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A friend of mine has her ASD child on oxytocin. They have seen

improvements in her anxiety level.

>

> Wow, this is interesting!

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>

>

> Chris

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> _____

>

> From: sarnet-bounces@... On

> Behalf Of schafer

> Sent: Sunday, June 22, 2008 3:02 PM

> To: Schafer Autism Report

> Subject: Drug Reverses Mental Retardation in Mice

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> To read this report online browse here

www.sarnet.org/lib/todaySAR.htm

> For large text version here:

<http://www.sarnet.org/lib/SARtext.htm>

> www.sarnet.org/lib/SARtext.htm

>

>

> <http://http/www.sarnet.org/img/SARlogo.gif> Schafer Autism Report

>

>

> Monday, June 23, 2008 Reader Supported

> Vol. 12 No. 91

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> In This Issue:

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> .

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> RESEARCH

> Drug Reverses Mental Retardation in Mice

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> PUBLIC HEALTH

> CBS News: Vaccine Watch

>

> Four Ohio Parents Sue Companies Over Chemical Baby Bottles

>

> Whistleblower Report

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> .

>

>

> .

>

>

> .

>

>

> .

>

> PEOPLE

> Volunteers Dwindle In Search For Autistic Man

>

> Project Lifesaver Finds Lost Autistic Boy

>

> School District Bars Twins From Graduating

>

> Boy Breaks Silence, Shocks Parents

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> .

>

> TREATMENT

> Scientists Find Childbirth Wonder Drug That Can 'Cure' Shyness

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> .

>

> LETTERS

> RE: The AAP Campaign Against Vaccine Informed Parents

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> _____

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> Send your LETTER

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> _____

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>

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>

>

> The Autism Calendar

>

> <http://www.sarnet.org/frm/cal-frm.htm>

>

> or here: tinyurl.com/283dpa

>

> _____

>

>

>

>

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>

> DO SOMETHING ABOUT AUTISM NOW

> SUBSCRIBE. . . !

> . . . Read, then Forward the Schafer Autism Report.

>

> <http://www.sarnet.org/>

> $35 for 1 year -

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> 100% Reader Supported through subscription donations

> <http://www.sarnet.org/> www.sarnet.org

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> _____

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> Political Discussion Forum Heats Up As Vaccine Link To Autism

Question

> Spreads

>

> An email discussion list has been created in response to the growing

> interest in the environmental causes of autism -- now more than

2,200

> subscribers. Here is where to join

<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EOHarm/>

> :

>

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> <http://tinyurl.com/ylclr6> SAR Back Issues

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> _____

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> AUTISM IS TREATABLE

>

> <http://www.sarnet.org/lib/treat.htm> Check here

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> _____

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> Today's SAR is provided through the support of paid subscription

readers.

>

>

>

>

> - THANK YOU -

>

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>

> DEADLINE

> Weds. June 25

> For July

> Autism Events Calendar

> Submit listing here free <http://www.sarnet.org/frm/cal-frm.htm> !

>

>

>

>

> <http://www.sarnet.org/events/> the Autism Calendartm here

> Hundreds of Local Autism Events

>

>

>

>

>

> RESEARCH

>

> Drug Reverses Mental Retardation in Mice

>

> tinyurl.com/5klnat

>

> Newswise - UCLA researchers discovered that an FDA-approved

drug

> reverses the brain dysfunction inflicted by a genetic disease called

> tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). Because half of TSC patients also

suffer

> from autism, the findings offer new hope for addressing learning

disorders

> due to autism. Nature Medicine publishes the findings in its online

June 22

> edition.

> Using a mouse model for TSC, the scientists tested rapamycin,

a drug

> approved by the FDA to fight tissue rejection following organ

transplants.

> Rapamycin is well-known for targeting an enzyme involved in making

proteins

> needed for memory. The UCLA team chose it because the same enzyme

is also

> regulated by TSC proteins.

> " This is the first study to demonstrate that the drug

rapamycin can

> repair learning deficits related to a genetic mutation that causes

autism in

> humans. The same mutation in animals produces learning disorders,

which we

> were able to eliminate in adult mice, " explained principal

investigator Dr.

