UPI: Autism debate goes digital

September 26, 2006

http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20060926-043432-

9947r

Ped Med: Autism debate goes digital

By LIDIA WASOWICZ

UPI Senior Science Writer

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- With neither side ceding, the war of

words, and mindsets, over the causes of autism continues -- in full

view of the Web-surfing world.

Making use of digital communication that gives them unprecedented

access to a global audience, the challengers of orthodoxy question the

validity of studies that nix a connection between autism and vaccines.

For its part, the much larger group supporting such research results

also has an online outlet on the numerous public health, pediatric

group and university sites the medical establishment urges parents to

visit.

As it stands, despite mounting and often-cited evidence mainstream

medicine maintains its acquittal of vaccines in the rise of autism

diagnoses in America's children, the minority movement convinced of

their culpability is growing in number, momentum and tenacity.

When in May 2004 the esteemed independent Institute of Medicine -- a

component of the National Academy of Sciences that serves as the

country's premier science adviser -- judged theories trouncing the

mercury-based preservative thimerosal once widely used in childhood

vaccines and those implicating the measles-mumps-rubella shot to be

scientifically unsupportable and urged investigators to turn their

attention to more " promising " areas of research, many considered it a

coup de grace to the vaccine-autism proposition.

They couldn't have been more wrong.

One year to the month later, in a highly visible show of no confidence

in the conclusions, the freshly minted Generation Rescue launched a

nationwide campaign to resurrect the theory many thought had been laid

to rest.

During a news conference called in San Francisco to mark the event, as

well as its own formation, the organization rejected the

vaccine-clearing findings as based on " vastly manipulated

epidemiological studies. "

Instead, the advocates offered their own take on the causes of autism

-- in a full-page ad appearing in leading U.S. newspapers.

" Autism is preventable and reversible, " the defiant headline proclaimed.

" It is critical that we have all the facts about this epidemic,

including recent developments about autism's relationship to mercury

poisoning and how the right detoxification treatment can entirely

reverse the disorder. "

The ad then invited readers to visit the Web site of the group

" founded for parents by parents (and) dedicated to empowering parents

with the truth to help their children heal. "

Just what that truth is depends on who you ask and, in the end, on who

you trust.

For parents torn by persuasive forces pulling in opposite directions,

that can be a tough call -- one that leaves little room for error,

considering its potentially life-altering consequences.

Misjudging the evidence, believing in the wrong cause can condemn a

child to needless suffering.

The mercury-malady relation may be in dispute, but that the ambiguity

hurts children is not.

If the vast and venerable majority is right, thousands of youngsters

undergoing the detoxifying chelation technique advocated by groups

like Generation Rescue are being unnecessarily exposed to a process

most mainstream physicians regard as ineffective at best and risky,

even potentially deadly, in the worst-case scenario.

If the small but significant contingent of parents, doctors and their

supporters have the answer, then thousands others are struggling with

an ailment that could be alleviated with an already available therapy.

It is a dilemma unfamiliar to past generations, which rarely

questioned whether " doctor knows best " -- but all too common for

modern-day families who, in the absence of clear-cut answers, may no

longer be certain where to turn for advice.

The unknowns surrounding autism mirror those lingering over

attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression and other

diversions from the " norm " that underwent a definition overhaul during

the radical shift, from psychological to biological, in the

foundations of psychiatry and its view of mental illness.

The change was both driven by and reflected in dramatic revisions in

the diagnostic manual that broadened criteria and, critics contend,

blurred lines between wellness and illness.

As with other psychiatric conditions, the search for definitive

answers about autism has run up against the lack of an objective,

biological test for a disorder whose manifestation can vary from

barely noticeable to severely disabling, the blending of symptoms of

co-existing ailments, the elusiveness of its causes and the

always-obfuscating shadow of controversy.

Against such odds, the reach for certainty has proven a stretch.

What inroads have been made in understanding the enigmas of autism

were paved in large part by dedicated mothers and fathers, who have

pushed tirelessly to put their children's welfare on researchers' and

politicians' radar.

Left largely to fend for themselves, parents in the 1960s and 1970s

began coming together for counsel and support.

The modest move, kicked off to serve families with the most severely

disabled children, turned into a major movement that encompasses

families on the entire range of the autism spectrum and embraces a

science community with global reach.

Among other feats, parents established or co-founded -- in a mere four

years, between 1994 and 1998 -- three leading entities in autism

research: Cure Autism Now, the University of California, ,

M.I.N.D. (Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders)

Institute, a major center launched in collaboration with clinicians

and researchers and the National Alliance for Autism Research, the

first U.S. organization dedicated to funding and facilitating

biomedical studies of the disorder.

