Posted on 01/07/2008 4:23:06 PM PST by shrinkermd
Researchers at the California Department of Public Health said autism rates in that state have continued to rise despite the removal of the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal from most childhood vaccines.
The research, which is being published in this month's Archives of General Psychiatry, looked at autism rates of children ages 3 to 12 from 1995 through March 2007 who had active cases with the department, or those who were receiving services from the state for an autism disorder.
In 1999 federal health officials recommended the elimination of thimerosal from children's vaccines on concerns about a possible link to rising autism rates seen in the 1990s.
In 2004, the Institute of Medicine concluded there wasn't a relationship between the mercury-containing vaccines and autism, but recommended researchers continue looking at autism rates as thimerosal exposure dropped.
Autism is characterized as impairments in social interaction, communication, and unusual behavior and interests. The cause of the disorder isn't known, and there is no cure, although medication and therapy can improve symptoms. Other states besides California have also reported an increase in autism rates.
Federal health officials have said part of the increase in rates, which fall under a broader definition known as autism spectrum disorders and also include Asperger's syndrome and pervasive developmental disorders, may be because of better and earlier diagnosis of the problem.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
We are all doomed!!!!
I thought the WSJ was going to stop charging for viewing articles.
Autism - the new ADD.
ping
autism rates are rising because now everything under the sun is diagnosed as autism. It’s absurd...and harmful.
Autism is supposed to be diagnosed 10 times as frequently in white kids as in black kids with East Asian types rather "in between".
My nephew, now 21, is autistic..the “original” autism. You KNOW he’s autistic. When he was diagnosed, I new very little about autism, and knew only one other child who had it. Now it seems everyone you talk to has an autistic relative. If a boy acts somewhat out of the perceived norm with behavioral problems, he’s automatically given this label and it lets the parents off the hook. It’s infuriating.
My only offspring, my Daughter, is believed to have Asperger’s syndrome. Never been diagnosed though. She’s 20 now. Got divorced when she was 2.
This is a tough one, but I believe her unfortunate upbringing in her mother’s dingy apt and lousy lifestyle is most of the issue.
Now they up & moved out of state without saying anything to me before hand (really). More isolation from me, Not good, but there’s not much I can do above calls, e-mail. Her mom is trying to use this for more Gov’t freebies whan she don’t really need it.....
Ugh.
Correlation =/= causation.
For too long, fearmongers have been using people’s ignorance of that fact to convince them that, because autism is often diagnosed when children are receiving many of their vaccines, the vaccines are to blame, although there never was evidence of a causative relationship.
Now that thimerasol has been let off the hook, no doubt they’ll jump to some other factor that happens to correlate chronologically with the diagnosis of autism and blame that.
Of course there is a rise in autism rates: the basis for diagnosis just keeps growing and growing, so that more and more children are being caught in that net. If these children now being branded “autistic” were evaluated under the standards of 50 years ago, would the diagnosis be the same?
This trend towards trying to find a pathology in every child (so that there is an excuse to drug the child into passivity) is extremely troubling.
Okay, how about this as an ‘evolutionary psychological’ explanation for the increase in autism:
Autism is due not to vaccines, but to a coincidence of genetic traits each of which would tend to make one a bit geeky. So long as being a geek was a detriment to finding a mate, autism had a relatively low incidence. But not with the increased importance of computers, being a geek (at least of the intelligent, nerd variety) is seen as a positive trait in many circles, and geeks can get laid, get married and have kids. Thus the incidence of the contributing genetic traits has been on the rise, and as a result their coincidence in autism.
I don’t think I’m serious, but it was fun to propose the hypothesis.
Now all the irresponsible people, including Dr. Stanley Monteith, who blame thimerosal for autism can admit they were wrong.
I said so some time ago...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/911036/posts
This disorder is generally accepted as a biological syndrome that affects both the gastrointestinal and central nervous systems. Children who are autistic can range from mild to severe cases, and the position of autism in developmental psychiatry parallels that of schizophrenia in validity and severity.
Almost all of the researchers in this field of study agree that genetic predisposition is crucial in the neurological foundation of autism. It has been shown that if one of a pair of identical twins is autistic, there is a 90 percent chance the other twin will be autistic. Furthermore, parents of one autistic child who’s risk is 1 in 500 of having an autistic child, rises to 1 in 20 with a second child. After two autistic children, this risk increases to 1 in 3. In addition, “the chances that the siblings of an autistic child will display one or more of the other developmental disorders with a known genetic basis – such as dyslexia or Tourette’s syndrome – are also significantly higher than normal.”
