects!
Our exposure to EDCs is no mere theoretical concern. In 2000, a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study found detectable phthalates in 99.9% of adults including women of childbearing age. The CDC also discovered detectable levels of BPA in 93% of thousands of Americans tested (6 years of age and older).
The presence of EDCs in women of child-bearing age is especially worrisome. That is because there is evidence that even minuscule amounts of these chemicals -- levels commonly present in a woman's body -- may disturb fetal brain development during highly sensitive periods of neural development known as windows of vulnerability.
The US National Toxicology Program has stated that it is concerned about the "effects on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures to bisphenol A."
Furthermore, since multiple different EDCs have the same effect on the developing body, exposure to a variety of EDCs may create a large cumulative stress to the body. (In the CDC study quoted above, 84% of adults tested had more than 6 different phthalates coursing through their bodies...and that study didn't even test for the presence of other EDC, e.g. pesticides, fire retardants, etc.)
Are Children with Autism..."Male-adjusted"?
Our increasing exposure to EDCs lends support to a new hypothesis about the cause of autism, called the "extreme male theory." This theory, proposed by Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen and colleagues, speculates that autism is caused by something changing a fetus' hormonal balance that then leads to over-masculinization of the developing brain.
Could that "something" be the slurry of hormone-altering chemicals we're exposed to every day? Are EDCs the reason autism-type disorders are 4-9 times more common in boys? (Vaccine side effects never show such lopsided impact on boys versus girls...a glaring fact that is totally ignored by those promoting the vaccine theory of autism.)
The "extreme male theory" has been supported by two interesting bits of evidence: 1) fetuses with slightly elevated levels of testosterone grow up acting extra-male (more interested in things than people, slow language development, etc.); 2) children with autism -- boys and girls -- show extra-male characteristics (e.g. poor social ability, language delay).
Here is where the very interesting link to EDCs comes into play: EDCs often act as weak estrogens and estrogen feminizines the body, but in a fetus' developing brain estrogen actually has the opposite effect...it causes masculinization.
For now, these ideas are just interesting theories, but the evidence is concerning. We urgently need more research to discover whether EDCs, or other chemicals, are linked to the worldwide rise in autism. Fortunately, on that front, there is very good news to report. Thanks to a dedicated group of pediatricians -- members of groups like the AAP and CDC -- the National Children's Study (NCS) was launched in January 2009.
Originally designed during the Clinton presidency, the NCS survived 8 years of Bush administration attempts to defund and demolish it. But today, the new administration has committed over $3 billion to carrying it out.
The NCS will establish over one hundred study centers across the US to test the blood of 100,000 newborns for scores of synthetic chemicals, including many EDCs. (Workers have already begun going door-to-door enrolling pregnant moms into the program.) For the next 21 years, scientists will carefully follow the children's health, comparing the body burden of chemicals at birth to diseases developed later in life.
The NCS may be our generation's best chance to solve the autism riddle. It is exactly the type of study needed to tease out the subtle relationships that may exist between autism and chemicals.
Fortunately, it won't take 21 years to start getting answers. Within 3-4 years, we expect to have enough data accumulated to start detecting what chemicals might be linked to autism. The NCS will also search for correlations between chemical exposures and other increasingly frequent serious illnesses, such as, diabetes, leukemia, brain tumors, prostate/breast/ovarian cancer, lymphoma, congenital malformations, infertility, attention deficit disorder...perhaps even Parkinson's disease.
Beside the NCS, I support other new studies to look at: 1) the autism risk in vaccinated vs. unvaccinated kids; 2) the metabolism of vaccine ingredients (like aluminum, added to make shots work better), 3) more accurate determinations of the true incidence of autism. (The number of kids getting autism is unclear. Some studies suggest that much of the autism spike is just a labeling shift: kids who used to be labeled "mentally retarded" increasingly are being labeled as "autistic.")
In conclusion, I thank all parents for their concern and interest and I especially want to salute activist parents for standing up and making their voices heard on behalf of their children...and all of our children.
Parents have the immensely important duty to nurture and raise their young children. Mastering scores of scientific studies and arguing science with biochemists or toxicologists is a great challenge that should not also be their responsibility. It's unfortunate that our nation's insufficient response to the autism surge has forced so many parents into this position. But, now is the time for all of us to join together to solve this very serious burden on our families, our economy and our collective future.