In 2002 the threesome initiated the International Meeting for Autism

Research, an annual forum for autism data exploration and exchange.

A mere three years later the conference attracted 700 of the top

scientists in the field.

Among other major developments, they reported the discovery of

potential biological markers in the blood and behaviors that might

lead to diagnostic tests at birth, evidence of autism as a disorder of

the immune system as well as of the brain, clues to the location of

genetic regions implicated in the disorder and hints of the

involvement of such environmental poisons as PCBs.

" What ... has changed is that we've had some very powerful

organizations that have come onto the scene in the last 10 years, "

said CAN Director Bell. " We've created a field for autism

research when essentially very little existed 10 years ago. "

" There were maybe about a dozen people who were dedicated and spending

significant amounts of time doing autism research, " he added, " and

what that number is today is well over 600. "

Parental pressures have prodded the passage of the Children's Health

Act of 2000, which created eight centers of excellence devoted to

autism research, spurred the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention in Atlanta to launch unprecedented surveillance studies

and, most recently, instigated the introduction of a bipartisan bill,

called the Combating Autism Act of 2005.

The bill, passed by the Senate and referred to a House committee Sept.

6, would commit an unprecedented $860 million in federal funds for

autism research, screening, treatment and education, in effect

doubling the National Institutes of Health's current funding level in

this area.

(Note: In this multi-part installment, based on dozens of reports,

conferences and interviews, Ped Med is keeping on eye on autism,

taking a backward glance at its history and surrounding controversies,

facing facts revealed by research and looking forward to treatment

enhancements and expansions.)

