In addition to the current epidemic of vitamin D deficiency, say another epidemic—an epidemic of autism—was upon our children? What if the autism epidemic began at the same time the epidemic of vitamin D deficiency began? What if both epidemics had worsened in unison? What if one theory explained all the unexplained facts about autism? What if both epidemics had the same root cause: sun avoidance? What if both were iatrogenic, that is, medical advice to avoid the sun had caused both epidemics? Be warned, what follows is not light reading—autism is not a light disease. Does The Vitamin D Theory Best Explain Autism?The theory that vitamin D deficiency, during pregnancy or childhood, causes autism is just a theory. However, the theory has a plausible mechanism of action, explains all the unexplained facts about autism, subsumes several other theories, implies simple prevention, and is easily disprovable—all components of a useful theory. A genetic lesion (abnormality) in some component of the vitamin D system—a lesion vitamin D's unique pharmacology could overcome—would explain why monozygotic (identical) twins are highly affected while fraternal twins are not. Varying brain levels of activated vitamin D during later life would explain why some identical twins get severe disease while others are barely affected. Falling vitamin D levels over the last 20 years due to sun‑avoidance explain autism's rapid increase in incidence during that same time. The very different effects estrogen and testosterone have on vitamin D metabolism may explain why boys are much more likely to get it than girls are. Lower vitamin D levels in blacks may explain their higher rates of autism. The vitamin D theory has tenable explanations for all the epidemiological features of autism. What's The Risk of Going In The Sun?The window of opportunity to affect brain development is limited. Time is of the essence if the vitamin D theory of autism is correct. Ask yourself, what is the risk of taking your autistic child outside to play in the sun? What's the risk of pregnant women sunbathing for a few minutes every day? Children always played in the sun before the epidemic of autism; your pregnant grandmother spent time in the sun as well. Physicians considered that sunshine was healthy before the sun‑scare, that is, before autism became an epidemic.
-------------------- The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits Posts: 10204 | From: NYC | Registered: Mar 2006
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She got them to admit there was still mercury in some of the vaccines.
... And had a list of the ten vaccines administered in 1983, and showed the list of 33 (I think) administered today. Giving them to the kids of all different sizes, the same 'standard' amount of doses.
Posts: 2634 | From: The highway | Registered: Feb 2004
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Can the State Force Vaccinations on Your Child? Can it happen in your state? Recently Maryland cracked down on parents whose children were not up to date on their vaccinations, threatening jail time if they did not comply. By Anastacia Mott Austin
Nearly 800 parents from Prince George County in Maryland whose children did not have their latest vaccinations received ominous-looking letters in November with the State Courthouse address stamped on it.
They were "strongly urged" to attend a hearing on November 17th, after which they were informed that if they did not get their children vaccinated on the spot (medical technicians from the state health department were on hand), or prove they already had them, they would face either $50 fines or up to 10 days jail time.
At the beginning of the 2007 school year, almost 3,000 schoolchildren in Prince George County were not up to date with either their vaccinations or their vaccination records. The roundup on November 17th began after the Prince George school board asked county courts to help them make sure the children in their district were current with their immunizations. The court set a date by which parents would need to either vaccinate their children or provide proof they already had. They could also provide proof of or file an exemption, something Maryland law allows for.
The judge who sent the letters, Judge C. Phillip Nichols, said that the request was voluntary, and that the court was not forcing anyone to show up. "We did not order people to do anything. We invited them to the court house to talk about it," said the judge to reporters.
But members of the media and others noted that there were armed police officers with dogs who were patrolling the area, ordering anyone asking questions to stand behind a barrier. In addition, many of the parents attending did not seem to be aware that the court visit was optional.
Said Remy Durham, who is raising seven children, "I’ve got too many children to raise to go to jail."
Echoed Luis Hernandez, who was concerned enough about the wording of the letter to take the day off of work to come to the courthouse, "I was a little afraid to see ‘Court House.’ I thought: ‘Wow, what’s wrong? I didn't do anything.’"
Organizations and individual physicians were present protesting the event, such as Virginia doctor Donna Hurlack, who told the press, "I think it’s offensive that the government would forcibly vaccinate kids. Individual rights are a good thing, and when you're dealing with health issues, informed consent is an important value."
A representative for the school district, John White, said that people were making too big a deal out of the letter and the courthouse vaccinations. "[It’s] not necessarily a bad thing. For two years we've been asking parents to get right with the requirements, and now they are."
But Barbara Loe Fisher, the president of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), was present at the event and concerned about what she saw. Fisher reported that parents who were having their children vaccinated were not being asked about their children’s medical histories, and some kids were being vaccinated even when their parents said they’d already received those particular shots. Some children received up to 17 vaccinations in one day, something even the most mainstream doctor would recommend against.
Said Fisher, "There was a feeling of intimidation. Children were basically put in that building, lined up and given vaccines without any information given to parents about how to monitor their children for adverse vaccination reactions. Vaccines carry risks. Those risks are greater for some than others. At the very least there should have been screening for those children and information given to parents."
In addition, the parents were not being informed of the Maryland state exemption laws, which allow for families to refuse vaccinations on the basis of religious beliefs or medical contraindications.
Whether or not the wording of the letter made it clear that the courthouse vaccinations were optional, the majority of parents interviewed after leaving the building were not aware that this was the case.
The incident left many parents and organizations concerned about civil liberties.