In case you missed the first two parts in this series, here are links to Part 1: Vaccines and Autism: A Proven Trigger or A Terrible Coincidence and Part 2: Good Common Sense About Vaccines and Autism.
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I'm still waiting for Dr. Karp to send me those scanned pages from his medicult school textbooks ;)
http://www
But I think we all know that will never happen.
In health,
Jock Doubleday
Director
Natural Woman, Natural Man, Inc.
A California 501(c)3 Public Benefit Nonprofit Corporation
http://www
spontaneou
I'm still waiting for the anti-vaccine movement to distance itself from you.
Forget it Jock. Evidently he has too much to hide & is afraid.
It's a shame a few people here are trying to cover for him & attacking you.
He showed his true colors by avoiding you & so did those foolishly commenting on his behalf.
Thanks for trying.
Truth is out & these people will stoop to any level they can to try & keep up the charade.
Some are guilty in knowing they're lying but others are innocent in that they're plainly & simply duped.
I am curious as to what exactly has been proven, in your opinion, that Dr. Karp did not scan his textbooks and email them. Copyright laws anyone?
Great speech by Dr. Haley at the gates of the CDC:
http://www
Don't listen to anyone.
Test your kids for mercury posioning. There's no harm in testing.
Definitely wont be listening to someone who terms autism as "mad child disease"
I didn't hear him use that term?
But this reminds me of when some of you said you avoid information with certain key words like recently when the word "frankefood" came up..
One on your side foolishly said that word turned them off & they didn't read the post because of it.
That's ridiculous & explains sort of how some can remain so ignorant in this day & age.
By the way VD, it is in Webster's dictionary.
Look it up!
"Frankenfood"
No harm in testing. Just make sure to use testing provided by someone who hopes you will by their detox products. That surely will make the tests perfectly credible.
No harm in spending thousands of dollars on something that has been scientifically discredited. No harm in chelation which can cause neurological damage.
I just listened. This video is only two years old and this man is absolutely correct. People will still try to say it's been removed when it's still there in traces as well as flu shots & tetnus.
They didn't even remove it back when they said they did to get it down to trace levels, either.
They said they did but they lied & people know it.
Does everyone share in my excitement that President Obama nominated Dr. Collins to head the NIH? For me, he is the missing link between science and religion.
I can see science really opening up.
Obama Nominates Francis Collins to Lead NIH
http://www
Here's Dr. Collins' Wiki file:
http://en.
Here's his website:
http://www
Part of the stimilus package is 10 billion to NIH for research. If there's ever a time to get research done for autism, it would be now while they have extra money.
Dr. Collins seems to me to be level headed and people orientated. He's already pushed back at insurance companies who are after gene research information(so they can deny coverage). Did you know that some insurance companies don't have to cover hereditary conditions?
As far as religion goes. I believe in both God and science but not blindly. I think both need some level of faith to accept answers and move forward. Plus, both have changed radically over the years so I assume they will also change in the future. Both have evolution.
"I believe in both God and science but not blindly. I think both need some level of faith to accept answers and move forward."
A claim is scientific if it is falsifiable. Religion demands faith when it makes claims that are not falsifiable.
We can only "prove" things based on our minds ability to analyze the ALL the variables. But do we ever really know all the variables? The more you know about a subject then the more evidence you need to prove it true or false.
An uneducated person might think magic is real. Not because of their beliefs but because of their lack of knowledge in physics or mechanics. And there is a graduated scale from uneducated to trained.
At what point on that scale do we accept things as fact? Everything should be questioned well beyond their stated facts. History proves we are always wrong.
They mislabaled the atom and Einstein is still questioned.
Do we have facts proving we know the most about these subjects at this time or do just use faith?
Interesting you should bring up magic, which only works because human perception is so easily fooled. How well the illusion works has nothing to do with the education of the audience - even the brightest minds can be fooled, and often are.
The best protection against quackery and nonsense is the scientific method, which is self-correcting and open to new evidence. That's the opposite of faith.
This is getting very interested & ties right in with these debates we've been having;
http://www
Great article filled with lots of good information.
Again, has anyone examined the possiblity that mercury in the environment is a trigger?
Meth houses- mercuric chloride is one component of meth cooking.
