Not Mercury

"Subpoenaed"

2008-04-07T04:50:00.000-07:00

Quote for today: Ian Lipkin

2008-02-10T18:22:00.000-08:00

“But technology is like a car with a lot of horsepower. If you point it in the wrong direction, you can run people over.”

-Ian Lipkin

JRC Hidden Camera Footage?

2008-01-04T07:34:00.001-08:00

Comparative minicolumnar morphometry of three distinguished scientists

2007-10-25T05:21:00.001-07:00

I thought this was interesting but I haven't had the chance to read the full article.

Autism, Vol. 11, No. 6, 557-569 (2007)DOI: 10.1177/1362361307083261
The National Autistic Society, SAGE Publications
Comparative minicolumnar morphometry of three distinguished scientists
Manuel F. Casanova University of Louisville, USA,
Andrew E. Switala University of Louisville, USA
Juan Trippe University of Louisville, USA
Michael Fitzgerald Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

It has been suggested that the cell minicolumn is the smallest module capable of information processing within the brain. In this case series, photomicrographs of six regions of interests (Brodmann areas 4, 9, 17, 21, 22, and 40) were analyzed by computerized image analysis for minicolumnar morphometry in the brains of three distinguished scientists and six normative controls. Overall, there were significant differences (p < 0.001) between the comparison groups in both minicolumnar width (CW) and mean cell spacing (MCS). Although our scientists did not exhibit deficits in communication or interpersonal skills, the resultant minicolumnar phenotype bears similarity to that described for both autism and Asperger's syndrome. Computer modeling has shown that smaller columns account for discrimination among signals during information processing. A minicolumnar phenotype that provides for discrimination and/or focused attention may help explain the savant abilities observed in some autistic people and the intellectually gifted.
Key Words: creativity • minicolumns • neocortex • neuropathology

Uncanny Predictions

2007-10-17T07:41:00.000-07:00

I see that psychics told Jenny McCarthy that she would have a daughter.

“For so long I have had psychics say they see me with a daughter,” McCarthy said. “I now know what they are talking about.”

I guess the psychics should have been more specific in their predictions so Jenny could have known that the daughter wouldn't be her own biological daughter but rather the daughter of boyfriend Jim Carey. Looking back, it all makes sense.

No word as to the number of psychics who predicted her son would be autistic, then not.

On the subject of predictions, it seems that somewhere in the neighborhood of 20% of children diagnosed with autism go on to pass as neurotypical.

Fein, whose work is funded by the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Development, is on the forefront of research that suggests 20 per cent of children diagnosed with autism may recover. While some examples are more dramatic than others, her work gives hope to the families of children who fear the diagnosis.

Go figure.

"I think the most responsible thing to do is to tell parents, 'When they're two, we don't know what they'll look like when they're seven'," said Fein in an interview from Connecticut.

That does sound like the responsible thing to do. It's also another way of saying that it's irresponsible to tell parents that they can expect their child will end up in an institution or any other prediction concerning development and outcome.

Let's leave the predictions to the professionals. Most doctors aren't psychic.

Live Each Day Like It's Your Last

2007-10-12T18:48:00.000-07:00

The problem with living each day as if it's your last is that it probably won't be.

Mercury Madness: It’s Time for a Reality Check

2007-10-02T14:45:00.000-07:00

I read a very interesting article today and I learned a few things about environmental mercury distribution that I didn't know before.
Harold M. Koenig, M.D. responds to some common myths that I've heard many times from mercury activists but I never really gave them much thought. I don't recall the specific number 630,000, but I have heard similar statements which I've always accepted as fact.

The CDC Report represents merely the latest scientific information which should put to rest the oft-repeated claim by almost every Mercury advocacy group that 630,000 American babies are born each year with elevated levels of Mercury in their blood that puts them at risk for brain damage and other negative neurological and developmental effects. This statement cannot be substantiated by medicine, science or mathematics…but advocacy groups continue to perpetrate the myth because it is an effective scare tactic which plays on the fears and emotions of women and families.
Ironically, the "630,000 myth" came about as the result of very misleading analysis of the 1999-2000 CDC NHANES report data which indicated that 8% of women of childbearing age (16-49) exhibited blood Mercury level concentrations above what the EPA called "safe." With over four million live births annually in the U.S., Mercury opponents and some government agency personnel extrapolated that 320,000 babies are born "at risk." This number was revised upward to 630,000 as a result of "new" information about maternal cord blood that was not new at all, but actually double-counting on the part of the EPA. The EPA’s reference dose is the most stringent in the world and does not represent a "bright line" in which anyone exceeding the RfD would be at risk.
What is the truth about the Mercury exposure in America’s children? The CDC survey mentioned above not only looked at women’s blood; it also conducted blood Mercury measurements for children ages 1-5 years. The 1999-2000 survey revealed seven out of 705 (less than 1%) children with blood Mercury above the EPA's "safe" Mercury dose (the RfD that is at least a factor of 10 less than the level at which effects might be seen), while the 2001-2002 survey found only four out of 872 (less than 0.5%) children exceeding the RfD. It is important to note that even the highest Mercury level measured in this four-year CDC study retains a safety cushion of more than 500% below the lowest exposure level of concern. Since EPA's "safe" Mercury dose is far below the level where harm has ever been documented, a reasonable person could safely conclude that no U.S. children are being dangerously exposed to Mercury that could lead to brain or developmental damage. That is not to say that Mercury exposure does not pose risk. It does, but it is a matter of the level of exposure.
The bottom line is that no U.S. women or children are being exposed to unsafe levels of Mercury through fish consumption.

How many times have I heard this one.

An Example of "Mercury Madness"

Can one gram of Mercury contaminate a 20-acre lake as claimed by the PIRG? Obviously, different measurements can mean vastly different things depending upon how they can be interpreted, but test results and measurements can be misinterpreted in an effort to spread fear among consumers. PIRG states (without attribution) that "a gram of Mercury, about a drop, deposited in a mid-sized Wisconsin lake over the course of a year was enough to contaminate the lake’s fish." Certainly this would be alarming if it was based on fact. Trouble is, it’s just not true, and the science behind the issue needs to overtake the emotional (and political) hysteria before a generation of Americans is deprived of the well-documented health benefits of eating fish, the main dietary source of Methylmercury in trace amounts.

