Do Vaccines Cause Autism?

Do vaccines cause Autism? Apparently not, according to the most recent judgments handed down by the “Special Masters” of the Vaccine Court. (http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2009/02/12/court-rules-vaccines-not-to-blame-for-autism/) Many parents of autistic children still believe otherwise, claiming that the normal development of their child was altered shortly after receiving a specific vaccine or a series of vaccines. So, even though studies have ‘proven’ that there is no connection and these special masters have judged that there is no connection, the parents remain unconvinced. The question remains “Could vaccines be a contributing factor to the onset of autistic symptoms?”

The scientific method is about isolating factors that can show cause and effect. Epidemiological studies may give a more accurate picture of trends, but they cannot conclusively prove a cause/effect relationship. That is why research is needed using the scientific method. Unfortunately, trying to prove a causal relationship between two things, such as vaccines and autism that clearly have so many variables creates quite a problem. It is an almost impossible scenario. Cause and effect can neither be proved nor disproved. Several studies have been done attempting to determine a cause/effect relationship between autism and vaccines, but let’s take a look at why this is so difficult.

First, a look at the complex medical conditions that face these little ones. There’s a reason why puzzle pieces represent autism – there are many pieces, but they are all connected. There is a wide range of symptoms and conditions that plague children on the autism spectrum including, but not limited to: Sensory Integration Dysfunction, inappropriate social skills, tantrums, speech delay, gastro-intestinal and digestive disorders (http://www.umm.edu/news/releases/autism.htm), seizure disorders, self ‘stimming’ behaviors, Vitamin B12 deficiency, Vitamin D deficiency, PANDAS (a specific type of strep infection), heavy metal toxicity (especially, lead, mercury and aluminum), food allergies and sensitivities, attention problems, asthma, allergies, eczema, yeast infections and repeated seasonal illnesses. While these symptoms and conditions may sound disconnected, autistic children have a mix of these conditions. What defines autism and autism spectrum is NOT narrow. Certainly, the cause of these conditions alone may have many different origins, but since these medical conditions are common among autistic children, it begs the question – why?

To make matters more complicated, vaccines have numerous components and there are numerous possible effects of each of the components. Vaccines have a microbe (the virus or bacteria intended to stimulate the immune system by mimicking the disease itself), and a medium, which the microbes are grown in (such as monkey kidney cells, chicken embryos, bovine fetal serum and human fetal diploid cells). Vaccines also contain other ingredients to preserve, stabilize it and make the microbe more effective. These other ingredients include formaldehyde, aluminum sulfate, thimerisol (ethyl mercury), aspartame, MSG, and a host of other, often unpronounceable, ingredients.

Commenting on the decision of the Vaccine Court, Dr. Max Wiznitzer, an autism expert at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio declares, "What the decision tells us is that these vaccinations are safe. The medical evidence tells us there is no association between vaccines and autism. This is one more piece that helps confirm that conclusion." It should be rather obvious that attempting to ‘prove’ a connection between vaccines and autism is an exercise in futility. But perhaps Dr. Wiznitzer’s conclusion is an oversimplification of an issue that clearly has too many variables to make such a pronouncement.

There is a group of doctors*, who do believe that vaccines may have contributed to the many conditions facing these autistic kiddos. These pioneering doctors have approached the puzzle of autism by addressing the pervasive medical issues one at a time. The focus of these doctors is not on blaming vaccines, but rather using the information that vaccines may have contributed to the condition, to help solve the medical pieces of the puzzle. If sources of potential triggers can be identified, treatment can be more effective. By addressing food allergies, metabolic and endocrine dysfunctions and heavy metal toxicity, they have seen reversals in autistic symptoms as the children’s bodies have begun to heal. Is it reversible across the board and can all the conditions be reversed? No. But in a significant number of children the quality of life has improved and their behaviors and conditions have become indistinguishable from their ‘typical’ peers.