One most curious aspect is the dramatically higher incidence of this in Silicon Valley and the Route 128 area outside of Boston. Some high functioning people who work in these areas are considered “broad autistic phenotypes”. “One provocative hypothesis that might account for the rise of spectrum disorders in technically adept communities like Silicon Valley, some geneticists speculate, is an increase in assortative mating.”
This phenomena is not occurring in just the previously mentioned areas, but also in other places where a concentration of technically advanced people are having children, as well as an increase of reported rates all over the world. There is cause for alarm and an urgent need to mobilize research efforts.
The most detailed medical analysis of autism by far can be found in Topics in Clinical Chiropractic. The most detailed social analysis is in Wired magazine. The most instructive is Behavioral Intervention for Young Children with Autism. There are other sources full of valuable information on the topic. Space prohibits their inclusion and discussion at this time.
Autism remains a puzzle. It is generally believed to be a genetic disorder related to a variant allele of HOXB1, a gene on chromosome 17, possibly regions on chromosome 15, chromosome 7 and chromosome 9. A remarkable and detailed report on the etiologies, brain mechanisms, and neuropsychological phenotypes can be found in Diagnosing Learning Disorders; A Neuropsychological Framework (which may be now outdated). This following description is a valuable bit of information from this 1991 book:
…Briefly, existing evidence supports the conclusion that autism is familial, heritable and genetically heterogeneous. Among the possible genetic subtypes are multifactorial inheritance, autosomal recessive inheritance, X-linked inheritance and nonfamilial chromosomal anomalies.
Here are some sources...
Silberman, Steve. “The Geek Syndrome.” Wired Dec 2001: 176.
Brian J Gleberzon and Anita L Rosenberg-Gleberzon. “On autism: Its prevalence, diagnosis, causes, and treatment.” Topics in Clinical Chiropractic. Dec 2001.
http://proquest.umi.compdqweb?TS=1019705267&RQT=309&CC=2&Dtp=1&Did>
Maurice, Catherine, ed. Behavioral Intervention for Young Children with Autism. Austin: PRO-ED, 1996.
Rodier, Patricia M. “The Early origins of Autism.” Scientific American. Feb 2000: 56.
Bower, B. “Gene Implicated in Development of Autism.” Science News. Dec 16, 2000: 390.
Holden, Constance. “The Destiny of Autism?” Science Now. Dec 6, 2000: 3.
Pennington, Bruce F. Diagnosing Learning Disorders; A Neuropsychological Framework. New York: Guilford Press, 1991.
Be of good cheer: most of us in the blackboard sciences (mathematics, theoretical physics, mathematical economics, computer science . . .) could be diagnosed with Asperger’s if we were dumb enough to submit to a psych eval.
The fact your daughter was diagnosed says more about your ex than about your daughter: she wanted to pathologize social awkwardness.
I think you are right. I live in Silicon Valley, and there are lots of very intelligent people that live here. My household is a 2 engineer household (except that I quit when became a mom). Anyway,there are a lot of us around here.
I also think there are other contributing factors, one being misdiagnosis.
My daughter has a speech problem called apraxia. There are many kids with speech problems that are misdiagnosed as having autism. Most kids with speech problems tend to have social problems.
My daughter had a severe illness as a baby and had brain damage (could see it on MRI), so no one ever thought she had autism. However, if her MRI had been clear and she had never been sick, I am sure she would have been diagnosed as autistic.
The problem with misdiagnosis is that treatment is very different. Kids with apraxia have motor-planning problems (coordination problems), and doing Applied Behaviorial Therapy with them can really cause them problems.
Recently I came across a world of research on the internet about one of those new theories. Seems some of the kids had celiac disease (congenital allergy to wheat protein called Gluten). So, they studied that, and for those who had celiac, getting rid of the gluten improved their behavior. It didn't cure their autism, but I gather parents of autistic kids are glad for any relief.
The chemists then began examining the world of peptides to see if any of them could be slipping through the intestinal walls and getting to the brain.
Well, they discovered casein (a milk protein) has the same shape as gluten. Cut that out and some kids improve.
