Antipsychotics for Neuro-Immune Dysfunction/Autism? * Autistic Kids Show Slower Attentional Engagement * Oxytocin & Autis. Disorder: Alterations In Peptide Forms

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RESEARCH

* Antipsychotics for Neuro-Immune Dysfunction/Autism?

* Autistic Kids Show Slower Attentional Engagement

* Oxytocin & Autis. Disorder: Alterations In Peptide Forms

VACCINES

* Researcher: Vaccine Preservative Doesn't Cause Autism

* Smallpox Vaccine: Balancing the Benefits and The Risks

* Letters to the FEAT Newsletter

Antipsychotics for Neuro-Immune Dysfunction/Autism?

A behavioural pattern analysis of hypoglutamatergic mice - effects of four

different antipsychotic agents.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_ui

ds=11692287 & dopt=Abstract

Nilsson M, Waters S, Waters N, Carlsson A, Carlsson ML.

Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Physiology and Pharmacology,

Goteborg University.

In a hypoglutamatergic rodent model, we have observed certain

behaviours that might have relevance for the cognitive impairments seen in

autism and schizophrenia. Thus, hypoglutamatergic mice show defective

habituation, impaired attention, a meagre behavioural repertoire and a

general behavioural primitivization.

The aim of the present study was to characterise and quantify changes

in movement pattern in mice rendered hypoglutamatergic by means of MK-801

treatment, using an automated video tracking system. Further, the effects of

four different antipsychotic drugs, the classical neuroleptic haloperidol,

the atypical antipsychotic clozapine, the DA D2/5-HT2A antagonist

risperidone and the selective 5-HT2A-receptor antagonist M100907, were

compared with respect to effects on NMDA antagonist-induced movement pattern

alterations.

We found that each receptor antagonist had a unique effect on the

MK-801-induced behavioural primitivization. Haloperidol was unable to affect

the monotonous behaviour induced by MK-801, while risperidone, clozapine and

M100907 produced movement patterns of high intricacy.

PMID: 11692287 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

* * *

Autistic Kids Show Slower Attentional Engagement

Eye movements, visual attention, and autism: a saccadic reaction time study

using the gap and overlap paradigm.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_ui

ds=11690597 & dopt=Abstract <-- address ends here.

1: Biol Psychiatry 2001 Oct 15;50(8):614-9

van der Geest JN, Kemner C, Camfferman G, Verbaten MN, van Engeland H.

Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Medical Center,

The, Utrecht, Netherlands

Background: On the basis of the literature on autism, it was

hypothesized that children with autism have deficits in attentional

(dis-)engagement mechanisms.

Methods: A saccadic gap-overlap task was used to study visual

engagement and disengagement in 16 high-functioning autistic children of

about 10 years of age and 15 age- and IQ-matched normal control children.

Subjects were asked to make saccadic eye movements from a fixation point to

a suddenly appearing target as fast as possible. The saccadic reaction time

was compared in two conditions: 1) the overlap condition, in which the

fixation point was continuously visible, and 2) the gap condition, in which

the fixation point was turned off 200 msec before the target appeared.

Results: Although no differences between the groups in either

condition was observed, the gap effect (i.e., the difference in saccadic

reaction time between the overlap condition and the gap condition) was

smaller in the autistic group than in the control group.

Conclusions: We concluded that autistic children show a lower level of

attentional engagement.

PMID: 11690597 [PubMed - in process]

* * *

Oxytocin and Autistic Disorder: Alterations In Peptide Forms

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_ui

ds=11690596 & dopt=Abstract

1: Biol Psychiatry 2001 Oct 15;50(8):609-13 Related Articles, Books

Green L, Fein D, Modahl C, Feinstein C, Waterhouse L, M.

Wayne State University School of Medicine, (LG), Detroit, Michigan, USA

Background: Oxytocin (OT) is synthesized as a prohormone that is

sequentially processed to peptides. These peptides are the bioactive

amidated form (OT) and the C-terminal extended peptides, OT-Gly, OT-Gly-Lys

and OT-Gly-Lys-Arg, which are designated together as OT-X.

As an extension of our previous study finding decreased plasma OT in

autism, studies were conducted to determine whether there were changes in OT

peptide forms in autistic children.Methods: Twenty eight male subjects (97

+/- 20 months; range, 70-139 months), diagnosed with DSM-IV autistic

disorder through observation and semi-structured interview, were compared

with 31 age-matched nonpsychiatric control subjects (106 +/- 22 months;

range, 74-140 months). Using OT antisera with different specificity for the

peptide forms, we measured plasma OT and OT-X in each group.

Results: T tests showed that there was a decrease in plasma OT (t =

4.4, p <.0001), an increase in OT-X (t = 2.3, p <.03) and an increase in the

ratio of OT-X/OT (t = 4.5, p <.0001) in the autistic sample, compared with

control subjects.

Conclusions: The results suggest that children with autistic disorder

show alterations in the endocrine OT system. Deficits in OT peptide

processing in children with autism may be important in the development of

this syndrome.