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons drafted a letter to the governor of Maryland, Martin O’Malley, which was dated November 18th, expressing their concern over the methods used to get parents to comply. The letter read, in part, "The heavy-handed ‘vaccine roundup’ instigated by [state’s attorney] Mr. Ivey obliterates informed consent and parental rights. Vaccines can and do save lives. But this episode has demonstrated that we must take a much more deliberative approach in crafting and enforcing vaccine policy without sacrificing the rights and liberties of individuals and families."
Can the tactics used in Maryland happen in your state?
Probably. According to Fisher, because laws concerning public health are not defined as being under federal jurisdiction by the Constitution, the states have the power to enact laws that make it mandatory for children in the state to be immunized. All states have these laws, and school districts everywhere could potentially call on the court system, as the Prince George school board did, to help them enforce the laws. But all states also have at least one type of exemption option, which the parents in Maryland were not informed of.
It is important to note that the law which was cited in the Prince George case involved truancy charges, not the actual refusal to comply with vaccination laws (which is likely why the judge insisted that the letters were simply "invitations to talk about the issue"). States have the right to refuse admittance to school of any child who is not current on his or her vaccinations. But in doing so, the parents of the child can then run afoul of truancy laws, which is punishable by up to $50 each day the child misses school, or up to 10 days in jail. This is the law the Maryland parents would be guilty of breaking.
Twenty states allow for parents to cite personal, philosophical, religious, or medical reasons and receive exemptions from vaccination. Twenty-eight other states allow for medical or religious reasons for exemptions, and two states, Mississippi and West Virginia, allow only for medical exemptions.
The laws regarding exemptions are easily available, yet many, many parents don’t even know they exist. None of the families who vaccinated their children on the spot at that Maryland courthouse had to do so legally. Yet they felt intimidated and threatened with jail, and thought they had no choice.
It is a parent’s responsibility to be aware of what is entering the bodies of their children, and to be informed of what their rights are. People who are ignorant of their rights are at risk of losing them. Nowhere in America is it legal to force a citizen (or a citizen’s child) to undergo a medical procedure or face jail.
At least not yet.
*For more information about what parents’ rights are in your state, or to find out more about the laws concerning exemptions for vaccinations, visit the National Vaccine Information Center at http://www.nvic.org. By Buzzle Staff and Agencies Published: 12/9/2007
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posted
Muscle Weakness Found in Some Autistic Children
By Serena Gordon HealthDay Reporter Sunday, April 13, 2008; 12:00 AM
SUNDAY, April 13 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that muscle weakness in a child with autism may point to an underlying genetic defect that's causing mitochondrial disease, which means the muscles don't get the energy they need.
Conversely, it's possible that the mitochondrial disease may also play a role in the development of autism, perhaps by preventing the brain from getting the energy it needs to perform properly, the researchers noted.
"In large studies of kids with autism, about 20 percent have markers of mitochondrial disease in the blood," explained Dr. John Shoffner, an associate professor of biology at Georgia State University and president of Medical Neurogenetics.
Shoffner recently completely a retrospective analysis of 37 children with autism spectrum disorders and found that 65 percent of these children -- children who had been referred to him because their doctors suspected additional problems -- had mitochondrial defects.
He was expected to present the findings April 13 at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting, in Chicago.
Mitochondria are found in every cell of the body, with the exception of red blood cells, according to the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF). Mitochondria are vital to survival, because they make oxygen available to cells and metabolize food into energy for cells to thrive. Defects in mitochondria can lead to cell injury, or even cell death, according to UMDF.
Symptoms of mitochondrial disease depend on which body system is affected but may include muscle weakness, loss of muscle control, poor growth, heart disease, diabetes, developmental delays, an increased risk of infection and more.
Shoffner said that the mitochondrial energy production system is the only one in the body that requires two genomes to work -- genes inherited from both the mother and the father, and genes exclusively from the mother. "To make this system work, it requires a lot of genes. Hence the opportunity for lots of problems," said Shoffner, who added that there are several hundred known mitochondrial disorders.
Twenty-four (65 percent) of the children included in this study had genetic defects in their skeletal muscles. However, that doesn't mean that 65 percent of children with autism likely have mitochondrial disease. This was a select population of kids with autism, ones that had specifically been referred, because their doctors suspected a problem.
But, Shoffner pointed out that as many as one in five youngsters with autism spectrum disorders have shown signs of mitochondrial disease.
"If you're talking about 20 percent of kids with autism, that's a whole lot of children, and may represent an important segment of the autism spectrum disorder population. And we may be getting a foothold into the underlying cause of autism spectrum disorders," he said, adding, "This is a really important step forward that lets us put effort into understanding the mechanisms of disease."
"This study is a call to action. We need to know what is the real prevalence of mitochondrial conditions in children with autism," said Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer for Autism Speaks. "The more we can identify these subgroups of kids, the more we're going to parse apart the many forms of autism. This gives us clues to etiology."
"If we find that mitochondrial disease is a prevalent condition, having a better understanding of the kinds of symptoms that children may show if they have it might be helpful for parents," she said.
Shoffner said these findings may also open up new avenues of research into potentially more effective treatments for the future.
More information
To learn more about autism, visit Autism Speaks.
SOURCES: John M. Shoffner, M.D., associate professor, biology, Georgia State University, and president, Medical Neurogenetics, Atlanta; Geraldine Dawson, Ph.D., chief science officer, Autism Speaks; April 13, 2008, presentation, American Academy of Neurology annual meeting, Chicago
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