The Age of Autism: Allergic responses

March 22, 2006

Vaccines cause a shift in antibody from IgG(protective) to IgE;

THE LATTER IS THE ANTIBODY THAT CAUSES ALLERGY. For reference to this paper call neSincerely,

H.H. Fudenberg, M.D., D.D.G., I.O.M.

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From: "ianpsmom" <ianpsmom@...>Reply-EOHarm To: EOHarm Subject: The Age of Autism: Allergic responsesDate: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 23:20:08 -0000The Age of Autism: Allergic responsesBy Dan OlmstedUPI Senior EditorMar. 21, 2006http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi/20060321-104858-2346r.htm

March 22, 2006

The Age of Autism: Allergic responses

By Dan Olmsted Mar 21, 2006, 19:00 GMT

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/lifestyle/consumerhealth/printer_1148985.php

WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- A plausible link is emerging

between widely used childhood medicines and the risk of developing allergies

and especially asthma. But you`d never know it from listening to federal

health authorities or reading the mainstream press.

The latest case in point: USA Today this week is tackling the roots of

allergies and examining new treatments based on the idea that children may

be getting too little -- not too much -- exposure to allergens.

\'To head off allergies, expose your kids to pets and dirt early.

Really.\' That was the headline on the front-and-center page 1 story Monday

by Steve Steinberg.

\'The new approach to allergy prevention and treatment arises from a

paradox,\' Steinberg writes. \'Known as the hygiene hypothesis, it suggests

that growing up in cities and suburbs, away from fields and farm animals,

leaves people more susceptible to a host of immune disorders, including

allergies and asthma.\'

The article goes on to ask: \'What about urban life is triggering a

rash of allergies and autoimmune diseases? It`s a good question, and not an

easy one to answer.\' (Disclosure: I was an editor at USA Today in the

1980s.)

While the hygiene hypothesis may help explain the huge rise in

allergies and asthma, particularly among children, since 1980, there could

be more going on here than an absence of cows and cornfields.

Just last week researchers reported a possible link between

antibiotics and asthma -- \'A new study has found that infants younger than

12 months who have had antibiotics may be more likely to develop asthma when

they get older,\' the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

This was not some flaky anti-antibiotic study -- it was done by

researchers at the University of British Columbia and published in CHEST,

the journal of the American College of Chest Physicians. The researchers

reviewed seven studies that compared kids who got antibiotics before age one

with kids who didn`t get any, and they were careful to report only an

\'association,\' not proof of a cause-and-effect relationship.

In fact, antibiotic use may simply be a marker for kids who tend to

have more infections -- that could be the real link to developing asthma.

But if you`re going to ask why \'a host of immune disorders, including

allergies and asthma,\' are rising, you really cannot overlook the

iatrogenic hypothesis -- the idea that medicine might be at least partly

responsible for a problem medicine is trying to solve.

A related possibility -- warning, here comes the third rail of

American public health policy -- is that vaccines may play a role, and for a

similar reason. If the immune system gets stimulated too early and too often

but never by the real thing -- say, by the chicken pox vaccination rather

than by chicken pox itself -- it could get stuck in battle mode and start

attacking its own tissues.

That might lead to allergies, asthma and a host of other autoimmune

disorders like juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, skin disorders, juvenile

diabetes -- and, conceivably, autism, if autism reflects the outcome of an

autoimmune inflammatory process in the brain.

No question, mainstream medical authorities call this idea junk

science. But independent researchers keep saying the darnedest things. The

latest case in point: A study in January showing that European kids who

follow the so-called anthroposophic lifestyle -- which severely restricts

use of such medicines as antibiotics and fever reducers -- have a lower risk

of developing allergies.

Again, it`s just a study, but then again, the study was in the Journal

of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the peer-reviewed, scientific journal of

the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

The overlooked last sentence of the researchers` press release reads:

\'Early use of antibiotics and fever reducers, along with the measles, mumps

and rubella vaccination were also associated with increased risks of several

allergic symptoms and doctor`s diagnoses.\'

There you have it -- a responsible report of a possible allergy risk

not just from antibiotics and fever reducers but from the MMR vaccine, which

every child in America is supposed to get. Coincidence or not, the MMR came

into wide use around 1980, and in the mid-1990s, the CDC moved the

recommended age forward to 12 to 15 months, from 15 to 18 months.

This study fits with something we reported last fall from Homefirst, a

medical practice in Chicago that follows a similar philosophy and has

thousands of never-vaccinated children. The group`s medical director, Dr.

Mayer Eisenstein, said he couldn`t think of a single case of autism in

children who had never been vaccinated. Ditto asthma.

The asthma rate among Homefirst patients is so low it was noticed by

the Blue Cross group with which Homefirst is affiliated, according to

Eisenstein.

\'In the alternative-medicine network which Homefirst is part of,

there are virtually no cases of childhood asthma, in contrast to the overall

Blue Cross rate of childhood asthma which is approximately 10 percent,\' he

said.

\'At first I thought it was because they (Homefirst`s children) were

breast-fed, but even among the breast-fed we`ve had asthma. We have

virtually no asthma if you`re breast-fed and not vaccinated.\'

Several studies have suggested a link between vaccines and asthma

while others -- notably one conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention -- do not. The CDC study, as we`ve noted before, eliminated

never-vaccinated kids from consideration, allegedly because their medical

records were inherently unreliable.

But note: The study above that found an association between

antibiotics and asthma used control groups of kids who never, ever got any

antibiotics. That`s the kind of comparison federal health authorities seem

to be assiduously avoiding when it comes to studying possible autoimmune

risks of all kinds from vaccines.

When that happens, it`s up to the press to dig deeper than pets and dirt.

Really.

E-mail: dolmsted@...

This notice cannot be removed without permission.

April 3, 2006

" At first I thought it was because they (Homefirst's children) were

breast-fed, but even among the breast-fed we've had asthma. We have

virtually no asthma if you're breast-fed and not vaccinated. "

My boys must be real anomalies (at least by Dan Olmsteds standards) when it

comes to his findings. I'm glad he's looking into the bad effects of antibiotic

use in children under the age of one, but surely there must be other cases other

than my 6-yr-old Liam who was breastfed exclusively, had no antibiotics in

infancy, and unvaccinated that have suffered with asthma. Though my son has no

official diagnosis, he has been to the doctor for breathing treatments due to

serious asthma attacks twice in his life; very frightening experience.

...and there's my unvaccinated, exclusively breastfed autistic son that

doesn't seem to exist among the Amish or the Homefirst medical practice in

Chicago he seems to rely on for much of his info. He wasn't interested in my

autistic son Henry's story even though he recieved inordinate amounts of

antibiotics within days of his birth. Maybe he'll be interested in Liam's asthma

attacks for the record. Maybe he'll take another look at Henry now that he seems

to be focussing on antibiotics. Either way, I know early antibiotic use is

damaging many children in many different ways. As for Liam, I guess his immune

system was a lot weaker than I thought during those episodes.

Anita

Sheri Nakken <snakken@...> wrote:

http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20060321-104858-2346r

The Age of Autism: Allergic responses

United Press International - USA

The Age of Autism: Allergic responses

By DAN OLMSTED

UPI Senior Editor

A plausible link is emerging between widely used childhood medicines and

the risk of developing allergies and especially asthma. But you'd never

know it from listening to federal health authorities or reading the

mainstream press.

---------------------------------

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April 3, 2006