This statement – which has become the "gold standard" for a host of environmental activist groups – is yet another example of bastardizing science to forward a political agenda.
Someone might want to ask Ed Swain, Ph.D., of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency what the facts really are. It was Dr. Swain who made an effort to determine the rate of Mercury deposition in his State. He did a series of tests on several Minnesota lakes and authored an article of his findings entitled, "Increasing Rate of Atmospheric Mercury Deposition in Midcontinental North America," which appeared in Science magazine on August 7, 1992.
Dr. Swain determined that in Minnesota, the rate of atmospheric deposition – primarily from rain – was approximately one gram of Mercury per year for a 20 acre lake. He did NOT claim that one gram of elemental Mercury can contaminate a 20 acre lake. Interestingly, his study had absolutely nothing to do with the effects of Mercury contamination in fish. His conclusions did include some nuggets that activist groups probably don’t want you to know:
• Mercury deposited from natural sources accounts for 25 to 30% of all Mercury.

• Mercury deposition is a global problem. (Computer models run by U.S. EPA and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) show that 60-80% of the Mercury that deposits in the United States comes from non-US and natural sources.)

• It is the soluble – not the elemental – form of Mercury that is the focus of concern. Soluble Mercury, through a complex transformation, rises in the atmosphere and returns in rain, converting to Methylmercury that might be absorbed by fish in Minnesota lakes. Only about 5% of Mercury converts to Methylmercury...and even that is subject to variability.

• Methylmercury’s effect on fish depends on several variables including types and sizes of fish and reproduction rates, among others.

Good to know.

I do believe we should do everything in our powers to limit exposure to mercury and other environmental toxins but we should also do what we can to limit our exposure to irrational fear and the stress that it brings.

Thank you Dr. Koenig for the reality check

Worse Than Cancer

2007-10-01T04:59:00.000-07:00

If you talk to enough parents of autistic children, eventually you will here some sort of comparison to cancer. I know I've made the comparison at least once during the early days of grappling with this new (to us) and unknown "affliction." AUTISM, it's a scary word.

In many ways, hearing that your child "has autism" is every bit as scary as hearing that your child has cancer, or at least it must seem that way to parents who have never heard the latter. I think most parents who decide to invoke the 'C' word are simply trying to use an extreme example of how difficult it can be to have and raise an autistic child. It's an act of desperation when conventional descriptions fail to garner the desired level of sympathy or understanding from their audience. If you aren't raising an autistic child it's nearly impossible to understand the unique brand of stress that can accompany the diagnosis and all that can come with it.

After a few years, if you happen to be blessed with a good memory and the honesty to accurately recall the origins of these emotions, you may feel more than a bit guilty for ever uttering those words. For those who are new to autism, I strongly advise thinking long and hard about the similarities and many, many differences between having a child diagnosed with autism and learning that your child has cancer.

There have many been great advances in the treatment of pediatric cancers in recent years, and survival rates continue to increase as new drugs and treatment modalities are discovered, but survivors and their families will always live with specter of relapse and secondary health complications from the very treatments that saved their lives. CANCER is a scary word because most people associate the word with DEATH. Another scary word.

Autism, on the other hand, is never a fatal condition, though many autistic people may require extra help to recognize and avoid dangerous situations.

Unlike autism, cancer can be divided into increasingly narrower sub-categories through relatively accurate testing procedures. Treatment recommendations usually depend on many factors including stage and type of malignancy. True, many drugs and procedures begin or began as experimental treatments but response and outcome are predictable, to some degree, and treatment protocols are based on many years of clinical trials. There is little doubt that many cancer treatments carry considerable risk. Radiation, surgery and chemotherapy aren't the sort of things that a responsible medical professional would recommend if he or she didn't know that the benefits outweigh the risks. Left untreated, most cancers are fatal so the choice is usually clear.

More often than not, the horrors of autism are perceived as such by parents who may read of how terrible it is to be autistic or how hard it is to raise an autistic child. Again, I'm not saying that parenting a child with disabilities is always easy, but it is nothing like cancer.

Don't believe me? Get in touch with a family who has been through it. Ask a parent who has lost a child to a fatal disease if they would trade places with a parent of an autistic child. Ask them if they would trade all of the difficult moments for a hug or a glimpse of happiness in their child's eyes as they engage in a favorite stim.

Or ask family members of a child who has survived cancer if they would rather have an autistic child if it meant they could spare their child all of the medical procedures that allowed them to survive.

"But a pediatric cancer survivor," one might observe, "stands an excellent chance of living a long 'normal' and fulfilling life, right?" There was also a good chance that they wouldn't. Want to know what it's really like? You really can't but maybe try reading a few stories like this one before you decide to compare autism with cancer.

In a perfect world, no child would ever have to battle cancer. No child would be born with or develop a disability. Every child would be exactly what we wished for and we'd all live happily ever after. Fortunately, or unfortunately if you prefer, we don't get to make those choices. We do what we can to protect our children from harm and help them if they are sick or injured, but certain choices are beyond our reach, no matter how much we try to convince ourselves otherwise.

If you are reading this and you absolutely must insist on trying to draw parallels between cancer and autism, take some time to really think about that and imagine how you would make healthcare decisions for your child if he or she were faced with a potentially fatal disease rather than a developmental delay.

When was the last time you heard a cancer patient or family member say "This is worse than autism."

Scientists make gut-brain connection to autism

2007-09-28T07:35:00.000-07:00

Scientists make gut-brain connection to autism

An article, more of a press release really, suggests that Scientists have made a connection between the gut, brain, and autism. One might read that to mean that they've discovered a connection but I prefer the more literal interpretation. They've made a connection where one may or may not exist.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm completely open to the idea that there is significant communication between the Central Nervous System(CNS) and the Enteric Nervous System(ENS) but how that interplay might (if at all) contribute to autism is largely unknown. These researchers have an hypothesis, or at least a vague outline, of the mechanism(s) that might be involved. Essentially, certain foods are metabolized by certain gut bacteria in such a way as to release high concentrations of Propionic Acid which may travel to the brain causing one to be autistic.

So how did they test their hypothesis? Did they measure blood or cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of proionic acid? Did they isolate and culture unique bacteria form the guts of autistic children to see if they are more likely to convert culprit foods into propionic acid?

No. They injected PPA into the brains of mice and observed their behaviors. Surprise!

"They immediately engaged in bouts of repetitive behaviour, hyperactivity and impaired social behaviours which had close similarity to what parents are seeing with autism," MacFabe said.

Note the reference to parent anecdote. Here it is again:

UWO researchers investigated the "gut-brain" connection after many parents of autistic children reported significant improvements in the behaviour of their autistic children when they modified their diet, eliminating dairy and wheat products, Dr. Derrick MacFabe, the director of a research group at UWO in London, Ont., told CBC News Thursday.

So how does this show a connection between the gut-brain and autism? Easy. Parents tell the scientists that removing certain foods from their children's diet cause improvements in their behavior. Scientists say, "Ah-Ha! We think we know what's causing that." There's the connection.

Expect to hear more 'connections' from the thimerosal/mercury folks since it's well know that mercury kills the good gut bacteria allowing the PPA producing bugs to thrive, or something like that.

Below is the abstract of the research published in January.

Neurobiological effects of intraventricular propionic acid in rats: Possible role of short chain fatty acids on the pathogenesis and characteristics of autism spectrum disorders

Derrick F. MacFabe, Donald P. Cain, Karina Rodriguez-Capote, Andrew E.
Franklind, Jennifer E. Hoffman, Francis Boon, A. Roy Taylor, Martin Kavaliers
and Klaus-Peter Ossenkopp

Abstract
Clinical observations suggest that certain gut and dietary
factors may transiently worsen symptoms in autism spectrum disorders (ASD),
epilepsy and some inheritable metabolic disorders. Propionic acid (PPA) is a
short chain fatty acid and an important intermediate of cellular metabolism. PPA
is also a by-product of a subpopulation of human gut enterobacteria and is a
common food preservative. We examined the behavioural, electrophysiological,
neuropathological, and biochemical effects of treatment with PPA and related
compounds in adult rats. Intraventricular infusions of PPA produced reversible
repetitive dystonic behaviours, hyperactivity, turning behaviour, retropulsion,
caudate spiking, and the progressive development of limbic kindled seizures,
suggesting that this compound has central effects. Biochemical analyses of brain
homogenates from PPA treated rats showed an increase in oxidative stress markers
(e.g., lipid peroxidation and protein carbonylation) and glutathione
S-transferase activity coupled with a decrease in glutathione and glutathione
peroxidase activity. Neurohistological examinations of hippocampus and adjacent
white matter (external capsule) of PPA treated rats revealed increased reactive
astrogliosis (GFAP immunoreactivity) and activated microglia (CD68
immunoreactivity) suggestive of a neuroinflammatory process. This was coupled
with a lack of cytotoxicity (cell counts, cleaved caspase 3′ immunoreactivity),
and an increase in phosphorylated CREB immunoreactivity. We propose that some
types of autism may be partial forms of genetically inherited or acquired
disorders involving altered PPA metabolism. Thus, intraventricular
administration of PPA in rats may provide a means to model some aspects of human
ASD in rats.
Keywords: Locomotor activity; Seizures; Dystonia; Kindling;
Animal model; Oxidative stress; Neuroinflammation; Glutathione; Clostridia

Interesting ideas but absolutely nothing beyond a proposed rodent model and a pet hypothesis.

Martha Herbert has this to say about the groundbreaking research:

Dr. Martha Herbert, assistant professor in neurology at Harvard Medical School, told CBC News that the study opens up a new way of thinking about the disorder.

Really? How's that exactly? Martha has made it clear that she see autism as the result of any number of environmental insults, including thimerosal and even toxic mold, so how many more ways of thinking can there be. Inject bad stuff, observe neuroinflammation and antisocial behaviors, Et Viola! Autism. It's a pretty simple formula and one that can be applied to just about anything at the right concentration.

Herbert strongly advocates a balanced diet, consisting of all food groups, not just "bread and cheese."

Wow. Sage advice.

"If you have foods that child is sensitive to in their immune system, that can set up processes that can impact brain function, and it can do so in a negative way. And if you remove those foods, that negative impact can stop."

Brilliant. At least they didn't ask her why a fifth of Americans can't locate the US on a world map.

Porphyrins: A far out idea?

2007-09-22T17:50:00.000-07:00

Porphyrin as an Ideal Biomarker in the Search for Extraterrestrial Life
To cite this paper:Zhiyong Suo, Recep Avci, Mary Higby Schweitzer, Muhammedin Deliorman. Astrobiology. 2007, 7(4): 605-615. doi:10.1089/ast.2006.0120.

A key issue in astrobiological research is identifying target molecules that are
unambiguously biological in origin and can be easily detected and recognized. We
suggest porphyrin derivatives as an ideal target, because these chromophores are
global in distribution and found in virtually all living organisms on Earth,
including microorganisms that may approximate the early evolution of life on
Earth. We discuss the inherent qualities that make porphyrin ideally suited for
astrobiological research and discuss methods for detecting porphyrin molecules
in terrestrial sedimentary environments. We present preliminary data to support
the use of ToFSIMS as a powerful technique in the identification of porphyrins.

I wonder if Michael Menkin knows about this.

Jim Carrey 'Autism Whisperer'

2007-09-20T16:36:00.000-07:00

McCarthy Calls Carrey 'Autism Whisperer'

I always knew he was good with kids.

Wave Gauche

2007-09-18T13:11:00.000-07:00

An article in Scientific American reports that Left-handed people were once rare.

The number of people born left-handed plummeted temporarily around the turn of last century, according to recently released documentary footage of factory workers in northern England between 1900 and 1906. Researchers recorded the number of people waving to the camera with their right or left hand—a proxy for handedness—and compared the results for different age groups.

My first reaction to this was that there were no more or less southpaws around then but that people were trained to use their right hands no matter their preference. Of course that question is addressed in the article.

Researchers have hotly debated whether the puzzling discrepancy stemmed from reduced social pressure on kids to switch from left to right, a tendency for lefties to die earlier than righties or plain old fibbing by survey respondents. "What we needed was some way of getting at actual handedness of people born before 1900," says study co-author Chris McManus, professor of psychology and medical education at University College London (U.C.L). McManus and his colleague, psychologist Alex Hartigan, also of U.C.L., got their wish in the form of a 90-minute excerpt of footage shot by early filmmakers Sagar Mitchell and James Kenyon, from which they identified 391 hands waving at the camera. Unlike handwriting, they note, waving is a spontaneous gesture that is not influenced by social pressure.

I'm not sure I agree with this because I began my life favoring my left hand for certain tasks and my right for others. I had a hard time remembering which hand to place on my heart for the pledge of allegiance so I would hesitate and wait to see which hand my peers would use. In fact, I would take quite a few cues from the people around me and I'm certain that might include waving with the same hand in a crowd. I know it's not right but I hated to be left out.

