Autism–DAN Conference 2009
I'm in Chicago, home of the pizza lover, for the Autism One and DAN (Defeat Autism Now) conference. It's obvious from the choice of restaurants nearby that Italian food is the drug of choice in this neighborhood. Drug? Yes drug. We've been talking today about how gluten and casein can cause opiate-like compounds in the brain. Yes, if you are addicted to pizza, you are a druggie! But seriously, it is funny that this would be the place to bring people who need a gluten free, casein free (GF/CF) diet. Italian food is great but....
Do you know the difference between the U.S. and Italy? In Italy every kid is tested for a gluten intolerance by the time they enter kindergarten. Here, parents struggle to find someone who knows how to test for gluten sensitivity/celiac disease, will think of it when the child has various health problems that could be could be related, and then will perform the test. In Italy, everyone knows about celiac. If you have a problem with gluten, you just order your food "senza glutine".
One disturbingly similar trend of the U.S. and Italy? Scientific studies designed to support the safety of vaccines. There is no doubt that kids are getting hurt from vaccines. Two of the doctors here speaking at the DAN conference have devoted their careers to treating autism after their own children suffered injuries and poor health following vaccinations. The question is: what is it about the vaccinations that is causing the disturbing 6000% increase in autism over the last 20 years?
The first idea: mercury in the vaccines. Above is a graph comparing mercury body burden from vaccines and autism rates. Clearly, there is a direct relationship. However, scientific studies disagree. You have to know, however, that studies are often flawed and designed to give a particular result. For instance, in one italian study, the amount of thimerisol (mercury) in the DPT vaccine was varied and given to different children who were then followed for effects of the varying amounts. No differences were seen between all the groups. However, these children received other vaccines during the study period and other exposures to mercury as well. To conclude that thimerisol in vaccines is safe from this study is ridiculous.
Environmental sources of mercury include more than just vaccinations. However, vaccinations are considered to be an especially dangerous exposure to mercury because the normal body defenses against heavy metals are bypassed by direct injection. In addition, the combined number of doses a child receives create a mercury exposure that exceeds the FDA safe limit for adults. People say that thimerisol has been taken out of vaccines. However, the flu vaccine and chicken pox vaccine are two which normally have thimerisol still in them.
Mercury (used as a preservative) interferes with enzymes needed to detoxify homocysteine. The problem is, aluminum also can interfere with this multi-step process, and some vaccines also contain aluminum. In addition, lead (Pb) interferes in homocysteine detoxification as well as other biochemical processes. Lead is not in vaccines, but many environmental exposures exist: paint in children's toys, lead paint dust from window sills of older homes, and parental occupational exposure (in particular jet plane mechanics and workers who handle electronic components in the semiconductor industry--this is especially important as the rates of autism among children of computer engineers far exceeds other careers). The combined effect of these heavy metal exposures makes it possible that a child can be pushed over the edge by one more metal exposure--most often noted after a vaccination.
We've also been talking at the conference about the immune system. "Greening our Vaccines" (a campaign to take the toxins out of vaccines) will not be enough if the number of vaccines before age 2 stays as high as it is. The immune system is learning during the first two years, and we are pushing the immune system towards one type of immunity with vaccinations. This skewing of the immune system is thought to be a factor in asthma, allergies, and other chronic illnesses.
But enough science! The Autism One conference is a great place to learn about behavioral therapies as well as biomedical. I've met alot of people--parents of kids on the autism spectrum, a couple of recovered autistic people, and some big players in the autism controversies. I met Jenny McCarthy and told her about the Autism Family Retreat Camp I am organizing this summer with various professionals in the autism community. Hopefully, someone will be able to get a scholarship to the camp from Jenny's Generation Rescue organization. Through Generation Rescue, moms can get financial help to attend autism conferences and events.
One thing was made very clear to me at this conference: the search for information on autism treatments can be overwhelming to a parent. Because of the controversial nature of many ideas and treatments for autism, parents can get overwhelmed and try to get the best of care by going with whatever doctor is recommended by another parent. While recommendations are a good idea, sometimes this can mean that the parents fly halfway across country to get to the one doc a parent has heard about.
It doesn't have to be that difficult. All DAN (Defeat Autism Now) certified doctors have been trained in the latest biomedical approaches and have knowledge on how to include this into a well-rounded treatment plan. To find a doctor, go to www.autism.com. To find a doctor in Vancouver, Wa or Longview, WA, just come to my office! I am DAN certified and hold a very strong interest in getting your child well! View my previous posts to see another one on autism and my special interest in it.