> Alcino Silva, professor of neurobiology and psychiatry at the

Geffen

> School of Medicine at UCLA. " Our work and other recent studies

suggest that

> some forms of mental retardation can be reversed, even in the adult

brain. "

> " These findings challenge the theory that abnormal brain

development

> is to blame for mental impairment in tuberous sclerosis, " added

first author

> Dan Ehninger, postgraduate researcher in neurobiology. " Our

research shows

> that the disease's learning problems are caused by reversible

changes in

> brain function -- not by permanent damage to the developing brain. "

> TSC is a devastating genetic disorder that disrupts how the

brain

> works, often causing severe mental retardation. Even in mild cases,

learning

> disabilities and short-term memory problems are common. Half of all

TSC

> patients also suffer from autism and epilepsy. The disorder strikes

one in

> 6,000 people, making it twice as common as Huntington's or Lou

Gehrig's

> disease.

> Silva and Ehninger studied mice bred with TSC and verified

that the

> animals suffered from the same severe learning difficulties as human

> patients. Next, the UCLA team traced the source of the learning

problems to

> biochemical changes sparking abnormal function of the hippocampus,

a brain

> structure that plays a key role in memory.

> " Memory is as much about discarding trivial details as it is

about

> storing useful information, " said Silva, a member of the UCLA

Department of

> Psychology and UCLA Brain Research Institute. " Our findings suggest

that

> mice with the mutation cannot distinguish between important and

unimportant

> data. We suspect that their brains are filled with meaningless

noise that

> interferes with learning. "

> " After only three days of treatment, the TSC mice learned as

quickly

> as the healthy mice, " said Ehninger. " The rapamycin corrected the

> biochemistry, reversed the learning deficits and restored normal

hippocampal

> function, allowing the mice's brains to store memories properly. "

> In January, Silva presented his study at the National

Institute of

> Neurological Disorders and Stroke meeting, where he was approached

by Dr.

> Petrus de Vries, who studies TSC patients and leads rapamycin

clinical

> trials at the University of Cambridge. After discussing their

respective

> findings, the two researchers began collaborating on a clinical

trial

> currently taking place at Cambridge to examine whether rapamycin

can restore

> short-term memory in TSC patients.

> " The United States spends roughly $90 billion a year on

remedial

> programs to address learning disorders, " noted Silva. " Our research

offers

> hope to patients affected by tuberous sclerosis and to their

families. The

> new findings suggest that rapamycin could provide therapeutic value

in

> treating similar symptoms in people affected by the disorder. " '

> The research was funded by National Institute of Neurological

> Disorders and Stroke, Autism Speaks and Deutsche

Forschungsgemeinschaft

> (German Research Foundation). Silva and Ehninger's coauthors

included Yu

> Zhou, Shilyansky and Weidong Li of UCLA; and Sangyeul Han,

Vijaya

> Ramesh and Kwiatkowski of Harvard Medical School.

> Source: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health

Sciences

>

>

>

>

> DO SOMETHING ABOUT AUTISM NOW

>

> SUBSCRIBE. . . !

>

>

> . . . Read, then Forward the Schafer Autism Report.

>

>

>

>

>

> <http://www.sarnet.org/>

> $35 for 1 year - or free!

> <http://www.sarnet.org/> www.sarnet.org

>

>

>

> . . .

>

> PUBLIC HEALTH

>

> CBS News: Vaccine Watch

>

> Posted by Sharyl Attkisson|

> tinyurl.com/4r5y34 <http://preview.tinyurl.com/4r5y34>

>

> (AP) After a decade of denying any possible association

between

> vaccines and autism, the government quietly settled a vaccine-

autism case

> last fall. When news of the case leaked out to the public months

later,

> government officials labelled the case of Hannah Poling

an " anomoly. " The

> truth is, nobody is in a position to know whether Hannah's case is

an

> exception. Government officials have told CBS News that they have

not

> tracked vaccine-autism claims to see how many of them might involve

children

> with the same undetected mitochondrial disorder Hannah had... one

that may

> have made her susceptible to side effects from vaccines, triggering

her

> autism. Government officials have also acknowledged to CBS News

that they

> haven't looked for common denominators in other autism-related

cases which

> have been compensated in federal vaccine court. Yes, there are

other cases

> that have been paid. As CBS News has reported, the government has

been

> settling vaccine injuries that resulted in autism and/or autistic

symptoms

> since at least the early 1990's, while at the same time telling the

public

> there is no cause for concern. Not all of the cases are published,

but some

> of them are and can be found by searching legal case databases.

