Government Concede Vaccine-Autism Connection in Federal Court

Julie Cauich> Government Concede Vaccine-Autism Connection in Federal Court> The US Government has finally conceded that at least some cases of > autism can be caused by the mercury in vaccines. Despite what the > media says, some vaccines STILL contain mercury at toxic levels > ( for example, the FLU vaccine). This article is written by David > Kirby, who wrote the book "Evidence of Harm" about the politics > behind mercury and vaccines. There is a link at the bottom to the > courts full conclusion.>> I also highly recommend the reading of the book,> The Virus and the Vaccine: The True Story of a Cancer-Causing Monkey > Virus, Contaminated Polio Vaccine, and the Millions of Americans > Exposed (Hardcover)> by Debbie Bookchin (Author), Jim Schumacher (Author)> Be sure you have a strong stomach before reading.>> Laura - Mom to William, diagnosed with ADHD, Asperger's, asthma, > allergies, chronic gastrointestinal issues, chronic sinusitis, > chronic immune dysfunction, specific learning disabilities, visual > disabilities(newly diagnosed) and more! Waiting on test results for > mercury and other heavy metal poisoning.>>> After years of insisting there is no evidence to link vaccines with > the onset of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the US government has > quietly conceded a vaccine-autism case in the Court of Federal Claims.> The unprecedented concession was filed on November 9, and sealed to > protect the plaintiff's identify. It was obtained through > individuals unrelated to the case.>> The claim, one of 4,900 autism cases currently pending in Federal > "Vaccine Court," was conceded by US Assistant Attorney General Peter > Keisler and other Justice Department officials, on behalf of the > Department of Health and Human Services, the "defendant" in all > Vaccine Court cases.> The child's claim against the government -- that mercury-containing > vaccines were the cause of her autism -- was supposed to be one of > three "test cases" for the thimerosal-autism theory currently under > consideration by a three-member panel of Special Masters, the > presiding justices in Federal Claims Court.> Keisler wrote that medical personnel at the HHS Division of Vaccine > Injury Compensation (DVIC) had reviewed the case and "concluded that > compensation is appropriate."> The doctors conceded that the child was healthy and developing > normally until her 18-month well-baby visit, when she received > vaccinations against nine different diseases all at once (two > contained thimerosal).> Days later, the girl began spiraling downward into a cascade of > illnesses and setbacks that, within months, presented as symptoms of > autism, including: No response to verbal direction; loss of language > skills; no eye contact; loss of "relatedness;" insomnia; incessant > screaming; arching; and "watching the florescent lights repeatedly > during examination."> Seven months after vaccination, the patient was diagnosed by Dr. > Andrew Zimmerman, a leading neurologist at the Kennedy Krieger > Children's Hospital Neurology Clinic, with "regressive > encephalopathy (brain disease) with features consistent with > autistic spectrum disorder, following normal development." The girl > also met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders > (DSM-IV) official criteria for autism.> In its written concession, the government said the child had a pre- > existing mitochondrial disorder that was "aggravated" by her shots, > and which ultimately resulted in an ASD diagnosis.> "The vaccinations received on July 19, 2000, significantly > aggravated an underlying mitochondrial disorder," the concession > says, "which predisposed her to deficits in cellular energy > metabolism, and manifested as a regressive encephalopathy with > features of ASD."> This statement is good news for the girl and her family, who will > now be compensated for the lifetime of care she will require. But > its implications for the larger vaccine-autism debate, and for > public health policy in general, are not as certain.> In fact, the government's concession seems to raise more questions > than it answers.> 1) Is there a connection between vaccines, mitochondrial disorders > and a diagnosis of autism, at least in some cases?> Mitochondria, you may recall from biology class, are the little > powerhouses within cells that convert food into electrical energy, > partly through a complex process called "oxidative phosphorylation." > If this process is impaired, mitochondrial disorder will ensue.> The child in this case had several markers for Mt disease, which was > confirmed by muscle biopsy. Mt disease is often marked by lethargy, > poor muscle tone, poor food digestion and bowel problems, something > found in many children diagnosed with autism.> But mitochondrial disorders are rare in the general population, > affecting some 2-per-10,000 people (or just 0.2%). So with 4,900 > cases filed in Vaccine Court, this case should be the one and only, > extremely rare instance of Mt disease in all the autism proceedings.> But it is not.> Mitochondrial disorders are now thought to be the most common > disease associated with ASD. Some journal articles and other > analyses have estimated that 10% to 20% of all autism cases may > involve mitochondrial disorders, which would make them one thousand > times more common among people with ASD than the general population.> Another article, published in the Journal of Child Neurology and co- > authored by Dr. Zimmerman, showed that 38% of Kennedy Krieger > Institute autism patients studied had one marker for impaired > oxidative phosphorylation, and 47% had a second marker.