Re: Margaret Bauman statement re: mercury/autistic brain research

February 7, 2004

There are a number of reasons:

1. The biopsies that lead Dr. Bauman to her conclusions on the brain

centers involving autism most likely do not include cases of

mercury-induced encephalopathy, as only recently have very small

children been consistently exposed to thimerosal.

2. Dr. Bauman is a neurologist and as such probably views autism from a

neurological standpoint. Thus, she would not be able to accurately

comment on specific organs that receive damage in the autistic disorder.

Most such researchers cannot even scientifically digest things such as

the gut-brain axis. They are too fixated on dated views of the

disorder.

3. Dr. Bauman as the rest of us, is imperfect. As a parent, you are

the best researcher your child has and all information of such " experts "

should be vetted by your own personal experience.

4. Dr. Bauman may afraid of the scrutiny and persecution that others

(Dr. Singh, Dr. Wakefield, the Geiers) have in terms of pointing out

causal relationships. One of the most important issues that shapes

science is tenure, promotions and research dollars. When one publishes

a true, yet unpopular finding, they risk all of the above.

[ ] Margaret Bauman statement re: mercury/autistic

brain research

I am sincerely trying to understand this. I thought Margaret Bauman was

a

respected autism researcher. Someone please explain why she would say

this.

From Schafer report Feb 6

Original article:

http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/81/97024.htm?pagenumber=1

RESEARCH

Study Suggests Vaccine, Autism Link

Thimerosal Can Disrupt Neurological Development, Researchers Say

(Beginning of article describes study)

But Harvard University neurologist Margaret L. Bauman, MD, says the

evidence just isn't there to show a link between mercury exposure and

autism.

Last March, Bauman and colleague Karin , MD, published a

review of the research. They noted that while mercury poisoning and

autism both affect the central nervous system, the specific sites of

brain involvement and the brain cell types affected are different in the

two disorders. They further noted that mercury injures the nerves and

other organs that are not affected in autism.

" The pathology that we see in the brains of people with mercury

poisoning just is not consistent with the pathology we see in the

autistic brain, " Bauman tells WebMD. " It is a total mismatch. "

SOURCES: Waly, M. Molecular Psychiatry, advance online

publication, Jan. 27, 2004. Deth, PhD, professor of

pharmacology, Northeastern University, Boston. Louis Z. , MD,

professor of pediatrics, Columbia University, New York; steering

committee, National Network for Immunization Information. Margaret L.

Bauman, MD, Childhood Neurology Service, Harvard Medical School, Boston.

-- > DO SOMETHING ABOUT AUTISM NOW < --

SUBSCRIBE. . . !

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

To Subscr

_________________________________________________________________

Get some great ideas here for your sweetheart on Valentine's Day - and

beyond. http://special.msn.com/network/celebrateromance.armx

=======================================================

February 8, 2004

Dear ,

Thank you for your thoughts on this. Comments below

>From: " Hooker, S " <brian.hooker@...>

>Reply-

>

>Subject: RE: [ ] Margaret Bauman statement re:

>mercury/autistic brain research

>Date: Sat, 07 Feb 2004 11:20:45 -0800

>

>There are a number of reasons:

>

>1. The biopsies that lead Dr. Bauman to her conclusions on the brain

>centers involving autism most likely do not include cases of

>mercury-induced encephalopathy, as only recently have very small

>children been consistently exposed to thimerosal.

This is what I thought was probably the case...but she sounded so

definitive, doggone it.

>

>2. Dr. Bauman is a neurologist and as such probably views autism from a

>neurological standpoint. Thus, she would not be able to accurately

>comment on specific organs that receive damage in the autistic disorder.

>Most such researchers cannot even scientifically digest things such as

>the gut-brain axis. They are too fixated on dated views of the

>disorder.

I wish the media would understand that and not print her as the last

word...But that is their failure.

>

>3. Dr. Bauman as the rest of us, is imperfect. As a parent, you are

>the best researcher your child has and all information of such " experts "

>should be vetted by your own personal experience.

Indeed, but my biggest fear is that I will make the same mistake as the

research dinosaurs and become married to my own viral/metals theories so

much that I either stop looking for the truth or miss the truth when it

presents itself.

>

>4. Dr. Bauman may afraid of the scrutiny and persecution that others

>(Dr. Singh, Dr. Wakefield, the Geiers) have in terms of pointing out

>causal relationships. One of the most important issues that shapes

>science is tenure, promotions and research dollars. When one publishes

>a true, yet unpopular finding, they risk all of the above.