It's all intresting stuff but the research to date demonstrates that while some of us have inherited allergies to gluten and casein and other stuff, those things DO NOT CAUSE autism.
The autistic, like everyone else, suffer allergies!
The researchers are continuing their look for elements in the diet, but for the life of me I can't figure out what it is that white folks eat that gives them 10 times the autism rate of black folks.
It's not like these guys are all hanging off the curtain rods hooting. As you said, those in the blackboard sciences do stand a good chance of an Aspberger's Syndrome diagnosis ~ and that's while having a good time in the cafeteria whooping it up over a slimjim and a slurpy.
I’ve read that the thimerasol is still in the Hep B vaccinations which they recommend 3 doses in young infants (My children had no such shots) According to my son, they told him it is highly recommended to get flu shots in a 2 mo. old.....the flu shots still have the thimerasol in them. The shots recommended for infants and toddlers have tripled in the last few years. Where are the vaccinations made??? Do we really no what is in them???? Don’t be so trusting.
Mercury poisoning acts exactly like autism.......look up the symptoms of both. They are identical. Also, why would the Amish population have virtually no autism in their population? (that is unless they get their child vaccinated or expose their children to high doses of mercury)?
Excellent post! Thank you.
On the other hand Becker and others have noted regardless of the chemical theories of depression, that depressives are overly embedded and concerned about their family and associates.
The above approach seems to be replicated by people with widely different views as to the cause of these major mental syndromes. The descriptions seem more existential than explanatory.
My Daughter was never diagnosed.
I don't claim to have any answers, but it would seem to me that the Amish have a lot of other differences too, such as diet (little exposure to chemicals), low exposure to electricity, pollutants, etc. None of this (including lack of exposure to vaccines) is evidence towards or against causation of autism.
What really bothers me is how irresponsibly some otherwise professional scientists (which physicians are supposed to be) would be so illogical to suggest thimerosal was the CAUSE and not just one of many possible triggers for the disorder.
That is just generating hysteria and anxiety... something parents do not need. The children’s needs are forgotten in the bickering and legal haggling by the adults, not to mention the money that could otherwise go for research.
It used to be that some kids were just weird, odd, or unsociable - now they have to have disease, condition or some medical label applied to them.
Most physicians are practitioners. They’re not scientists.
An article here on FR a while ago mentioned that many doctors are reluctant to tell parents that their children are mildy retarded. Instead they describe them as autistic.
>>>Autism is due not to vaccines, but to a coincidence of genetic traits each of which would tend to make one a bit geeky. So long as being a geek was a detriment to finding a mate, autism had a relatively low incidence. But not with the increased importance of computers, being a geek (at least of the intelligent, nerd variety) is seen as a positive trait in many circles, and geeks can get laid, get married and have kids. Thus the incidence of the contributing genetic traits has been on the rise, and as a result their coincidence in autism.<<<
Hmmmm. A little evolution 101 is in order here. Intelligence is a trait that has been selected for survival value over thousands, perhaps millions, of years. In the competition between stupid and smart, smart wins most of the time, and it’s the winner who gets to mate.
Being a “geek” also has its charms, although in former times and other cultures we might have called the “geek” names like shaman, priest, oracle, storyteller, and so forth. Mating in the human species isn’t just a matter of obvious secondary and primary sexual characteristics; it’s also a matter of engaging emotions and ideas. There’s a reason why words like “mysterious” and “dreamy” are often attached to prospective mates.
One generation of computing isn’t going to change all that.
Ppersonally, I think the rise in “autism” stems from better diagnosis and spreading the definition of the disorder to include more people.
In the meantime, let me tell you as a former single geek, I had no trouble passing along my DNA to interested women, even before computers were commonplace. LOL
Maybe you should be serious in your hypothesis. I had the idea myself and then came across Simon Baron-Cohen’s theories on assortative mating.
Since both have quite easily demonstrable physiologic identification, we know how real they are. So yes, it really does make us wonder what is happening to make these conditions so much more prevalent in our population now. It's definitely not just that we're diagnosing these conditions more now--there's something very real, as anyone who works in the field can tell you.
Is it that improved heath care allows children to survive who would have perished in previous generations? I don't think that's supportable. I believe that we should start looking at the concerns of human health risk assessors, who are pointing out that considering the risks from individual environmental factors (e.g., chemical exposures) might underestimate the composite risk.