PMID: 11690596 [PubMed - in process]

* * *

Researcher: Vaccine Preservative Doesn't Cause Autism

[by Bill Krasean in the Kalamazoo Gazette.]

http://kz.mlive.com/news/index.ssf?/news/stories/20011106kfam6krasean1106.fr

m

Thimerosal, a vaccine preservative some parents worry is linked to

autism, has been virtually eliminated from childhood vaccines. That despite

a lack of evidence to show a direct link between thimerosal and any illness,

said Dr. Freed, head of general pediatrics at the University of

Michigan and a nationally recognized authority on vaccine safety.

" Vaccines have always been safe, " Freed said. " Any concerns about

vaccine safety, however, are taken very seriously by the manufacturers and

the government. " Parents are concerned about their children, and that's

wonderful. But they need to remember that these vaccines prevent serious

illnesses. "

Worries about a link between thimerosal, which contains a trace of

mercury, surfaced over recent years with an apparent increase in the

incidence of autism. Autism often appears about the same time children are

undergoing the series of immunizations prior to starting school.

Thimerosal has been used as a vaccine preservative since before World

War II, Freed said. The incidence of autism appears to be rising over the

past decade, although Freed said it's not clear whether the apparent rise is

simply a better recognition of the condition or a real increase.

Last year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the

National Institutes of Health asked the Institute of Medicine to establish

an independent, expert committee to review immunization-safety concerns. The

first report on measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and autism was issued in

April. In October the institute released its second report on thimerosal and

neurodevelopmental problems, noting two major conclusions: l The evidence is

inadequate to accept or reject a cause-and-effect relationship between

exposure to thimerosal from vaccines and the neurodevelopmental disorders of

autism, attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder and speech or language

delay. The hypothesis that exposure to thimerosal-containing vaccines could

be associated with neurodevelopmental disorders it is based on indirect and

incomplete information.

Hepatitis B, Hib and DTaP vaccines formerly contained thimerosal. MMR,

polio, varicella and pneumococcal vaccines have never contained thimerosal.

As of October, the vast majority of the supplies of DTaP, Hib and hep B

vaccines are without thimerosal or hold only trace amounts.

Enter the lawsuit

Thimerosal may be gone from vaccines, but the issue is hardly settled.

A coalition of law firms went to court across the nation early last

month to try to force the pharmaceutical industry to study whether trace

amounts of mercury in vaccines cause autism and other brain damage. The

lawsuits were filed as class actions and led by an Oregon woman who says her

3-year-old son became autistic after getting vaccinations containing mercury

in thimerosal, according to The Associated Press.

A law firm representing the woman formed a coalition of more than 35

law firms across the country representing families in at least 25 states,

said the AP. Damages could be sought if a link is established.

Freed said thimerosal has been used as a preservative for so long that

most Americans have been exposed to it. He noted that while parents should

be tuned to things that could harm their children, they need to keep in mind

the difference between an association and cause and effect.

" Striking a match is associated with lung cancer since a match can be

used to light a cigarette, " he said. " The reality is that it's not the match

that causes lung cancer. It's the cigarette. Vaccines are like that match

and lung cancer.

" Every childhood condition such as autism existed before there were

vaccines. If a parent decides not to vaccinate a child for fear of a

reaction, they are doing more harm than good. " There is no data showing that

vaccines and autism are linked. There is very good data to show that

vaccines prevent very serious diseases. "

This opinion column was written by Gazette staff writer Bill Krasean,

who can be reached at 388-8577 or bkrasean@....

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* * *

Smallpox Vaccine: Balancing the Benefits and The Risks

Despite increased public demand, the potential for severe reactions must be

weighed against the threat of the disease before beginning widespread

inoculations.

[by J. Landers, AMNews.]

http://www.ama-assn.org/sci-pubs/amnews/pick_01/hlsb1112.htm

In recent weeks, the world has become a different place -- one in

which fears of smallpox have re-emerged for the first time in decades.

Parents are calling pediatricians asking if their children could be

vaccinated against the feared disease. But, of course, they can't be. There

are reported to be only about 15 million doses of the vaccine in the

nation -- vaccine that was basically left over from 1972, when the country's

mass vaccination program ended.

In addition, physicians are cautioning those eager to receive the

vaccine for themselves or their family members that the live-virus

preparation of infectious vaccinia virus that is used to inoculate people

against smallpox carries its own risks.

" This is not an innocuous vaccine, " said , MD,

director of the Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies at Hopkins

University in Baltimore. He was recently named head of a federal advisory

committee to assist the government in deciding when and if to begin another

widespread smallpox vaccination program. Dr. is also known for his

work in helping to rid the world of smallpox years ago.

" Before a recommendation could come forward to use smallpox vaccine, I

think there would have to be a demonstrated risk, " said Flaherty,

MD, chair of the AMA Board of Trustees. " And right now, without having had a

case of smallpox in the world since the early 1980s, there is no reason to

use smallpox vaccine. "

Side effects and adverse reactions from the smallpox vaccine range

from fever to tissue necrosis and extensive lesions to encephalitis. A death

rate of one per 1 million vaccinations is noted by the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention.