Sad. But she's at Harvard...Tim Buie is at Harvard and he's jumped in with

the DAN! folks...Even the DAN! movement is becoming set in its ways as its

theories become more mainstream. I am keeping my ear out for what is

new...It's awfully quiet out there. Either chelation and diet are making

such a big difference that parents are happily busy with what is

working...or we are in a lull compared to the momentum of the past five

years . Two years ago, I would have bet that they would have figured it

out by now. Luckily, I didn't have money to do so! Is someone paying off

the researchers? Even the pioneers are quiet...

, Mom to and

> [ ] Margaret Bauman statement re: mercury/autistic

>brain research

>

>I am sincerely trying to understand this. I thought Margaret Bauman was

>a

>respected autism researcher. Someone please explain why she would say

>this.

>

>From Schafer report Feb 6

>

>Original article:

>http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/81/97024.htm?pagenumber=1

>

>RESEARCH

>

>Study Suggests Vaccine, Autism Link

>Thimerosal Can Disrupt Neurological Development, Researchers Say

>

>(Beginning of article describes study)

>

>But Harvard University neurologist Margaret L. Bauman, MD, says the

>evidence just isn't there to show a link between mercury exposure and

>autism.

> Last March, Bauman and colleague Karin , MD, published a

>review of the research. They noted that while mercury poisoning and

>autism both affect the central nervous system, the specific sites of

>brain involvement and the brain cell types affected are different in the

>two disorders. They further noted that mercury injures the nerves and

>other organs that are not affected in autism.

> " The pathology that we see in the brains of people with mercury

>poisoning just is not consistent with the pathology we see in the

>autistic brain, " Bauman tells WebMD. " It is a total mismatch. "

>

> SOURCES: Waly, M. Molecular Psychiatry, advance online

>publication, Jan. 27, 2004. Deth, PhD, professor of

>pharmacology, Northeastern University, Boston. Louis Z. , MD,

>professor of pediatrics, Columbia University, New York; steering

>committee, National Network for Immunization Information. Margaret L.

>Bauman, MD, Childhood Neurology Service, Harvard Medical School, Boston.

>

> -- > DO SOMETHING ABOUT AUTISM NOW < --

>

> SUBSCRIBE. . . !

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

> To Subscr

>

>_________________________________________________________________

>Get some great ideas here for your sweetheart on Valentine's Day - and

>beyond. http://special.msn.com/network/celebrateromance.armx

>

>=======================================================

>

February 8, 2004

,

Your observations offer important perspectives. The DAN! movement has

various dimensions. From DAN! docs who aren't, to DAN! docs who try to

be and see autistic and PDD kids with a DAN-like approach, to DAN!

conferences, to DAN! think-tanks limited to DAN!-oriented researchers

and clinicians. Beyond gut healing and appropriate enzymes, nutritional

optimizing, metals removal, and occasionally antivirals, DAN is moving

towards a more thorough understanding of methylation pathways (eg, work

of Jill , RC Deth, and clinical observations about DMG, B6, mB12,

etc). While all this occurs, there's a group I believe merits more

attention -- kids with subtle viral infections that do not appear as

viremia in peripheral blood or in CSF. Much clinical-research in

mainstream journals explores these phenomena (of course, not in autism).

Within autism, the findings of MV in peripheral blood and in CSF are so

very important and may well become a model for a viral subgroup wherein

other viruses are subtly present (by medical tests, office observations,

but very present and findable if the proper tissues are selected and

appropriate lab-tests used). CMV is one of these viral critters that can

be very subtle yet adversely influential.

Bottom line: there are kids for whom a DAN-like approach doesn't

generate huge results, and within that group, some subgroups probably

will be identified and more successfully treated, and I accept that

there will also be subgroups for whom the neurologic insult (whether in

utero or postnatal) may be been such that DAN-like approaches will yield

little -- and for those kids, gene therapy and other developments may be

the only and very long-term hope. Meanwhile, I agree with the importance

of continuing to look for subgroups and specific kids that can be

repaired, even as the DAN!'s frontier necessarily tends to focus on the

latest developments (two years ago, chelation; now, methionine

pathways), tomorrow (I hope) let's improve within the viral subgroup kids.

Just some early morning ramblings.

wrote: