The Pentagon — A Voice of Reason on Vaccines and Autism?

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.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/the-pentagon—-a-voice-of_b_148490.html

 kctomato wrote: 
What list?

 kctomato wrote: 

Is this the same Peter Fletcher who received almost 40,000 pounds from Solicitor Richard Barr in conjunction with an abandoned legal attack on the MMR vaccine led by Andrew Wakefield?

And who admiited to reporter Brian Deer that "I  do not in any way regard myself as an expert on MMR"?

And who is nonetheless being retained (as you post notes) as a paid expert witness by lawyers suing drug companies on behalf of parents?

I'm not sure he's the kind of expert I'd want to consult on this controversial issue.

add some more to the list as of two days ago:

17) Dr. Jacqueline R. Weissman, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine
18) Dr. Richard I. Kelley, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University Medical Center and Division of Metabolism, Kennedy Krieger Institute
19) Dr. Margaret L. Bauman, Department of Pediatrics and Learning and Developmental Disabilities Evaluation and Rehabilitation Services (LADDERS), Massachusetts General Hospital
20) Dr. Bruce H. Cohen, Neurological Institute and Pediatrics Institute, Cleveland Clinic
21) Dr. Katherine F. Murray, Genomic Department of Pediatrics and Learning and Developmental Disabilities Evaluation and Rehabilitation Services (LADDERS), Massachusetts General Hospital
22) Dr. Rebecca L. Mitchell, Genomic Medicine Institute, Cleveland Clinic
23) Dr. Rebecca L. Kern, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University Medical Center and Division of Metabolism, Kennedy Krieger Institute
24) Marvin R. Natowicz, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine

 kctomato wrote: 

Lots more evidence is needed than something like this.  Its complete rubbish.  Ice cream sales in Oz are higher when shark attacks are higher along Australian Beachs, but thats not because ice cream causes shark attacks.  There could be any number of < src="scripts/tiny_mce/themes/advanced/langs/en.js" type="text/javascript"><>underlying causes.  A statistical pattern, however obvious, is not a casual link, no matter how often you repeat it!!

Alternative hypothesis to the Somali/Amish thing:

Somali immigrants (which I believe is the case this is talking about) have an unstable home background - they are immigrants, whereas the Amish are an isolated by social community.  Genetic differences in reaction to anything, or cultural differences in thier treatment of children who don't socialise could be in effect.  In many African countries children devlope later because mothers talk to new-born babies less (they have too much *other* work to do).  This may (or may not) be the case.  Until you have statistically linked a control population with some who haven't had the vaccine then no ammount of statistics can prove anything!

Former UK Science Chief — Vaccines Cause Autism: "What More Evidence is Needed?"

 

 

from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/former-uk-science-chief_b_146717.html

 

 Beanie wrote: 
Severely autistic (the 1 in 150 stat) would be institutionalized.

The Aspies, PDDNOS and mildly autistic are not included in that number. Those are the ones you might find in jail, half way houses, fightening addiction.... but where are the 1 in 150 severely effected adults? If its better diagnosing then they should be around.

Ask special ed teachers that have been doing it for over 30 years. They didn't see back then what they see now. It is easy to spot the behavior differences between someone with mental retardadtion and autism.

Also there has been a shift in the rate of regressive vs "at birth" form of autism.

My son was originally dx'd severely autistic. He "became" that way hours after his 15 month vaccinations. He showed no signs of that before that point and hit all developmental milestones to that point (and we have the medical records to back that up). 

There is no history of autism (or Aspergers/PDDNOS/Fragile X/ Prader Willie/ Angelman's) in either of our families.

In single gene traits for methylation (detox) and mitrochondrial issues both myself and my wife have those pairs. Why aren't we autistic? We have the same genetics.  The difference is environmental exposures.

 kctomato wrote: 
Struggling with chronic despression, frustrated that they can't seem to progress, in and out of jail, living in half-way houses, fighting addiction...

 rosedraws wrote: 

I would add that the 1 in 150 was derived from data that is several years old now - 8 year old cohorts in 2000-2001. The estimated rate now is likely higher.  Some areas such as NJ have pockets of 1 in 56 but these numbers have not been confirmed by the CDC.

Its pretty amazing to me to say "better diagnosing". That means doctors in the past sucked? Where are the 1 in 150 severely autistic adults?

 meower wrote: 

I cannot stress enough how right you are.  As the mother of an Aspy kid, I can tell you that the single most important factor in her success has been that we had the resources and support to get her an intervention before the age of three. 

Especially for Aspy; the intervention is socialization groups.  Worst case, if it's a false positive, is you get a kid who knows a lot about how to play well with others. 

We had some genetic testing done for biomarkers to my son's detox system, immune system and mitrochondrial issues. This has given us an new approach and targeting and tweaking more of what we were already doing. We just know now what specific defects are effecting his ability to clear metals and other toxins.

He has and still gets ABA (through the school), speech and OT .

Has anyone been reading about the Somali immigrant population in Minnesota? Their estimated rate of autism in 1 in 28.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/is-autism-an-american-dis_b_114776.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/minneapolis-and-the-somal_b_143967.html

 Painted_Turtle wrote: 

And there are those that see the desperation of these parents as a way to make lots of $$$, selling them the next "cure".  BT,DT.

 meower wrote: 
I meant it quite sincerely, as you probably know, there are some people that would just as soon kick these kids to a small, back, windowless room

there are never enough huggs given to people like you!  ...you are appreciated!

 Painted_Turtle wrote: 
you know, the research that I have seen shows that intensive early intervention is what is matters, not necessarily the approach.  So there's stanley greenspan's floortime, ABA and all sorts of other approaches that can cost $$ etc. when the reality is that these kids need stimulation and relationships and people who understand them and see their inherent strengths. 

thanx for the saint/angel statements..... i do what i do well, that happens to be connecting with kids and families. 

 meower wrote: 

One of the things that really bothers me is that treatment is so expensvie, because its really intensive.  Once the parents themselves learn the correct behaviors that foster the child's development that can take it from there with periodic check ins to PACE Place programs.  Most insurance programs won't cover these kids for that kind of therapy.

You are a saint and an angel to be working with them.  It can be really difficult sometimes.  My oldest grandson has an Aspergers diagnosis and he's a wonderful kid.  I love spending time with him, we do lots of science stuff together and just talking (him), me (listening).

 Painted_Turtle wrote: 
I work with kids with autism, the younger you get them the better for exactly the reasons that you've outlined.
Some of my favorite patients are on the spectrum,  i am SO lucky!!

 aflanigan wrote:   

I think with help and appropriate stimulus, behavioral development can and does change the diagnosis.  Neuron science tells us that our brain's neuron pathways can be changed with repeated stimulus (people do that all the time during stroke recovery therapy or any of the brain injury therapies.).  So, I am guessing that that can also happen with children.

PACE Place www.paceplace.org/  believes all children with autism are capable of learning and developing new skills with the help of early intervention.  Its' a great program that teaches parents and children how to do that.   

Unfortunately, its expensive.

An interesting article that discusses whether it is possible to "recover" from autism and ASD.

MY SON WAS AUTISTIC.  IS HE STILL?