Fluorescent lights- once just in industrial environments now everywhere.
"Fluorescent lights- once just in industrial environments now everywhere
At work, I have to dispose of flourescent lamps in sealed 55 gallon barrels. The tubes are crushed by a small chain spinning on the end of a motor. Once the barrel is full, it is disposed of as hazardous waste.
There are millions of CFL's out there each with a minute amount of mercury in them. It's like we are going backwards.
Does anyone have any studies proving vaccines actually work?
Up until this point, we have always assumed that vaccines work. Why?
Is it because after you get the vaccine, you stay healthy. Well that's simply correlation right.
We are told that devolping autism after vaccinations is simply correlation.
Dugmaze you have already been given link after link to studies that prove vaccines work (and at what percentages, and how herd immunity is crucial and why) and studies demonstrating that vaccines do NOT cause autism.
If (to quote you) 'because after you get the vaccine, you stay healthy' was the nature of the studies, then yes it would be only correlation. Fortunately real scientists don't just draw lines in the air and say SEE!! the way some persons seem to be doing with all their anecdotes and stating opinions as facts. Real scientists follow strict procedures when doing a study. Read some of the many studies you have been provided links to time and time again. Read the full text, not just the conclusion. Read the description of how the study was done.
I would also suggest you actually go read up on how vaccines work.
Any studies?
I love these people at Brasschecktv!
http://www
Garth L Nicolson is a true hero for speaking up - we need more ethical Scientists and more medical professionals with ethics to take a stand against this insanity. When they stand up, they get attention!
I wonder how the rest of them sleep at night. Some of 'um are just as ignorant as their pharmaceutical textbooks trained them to be - but certainly not all.
I want to take this opportunity to give thanks to all the good, ethical professionals who are beginning to take a stand.
Thank You!
They're probably not sleeping that well now a days, Abitcrunchy.
They know, we know, what we know & probably are afraid of what's to come next.
I know I would be "very afraid" if I was one of them, responsible, at the top or further down the ladder & purposley trying to cover up the truth to this most horrific matter.
If they're smart, they'd take their blood money & run while they can.
Oh yes, I'm sorry.
I meant to thank the professional good guys, too, who are coming forward & speaking up & out on this most urgent issue, like Abitcrunchy just did.
They will be the heroes who help us bring this chapter to it's much needed close.
Over at the new link>
http://www
They're saying Mother's having autoimmune disease is linked to autism.
It seems reasonable to think that this, too, was more likely than not, caused by toxins such as are & were in vaccines & damaged those Mother's in the first place.
Then all the increase we see now in the children with autism is understandable as it figures complications would logically be passed down to their off spring.
My "God" it's right in front of our faces so why do some choose not to see it?
It's crazy!
When will this argument end & we work together & demand the clean up of these toxins that are just everywhere?
Yes, including & especially in the vaccinations, too.
mof: "I know I would be "very afraid" if I was one of them, responsible, at the top or further down the ladder & purposley trying to cover up the truth to this most horrific matter."
Does the same apply the other way around? Will persons who consistantly promote fear of doctors and vaccines, yet also promote that ppl use questionable 'treatments' on their children also be held accountable for the deaths and damage they cause?
Let's get to it with another round, people;
http://www
Each time more & more information comes to light.
It's was said that when the truth to this matter comes out, the scandal at Walter Reed will pale.
"Military guinea pigs"
http://www
brass check TV disclaimer "The videos that are linked to from Brasscheck
All kinds of wonderful conspiracy theories here!
I guess you didn't watch it or are in denial for whatever your reason.
I just watched a video from Adventures in Autism's website showing the director of CDC in Maine talking about autism. I recommend everyone watch it.
http://adv
"Videos of the Maine CDC Autism Conference" from Age of Autism
http://www
The one thing that struck me in the first video is how we can track swine flu so closely and develop a vaccine so quickly but can't tell you one up-to-date thing about autism.
WOW!
We've come a long way baby & those like Ginger Taylor are helping get us to where we need to be.
Are you really trying to compare infectious diseases with a chronic one? What a bizarre comparison.
He wasn't doing that. He wasn't comparing the two in that way, at all.
How in the world did you get that out of what he was really saying?
He was comparing the tracking of one to the not so much of the other. He was referring to the work, the effort, the research that went into each.