That... with

> the help of some well-placed sources... is how CBS News turned up

at least

> nine more cases... and counting. Considering that only a tiny

fraction of

> vaccine-autism claims find their way to the little-known vaccine

court,

> these cases are just a sampling of the total that may actually

exist in the

> population. Further, according to knowledgeable sources, vaccine

injuries

> compensated in the past due to encephalopathy (or brain

damage) " often "

> resulted in autism, but the autism label was not used. Again, the

government

> does not track how many of the encephalopathy cases involved

children who

> got autism or ADD after their vaccinations.

> One important factor is often lost in the discussion of a

handful of

> cases: the fact that the debate has shifted from whether vaccines

have any

> relationship to some cases of autism... to what is the role of

vaccines in

> some cases of autism. And how big is the pool of cases. If vaccines

can

> trigger autism in any way, directly or indirectly, that contradicts

all the

> rhetoric and dogma heard from many public and government health

officials

> for the past decade. And it supports what many other researchers

have been

> saying for a decade, often to deaf ears, even after they published

in

> peer-reviewed scientific journals.

> Which is probably why Hannah's case is resonating under the

radar in

> the medical community. A government conference has now been

scheduled for

> later this month to examine mitochondrial disorders like hers and

autism or

> neurological " triggers " (i.e. vaccines). See below.

>

> Workshop

> Mitochondrial Disorders of Childhood: Testing, Potential

Relationships

> to Autism Spectrum Disorders, and Triggers for Neurological

Deterioration

> June 29, 2008

>

> Workshop Goals and Objectives

> " Mitochondrial Disorders of Childhood: Testing, Potential

> Relationships to Autism Spectrum Disorders, and Triggers for

Neurological

> Deterioration " is a workshop to be held on Sunday June 29th after

the close

> of the United Mitochondrial Disease Meeting in Indianapolis at the

Hyatt

> Regency Indianapolis. The workshop will convene 11 experts in

mitochondrial

> disorders or autism to discuss how the neurology of mitochondrial

disorders

> might inform autism research.

> The conference is sponsored by a number of Federal agencies

including

> DHHS, CDC, FDA, NINDS and NIMH. Observers are welcome as seating

allows.

>

> Location

> Hyatt Regency Indianapolis

>

> . . .

>

> Four Ohio Parents Sue Companies Over Chemical Baby Bottles

>

> tinyurl.com/58dg2x

>

> Four Ohio parents have filed a federal lawsuit against makers

of baby

> bottles, claiming the bottles were made from a harmful chemical

that sparked

> congressional hearings and prompted the world's largest retailer to

phase

> out the products.

> The complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court alleges

the

> companies knew that a chemical known as bisphenol A was associated

with

> health problems but didn't disclose the risk. It cites scientific

studies

> that conclude BPA, as the chemical also is known, seeps from

bottles and

> sippy-cups into liquid.

> Seeking to ease public concerns about any health hazards, a

federal

> health official told a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee last

week that

> the level of BPA exposure a person would receive from a plastic

bottle is

> safe. Many of the studies that have reported higher levels were

conducted

> under unrealistic conditions, said Dr. Norris Alderson, the Food

and Drug

> Administration's associate commissioner for science.

> " Although our review is ongoing, there's no reason to

recommend

> consumers stop using products with (bisphenol A), " he said.

> The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, names five

companies:

> Vandalia, Ohio-based Evenflo Co., Illinois-based Avent America Inc.,

> Missouri-based Handicraft Co., Connecticut-based Playtex Products

Inc., and

> Swiss company Gerber Novartis.