Epidemic?

2007-09-12T10:38:00.000-07:00

"How come there's no cure for a*****?"
"They're working on it," she says wearily. "They're working on it."

Back in the early 1980s, after a diagnostic manual redefined a***** to include......

While there is likely a genetic component in most kids who get a*****, not everyone with this genetic predisposition suffers from it....

A British scholar named Andrew Wakefield came up with a parallel theory that focused on childhood vaccinations....

In hopes of finding a cure, geneticists are furiously studying a***** and have actually cloned several genes that seem to be linked to the disease. But whatever has caused the a***** upswing, it's unlikely genetics alone are going to reverse the trend. "The environment plays such a big role in this disease," says Malveaux, the Howard University dean. "It's not one of those diseases where if you have the genes you'll get the disease -- though genes may affect the ultimate severity. There's nothing we can do about the genetics right now anyway......

Snipped from An article by Arthur Allen - Salon - August 31, 1998

Breakfast At Midnight

2007-09-12T05:22:00.000-07:00

Something I read this morning - Breakfast at Midnight

THE DEADLY FIVE

2007-09-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

That's the title of an article in the latest Popular Science Magazine (Oct. 2007 pp. 46-49) followed by the alarming subtitle, "Meet the biggest, scariest enemies of the brain--depression, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, stroke and autism--and the medical breakthroughs that could defeat them."

Deadliest? Granted, stroke can certainly be deadly while Parkinson's and Alzheimer's are progressive disorders that very often prove fatal, but depression is rarely fatal unless you include suicide or severe self neglect. Neither of which make depression deadly in a direct way.

How did the author, Eric Hagerman, arrive at the top five roster? Why a survey, of course

So which brain diseases will yield the most profound medical insights? We surveyed dozens of neuroscientists, epidemiologists, and psychiatrists--experts like [Walter] Koroshetz and [Ted] Dawson--and asked them for their best bets.

The article goes on to list each of the 'deadly five' in no apparent order.

1. DEPRESSION
2. PARKINSON'S
3. ALZHEIMER'S
4. STROKE

and last but not least 5. AUTISM

There are a few rare and degenerative pediatric brain disorders that may present with autistic-like symptoms, but rarely does the diagnosis stick as other symptoms appear and the disease progresses. As far as I can tell, autism is never 'deadly' in a direct way.

I have witnessed my share of what many would consider regressive autism and never was I concerned that loss of language or other skills could be fatal. That's not to say it wasn't alarming at the time but progressive and ultimately lethal brain disease never crossed my mind.

Each of the 'Deadly Five' is broken down in four easy to digest segments.
WHAT GOES WRONG, THE NUMBERS, TODAY'S Rx, and THE FUTURE Rx.

What goes wrong for autism, according to David Amaral of the M.I.N.D. Institute, "Some parts of the brain, like the frontal lobe and the amygdala, may develop too fast in early childhood, possibly because cells become overwrapped in an insulating layer that may facilitate growth." sounds a lot better than "We don't know" which is essentially what's said in the FUTURE Rx section. "Of all the brain disorders on the list, autism is the most poorly understood, and the prospect for future treatments is, sadly, pretty bleak."

"On the Bright side" Judy Van de Water, also of the M.I.N.D. says that "20-25 percent of mothers carry antibodies against the fetal brain." I wonder if JB Handley has taken that into account as he sets out to prevent autism. Funny that the article made no mention of natural detoxification or adjusting mom's methylation cycle based on genetics, whatever that means.

No, autism isn't deadly but articles like this do little to enhance the quality of life for people living with with autism.

The Mercury Craze

2007-09-09T14:37:00.000-07:00

Pieces of Eight

2007-07-16T08:05:00.000-07:00

Steve D., over at the One Dad's Opinion blog, has tagged me with the 'Eight Random Things Meme'.

The rules are as follows:
1. Let others know who tagged you.
2. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.
3. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.
4. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged.

OK. I'll play but I, like Do'C from autism Street, choose to opt out of the last rule. Mostly because I don't know that many other bloggers to tag or they've already been tagged. It's a good thing Steve isn't involved with an MLM scheme or he'd be losing money on Do'c and me.

Here are few random things about me.

1) I was considered a bit of a dare devil when I was younger but I have never broken a single bone.

2) I am happiest when I am alone in the wilderness but I don't mind crowds or noisy environments.

3) I don't mind spiders or snakes.

4) I once joined the mosh pit at a Blink 182 concert.

5) I don't mind nails on a chalkboard but styrofoam rubbing together makes my spine shiver.

6) I used to love drag racing when I was younger but I no longer own a motorcycle or any hotrods.

7) If I were born today I would easily receive an autism diagnosis. I guess I've 'recovered' whatever that means.

8) I occasionally like to listen to Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass recordings.

Not the most interesting facts, I admit, but definitely random.

Crime Doesn't Pay

2007-06-05T05:14:00.000-07:00

But Chelation sure does. Or at least it did for this DAN! Doctor.

One investor lost $30M
The investor who lost the most money in the Al Parish investment collapse
is a doctor from Buffalo, N.Y. The $30 million in savings that Dr. Kalpana Patel
entrusted to him appears to be about half the total cash lost.

Apparently Mr. Parish bilked many investors out of their hard earned savings. Tragic, to be sure, but I find it hard to feel sorry for a doctor who has managed to accumulate $30 Million dollars administering dubious treatments to patients including autistic children. I'm sure her patients believed she was a kind and caring doctor just trying to help the kids. Little did they know this was big business for her and other DAN! doctors.

"In her mind, it's not a $30 million loss, but a $200 million loss," he
said, referring to the amount that she believed was in her portfolio."

So with $200 million in her portfolio she was getting ready to retire. Maybe she'll have to drum up new business at Autism One or the ASA conference next year, poor woman.

In court last week, Dantzler described the investor as a woman "on the cusp
of retirement" from a lucrative career.
On the same day, during a hearing
covering Parish's release on bail, Assistant U.S. Attorney Charlie Bourne spoke
in court of a single, unidentified investor who believed she had amassed hundreds of millions of dollars with Parish.
Now, "she has nothing," he said.

Now she has nothing. So sad.

Hooray for Dr. Yasko!

2007-03-26T07:17:00.000-07:00

Today I received this wonderful anonymous comment on and old blog entry, 'More Answers'.