I do hope we discover the problem soon. Living with ADD or autism can be living hell.
True...but despite this, the real autism cases are going up, also.
See, that's where we disagree. There are a lot of autism cases being diagnosed these days in guys that would have just been called 'nerds' a generation or so ago.
That is a lot of the trouble with medicine. I want a life scientist looking after my health...
Doctors should be scientists first. Research is a key ingredient for success in fighting disease.
You have research references for this???
I can find thousands that say otherwise. I have four or five listed above...
I wonder if autism could have a cause in the length of time the mother took birth control pills prior to getting pregnant? There may be a connection there.
Contrary to popular opinion, those pills are NOT 100% safe. Considering that autism is on the increase, it is either a misdiagnosis or the birth control pills, of which use is widespread.
Symptoms can be very similar, even though the causes are drastically different. That means nothing.
More and more scientific evidence is pointing to genetic factors as the culprits in the development of autism. Very often, genes that are common in one group of people exist rarely, if at all outside that group (e.g. sickle cell anemia, which affects black people). If there are very few or no autistic Amish, it is because one or more genes causing autism do not exist in that population. Their environment and/or lifestyle have little bearing on that.
See #30
I agree that the number of diagnosed cases is going up. I don’t agree that the number of cases has increased.
Wouldn't you think the gene pool in the Amish is stretched to its limit by now?
To paper over the problem, they stated that it wan't the thimerosal per se, it was the increased amounts that children were getting with the increased number of immunizations then.
So you can't just look at a few shots and cry "autism!". You have to explain why autism was next to unknown in the 70's, with childred getting a much larger exposure to thimerosal than now.
How are you?
One of my best friends has cousins who are autistic. Her pediatrician told her everything to look for in her kids for autism, particularly in her boy, based on the family history. Seems they are leaning toward genetic factors. It’s also grossly over diagnosed.
The startling fact: Autism symptoms and mercury poisoning are identical. That should mean something.....
Young children have been subjected to many more shots starting in the 80s. The fact: Mercury poisoning and autism have exactly the same symptoms! My point is NO mercury in ANY vaccinations. You also can get mercury poisoning in other ways than vaccinations.
Years ago I wrote a paper in my Philosophy of Science class on a peer reviewed article in Lancet magazine....The result showed a STRONG correlation to the onset of autism and dates of vaccination. Coincidence? Maybe, but my common sense says there is a BIG link.
When you are forced to fall back on conspiracy theories, its time to look elsewhere.
The result showed a STRONG correlation to the onset of autism and dates of vaccination.
I guess they never taught in your PoS class that "correlation does not equal causation".
Once again I ask, since thimerosal was in vaccines for decades, why did autism rates only increase in the 80s?
Years ago I wrote a paper in my Philosophy of Science class on a peer reviewed article in Lancet magazine....
First, its interesting that you will toss aside the new study (and there have been many others recently) yet embrace an old study that supports your notions. Also, the last place you should look for a good study is the Lancet, the home of Wakefield's discredited MMR/vaccine study and even more discredited Iraq Body Count study.
The Lancet is a joke.
Anyone who knows anything about toxicology knows that the dose makes the poison. Furthermore, the form the element takes has a huge effect on its toxicity.
Just for fun, look up sodium metal. It's nasty stuff, yet I bet that even after reading about its dangers, you will still eat salt...
And so what if some symptoms of autism and some symptoms of mercury poisoning are identical? That means nothing.
You mentioned taking a Philosophy of Science course. Didn't that course cover issues central to science, such as critical thought???
The Amish have other health issues that don't get a whole lot of attention - problems arising from inbreeding. Plus, look at their lifestyle - no TV, no video games, no processed foods, no electricity, and lots of outside exercise.
It's impossible to point out one difference between the Amish and the English (that's us) and say that is the cause of various problems. It's much more complicated than that
Maybe it’s micro-waved “chemical rich” baby bottles...
I've actually seen that myself. I worked with a student with a documented IQ of 64 (two separate tests over a 3 year period came up with a near identical score), but the mother refused to have the child have MR services. Instead, she 'doctor-shopped' until she found one that diagnosed the child with autism.
The kid is now in high school and doing poorly because the mother insists that he be in all regular classes, such as algebra, world history, etc and then punishes him when he doesn't do well on tests and/or the class.
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