September 26, 2006

Another great article by LidiaHHF UPI: Autism debate goes digitalhttp://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20060926-043432-9947rPed Med: Autism debate goes digitalBy LIDIA WASOWICZUPI Senior Science WriterSAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- With neither side ceding, the war ofwords, and mindsets, over the causes of autism continues -- in fullview of the Web-surfing world. Making use of digital communication that gives them unprecedentedaccess to a global audience, the challengers of orthodoxy question thevalidity of studies that nix a connection between autism and vaccines. For its part, the much larger group supporting such research resultsalso has an online outlet on the numerous public health, pediatricgroup and university sites the medical establishment urges parents tovisit. As it stands, despite mounting and often-cited evidence mainstreammedicine maintains its acquittal of vaccines in the rise of autismdiagnoses in America's children, the minority movement convinced oftheir culpability is growing in number, momentum and tenacity. When in May 2004 the esteemed independent Institute of Medicine -- acomponent of the National Academy of Sciences that serves as thecountry's premier science adviser -- judged theories trouncing themercury-based preservative thimerosal once widely used in childhoodvaccines and those implicating the measles-mumps-rubella shot to bescientifically unsupportable and urged investigators to turn theirattention to more "promising" areas of research, many considered it acoup de grace to the vaccine-autism proposition. They couldn't have been more wrong. One year to the month later, in a highly visible show of no confidencein the conclusions, the freshly minted Generation Rescue launched anationwide campaign to resurrect the theory many thought had been laidto rest. During a news conference called in San Francisco to mark the event, aswell as its own formation, the organization rejected thevaccine-clearing findings as based on "vastly manipulatedepidemiological studies." Instead, the advocates offered their own take on the causes of autism-- in a full-page ad appearing in leading U.S. newspapers. "Autism is preventable and reversible," the defiant headline proclaimed. "It is critical that we have all the facts about this epidemic,including recent developments about autism's relationship to mercurypoisoning and how the right detoxification treatment can entirelyreverse the disorder." The ad then invited readers to visit the Web site of the group"founded for parents by parents (and) dedicated to empowering parentswith the truth to help their children heal." Just what that truth is depends on who you ask and, in the end, on whoyou trust. For parents torn by persuasive forces pulling in opposite directions,that can be a tough call -- one that leaves little room for error,considering its potentially life-altering consequences. Misjudging the evidence, believing in the wrong cause can condemn achild to needless suffering. The mercury-malady relation may be in dispute, but that the ambiguityhurts children is not. If the vast and venerable majority is right, thousands of youngstersundergoing the detoxifying chelation technique advocated by groupslike Generation Rescue are being unnecessarily exposed to a processmost mainstream physicians regard as ineffective at best and risky,even potentially deadly, in the worst-case scenario. If the small but significant contingent of parents, doctors and theirsupporters have the answer, then thousands others are struggling withan ailment that could be alleviated with an already available therapy. It is a dilemma unfamiliar to past generations, which rarelyquestioned whether "doctor knows best" -- but all too common formodern-day families who, in the absence of clear-cut answers, may nolonger be certain where to turn for advice. The unknowns surrounding autism mirror those lingering overattention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression and otherdiversions from the "norm" that underwent a definition overhaul duringthe radical shift, from psychological to biological, in thefoundations of psychiatry and its view of mental illness. The change was both driven by and reflected in dramatic revisions inthe diagnostic manual that broadened criteria and, critics contend,blurred lines between wellness and illness. As with other psychiatric conditions, the search for definitiveanswers about autism has run up against the lack of an objective,biological test for a disorder whose manifestation can vary frombarely noticeable to severely disabling, the blending of symptoms ofco-existing ailments, the elusiveness of its causes and thealways-obfuscating shadow of controversy. Against such odds, the reach for certainty has proven a stretch. What inroads have been made in understanding the enigmas of autismwere paved in large part by dedicated mothers and fathers, who havepushed tirelessly to put their children's welfare on researchers' andpoliticians' radar. Left largely to fend for themselves, parents in the 1960s and 1970sbegan coming together for counsel and support. The modest move, kicked off to serve families with the most severelydisabled children, turned into a major movement that encompassesfamilies on the entire range of the autism spectrum and embraces ascience community with global reach. Among other feats, parents established or co-founded -- in a mere fouryears, between 1994 and 1998 -- three leading entities in autismresearch: Cure Autism Now, the University of California, ,M.I.N.D. (Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders)Institute, a major center launched in collaboration with cliniciansand researchers and the National Alliance for Autism Research, thefirst U.S. organization dedicated to funding and facilitatingbiomedical studies of the disorder. In 2002 the threesome initiated the International Meeting for AutismResearch, an annual forum for autism data exploration and exchange. A mere three years later the conference attracted 700 of the topscientists in the field. Among other major developments, they reported the discovery ofpotential biological markers in the blood and behaviors that mightlead to diagnostic tests at birth, evidence of autism as a disorder ofthe immune system as well as of the brain, clues to the location ofgenetic regions implicated in the disorder and hints of theinvolvement of such environmental poisons as PCBs. "What .. has changed is that we've had some very powerfulorganizations that have come onto the scene in the last 10 years,"said CAN Director Bell. "We've created a field for autismresearch when essentially very little existed 10 years ago." "There were maybe about a dozen people who were dedicated and spendingsignificant amounts of time doing autism research," he added, "andwhat that number is today is well over 600." Parental pressures have prodded the passage of the Children's HealthAct of 2000, which created eight centers of excellence devoted toautism research, spurred the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention in Atlanta to launch unprecedented surveillance studiesand, most recently, instigated the introduction of a bipartisan bill,called the Combating Autism Act of 2005. The bill, passed by the Senate and referred to a House committee Sept.6, would commit an unprecedented $860 million in federal funds forautism research, screening, treatment and education, in effectdoubling the National Institutes of Health's current funding level inthis area. (Note: In this multi-part installment, based on dozens of reports,conferences and interviews, Ped Med is keeping on eye on autism,taking a backward glance at its history and surrounding controversies,facing facts revealed by research and looking forward to treatmentenhancements and expansions.)

September 27, 2006

This is a great piece to see. UPI is doing stand-up coverage of an

otherwised media blacked out subject. There is a serious critical

ommission in this article however: the lack of mention of the role of

the Autism Research Institute in leading the opposition. ARI has

arguably done more for families with autism/vaccine damage than CAN,

AS/NAAR, Generation Rescue and the MIND Institute combined. (While the

leadership from almost every one of those organizations uses

biomedical treatments for their own family members, only one of the

above (GR) sees fit to promote or even share that knowledge with their

own supporters. Do what we say, not what we . . . Oh dear, I'm being

negative, again.)

Lenny

>

> http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20060926-043432-

> 9947r

> Ped Med: Autism debate goes digital

> By LIDIA WASOWICZ

> UPI Senior Science Writer

> SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- With neither side ceding, the war of

> words, and mindsets, over the causes of autism continues -- in full

-snip-

September 27, 2006

The exact same thought came into my head

when I read that article. What about ARI???-

From: EOHarm [mailto:EOHarm ] On Behalf Of schaferatsprynet

Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006

6:50 PM

EOHarm

Subject: Re: UPI: Autism

debate goes digital