Hooray for Dr. Yasko! She is quoted and mentioned in the April 2007 Discover article about the disease we call autism. Not only is she helping children heal, she is doing it with integrity, kindness and passion. Shame on you "not mercury" for your annoying and snarky little comments about her. Go read the Discover article.

I know. I really should stop picking on Dr. Amy now that she's published in the well respected, peer reviewed, international science journal, Discover. Shame on me.

Well, I have read the Discover article and I noticed that the Amy Yasko coverage was somewhat incomplete. Nowhere does it talk about the number of children who have been 'healed' while under her care but it also fails to mention some of the more spectacular claims concerning her RNA drops and RNA therapy. Either the author included specific examples of children being healed with Amy's magic potions, and it was lost to editing, or Amy neglected to present data. Either way, it seems a shame that the readers of Discover would be denied the opportunity to learn about Yasko's miraculous concoctions. After all, these products are recommended for more than just autism. These drops, along with Amy's signature "integrity, kindness and passion" can be formulated to treat a variety of disorders.

Too good to be true you say? Don't take my word for it.

Longevity Plus RNA with "Stem cell like properties"

Hmm, I wonder which properties are shared with stem cells. Anyway, let's suppose I am suffering from "impulsivity and motor restlessness that can result in hostile, injurious or destructive behavior." Gotcha covered. Simply reach for a bottle of Aggression Support NutriSwitch Formula. Sounds like it might support my aggression issues but what if I have a problem with my ammonia levels. Maybe I've downed a bottle of Windex and need to knock those NH3 levels back a smidge. No problem: Ammonia Support NutriSwitch Formula - Helps to support healthy ammonia levels.

Whether you are dealing apraxia, anxiety, behavior, bones, bowels, breasts, etc., there's a formula for you. Funny thing is, the ingredients look strikingly similar for each formulation.

Proprietary Blend of Nucleotides (Saccharomyces cerevisiae,
cytidine-5'-monophosphate, adenosine-5'-monophosphate,
guanosine-5'-monophosphate)
5 mcg

I guess the trick is in how it's blended. Since anyone can purchase these wonder drugs online, I would imagine it's important to make sure you don't mix up your "Organ Support" bottle with your "Prostate PLUS Nutriswitch formula" or confuse your "Stomach pH balancing" formula with the "Topical Skin Cosmetic" drops. Things could go horribly wrong, or not.

Don't worry though, the bottles are clearly labeled and come with the warning:

Warning: Keep out of the reach of children. Do not take if pregnant or nursing without first consulting a health care professional.

Because you don't want your toddlers chugging a bottle containing a whole 5 micrograms of yeast nucleotides. Not at $75 a pop at least.

So I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to Dr. Amy and any readers who may have been offended by my earlier Amy Yasko blog posts. It's clear to me now that "Not only is she helping children heal, she is doing it with integrity, kindness and passion."

That's the real story, isn't it? Maybe Discover will do a hard hitting follow-up article called 'The Scientist Behind RNA Science: Dr. Amy Yasko'

Hooray!

Real Mercury Intoxication: A Case Report

2007-03-07T07:36:00.000-08:00

I came across this case report last night and thought it might be informative to compare the clinical symptoms of actual mercury toxicity in a child to the symptoms of autism and certain claims made by supporters of the autism = mercury poisoning hypothesis.

The first thing I noticed is that this report comes from Israel so I'm assuming that the child and her family also reside in Israel. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that the authors were able to identify the source of the child's exposure to mercury so we will need to allow for several possibilities including thimerosal in vaccines, fish consumption, or any number of other routes of exposure. We should also acknowledge that different chemical forms of mercury may result in different rates of uptake and organ distribution and/or accumulation in the brain as well as differences in neurological symptoms.

Evidence of mercury exposure, by elevated urinary
mercury levels, was also detected in two of her siblings
(24.9 μ/g creatinine, 22.2 μg/g creatinine, respectively),
though none was symptomatic, and, therefore, they
were not treated. Both parents and representative neighbors had
normal urine mercury concentrations. A detailed epidemiological
investigation revealed no source for the mercury intoxication.

With that said, the symptoms observed and reported here more closely resemble classical symptoms of mercury intoxication than anything observed in autistic children.

Now I suppose it's possible that a 'Novel form of mercury poisoning' might not include obvious symptoms like; hypertension, anorexia and vomiting, and acrodynia, and some will no doubt argue personality change, restlessness and insomnia are consistent with autism, but why is this case reported as mercury intoxication and not autism? If autism is truly a common misdiagnosis for mercury poisoning, as JB Handley likes to claim, how is it that the treating physicians avoided that pitfall? How did these medical professionals arrive at a diagnosis of mercury intoxication when so many of their peers more often mistake these symptoms for autism?

From the case report:

The patient was a 2-year-old girl who presented to the
emergency department with anorexia and vomiting, restlessness,
insomnia, and pain in the extremities that had
lasted for 5 weeks. Physical examination revealed an
irritable child, with hypertension (blood pressure 145/
98 mmHg upon arrival) and red, swollen palms that the
child scratched and pulled at endlessly.

So it was pretty clear that something was wrong here. The child didn't suddenly retreat into a world of her own, lose speech, or exhibit any of the hallmarks of autism. She exhibited signs that seem consistent with some sort of toxic exposure. The ER doctors didn't immediately suspect mercury poisoning but they also didn't see any reason to suspect or rule out autism.

So what lead them to suspect mercury toxicity?

Mercury intoxication was suspected, due to hypertension
and acrodynia, along with increased urinary catecholamines
levels. This diagnosis was confirmed by elevated urine
mercury concentration (33.2 μg/g creatinine) despite a normal
serum level (>0.5 μg/dl, reference value 0–4 μg/dl). Owing to
enuresis, mercury was measured in a urinary spot and not as a
24-h urine collection.

It wasn't revealed by a blood test but urine levels were high enough to make the diagnosis. High enough, I might point out, that they didn't need to rely on dubious labs or DMSA provocation to amplify the signal. This brings me to an extremely interesting section of the paper. When the patient arrived, urinary mercury levels were 33.2 μg per gram of creatinine. After seven days of oral chelation therapy with DMSA, levels rose to 47.7 μg/g, followed by 87.9 μg/g after 25 days of chelation. And, as the authors report; "Following a 1-month course of oral treatment with dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) the child’s symptoms and signs resolved." So it would appear that chelation therapy was effective, in this case, and the symptoms that brought the child to the ER in the first place were resolved.

