UC : Autism Epidemic is Real; Caused by Environment

[Guest guest]

This may or may not have

implications for thimerosal, but it is an interesting development nonetheless.

(This study cohort was born before thimerosal was removed from most vaccines).

Even so, the co-author calls for

studies of “metals” – which would include thimerosal and the

aluminum adjuvants in vaccines, and “infectious agents” –

which would include the live virus MMR and Varicella vaccines (The combo MMR+V

vaccine, Proquad, doubled the risk of seizures in kids and is no longer recommended

by the CDC).

But there are many other factors

out there to look at as well, including pesticides, as this report says (Women

in CA’s Central Valley who live near crops are far more likely to have

children with autism) and mercury from coal burning plants in China carried

across the Pacific, which I have been researching for two years.

The point is, it is time to ditch

the “better diagnosis” canard to explain away an epidemic.

Something made these kids physically ill and we need to find out what it is,

ASAP.

UC DAVIS STUDY: " Autism is Environmental "

By Kirby

THE HUFFINGTON POST –

January 8, 2009

I have always said there may be a

small percentage of people with autism spectrum disorder (perhaps those with

Asperger Syndrome) whose symptoms are a result only of their genetic makeup,

with no environmental factors involved at all.

But a new study out of UC ' MIND Institute says

that it's time to abandon science's long, expensive, and not very fruitful

quest to find the gene or genes that cause autism alone, without any

environmental triggers.

" We need to keep (environmental) studies

going, " Irva Hertz-Picciotto, the co-author of the study and professor of

environmental and occupational health and epidemiology at UC , said in a

statement.

" We're looking at the possible effects of metals,

pesticides and infectious agents on neurodevelopment, " Hertz-Picciotto

said. " If we're going to stop the rise in autism in California, we need to

keep these studies going and expand them to the extent possible. "

Autism is predominantly an environmentally acquired

disease, the study seems to conclude. Its meteoric rise, at least in

California, cannot possibly be attributed to that shopworn mantra we still hear

everyday, incredibly, from far too many public health officials: It's due to

better diagnosing and counting.

The autism epidemic is real, and it is not caused by

genes alone: You cannot have a genetic epidemic. It really is time that we, as

a society, accept that cold, hard truth.

" It's time to start looking for the environmental

culprits responsible for the remarkable increase in the rate of autism in

California, " Dr. Hertz-Piccotto said.

The study results suggest that " research should

shift from genetics, to the host of chemicals and infectious microbes in the

environment that are likely at the root of changes in the neurodevelopment of

California's children, " the statement added.

The UC Study, funded in part by the National

Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) found that the rate of

autism among six-year-olds in California mushroomed from less than 9 per 10,000

among the 1990 birth cohort, to more than 44 per 10,000 for kids born in 2000.

This increase, " cannot be explained by either

changes in how the condition is diagnosed or counted, " the statement said,

" and the trend shows no sign of abating. "

(It is important to keep in mind that almost every child

born in 2000 would have received many vaccines that contained the mercury

preservative thimerosal, which was not completely phased out of most - but not

all - childhood vaccines until at least 2003.)

Of the 600-to-700 percent increase in autism reported in

California between 1990 and 2000, fewer than 10 percent were due to the

inclusion of milder cases, the study found, while only 24 percent could be

attributed to earlier age at diagnosis.

There was only one logical conclusion: some thing or

things in the environment had to be at play here.

I have always said that all environmental factors should

be considered in at least some subgroups of autism. This position has been met

with considerable ridicule. I believe that opponents are afraid that, if we

start looking at toxins like heavy metals, it might one day lead back to

thimerosal. Likewise, if we consider live virus triggers, we may have to take

another look at the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (which thousands of parents

swear was the trigger than sent their children tumbling into autism).

Now, it's always been easier and more reassuring to tell

ourselves that autism was almost purely genetic, that it was always with us at

the rate of 1 in 90 men (1 in 60 in New Jersey) and that, gee, weren't doctors

doing a great job these days of recognizing and diagnosis this disorder.

This pathetic groupthink has helped create hugely

lopsided funding priorities in autism, where genetic studies get lavishly

funded, while environmental ones are lucky to even pick up the dollar scraps

left behind

" Right now, about 10 to 20 times more research

dollars are spent on studies of the genetic causes of autism than on

environmental ones, " Hertz-Picciotto said. " We need to even out the

funding. "

I agree.

Yes, we must continue to look for the susceptibility

genes that make some kids more vulnerable to environmental triggers - possibly

through a diminished capacity to detoxify themselves.

But the sooner our best minds in science and medicine come

to grips with the fact that these poor, hapless kids have been exposed to the

wrong environmental toxins and/or infectious agents at the wrong time, the

sooner we can find out how to best treat what really ails them.

It is illogical for us to oppose the study of, say,

mercury exposures and autism, because it might somehow implicate thimerosal,

and by extension, vaccines.

After all, heavy metal studies into autism could very

well incriminate background environmental sources, but exonerate metal sources

found in vaccines, such as mercury and aluminum.

And that would be a good thing for everyone.

