FEAT DAILY NEWSLETTER      Sacramento, California http://www.feat.org

December 24, 2001        News Morgue Search  www.feat.org/search/news.asp

RESEARCH

·        Abnormalities Seen in Brains of People with Autism

PUBLIC HEALTH

·        Mystery Grows Over Blair MMR Jab: Paper Says Leo Not Vaccinated

·        US Press: Tony Blair’s Son in Vaccine Debate

·        Reader’s Posts

·        Some Holiday Praise

Abnormalities Seen in Brains of People with Autism

[By Merritt McKinney, Reuters Health.]

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011224/hl/autism_brain_1.html

A brain pathway that regulates neurons in the brain may be disturbed

in people with autism, Maryland researchers report.

The findings do not prove that the abnormalities cause autism, the

study’s lead author told Reuters Health. But the identification of the

abnormalities at least gives scientists a pathway to focus on as they

investigate possible causes of autism, according to Dr. Jonathan Pevsner at

the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore,

Maryland.

Autism is “extremely common,” Pevsner said, affecting about 1 out of

every 500 children. The disorder is thought to be genetic, but no one has

identified any responsible genes yet, the researcher added.

To see whether they could detect any brain abnormalities on the

molecular level, Pevsner and his colleagues used technology called

microarrays to examine the brains of 10 people with autism who died and a

“control” group of 23 people who did not have the disorder. Their findings

were published in the journal Neurology.

Using microarrays, which make it possible to view thousands of genes

at once on a glass microscope slide, scientists can tell which genes are

expressed, or turned on, in a sample of tissue. In this study, the researchers studied the expression of more than 9,000 genes in the cerebellum, a part of the brain known to be affected by autism.

“There are some consistent, dramatic differences” between the brains

of autistic people and the control group, Pevsner said.

Pevsner’s team found that the pathway for the brain chemical glutamate

was disturbed in the brains of people with autism. Glutamate, a

neurotransmitter, helps different parts of the brain communicate with one

other. The chemical tells neurons when “to fire,” Pevsner explained.

It is too early to know whether these changes are a cause of autism or

are instead a result of something else, such as seizures, according to

Pevsner. He noted that several of the patients in the study had a history of

seizures. However, Pevsner said he and his colleagues did not detect a link

between the seizures and the brain abnormalities, Pevsner said.

The investigators plan to continue studying the glutamate pathway to

get a better understanding of its potential role in autism. Of interest to

the researchers, Pevsner said, is “whether there are drugs that affect the

function of this pathway.”

SOURCE: Neurology 2001;57:1618-1628.

* * *

Mystery Grows Over Blair MMR Jab: Paper Says Leo Not Yet Vaccinated He has a cold, it is reported.

[This story has grabbed the headlines of the UK Press over the weekend

and will spill over the holiday as well, according to this report.  No

matter how the story ends up about Leo’s vaccination, this flap is giving

autism awareness a good shot in the ar.. . sorry.  AP finally breaks the

story the the US press. See following article.  Thanks to R. Miles. –LS By

Ben Leapman in This is London.] http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/dynamic/news/top_story.html?

The confusion over whether Tony Blair and his wife have had their son

inoculated with the MMR jab deepened today as No 10 refused to deny reports

they delayed giving Leo the injection.

According to the Sun today, the delay is because Leo, aged 18 months,

could not be given the jab safely because he was suffering a cold. Asked

about the report a Downing Street spokesman said the Prime Minister “chose

his words carefully” in his Saturday night statement, widely interpreted as

indicating Leo had the jab.

In fact, the statement only denied that Mr Blair and wife Cherie were

“deliberately refraining from giving our child the treatment because we know

it is dangerous”. But today’s words left open the possibility that the Sun

report may be accurate, and the feeling in Whitehall was No 10 had now ensured the speculation would continue over the Christmas holiday.

The Sun report also said Leo will have the injection when he is

completely free of the cold, but Downing Street refused to confirm or deny

this.

Doctors claimed the row over Leo’s injection has led to a growing

number of patients seeking alternatives to the mumps, measles and rubella

(MMR) vaccination, which some claim can lead to autism.

Government advice is that all children should be given the vaccine.

The Blairs have cited privacy concerns as their reason for refusing to

publish details of Leo’s medical record. No10’s statement from the Prime

Minister on Saturday said he and Cherie supported vaccination, and it was

“offensive beyond belief “ to suggest they were being hypocritical.

However, public health minister Yvette Cooper has made a point of saying her children had the MMR jab.

Opposition politicians are split on whether the Blairs should come

clean. Tory health spokesman Dr Liam Fox said that though Mr Blair was right

to keep family medical details private, the Prime Minister had wasted an

opportunity to reassure parents of the vaccine’s safety.

Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy said “the easiest thing would

just be to put the issue to rest” with a confirmation Leo has been

immunised. He appeared to contradict his health spokesman, Dr Evan Harris,

who said Mr Blair should resist calls to compromise his son’s privacy.

Dr Peter Mansfield, the Worcester GP who has championed single jabs,

today told BBC Radio 4: “The public are increasingly suspicious. The public

health community is trying to bully people. People are defecting in droves

from a policy which is flawed, not necessarily on the science but on its

ethics. Single vaccines make more sense because the diseases come singly.”

“If parents wish to go to the extra trouble of having it, there is no

reason why they shouldn’t. The end result is that everybody gets vaccinated;

at the moment the result is 80 per cent get vaccinated.”

Asked about the Blair family’s right to privacy, Dr Mansfield said:

“They stand in front of No10 holding the baby for photographs when it suits

them. I don’t see why they can necessarily duck out of all publicity when

they are prepared to use the children.”

But Dr Harris said: “We have a classic health scare situation. I think

there are some people who will never be satisfied. And at what price in terms of people’s privacy?.

“In this case, because I have seen the research and I know that MMR is

safe ... I think that it is absolutely right that the Government should give

out this message. And I don’t think that one should try and get a public

health message across by going into details of children of politicians.”

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* * *

AP: Tony Blair’s Son in Vaccine Debate

Britain’s Blair takes jabs over kid’s shots

[Story finally breaks into the US press with this piece by Polly

Stewart in The Associated Press / NY Times, and no doubt will be picked up

by other newspapers around the country.]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Britain-Blairs-Baby.html

Leo Blair doesn’t know he’s in the middle of a political tussle, but h

is dad the prime minister is seething at opposition lawmakers and media he

accuses of trying to invade the 19-month-old’s privacy.

Tony Blair lashed out over the weekend at critics demanding to know if

his youngest son has received a childhood immunization that some fear may be

linked to autism. The Blairs have always tried to protect the privacy of

their four children.

Blair refused to answer on the grounds it infringed his son’s privacy

as the issue rapidly dominated national news headlines. Several national

newspapers sharply criticized Blair for not answering the question.

But the prime minister did say he and his wife, Cherie, believe the

advice given to the government—that there is “overwhelming” evidence that

the combined measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine is safe. Britain’s

national health system recommends all children get the shot.

The vaccine is generally given to children at around age 2. At least

one study on the vaccine has linked it with an increase in the incidence of

autism, a severe neurological disorder.

Children with autism generally have difficulty communicating, may

become obsessed with repetitive motions, such as head rolling, and often are

intolerant of changes in their environment. They also may have learning difficulties.

In an April study, the U.S. Institute of Medicine, part of the

National Academy of Sciences, concluded that while “the evidence favors

rejection” of a connection to autism, it “does not exclude the possibility

that MMR vaccine could in rare cases contribute” to autism or related disorders in a small number of children.

In a statement, Blair said: “The suggestion that the government is

advising parents to have the MMR jab whilst we are deliberately refraining

from giving our child the treatment because we know it is dangerous, is offensive beyond belief.”

Blair said parents, including himself and his wife, did not have to

rely on the advice of the government’s chief medical officer alone about the

vaccine but could draw on the “overwhelming advice from virtually every

reputable independent source,” including the World Health Organization and

Britain’s Royal College of Pediatricians.

“They can rely also on the again overwhelming research that has found

the alleged link between autism and MMR to be unfounded,” he said.

Opposition Conservative lawmaker Julie Kirkbride, who challenged Blair

in Parliament over the issue, told the BBC: “We are politicians and we tell

the public what to do, and I think the public have a right to know whether

we apply those same standards in our own lives.”

* * *

Reader’s Posts

I live in Woodland Hills, Ca and have noticed a large population of ASD

children. Please e-mail me if you are interested in participating in a

epidemiological study - there is a environmental law suit going on in the

Looking for people to participate in a study who have at least 5 yrs

professional experience working with individuals with developmental

disabilities who display severe problem behaviors.  Your assistance is

needed to view and rate brief video clips.  Please go to

http://www.cofc.edu/~marcie/mmpage3.htm for instructions to download a

Anyone know where to get help for my autistic daughter Ciara who toe

I am now reading a book about Mozart Effect and considering that my son

Joshua undergo a kind of musical therapy. Can anybody who has information on

the musical therapy (mozart effect) contact me privately?  Debbie

FREE READER’S POSTS

For Individuals, organizations, non-commercial and commercial

Holiday Message to Readers

Family and Friends

Blessed are thou, to every mother and special child,

whose love brings forth peace and healing to the universe

Lenny Schafer

and Family

Lenny Schafer, Editor@feat.org  •  CALENDAR EVENTS@feat.org Michelle Guppy

Catherine Johnson PhD  •  Ron Sleith  •  Kay Stammers  •  Edward Decelie

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ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.