After three months of oral DMSA mercury levels dropped to 6.3 μg/g and below detectable levels after one year follow-up. Either this child was a much better 'excretor' than most of the autistic children who undergo chelation therapy or these doctors weren't familiar with Rashid Buttar's patent applied for transdermal chelator guaranteed to work in 2 years or, well -- not your money back, I guess, -- but some sort of guarantee, express or implied.

Something else that caught my attention here is the marked elevation of catecholamines and the authors' suggestion that "Catecholamines may serve as a surrogate marker for the success of treatment." (Look for this on future lab panels from the leading mail order autism labs.)

Here they explain possible reasons for catecholamine elevation:

Mercury inhibits the enzyme catecholamine-O-methyltransferase
(COMT) by directly inactivating its coenzyme Sadenosylmethionine
(SAM). COMT is the key enzyme in
the catabolization of catecholamines. SAM is also directly
involved in the conversion of norepinephrine to epinephrine.
As a result of inactivation of the enzyme by mercury,
norepinephrine, dopamine and epinephrine accumulate and
are responsible for the pheochromocytoma-like syndrome
[1]. As has been demonstrated in our patient, catecholamines
levels decreased in parallel with clinical improvement
following the initiation of DMSA

In this particular case, Urinary Homovanillic acid was elevated and Epinephrine was mildly elevated and both returned to normal following chelation therapy. Urine Dopamine and especially Norepinephrine levels were extremely high as one might expect in a case of genuine mercury toxicity. Possible SAM inactivation by thimerosal has been suggested as one mechanism whereby thimerosal may cause or contribute to autism and certain genetic polymorphisms including COMT may be associated with autism. If that's true and catecholamine levels can be used to indicate COMT activity and mercury exposure, maybe we should look at urinary catecholamine levels in autism.

J Autism Dev Disord. 1988 Dec;18(4):583-91.

Urinary free and conjugated catecholamines and metabolites in autistic children.
Barthelemy C, Bruneau N, Cottet-Eymard JM, Domenech-Jouve J, Garreau B, Lelord G, Muh JP, Peyrin L.
Service d'Explorations Fonctionnelles Psychopathologiques, INSERM U316, C.H.U., Bretonneau, Tours, France.

Urinary catecholamines (DA, NE, E) and their main metabolites (HVA, DOPAC, MHPG) were analyzed both as free and conjugates in eight children diagnosed as autistic according to DSM-III criteria and eight normal children. Significant differences appeared for the urinary excretion of both DA and NE and their respective metabolites: Autistic children showed low DA, high HVA, high NE, low MHPG urinary levels. These results are consistent with previous findings on altered catecholamine metabolism in autistic children. They suggest that autistic behaviors might be related to an abnormal functional imbalance among monoamines either at a molecular level or at a system level. Furthermore, they emphasize the special interest of urinary assays in pediatric research.

So low dopamine, elevated HVA, and high norepinephrine in this one. At least two other studies report high HVA so we'll have to score that as consistent with the mercury hypothesis. However, most studies report either a decrease in dopamine and norepinephrine or no significant differences between the ASD and control groups.

Encephale. 1989 Mar-Apr;15(2):255-62.

[Disorders of catecholamine metabolism in infantile autism. Comparative study of 22 autistic children]
[Article in French]
Ferrari P, Bursztejn C, Dreux C,
Braconnier A, Zarifian E, Lancrenon S, Fermanian J.
Service de Psychotherapie de l'Enfant et de l'Adolescent, Hopital Robert Debre, Reims.
In a group of 22 autistic children aged 5 to 16 y., and a group of normal controls matched for age and sex, catecholamines metabolism has been investigated in plasma, platelets and urine. This investigation was part of a research project in which several biological parameters (including serotonin) were simultaneously explored in the same children. In the autistic group, epinephrine and norepinephrine and dopamine were significantly lower in isolated platelets, and no significant difference was found between the two groups for the urinary excretion of epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, DOPAC and MHPG. Other differences between the two groups in the statistical correlations of several biochemical parameters (plasma norepinephrine and dopamine with platelet MAO activity, platelet norepinephrine with platelet dopamine, platelet dopamine, platelet dopamine with platelet serotonin) also suggest abnormalities of bioamine metabolism in the platelets of autistic children.

From what I can find, nothing suggests significantly elevated urinary catecholamine levels in autistic subjects and most of the literature reports decreased dopamine levels. If anyone can locate something to suggest elevated urine catecholamine concentrations associated with autism please post a link in the comments section.
Whether or not urinary catecholamine levels can be used to determine possible mercury toxicity, they don't appear to be useful as markers for determining autism. Just one more example of how very different real mercury poisoning is from autism.

A Picture Is Worth

2007-01-24T05:37:00.000-08:00

One thousand words

Ice Sculpture. Canadian photographer Michael Moon, diagnosed with autism, feels that his autism enhances his sensory experiences. He notes that his photographs show society there are "other ways of being in and seeing the world" and that his autism "just gives me a different perspective on things." — J. Lynn Fraser, freelance writer, Toronto, Ont. Photo by: Michael Moon

edit: More about Michael Moon and his art here

The Kirby Crapper Zapper

2007-01-17T05:09:00.000-08:00

Is your household plagued by rivers of diarrhea? Are you menaced by toxic plumes, lingering odors of forest fires or last week's Chinese take-out. Do you search and search for the source of that mystery odor even in the absence of evidence?

Well fear no more, I bring you the solution to your multiple malodorous maladies.

The Kirby Crapper Zapper

That's right folks. This revolutionary product will neutralize odors ranging from 'Something Rotten in Denmark' to good old fashioned bullshit.

Here's what the press has to say about this easy to install product:

HUNTINGTON -- When David Kirby didn't like the smell in a bathroom at a country club in Naples three years ago, he decided to do something about it and maybe make a tidy profit."They didn't have a bathroom fan. It ran me out of the room," Kirby said. "I thought, man, that is just nasty."

I know how you feel David.

Kirby claims the filter also captures bacteria with a zeolite filter, though some local experts remain skeptical of this claim. Some analysis was performed on the system at Microbiological Consultants Inc. in Huntington but no definitive studies were done there to confirm these claims, said Dr. Frank L. Binder, vice president of Microbiological Consultants Inc.