"Are you really trying to compare infectious diseases with a chronic one? What a bizarre comparison
Am I missing something? You attacked me why?
If you disagree with my information, then please provide a response.
age of autism is not what i'd call a great source for accurate information.
Unless of course you are wanting to make dramatic sweeping inaccurate statements, fear monger, misinform for the intent and purpose of promoting unproven and unsafe theories of vaccines containing mercury (they dont) chelating children (dangerous) without proper testing for metal toxicity (hair samples are not proper testing), hbot, lupron (shame on geier's ), spread the word on how you feel autism is tragic, person's who are autistic need to be cured etc.
No thanks
Bring me facts, not science fiction.
Remeber this?
What a good choice of songs!
http://www
I'm partial to these:
http://www
http://www
Catchy tune but the content with the scare mongering effect is blatantly untrue & in very bad taste.
These are childhood diseases that the body's immune system handled as Mother Nature intended until man made a mess of that.
It used to be you'd get them out of the way & go about your life.
Let's hope we can get back to nature when it counts, eventually, & evolve to where we should be with the health of this nation. We can stamp out disease when we , enough of us that is, realize it's us, that's causing it all by allowing the toxins free rule for the sake of greedy capitalists.
Off the subject but here's my favorite:
http://www
Beautiful. I'd never heard this. Thanks, Doug.
Compliments of SDTech
Can vaccines cause chronic illnesses?
"Dr. Garth Nicholson, microbiologist and director of the Institute for Molecular Medicine, says yes.
The government doesn't require vaccine makers to test for certain biological contaminants and pharmaceutical companies certainly don't volunteer.
Because the vast majority of physicians are unaware of this common source of chronic illness they don't test for it or have protocols to treat it. I imagine most doctors, after taking their fees, tell patients suffering from these illnesses that it's "all in their heads."
http://www
It seems many have forgotten the importance of vaccines:
Tetanus http://www
Polio http://z.h
http://www
Measles http://new
http://www
Mumps http://www
http://www
Pertussis http://www
HiB http://www
Diptheria http://www
Chicken Pox http://www
Rubella http://www
I like what he has to say but I don't care for the 911 sign behind him. I wonder why it's there?
I didn't notice when I watched it the first time so I looked again & saw that, too.
From : http://rai
Join us if you are ready to band together and stand against:
the anger,
the bitterness,
the woo that charlatans try to sell desperate parents,
the idea that vaccines, heavy metal toxicity, lyme disease, herpes, SV-40 and whatever the next nonsense is are the cause of autism.
Join us if you are ready to:
follow the science, wherever the science leads,
accept that autism is a life long developmental disorder and that while not all children will achieve independence, many will make drastic improvements as they age,
support other parents kindly and compassionately,
be tolerant of where others are on their journey of acceptance,
be critical evaluators of both the science and the claims made by those pursuing pseudoscience,
love your children unconditionally while working to improve their social skills, functional life skills, and academic skills.
This new group, born out of a desire by several parents to raise our voices to counter the negative, inaccurate, unrealistic view of autism that Jenny, Generation Rescue, and Age of Autism, Countering AoA: Following the Science, is a group ready to make a difference.
Sounds like a lovely place!
We believe it will be and hope to see you there! :-)
(not posted in a harsh tone)
Sirenity,
Unlike others in here, I have one name. That's all I've ever had. I am not ottoschnaut01.
In your own words, " Repeat after me correlation does not prove causation"
It amazes me how you guys can be proven wrong but can't see it. Proven wrong but still have the same agenda. If I'm proven wrong, I question myself. It's the only healthy thing to do. There is nothing wrong with learning something new.
You guys used to assume I was a girl. Then you assumed my name was secretly changed. If your wrong in some areas, then why can't you be wrong in other areas?
How can you be so confident when it comes to vaccines and autism? Maybe it's time to reflect and ask some new questions of yourself. Do that tonight while your laying in bed.
It's our kids that are suffering while we bicker.
How can you be so confident that they do?
If the evidence strongly says that they dont, dont you think we're wasting time keep again and again and again looking only at these?
as you say:
"It's our kids that are suffering while we bicker."
Instead of investing in therapy and treatment that can bring about improvement for children and adults on the spectrum, clearly, this crew would rather spend oodles of money pointing fingers.
Acceptance, is not their strong suit.