> The authors -- who reported on a case-study of the same autism claim > conceded in Vaccine Court -- noted that "children who have > (mitochondrial-related) dysfunctional cellular energy metabolism > might be more prone to undergo autistic regression between 18 and 30 > months of age if they also have infections or immunizations at the > same time."> An interesting aspect of Mt disease in autism is that, with ASD, the > mitochondrial disease seems to be milder than in "classic" cases of > Mt disorder. In fact, classic Mt disease is almost always inherited, > either passed down by the mother through mitochondrial DNA, or by > both parents through nuclear DNA.> In autism-related Mt disease, however, the disorder is not typically > found in other family members, and instead appears to be largely of > the sporadic variety, which may now account for 75% of all > mitochondrial disorders.> Meanwhile, an informal survey of seven families of children with > cases currently pending in Vaccine Court revealed that all seven > showed markers for mitochondrial dysfunction, dating back to their > earliest medical tests. The facts in all seven claims mirror the > case just conceded by the government: Normal development followed by > vaccination, immediate illness, and rapid decline culminating in an > autism diagnosis.> 2) With 4,900 cases pending, and more coming, will the government > concede those with underlying Mt disease -- and if it not, will the > Court award compensation?> The Court will soon begin processing the 4900 cases pending before > it. What if 10% to 20% of them can demonstrate the same Mt disease > and same set of facts as those in the conceded case? Would the > government be obliged to concede 500, or even 1,000 cases? What > impact would that have on public opinion? And is there enough money > currently in the vaccine injury fund to cover so many settlements?> When asked for a comment last week about the court settlement, a > spokesman for HHS furnished the following written statement:>> "DVIC has reviewed the scientific information concerning the > allegation that vaccines cause autism and has found no credible > evidence to support the claim. Accordingly, in every case under the > Vaccine Act, DVIC has maintained the position that vaccines do not > cause autism, and has never concluded in any case that autism was > caused by vaccination.">> 3) If the government is claiming that vaccines did not "cause" > autism, but instead aggravated a condition to "manifest" as autism, > isn't that a very fine distinction?> For most affected families, such linguistic gymnastics is not so > important. And even if a vaccine injury "manifested" as autism in > only one case, isn't that still a significant development worthy of > informing the public?> On the other hand, perhaps what the government is claiming is that > vaccination resulted in the symptoms of autism, but not in an > actual, factually correct diagnosis of autism itself.> 4) If the government is claiming that this child does NOT have > autism, then how many other children might also have something else > that merely "mimics" autism?> Is it possible that 10%-20% of the cases that we now label as > "autism," are not autism at all, but rather some previously > undefined "look-alike" syndrome that merely presents as "features" > of autism?> This question gets to the heart of what autism actually is. The > disorder is defined solely as a collection of features, nothing > more. If you have the features (and the diagnosis), you have the > disorder. The underlying biology is the great unknown.> But let's say the government does determine that these kids don't > have actual "autism" (something I speculated on HuffPost a year > ago). Then shouldn't the Feds go back and test all people with ASD > for impaired oxidative phosphorylation, perhaps reclassifying many > of them?> If so, will we then see "autism" cases drop by tens, if not hundreds > of thousands of people? Will there be a corresponding ascension of a > newly described disorder, perhaps something like "Vaccine Aggravated > Mitochondrial Disease with Features of ASD?"> And if this child was technically "misdiagnosed" with DSM-IV autism > by Dr Zimmerman, how does he feel about HHS doctors issuing a second > opinion re-diagnosis of his patient, whom they presumably had > neither met nor examined? (Zimmerman declined an interview).> And along those lines, aren't Bush administration officials somewhat > wary of making long-distance, retroactive diagnoses from Washington, > given that the Terry Schiavo incident has not yet faded from > national memory?> 5) Was this child's Mt disease caused by a genetic mutation, as the > government implies, and wouldn't that have manifested as "ASD > features" anyway?> In the concession, the government notes that the patient had a > "single nucleotide change" in the mitochondrial DNA gene T2387C, > implying that this was the underlying cause of her manifested > "features" of autism.> While it's true that some inherited forms of Mt disease can manifest > as developmental delays, (and even ASD in the form of Rhett > Syndrome) these forms are linked to identified genetic mutations, of > which T2387C is not involved. In fact little, if anything, is known > about the function of this particular gene.> What's more, there is no evidence that this girl, prior to > vaccination, suffered from any kind of "disorder" at all- genetic, > mitochondrial or otherwise. Some forms of Mt disease are so mild > that the person is unaware of being affected. This perfectly > developing girl may have had Mt disorder at the time of vaccination, > but nobody detected, or even suspected it.