There will always be skeptics. Can't they see this is real science? Who you going to believe, a small group of skeptics who want you to suffer with bathroom odors or Dr. Frank L. Binder? The man is a doctor, OK?

Not only does zeolite capture and neutralize offending odors and the bacteria that cause them, Zeolite can actually trap toxic metals and chemicals and maybe even a few unsuspecting parents.

So the next time you hear evidence that doesn't smell quite right, don't take it sitting down. Tell them to put a lid on it and flush your troubles away. For a limited time each edition will be signed by David Kirby himself.

$789.00 Built to order
Signed by the inventor
Fill out the form below to find out how you can purchase your own Crapper Zapper.100% odorless Bathroom Guarantee!

Oh, and if you run out of toilet paper I hear Evidence Of Harm is now available in paperback

Hands

2006-12-27T07:54:00.000-08:00

Lot's of them.

Thousand-Hand Guan Yin

There is a phenomenon sweeping through Asia which is stillrelatively unknown in the West. We were privileged to see it in our trip toTaiwan. It is a stunning stage performance called Thousand-Hand GuanYin.About Guan YinGuan Yin is the bodhisattva of compassion, revered byBuddhists as the Goddess of Mercy. Her name is short for Guan Shi Yin. Guanmeans to observe, watch, or monitor; Shi means the world; Yin means sounds,specifically sounds of those who suffer. Thus, Guan Yin is a compassionate beingwho watches for, and responds to, the people in the world who cry out forhelp.Bodhi means wisdom or enlightenment; sattva means being or essence. Putthe two together and you get bodhisattva, a being who is enlightened and readyto transcend the cycles of birth and death, but chooses to return to thematerial world in order to help other people reach the same level ofenlightenment. This is the ultimate demonstration of pure compassion

JB Handley Claiming Absence of Proof of Lack of Evidence

2006-12-12T07:51:00.000-08:00

UPI's crack investigative reporter, Dan Olmsted, has turned up yet another shocking confirmation that US Government officials knew even less than we were lead to believe when they recommended that thimerosal be removed from vaccines even though there was no evidence linking the use of thimerosal in vaccines with autism. Got that?

In other words:

"How can health authorities, with a straight face, claim they have any evidence proving no connection after this report?" asked J.B. Handley, co-founder of Generation Rescue, an advocacy group that believes autism is essentially mercury poisoning by another name.
"This is analogous to our government not finding WMD in Iraq after reassuring the world they would. It's a loss of credibility, and we are back at square one."

An apt analogy indeed, JB, but it works better when your organization, Generation Rescue, and the other Mercury=Autism groups assume the role of the entity making unsubstantiated claims.

You see, our government hasn't claimed to have evidence proving no connection as you've so eloquently stated. As near as I can tell, the bulk of these claims originate elsewhere and the burden of evidence belongs to those making the claims. The government has stated, after listening to testimony from the likes of Bradstreet and Geier, that there is little scientific evidence to support a connection. A sentiment you've echoed if I'm not mistaken.

"But, here's a dose of reality:- We have no science that clearly proves autism is caused by mercury- We have no science that proves children recover from autism by having mercury removed from their bodies- We have no clear data today that shows that the removal of Thimerosal has ended the autism epidemic."

Applying the same level of proof to the WMD scenario, we are forced to admit that we were misled and the evidence was exaggerated or possibly even fabricated. Sound familiar?

At this point, JB, surely you must realize you were wrong about the idea of autism being a misdiagnosis for mercury poisoning, or at least you must realize that thimerosal hasn't precipitated an autism epidemic as evidenced by plummeting autism rates in line with thimerosal reductions. Surely you must realize that the damning evidence you've promised will be just around the corner, hasn't materialized and probably never will. Unless you can produce some sort of evidence, it's your loss of credibility, and you are behind square one.

I'm left wondering if your role in this debate has more to do with your inherent tenacity and inability to admit your own fallibility over your desire to actually help your son or other autistic children. I do believe you started out with the best of intentions- genuine belief your child was injured, wishing to protect other innocent victims, all noble intents - but possibly it became more important to save face and justify your actions.

I understand you are expecting another child. Congratulations. I sincerely hope your baby will be healthy and happy in every way possible and I hope your security in your beliefs will allow you the comfort of knowing that your next child is guaranteed to be non-autistic. Speaking from experience I know this makes it a lot easier to enjoy those baby years without the constant worrying and watching for every little quirky behavior. Of course I now realize that I was wrong but I'm still grateful to have enjoyed the insulation of denial, but what a difference a few years can make.

Here's a question I'd like you to answer in another two years: Can you keep a straight face while maintaining your position that thimerosal causes autism and chelation will reverse it?

Thimerosal induces TH2 responses

2006-11-14T07:06:00.000-08:00

Yeah, So? Is that supposed to tie thimerosal to the development of autism? Let's take a look.

Thimerosal induces TH2 responses via influencing cytokine
secretion by human dendritic cells
Anshu Agrawal,1 Poonam Kaushal, Sudhanshu Agrawal, Sastry Gollapudi, and Sudhir Gupta
Division of Basic and Clinical Immunology, University of California, Irvine, California, USA

First let's ask why was this study was done and what were the authors attempting to determine.

Recent studies have shown a TH2-skewing effect of mercury, although
the underlying mechanisms have not been identified.

From this we can gather that the main thrust of this study will be to identify the molecular mechanisms of mercury's ability to shift host immune response toward a TH2 bias. Hey, cool. Pure science. What does this have to do with autism? Maybe nothing. Who said this had anything to do with autism?

There is an increasing concern about association between the exposure to mercury (via vaccination) and the development of neurodevelopmental disorders, especially autism and learning disabilities.

The authors are just sensitive to increasing public concern. Since thimerosal has long been removed from the pediatric vaccine schedule with no apparent impact on the rates of autism or neurodevelopmental delay, the authors are probably interested in the potential effects on the immune system for reasons unrelated to autism, right?

The majority of the studies is directed toward understanding the neurotoxic
effect of Thimerosal, and few studies deal with its effect on the immune system.

The authors correctly point out that different mercury compounds will differently effect immune response, depending on the parameters of the experiment and which markers are measured. That's a very good reminder that mercury is not synonymous or interchangeable with mercury compounds. Mercury is an element and forms chemical compounds with other elements. The physical, chemical, and biological properties of every chemical compound are unique though sometimes similar to other compounds.