> The plaintiffs are seeking an unspecified amount of damages.

> Handicraft spokesman Steve declined comment

Wednesday.

> Playtex spokeswoman Burwitz said the company doesn't

comment on

> pending legal matters. A Gerber spokeswoman referred questions to

> Switzerland-based Nestle SA, which acquired Gerber Products Co. from

> Novartis AG last year.

> Messages for Nestle, Evenflo and Avent were not immediately

returned.

> Messages also were left for the plaintiffs' attorney.

> The U.S. government's National Toxicology Program said in

April that

> there is " some concern " about BPA from experiments on rats that

linked the

> chemical to changes in behaviour and the brain, early puberty and

possibly

> precancerous changes in the prostate and breast. While such animal

studies

> only provide " limited evidence " of risk, the draft report said a

possible

> effect on humans " cannot be dismissed. "

> That finding prompted Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's

largest

> retailer, to pledge BPA-free bottles by early next year. Toys " R "

Us also

> pledged to purge its shelves of BPA-containing bottles by year's

end.

> Bisphenol A is a ubiquitous chemical in household goods,

including

> eyeglasses, food cans and CDs and DVDs. It also is found in dental

sealants.

> More than 6 million pounds of bisphenol are produced in the U.S.

each year

> by Dow Chemical Co., Bayer AG and other manufacturers.

> The American Chemistry Council, a trade group representing

chemical

> makers, says BPA is a well-known chemical and the fretting is

unreasonable.

> + Read more: tinyurl.com/58dg2x

>

> . . .

>

> Whistleblower Report

> Shiv Chopra, former Health Canada Scientist on the Vaccine and

Antibiotic

> Controversy

>

> By Helke Ferrie. www.vitalitymagazine.com/apr_08_helke

>

> " From the right to know and the duty to inquire flows the

obligation

> to act. " Steingraber

> Dr. Shiv Chopra, PhD, must be fire-proof. As a vaccine and

drug

> regulator for Health Canada for nearly forty years, he evaluated

every

> red-hot topic in public health and tried to protect us from unsafe

drugs,

> vaccines, and agricultural practices. Over the years, he tried

(sometimes

> successfully) to stop our government from allowing Canadians to be

exposed

> to ineffective and harmful vaccines, genetically modified foods,

pesticides,

> carcinogenic antibiotics and hormones used in food-producing

animals, and

> agricultural practices that promote Mad Cow Disease. He even went

public

> with his findings, supported by Canada's public service union, which

> resulted in legal battles initiated against him by a government

determined

> to shut him up. The courts, however, tended to find in favour of

Dr. Chopra,

> and instead ordered the government to shape up.

> This support by the courts, various tribunals, and Senate

committee

> hearings of Dr. Chopra and his fellow scientists at Health Canada

was highly

> unfavourable to corporate interests and, therefore, irksome to

those prime

> ministers and ministers of health dependent upon corporate support.

So Drs.

> Chopra, Margaret Haydon, and Gerard Lambert were fired from Health

Canada in

> 2004 by then PM for " insubordination " . The reason

provided was

> true, in a sense: they had steadfastly refused for more than three

decades

> to subordinate themselves to corporate and government pressure to

pass

> unsafe substances which were in direct contravention to Canada's

Foods and

> Drugs Act.

> Dr. Chopra has now written a book on his decades of struggle

to have

> the law recognized as being above political policy. His book,

Corrupt to the

> Core, tells of what crimes our government knowingly committed

against public

> health in order to serve corporate financial interests. The book

has been

> three years in the making and is at the press now.

> It is sobering to consider that most of the known toxins

which made it

> onto the market and into our bodies did so despite the

scientifically based

> objection of our Health Canada scientists. We now know that the

presence in

> our environment and bodies of these carcinogens, endocrine

disruptors, and

> neurotoxins was totally preventable, had our government obeyed the

law.