Also, all this attention and effort spent blaming vaccines, when time should be spent sorting what therapies belong in the educational system and what should be covered by medical insurance - and then fighting for them.
Obama wants to revamp both these systems - parents of all special needs children should be banding together to get what all of these kids need as well as the adults that will never be able to live independently.
It's strange that so many want to continue the efforts to divide instead of finding common ground to help so many.
Again, Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism
http://www
See Harvey Karp's Profile
To date, dozens of studies -- examining over 1 million children -- have failed to find any credible association between shots and autism...n
Approximately 24,000 children are diagnosed with autism every year and in about 1/3 of those cases (8000/year
Such a high chance of coincidence means that a parent who hears about 4-5 toddlers (or even 4-500 toddlers) who worsen after shots may easily be fooled into assuming that the cause of the autism was the shots...bu
Scientists have carefully investigated sudden developmental deterioration and have repeatedly shown that there's no link with vaccines. For example, University of Michigan scientists analyzed 351 children with autism (1/2 with the regressive form). They noted the average age for regression was 19 months and they found no correlation to when vaccines were given.
"To date, dozens of studies -- examining over 1 million children -- have failed to find any credible association between shots and autism...n
Why use the word "credible"? You chose to use the word "credible" instead of making a definitive statement. Why? Are there "non-credible" links to autism?
"every year, over 600 children will spiral into autism during the four 1-week periods that follow these 4 shot visits... just by pure, utter, random chance."
Why do you start out stating old CDC numbers then end with your own personal opinion? Please provide the "pure, utter, random chance" study.
These are also United States numbers. There are 2.2 billion children in the world. Are there 4.8 million worldide regressive autistics? Or does the regressive autism only apply to the US?
"Such a high chance of coincidence"
Like when you stated vaccines caused a decline in disease because disease declined the decade following vaccinations? Is there proof the vaccines actually eradicated the diseases? Or do we just know because it would be foolish not to see the decline? The same can be said for autism.
Please answer this question first:
"They noted the average age for regression was 19 months and they found no correlation to when vaccines were given."
Is that all vaccines or just the MMR?
Dug I have never called you a girl. If you are not otto, my apologies-I will cease with the teasing about it.
It's truly not about being wrong when it comes to the whole myth of vaccines causing autism. Scientific studies have been done. Vaccines do not cause autism. Peer reviewed studies, dug. There are studies that demonstrate a genetic link. There are studies that show if you have shizophrenia, manic depression, MR, autism (to name a few) in your family tree these 'may' also up the likelyhood of your children having autism.
You say that if you are proven wrong, you question yourself. Yet the studies have been done. An amazing amount of money, time and effort has been put in to doing these studies that parents, such as ourselves, demanded our gov't and scientists do. And yet, now that the studies are there, clearly stating that vaccines do not cause autism you still insist.
con't
Part 2: My question is why? And to what benefit for the persons who are autistic?
As to my child suffering, he is oh so not. He is different. He faces challenges that are not typical to be sure. But he has a love for life that is inspiring. He is amazing dug. At 11 years of age he is able to somehow captivate everyone he meets.
And all the parents reading the scarey stories and websites, so afraid to have a child that is not 'the same as everyone else' that they refuse to vaccinate put me, my three children, my parents, my siblings etc at risk.
And some of the 'cures' out there are very dangerous. Yet parents, so afraid, are subjecting their children to all sorts of 'miracle treatments' from all sorts of quacks. Treatments that range from discomfort to downright painful-there have been deaths.
I am confident, because studies have been done, reviewed by peers all over the world. Those studies show that vaccines do not cause autism.
Dr Karp,
In your article you state,
"We used to think these substances were harmless, but a rising tide of evidence has turned the spotlight on chemical exposures as a possible poison to our children's developing brains".
Then you say,
"not a single chemical has been evaluated for endocrine disrupting effects!"
Autism caused by the MMR was proven in a court of law:
http://www
Do you have proof that ECD's cause autism?
if you still think the mmr vaccine causes autism after all of the many, many studies that have shown this is not clearly the case, then science is lost on you.
You must be kidding!
You're speaking of the same studies backed by those who have been discovered to have vested & conflicts of interest, so it's actually science that's lost, as well as those like you, including the duped individuals that will soon be waking up.
For now!
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