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Federal Vaccine court finds no link to autism (CNN)

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Vaccine court finds no link to autism. March 12, 2010

Washington (CNN) -- A federal court ruled Friday that the evidence supporting an

alleged causal link between autism and a mercury-containing preservative in

vaccines is unpersuasive, and that the families of children diagnosed with

autism are not entitled to compensation.

Special masters of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims released more than 600 pages

of findings after reviewing three test cases and finding all the claims wanting.

" Petitioners' theory of vaccine-related causation is scientifically

unsupportable, " wrote Special Master - in her conclusion

about P. Mead, whose parents, and Mead, had brought one

of the suits.

" In the absence of a sound medical theory causally connecting 's received

vaccines to his autistic condition, the undersigned cannot find the proposed

sequence of cause and effect to be logical or temporally appropriate. Having

failed to satisfy their burden of proof under the articulated legal standard,

petitioners cannot prevail on their claim of vaccine-related causation. "

In the second test case, Special Master L. Hastings Jr. wrote, " The

record of this case demonstrates plainly that Jordan King and his family have

been though a tragic ordeal, " referring to the minor, whose parents, Fred and

Mylinda King, had brought suit.

" After studying the extensive evidence in this case for many months, I am

convinced that the opinions provided by the petitioners' experts in this case,

advising the King family that there is a causal connection between

thimerosal-containing vaccines and Jordan's autism, have been quite wrong. " The

special master italicized the last two words.

" Nevertheless, I can understand why Jordan's parents found such opinions to be

believable under the circumstances. "

" In this case, the evidence advanced by the petitioners has fallen far short of

demonstrating such a link, " he said.

In the final test case, Special Master K. Vowell wrote of Colin R. Dwyer,

a minor, that his parents, and Dwyer, " have not demonstrated by a

preponderance of the evidence that Colin's condition was either caused or

significantly aggravated by his vaccinations. Thus, they have failed to

establish entitlement to compensation and the petition for compensation is

therefore denied. "

Congress set up the special judicial forum, sometimes called the " vaccine

court, " in 1986 to address claims over vaccine safety.

Estepp, who attended the hearings and said her 12-year-old son, ,

has been diagnosed with autism she blames on vaccine, described herself as

" devastated " with the rulings, but not surprised.

" The deck is stacked against families in vaccine court, " she said in a telephone

interview from her home in Poway, California, about 20 miles north of San Diego.

" You have government attorneys defending a government program using

government-funded science before government judges. Where's the justice in

that? "

Tom Powers, a Portland, Oregon-based lawyer for the families involved, said his

clients were disappointed.

" All three families are committed to following the appeals process, and pursuing

that avenue to get justice and compensation for their kids, " he said.

The special masters' decisions are subject to review by judges in the U.S. Court

of Federal Claims. Within the next 30 days, attorneys for the families will ask

the claims court judges to review the decisions and rule that the children are,

in fact, entitled to compensation.

After government lawyers have a chance to respond to the motions for review, the

judges will schedule oral argument and hearings, probably in the summer, Powers

said.

Though Friday's decisions do not end the legal battle, Dr. Offit, chief of

infectious diseases and the director of the Vaccine Education Center at the

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, was optimistic.

" Parents should take heart in this decision and continue to immunize their

children with the confidence that they are the safest, most effective way to

protect against dangerous diseases, " the pediatrician said.

" It's time to move forward and look for the real causes of autism, " said Alison

Singer, president of the Autism Science Foundation. " Our children deserve real

answers and at this point doing more and more studies of vaccines, when the

science is so clear, would be allowing politics to triumph over science. "

The three test cases represented thousands of children who have autism and whose

parents contend their disorder was triggered by an early childhood vaccination.

The vaccines contained thimerosal, a mercury-derived compound the parents say

helped bring on regressive autism, in which normally developing children

suddenly exhibit learning disorders and behavioral problems, typically between

ages 1 and 2.

The theory that vaccines or thimerosal can cause autism is rejected by most

medical experts, including the Institute of Medicine, the U.S. Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Multiple

scientific studies also have failed to prove a link.

Thimerosal was removed from infant vaccines in 1999.

In February 2009, the court's special masters concluded that the evidence

supporting a link between measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, or MMR, combined with

thimerosal-containing vaccines, was also unpersuasive.

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal of parents who say

that a range of vaccines administered to their child caused serious health

problems.

The justices on Monday agreed to decide whether drug makers can be sued outside

the vaccine court.

The lawsuit was brought by the parents of Hannah Bruesewitz, a girl from the

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area. The parents said she was healthy as an infant

in 1992 when given a series of DPT shots -- a combination of vaccines to prevent

diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), and tetanus.

After the third series, according to court briefs, the child began having

seizures and became disabled. Now a teenager, Hannah continues to suffer what is

described as " residual seizure disorder. "

The Bruesewitzes alleged Wyeth Laboratories failed to adequately warn them and

other parents of the risks associated with the vaccine. The vaccine court

rejected the initial claim, so the family tried to revive the lawsuit in other

federal courts.

A federal appeals court eventually ruled for Wyeth, now owned by Pfizer Inc.,

concluding all design-defect claims were barred under statute. Despite that

victory, the company urged the high court to hear the case, saying it seeks

final resolution on the broader legal questions.

The Obama administration also urged review and is supporting the company and the

federal law in question.

Wyeth and other drug manufacturers say their products are generally safe, but

side effects can occur in rare cases.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/12/vaccine.court.ruling.autism/index.html

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