[Guest guest]

It shouldn't matter what the environmental toxin....... I totally get that my son was prediposed because of my living here in pesticide-land. It is quite another thing to have toxins deliberately injected into his body (bloodstream) via the Medical "environment" we are all supposed to trust.Again, if you take a look at Environmental Working Group's paper Pesticides and Human Health you will see that these toxins cause mitochondrial disorders and immune dysfunction. If this is the case, not one child living in a farm community should ever see a vaccine -- not that I believe any should.RoxSubject:

UC : Autism Epidemic is Real; Caused by EnvironmentTo: EOHarm Date: Thursday, January 8, 2009, 5:14 PM

This may or may not have

implications for thimerosal, but it is an interesting development nonetheless.

(This study cohort was born before thimerosal was removed from most vaccines). Even so, the co-author calls for

studies of “metals” – which would include thimerosal and the

aluminum adjuvants in vaccines, and “infectious agents” –

which would include the live virus MMR and Varicella vaccines (The combo MMR+V

vaccine, Proquad, doubled the risk of seizures in kids and is no longer recommended

by the CDC). But there are many other factors

out there to look at as well, including pesticides, as this report says (Women

in CA’s Central Valley who live near crops are far more likely to have

children with autism) and mercury from coal burning plants in China carried

across the Pacific, which I have been researching for two years. The point is, it is time to ditch

the “better diagnosis” canard to explain away an epidemic.

Something made these kids physically ill and we need to find out what it is,

ASAP. UC DAVIS STUDY: "Autism is Environmental" By Kirby THE HUFFINGTON POST –

January 8, 2009 I have always said there may be a

small percentage of people with autism spectrum disorder (perhaps those with

Asperger Syndrome) whose symptoms are a result only of their genetic makeup,

with no environmental factors involved at all. But a new study out of UC ' MIND Institute says

that it's time to abandon science's long, expensive, and not very fruitful

quest to find the gene or genes that cause autism alone, without any

environmental triggers. "We need to keep (environmental) studies

going," Irva Hertz-Picciotto, the co-author of the study and professor of

environmental and occupational health and epidemiology at UC , said in a

statement. "We're looking at the possible effects of metals,

pesticides and infectious agents on neurodevelopment," Hertz-Picciotto

said. "If we're going to stop the rise in autism in California, we need to

keep these studies going and expand them to the extent possible." Autism is predominantly an environmentally acquired

disease, the study seems to conclude. Its meteoric rise, at least in

California, cannot possibly be attributed to that shopworn mantra we still hear

everyday, incredibly, from far too many public health officials: It's due to

better diagnosing and counting. The autism epidemic is real, and it is not caused by

genes alone: You cannot have a genetic epidemic. It really is time that we, as

a society, accept that cold, hard truth. "It's time to start looking for the environmental

culprits responsible for the remarkable increase in the rate of autism in

California," Dr. Hertz-Piccotto said. The study results suggest that "research should

shift from genetics, to the host of chemicals and infectious microbes in the

environment that are likely at the root of changes in the neurodevelopment of

California's children," the statement added. The UC Study, funded in part by the National

Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) found that the rate of

autism among six-year-olds in California mushroomed from less than 9 per 10,000

among the 1990 birth cohort, to more than 44 per 10,000 for kids born in 2000. This increase, "cannot be explained by either

changes in how the condition is diagnosed or counted," the statement said,

"and the trend shows no sign of abating." (It is important to keep in mind that almost every child

born in 2000 would have received many vaccines that contained the mercury

preservative thimerosal, which was not completely phased out of most - but not

all - childhood vaccines until at least 2003.) Of the 600-to-700 percent increase in autism reported in

California between 1990 and 2000, fewer than 10 percent were due to the

inclusion of milder cases, the study found, while only 24 percent could be

attributed to earlier age at diagnosis. There was only one logical conclusion: some thing or

things in the environment had to be at play here. I have always said that all environmental factors should

be considered in at least some subgroups of autism. This position has been met

with considerable ridicule. I believe that opponents are afraid that, if we

start looking at toxins like heavy metals, it might one day lead back to

thimerosal. Likewise, if we consider live virus triggers, we may have to take

another look at the measles-mumps- rubella vaccine (which thousands of parents

swear was the trigger than sent their children tumbling into autism). Now, it's always been easier and more reassuring to tell

ourselves that autism was almost purely genetic, that it was always with us at

the rate of 1 in 90 men (1 in 60 in New Jersey) and that, gee, weren't doctors

doing a great job these days of recognizing and diagnosis this disorder. This pathetic groupthink has helped create hugely

lopsided funding priorities in autism, where genetic studies get lavishly

funded, while environmental ones are lucky to even pick up the dollar scraps

left behind "Right now, about 10 to 20 times more research

dollars are spent on studies of the genetic causes of autism than on

environmental ones," Hertz-Picciotto said. "We need to even out the

funding." I agree. Yes, we must continue to look for the susceptibility

genes that make some kids more vulnerable to environmental triggers - possibly

through a diminished capacity to detoxify themselves. But the sooner our best minds in science and medicine come

to grips with the fact that these poor, hapless kids have been exposed to the

wrong environmental toxins and/or infectious agents at the wrong time, the

sooner we can find out how to best treat what really ails them. It is illogical for us to oppose the study of, say,

mercury exposures and autism, because it might somehow implicate thimerosal,

and by extension, vaccines. After all, heavy metal studies into autism could very

well incriminate background environmental sources, but exonerate metal sources

found in vaccines, such as mercury and aluminum. And that would be a good thing for everyone.