However, the threat that terrorists could spread the disease to a

largely unprotected population has led the federal government to press for

stepped-up production of the vaccinia vaccine.

Acambis PLC, a British company with facilities in Cambridge, England,

has already signed a contract to produce about 50 million doses of the

vaccine, and many of the nation's largest vaccine manufacturers are bidding

on a federal contract to produce more.

The heads of the major pharmaceutical companies recently outlined a

range of initiatives intended to help protect the public health. Among the

initiatives are offers of free antibiotics to treat those exposed to anthrax

and offers to develop and manufacture a smallpox vaccine.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy recently pledged

that there will be enough vaccine for all Americans if the need arises. Key

to physicians and others familiar with the dangers posed by the vaccinia

vaccine are the words " if the need arises. "

" I would never recommend it for mass inoculations at the present

time, " said Edelman, MD, associate director for clinical research at

the Center for Vaccine Development at the University of land School of

Medicine in Baltimore.

Dr. Edelman is leading one of four newly funded studies to measure the

effectiveness of the existing stock of smallpox vaccine and to determine

whether the current supply can be diluted in order to make more doses.

" In a mass vaccination, you're going to have several hundreds of

deaths from the vaccine alone, " he said. " About one in a thousand people

will have some kind of reaction to the vaccine and I'm not talking about

fevers and chills, they come with the territory, " said Dr. Edelman.

The vaccine for smallpox was long known to carry danger, but the risk

of getting the highly contagious disease, which carries a fatality rate of

30% or more, posed an even greater danger several decades ago.

Today, members of the public may be aware of the dangers posed by the

vaccine, speculated Dr. Edelman. " But even though the risk of getting

smallpox due to a bioterrorist event is small at the moment, people are so

frightened and anxious that they are willing to take risks. It's a mind-set

like everything in life. "

VIG availability

With the potential for severe reactions so great, J. i,

MD, AMA senior vice president for professional standards and a retired Army

Medical Corps general, cautioned that vaccinia immune globulin -- used to

treat complications of the vaccinia vaccination -- needs to be available and

a distribution system in place.

However, VIG can only be derived from those recently vaccinated for

smallpox. Except for a small number of smallpox researchers, no one has been

vaccinated recently, noted Dr. i. " If you are going to inoculate a

million people, you might not have enough VIG. "

Another item that may be in short supply is the bifurcated needle used

to administer the vaccine. Instead of a simple injection, the procedure

involves rapidly making 15 scratches, each about five mm long, using a

forked needle that holds the proper amount of vaccine. The process draws

blood and provides the vaccine with a route into the body.

If the vaccine " takes, " a pox will develop after about seven to 10

days that eventually dries up and forms the traditional scar that can be

seen over the deltoid muscles of those people who have been successfully

vaccinated.

But even those who were inoculated as children may no longer be fully

protected.

Since the vaccine is thought to lose effectiveness after 10 years, a

revaccination would be necessary.

While vaccine production no longer involves live calves, thus ensuring

a cleaner process, many physicians would like to see a newer, safer version

of the vaccine developed so that if or when the decision is made to

prophylactically vaccinate the whole U.S. population, there will be no issue

of balancing the risk of the vaccine against the benefit of protection from

the disease.

* * *

Letters to the FEAT Newsletter

Likes NIDS

Thank you for publishing the NIDS Research Hypothesis, November 6,

2001. I would like to comment on your editor's note, particularly the

statement that " the treatment protocols generate less enthusiasm. " How can

a parent be more enthusiastic about heavy metal chelation or about secretin

injections than about restricting allergic foods and treating a viral

infection? My son (dx autistic disorder) has been a patient of Dr.

Goldberg's for three years. Today he is in kindergarten and is almost

indistinguishable from his peers. He can talk, play, pretend, and

socialize - recently he even told me a joke! I am highly enthusiastic about

Dr. Goldberg's treatment protocol.

My son's lab work confirmed an elevated level of HHV6 virus and a

lowered level of Natural Killer cells. He has multiple food allergies. He

has never had chelation, secretin injections, or ABA. Will I ever really

know that this treatment is why my son has done so well? Maybe. Maybe not.

However, I have had the opportunity to challenge the theory with another

child, my son in second grade. He was diagnosed with ADD, dyslexia, and

central auditory processing disorder. After running Dr. Goldberg's

suggested labs we discovered that he had an even higher level of HHV6 titers

than my child with autism; he also had lowered NK cells and multiple food

allergies - including gluten and casein. While we haven't begun the

prescription drug treatment for my older son, simply removing dairy from his

diet has made an amazing difference in his ability to read.

Tina Salameh tsalameh@... Louisville, Kentucky

* *

Your newsletter is excellent and so helpful. Bless you for your

efforts.

The latest edition " Is the Common Cold, Herpes the Source of Autism? " is

absolutely fascinating.

Ernest Kramer KRAMER@...

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