The different forms of mercury differ in the type and range of
immune disorders, and ethylmercury (thimerosal) and inorganic
mercury are similar in that they cause systemic autoimmunity,
characterized by a marked increase of IgE and systemic
immune-complex deposits [16, 17]. Antifibrillarin autoantibodies
(AFA) and maximum levels of serum IgE are
present as early as 10 days after exposure to ethylmercury in
the mice [16]. Similar to the autoimmune disease induced by
inorganic mercury, Thimerosal induced a distinctly increased
expression of IL-4 mRNA and a large increase in TH2-dependent,
Ig-secreting cells and serum Igs [18]. The increase in
IL-4 has been attributed to a direct induction of IL-4 gene
expression in lymphocytes by mercury [19]. Methylmercury,
conversely, induces only modest titers of AFA and none of the
above symptoms

OK, so if mercury, or more specifically thimerosal, somehow triggers autoimmunity which somehow triggers autism, we might expect to see elevated IgE, systemic immune-complex deposits, Antifibrillarin autoantibodies, and increased IL-4. Unfortunately these elevations aren't routinely detected in autistic patients. This hardly exonerates thimerosal but it doesn't exactly show clear cause and effect.

Back to the abstract we see that thimerosal does have some measurable effects on cytokine production as described here.

Thimerosal, in a concentration-dependent manner, inhibited the secretion of LPS induced proinflammatory cytokines TNFa IL-6, and IL-12p70 from human monocyte-derived DC.

Ah, I see. So if thimerosal is exerting these changes in living humans, maybe we'd see similar effects in children whose autism was presumably cause by thimerosal.

LPS is a substance derived from bacterial cell walls. When certain immune cells are cultured in a laboratory setting and exposed to bacterial endotoxin, measuring the provoked levels of cytokines offers an indication of how vigorous an immune response can be mounted. In the case of thimerosal (as described by these authors) there seems to be an inhibitory effect. In other words, a less robust immune response occurs following thimerosal exposure. One could say that it has a short term immunosuppressive effect. How does that compare with observations from other autism research?

ASD and NFH PBMCs produced higher levels of TNF-alpha with LPS than controls regardless of dietary interventions.

That's actually the opposite of what we would expect to see following thimerosal exposure. At least in regards to TNF-alpha release.

With lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a stimulant for innate immunity, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 59/71 (83.1%) ASD patients produced >2 SD above the control mean (CM) values of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and/or IL-6 produced by control PBMCs.

Again, LPS stimulation produced more, not less, TNF alpha and IL-6, in sharp contrast to effects produced by thimerosal. The authors of the study also noted that thimerosal had no effect on IL-10, a counter-regulatory cytokine, but other research suggests that IL-10 production is either inadequate or elevated in some autistic children, depending on the investigator and study.

Of course it's entirely possible that cytokine patterns might shift in the months or years following exposure but two polar opposite sets of effects don't strengthen the case for thimerosal induced immune dysregulation as a component of autism. It would be much easier to demonstrate a protective effect for thimerosal, assuming excessive immune responses contribute to the etiology of autism in some way.

These Thimerosal-exposed DC induced increased TH2 (IL-5 and IL-13) and decreased TH1 (IFN-) cytokine secretion from the T cells in the absence of additional Thimerosal added to the coculture.

The TH2 bias, as indicated by interleukins 5 and 13, is aggravated by thimerosal whereas the TH1 arm, as indicated by interferon gamma, is suppressed by thimerosal. How does that compare with levels reported by Cynthia Molloy's team? Not favorably I'm afraid.

Cases had significantly higher IL-13/IL-10 and IFN-gamma/IL-10 than controls. Conclusion: Children with ASD had increased activation of both Th2 and Th1 arms of the adaptive immune response, with a Th2 predominance, and without the compensatory increase in the regulatory cytokine IL-10.

The authors may feel they've demonstrated enhanced TH2 and suppressed TH1 type cytokines following thimerosal exposure but they've failed to show how this might correlate to immune response in autistic children or for that matter how immunity is connected to autistic behavior. This seems to be another example of a comparison between general and somewhat broad terms generously applied to two entirely separate conditions.

In a nutshell:

a) Some mercury compounds including thimerosal can induce an in vitro T-helper subset bias under certain conditions as measured by certain markers.

b) Some researchers have reported a TH-2 bias in the immune response of some autistic children.

c) Thimerosal is implicated in autism

On the surface this might seem to imply a relationship between thimerosal exposure and being autistic. If we scratch the surface and look at some of the details, we quickly realize that autism and exposing dendritic cells to mercury have very little in common.

This study differs from the previous DC/thimerosal study in cell lineage. The earlier study used DC's from mice and this one uses actual human cells. It should be noted that the cells were collected from non-autistic donors and immune response was not compared to that of ASD dendritic cells. In other words they didn't look for or observe aberrant immune function in ASD donors as compared to the control group. There was essentially one group divide in to thimerosal exposed or non-exposed dendritic cells.

One other important, if not ground breaking, result from this study. Thimerosal depletes intracellular glutathione levels and exogenous GSH (glutathione added to the matrix) protected cells from depletion and pro-inflammatory cytokine production was restored. So adding glutathione, something our own cells make in abundance, effectively tied up thimerosal and neutralized the immune suppressive and toxic effects. A predictable and utterly unremarkable result.

If excess inflammatory response does contribute to autism, as many have suggested, it's difficult to make a case for thimerosal as a causative agent on the basis of this kind of experiment. As a matter of fact it could more easily be interpreted in the opposite way.

I'm certain this will be lined up with several other studies to show that thimerosal can be toxic, it may exert undesirable or unanticipated effects on the immune system, and that it should be removed from vaccines as soon as possible. Believe it or not I don't disagree. I also agree that we need to limit release and exposure to industrial pollutants, find ways to responsibly dispose of cellphone and iPod batteries, restrict coal burning power plant emissions, or limit childhood television viewing. Those really aren't the issues though, are they.

Lately autism has been thrown in with any number of maladies wherever it seems necessary to appeal to public emotion. For all I know it's already being used to call for reductions of greenhouse gasses because autism is caused by global warming. Is it because autistics can be less capable or less inclined to object?

As long as autism is presented as a terrible disease, a fate worse than death, and something that can be cured through detoxification and/or chelation, what should we expect?

As long as we allow or encourage a lesser burden of proof, autism will continue to be an easy target for anyone with an agenda to promote.

Put that in your pipette and titrate it.