> Every historical era has had its characteristic problems, and that

of ours,

> since the advent of the Industrial Revolution, has been the pursuit

of

> wealth through manufacturing and distributing known poisons. But

the tide is

> turning. The verifiable science proving harm from pesticides,

vaccines, and

> drugs is no longer just squeezing out from under the lid kept for

so long on

> such information, but is turning into a veritable river that cannot

be

> controlled.

>

> Chopra Reports On Vaccine Dangers

> Chopra points out that vaccination did successfully eradicate

> smallpox. The possibility of eradicating polio in the same way is

open to

> scientific debate. However he also observes that all the other

childhood

> diseases have been unsuccessfully fought with vaccination campaigns

> involving millions of children every year. Worst of all, these

diseases are

> appearing with increasing frequency in the very populations that

have been

> vaccinated for several generations. Clearly, something is wrong

with these

> programs, the vaccines themselves, and he finds it alarming

that " the list

> of vaccines being administered to young children has been enlarged

to

> include many more viral and bacterial infections with little or no

> scientific rationale. "

> Indeed, it is outright bizarre how the US Centre for Disease

Control

> publishes data every year, without fail, showing that supposedly

36,000

> people die annually of the 'flu. This figure hasn't changed in some

two

> decades! Yet, available statistics show that usually less than a

hundred

> people, almost always elderly and/or immune compromised, die

annually of the

> 'flu. Who is responsible for this nonsense and the scare-mongering

> associated with it? (By the way, current research, reported by the

> International Vitamin D Council, has shown that merely taking more

vitamin D

> (about 2,000 IU daily) reduces the incidence of the flu by more

than 70%.)

> + Read more: www.vitalitymagazine.com/apr_08_helke

>

> . . .

>

> PEOPLE

>

> Volunteers Dwindle In Search For Autistic Man

>

> By Jim tinyurl.com/5fkovd

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> The number of volunteers diminished Saturday, the seventh day of

searching

> near a Wisconsin camp for a missing autistic man from Shoreview.

> About 350 people, down from 500 Friday, were looking around

Trade Lake

> Camp, where Kennedy, 25, was last seen last Sunday

>

>

>

> evening, said Cindi Throngard, volunteer spokeswoman for the camp

for people

> with disabilities.

> Kennedy, who needs anti-rejection medication for a kidney

transplant

> he received from his father in 1995, apparently wandered off from

the camp,

> located 7 miles south of Grantsburg, Wis.

> " We hoped for a lot more people for the weekend, " Throngard

said

> Saturday. " We are asking for more volunteers for last two days so

can cover

> as much territory as possible. " She said she heard unofficially

that the

> Burnett County sheriff will end the search today if no leads are

found.

> " Everybody really wants to find him, " she said.

> At the sheriff's command center, deputy Glenn Gramer said no

decision

> has been made on ending the search. " As far as I know we are going

out

> Sunday. It's a day-to-day thing, " he said.

> Kennedy was last seen wearing a dull orange shirt and blue

wind pants.

> By now, he would have grown a short beard; he has a dark crew cut.

He is 140

> pounds and 5 feet, 6 inches tall. Anyone interested in joining the

search

> should call the camp at 1-. Anyone with information

about

> Kennedy is urged to call 1-.

>

> . . .

>

> Project Lifesaver Finds Lost Autistic Boy

> Device helped authorities find child in 30 minutes By Abbey

Stirgwolt for

> the Advocate, NJ.

> http://tinyurl.com/4p44lz

> <file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\Owner\My%

20Documents\tinyurl.com\4p44

> lz>

>

> Two weeks after Blackburn began wearing a wristwatch-

like

> tracking device on his ankle, the Project Lifesaver program lived

up to its

> name.

> Blackburn, 9, who is autistic, wandered away from his Newark

yard and

> into some nearby woods Wednesday afternoon. His mother, Beth

Blackburn,

> called 911 within seven minutes of his disappearance.

> In less than 30 minutes from the time the system was

activated,

> had been found and safely returned home.

> " I was just so thankful that we put that on him, " Beth said.

> Blackburn applied for a Project Lifesaver device for her son

in early

> June because she was concerned he had been wandering away.