> And, there is no evidence to suggest that this girl would have > regressed into symptoms consistent with a DSM-IV autism diagnosis > without her vaccinations. If there was such evidence, then why on > earth would these extremely well-funded government attorneys > compensate this alleged injury in Vaccine Court? Why wouldn't they > move to dismiss, or at least fight the case at trial?> 6) What are the implications for research?> The concession raises at least two critical research questions: What > are the causes of Mt dysfunction; and how could vaccines aggravate > that dysfunction to the point of "autistic features?"> While some Mt disorders are clearly inherited, the "sporadic" form > is thought to account for 75% of all cases, according to the United > Mitochondrial Disease Foundation. So what causes sporadic Mt > disease? "Medicines or other toxins," says the Cleveland Clinic, a > leading authority on the subject.> Use of the AIDS drug AZT, for example, can cause Mt disorders by > deleting large segments of mitochondrial DNA. If that is the case, > might other exposures to drugs or toxins (i.e., thimerosal, mercury > in fish, air pollution, pesticides, live viruses) also cause > sporadic Mt disease in certain subsets of children, through similar > genotoxic mechanisms?> Among the prime cellular targets of mercury are mitochondria, and > thimerosal-induced cell death has been associated with the > depolarization of mitochondrial membrane, according to the > International Journal of Molecular Medicine among several others. > (Coincidently, the first case of Mt disease was diagnosed in 1959, > just 15 years after the first autism case was named, and two decades > after thimerosal's introduction as a vaccine preservative.)> Regardless of its cause, shouldn't HHS sponsor research into Mt > disease and the biological mechanisms by which vaccines could > aggravate the disorder? We still do not know what it was, exactly, > about this girl's vaccines that aggravated her condition. Was it the > thimerosal? The three live viruses? The two attenuated viruses? > Other ingredients like aluminum? A combination of the above?> And of course, if vaccine injuries can aggravate Mt disease to the > point of manifesting as autism features, then what other underlying > disorders or conditions (genetic, autoimmune, allergic, etc.) might > also be aggravated to the same extent?> 7) What are the implications for medicine and public health?> Should the government develop and approve new treatments for > "aggravated mitochondrial disease with ASD features?" Interestingly, > many of the treatments currently deployed in Mt disease (i.e., > coenzyme Q10, vitamin B-12, lipoic acid, biotin, dietary changes, > etc.) are part of the alternative treatment regimen that many > parents use on their children with ASD.> And, if a significant minority of autism cases can be linked to Mt > disease and vaccines, shouldn't these products one day carry an FDA > Black Box warning label, and shouldn't children with Mt disorders be > exempt from mandatory immunization?> 8) What are the implications for the vaccine-autism debate?> It's too early to tell. But this concession could conceivably make > it more difficult for some officials to continue insisting there is > "absolutely no link" between vaccines and autism.> It also puts the Federal Government's Vaccine Court defense strategy > somewhat into jeopardy. DOJ lawyers and witnesses have argued that > autism is genetic, with no evidence to support an environmental > component. And, they insist, it's simply impossible to construct a > chain of events linking immunizations to the disorder.> Government officials may need to rethink their legal strategy, as > well as their public relations campaigns, given their own slightly > contradictory concession in this case.> 9) What is the bottom line here?> The public, (including world leaders) will demand to know what is > going on inside the US Federal health establishment. Yes, as of now, > n=1, a solitary vaccine-autism concession. But what if n=10% or 20%? > Who will pay to clean up that mess?> The significance of this concession will unfortunately be fought > over in the usual, vitriolic way -- and I fully expect to be slammed > for even raising these questions. Despite that, the language of this > concession cannot be changed, or swept away.> Its key words are "aggravated" and "manifested." Without the > aggravation of the vaccines, it is uncertain that the manifestation > would have occurred at all.> When a kid with peanut allergy eats a peanut and dies, we don't say > "his underlying metabolic condition was significantly aggravated to > the extent of manifesting as an anaphylactic shock with features of > death."> No, we say the peanut killed the poor boy. Remove the peanut from > the equation, and he would still be with us today.> Many people look forward to hearing more from HHS officials about > why they are settling this claim. But whatever their explanation, > they cannot change the fundamental facts of this extraordinary case:> The United State government is compensating at least one child for > vaccine injuries that resulted in a diagnosis of autism.> And that is big news, no matter how you want to say it.> NOTE: Full text of the government's statement is posted here.> David Kirby is the author of "Evidence of Harm - Mercury in Vaccines > and the Autism Epidemic, A Medical Controversy" (St. Martins Press > 2005> Laura Cox is offline Add to Laura Cox's Reputation Report Post IP > Edit/Delete Message