So, there are many medical issues, many vaccine ingredients, polarized opinions on the subject and LOTS of variables. Is it possible to make connections between some of these? It would be next to impossible to isolate exactly which components or ingredients caused which symptoms and conditions wouldn’t it? And what role do genetics play? Can the DNA and RNA used to grow vaccine cultures have any effect on the DNA or the immune system of the recipient of the vaccine? Should we stop looking for answers because a court has decided that there is NO connection between vaccines and autism? Too many questions, not enough answers.

In 1983, 10 vaccines were recommended for children up to the age of 5. In 2007, 36 were recommended (360% increase). If SOME of the vaccine components could cause SOME of the conditions of autism, perhaps the increase in recommended vaccines could be correlated to the increased incidence of autism. And nobody has investigated the synergistic effect of all the vaccines, all their components, in conjunction with the frequency of vaccine administration. Epidemiological studies point to such a correlation. Doesn’t common sense tell us that even scientists cannot account for the synergistic effect of so many vaccines delivered in such a short period of time? Just because something can’t be proved, or hasn’t been proven yet, doesn’t mean there is no evidence of harm.

*For more information about the approach of these doctors read: Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Allergies by Kenneth Bock M.D.

For further reading on the vaccine/autism connection read: Evidence of Harm by David Kirby.

For actress Jenny McCarthy’s perspective regarding her autistic son, view http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5WTaLnDPY4

IN DEFENSE OF ORTHOREXIA

Orthorexia is a new term used to describe people who are obsessed with health food and fixated on righteous eating. SEE ARTICLE: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/health/nutrition/26food.html?ref=health What does righteous eating entail? Choosing organic and avoiding things like pesticides, trans fats, and preservatives. According to the article, parents who micromanage their children’s food in this manner, suffer from this condition and pass it along to their children. “The condition … may begin in homes where there is a preoccupation with 'health foods'” - and where parents “moralize about good foods and bad foods”. Parents are increasingly choosing this lifestyle to avoid or manage conditions such as diabetes, hyperactivity, and heart disease.

Funny, but originally, back when food really was food, it didn’t contain things like trans fats, pesticide residue and preservatives. Funnier still is the fact that once upon a time all food was organic. The article implies that there is something wrong with a child who is afraid to eat an oreo because of the trans fats (also implying that there is something wrong with a parent who would make their child worry about such a thing). Should a parent be forced to make bad food choices for their children just so they can fit in? Is the implication that an oreo is actually food? And of course, real food is now termed ‘health food’.

While there is merit in protecting our children from unnecessary worry surrounding their food choices, our nation remains undernourished and overfed – too many calories, not enough nutrition. When the body does not get the actual nutrients that it needs, it rebels and develops chronic conditions and diseases. The human body is designed so that food is what allows a person to live. And as nature would have it, 80% of the immune system is connected to the small intestine – the first place of sorting after food passes through the stomach. Common sense should tell us that our food choices ARE important to our overall health. But the media and lobbyists have done a super job of convincing us that the delicious chemically laden, non-food choices, so prevalent since the industrialization of our food, is actually food. Yes, calories allow us to function, but to thrive we need actual nutrients, which includes all the micro nutrients that are lost in the processing of food. There's no way to know all the synergistic beneficial properties in a whole food, and maintaining the synergistic integrity of a food when it is submitted to the food processing industry becomes difficult, if not impossible.

According to Michael Pollan, in In Defense of Food, “The chronic diseases that now kill most of us (obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer) can be traced directly to the industrialization of our food”. Criticizing parents who must brave the labyrinth of industrialized food to find real food does not solve the problem. Making a new culture where food IS food would lessen the anxiety of these kiddos, and lessen the need for micromanagement by the parents because they would no longer be seen as weird, obsessive or having a ‘health food’ eating disorder. Perhaps, if more people chose to eat actual food, since we DO vote with our food dollars, parents would not have to be so diligent to make sure that their children eat ‘health food’ - and then perhaps there would no longer be a need for a label such as orthorexia.