> Implemented by the Licking County Sheriff's Office about one

year ago

> and gaining popularity across the state and country, Project

Lifesaver is a

> system designed to track people with disorders such as autism or

Alzheimer's

> who might be prone to wander away.

> + Read more: tinyurl.com/4p44lz

>

> . . .

>

> School District Bars Twins From Graduating

> But state says district is wrong to keep special ed girls out of the

> ceremony.

>

> By Anne Dudley Ellis for The Fresno Bee. tinyurl.com/58l5v6

>

> Clovis Unified has said it will bar twins Alyssa and

Reta from

> participating in graduation ceremonies at Buchanan High School

because they

> have not earned a diploma -- but a state official says the district

is

> wrong.

> The Reta sisters, who are developmentally disabled, are

caught up in

> statewide confusion among high schools about a new requirement this

year

> that special education students pass the California High School Exit

> Examination to receive a diploma, said Jill Larson, a consultant

with the

> state Department of Education's assessment, evaluation and support

unit.

> In 2006, the state began requiring students to pass the exit

exam, or

> no diploma -- but had exempted special education students until

this year. A

> handful of special education students in the Clovis Unified School

District

> last year received diplomas because of the exemption, said

spokeswoman

> Avants.

> State law still allows students to participate in graduation

> ceremonies even if they don't earn a diploma. For example, Fresno

Unified

> and Central Unified school districts award students with

certificates of

> completion at graduation ceremonies, if all they are missing is

success on

> the exit exam.

> But Clovis Unified considers graduation ceremonies

a " privilege, not a

> right, " Avants said.

> + Read more: tinyurl.com/58l5v6

>

> . . .

>

> Boy Breaks Silence, Shocks Parents

>

> tinyurl.com/67t8vr

>

> UPI - The mother of a young boy with a severe communication

disorder

> says she is " over the moon " with happiness since he spoke for the

first

> time.

> , 5, of Swindon, England, who has Autistic

Spectrum

> Disorder, brought joy to his parents when he uttered the

words " mumma " and

> " purple " for the first time, The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday.

> " I'm over the moon. I give so much to and I try so hard

all the

> time, " his mother Emma said. " He has been trying for a long

time,

> but he has properly said a word now. "

> has been visiting London's National Light and Sound

Therapy

> Center where he participated in therapy sessions twice each day,

the British

> newspaper said.

> 's mother said he now says the words " purple " and " mumma "

> frequently.

>

> . . .

>

> TREATMENT

>

> Scientists Find Childbirth Wonder Drug

> That Can 'Cure' Shyness

> " Potential as a date-rape drug. . . "

>

> By Andy Dolan. tinyurl.com/5klnat

>

> It can turn anything from job interviews to the most routine

of

> family gatherings into a sweat-inducing ordeal.

> But a 'love drug' produced naturally by the body during sex

and

> childbirth could offer hope to the millions of people blighted by

shyness,

> scientists have said.

> Investigators believe oxytocin - a natural hormone that

assists

> childbirth and helps mothers bond with newborn babies - could

become a

> wonder drug for overcoming shyness.

> Scientists found the drug could help shyness Trials have

found that

> oxytocin can reduce anxiety and ease phobias. Researchers say the

hormone

> offers a possible, safe, alternative to alcohol as a means of

overcoming the

> problem.

> Sixty per cent of Britons say they have suffered from shyness

and one

> in 10 say it impedes their daily life.

> Researchers in the US, Europe and Australia are now racing to

develop

> commercial forms of the hormone, including a nasal spray.

> They believe it could also be turned into a 'wonder drug' to

treat a

> range of personality disorders such as autism, depression and

anxiety.

> Zak, a professor of neuroscience at California's

Claremont

> Graduate University said: 'Tests have shown that oxytocin reduces

anxiety

> levels in users. It is a hormone that facilitates social contact

between

> people.

> What's more, it is a very safe product that does not have any

side

> effects and is not addictive.' Professor Zak has tested the hormone

on

> hundreds of patients. Its main effect is to curb the instincts of

wariness

> and suspicion that cause anxiety.

> The hormone is said to help mothers bond with their babies

Produced

> naturally in the brain during social interactions, it promotes

romantic

> feelings, helps mothers bond with babies and makes people more

sociable.

> Oxytocin is released during orgasm and is also the key

birthing

> hormone that enables the cervix to open and the contractions to

work. Where

> labour has to be induced, it is often given to the mother

intravenously to

> kick-start contractions.

> Professor Zak said: 'We've seen that it makes you care about

the other

> person. It also increases your generosity towards that person.

That's why

> (the hormone) facilitates social interaction.' In other recent

trials,

> researchers at Zurich University in Switzerland have managed to ease

> symptoms of extreme shyness in 120 patients by giving them the

hormone

> treatment half an hour before they encountered an awkward situation.

> Oxytocin spray has also been successfully trialled at the

University

> of New South Wales.

> Autistic patients given oxytocin as part of a study in New

York found

> their ability to recognise emotions such as happiness or anger in a

person's

> tone of voice - something which usually proved difficult - also

improved.

> Experiments by Dr Hollander at the city's Mount Sinai

School of

> Medicine found a single intravenous infusion of the chemical

triggered

> improvements that lasted for two weeks.

> Previous research has revealed autistic children have lower

than usual

> levels of oxytocin in their blood.

> Professor Zak said: 'Oxytocin does not cure autism, but it

does reduce

> the symptoms.' Studies on rats at Emory University in Atlanta also

suggested

> the hormone made the rodents more faithful to their partners.

> The potential uses of oxytocin offer commercial possibilities

well

> beyond individual patients too. Restaurants, for instance, could

spray a

> thin mist over customers to put them at ease.

> It could be used as a benign form of tear gas, quelling any

violent

> feelings among groups of demonstrators, or, building on the Atlanta

> research, even to prevent extramarital affairs.

> Previous research into the hormone by Professor Zak suggested

that

> generous people had higher than average levels of oxytocin in the

brain,

> while mean-spirited people have lower than normal levels.

> Researchers gave doses of oxytocin and a placebo to

participants, who

> were then asked to decide how to split a sum of cash with a

stranger. Those

> given oxytocin offered 80 per cent more money than those given a

placebo.

> However, despite the many potential benefits of the research

projects,

> some scientists have sounded warnings over the negative potential

uses the

> hormone offers.

> They say oxytocin could have potential as a date-rape drug as

it is

> involved in both trust and sexual arousal.

>

> . . .

>

> LETTERS

>

> RE: The AAP Campaign Against

> Vaccine Informed Parents

>

> Bravo to Barbara Loe Fisher for her Commentary in this

newsletter!

> <http://www.vaccineawakening.blogspot.com/>

> www.vaccineawakening.blogspot.com/ The forthcoming publicity blitz

by the

> American Academy of Pediatrics to try to intimidate and harass

parents into

> vaccinating children according to some arbitrary schedule

established by the

> CDC and the Pharmaceutical Industry is shameful and disgusting.

> If the AAP was really concerned about protecting the health

of their

> patients instead of maintaining their own arrogant assumed primacy

of

> knowledge regarding vaccine safety they would be clamoring for some

balanced

> research to validate their assertions of safety. I thought

physicians still

> subscribed to the Hippocratic Oath. More and more it appears that

they are

> simply becoming a group of hippocrites.

> - Lawrence Landherr, Rochester, MN

>

>

>

> Today's SAR is provided through the support of paid subscription

readers.

>

> - THANK YOU -

>

>

>

>

>

> <http://www.sarnet.org/>

> $35 for 1 year - or free!

> www.sarnet.org <http://www.sarnet.org/>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> _____

>

> Copyright Notice: The above items are copyright protected. They are

for our

> readers' personal education or research purposes only and provided

at their

> request. Articles may not be further reprinted or used commercially

without

> consent from the copyright holders. To find the copyright holders,

follow

> the referenced website link provided at the beginning of each item.

>

>

>

> Lenny Schafer editor@... The

Schafer

> Autism Report is a non-profit corporation

>

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