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February 12, 2002        News Morgue Search  www.feat.org/search/news.asp

CARE

·        Autistic Child Found at Pompano Beach, Florida

 

RESEARCH

More From the British Press

·        What Wakefield is Doing Is Unforgivable

·        MMR Contains Same Strains of Virus As In The Single Vaccines

·        New Research on Autism And Measles “Proves Nothing”

·        What it DOES Prove

·        Repligen Does the Research

 

American Press Starts to Cover MMR - Vaccine Controversy in UK

·        NYTimes: Britain Tries to Quell Fear Over Vaccine for Children

·        Wash. Post: New Measles Cases in Britain Add to Concern Over Vaccine

·        S. Florida Sun-Sentinel: Is There A Link Between Vaccines And Autism?

·        Reader’s Posts

 

 

Autistic Child Found at Pompano Beach

[This report is combined from articles from WPLG and the Miami

Herald.]

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/wplg/20020211/lo/1073947_1.html

and http://www.miami.com/mld/miami/news/local/2646219.htm

Dive teams have found the body of a five-year old autistic boy in Pompano Beach, Florida missing since Sunday morning.

The boy’s body was in a canal near his home just before 9:00 a.m.

Monday morning.

The last time family members said they saw 5-year-old Jordan Payne, he was sleeping under a quilt during a weekend trip to his dad’s house.

Sunday, Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies and investigators in Pompano Beach spent the day searching for the autistic boy who cannot speak and needs to take medication to keep him from having seizures.

His great-grandmother, Willa Richardson, 73, said she checked on him around 11 p.m. Saturday and he was asleep.

Jordan’s dad, Tommie Payne, who lives with Richardson, said the boy wasn’t there Sunday morning when he went to wake him.

The search stretched at least six square miles. Six search dogs roamed the area, divers probed a nearby waterway and a helicopter flew over the Canal Pointe neighborhood in Pompano Beach. Automated telephone calls went out alerting neighbors that a child had disappeared. Deputies passed out fliers door-to-door and in the street. Police continued to search through the night.

Jordan, who would have been six next month, sometimes wandered out the front door, his parents said. But he didn’t usually go far.

Jordan’s mother, Zola Hayes, is separated from Payne. She dropped the boy off Saturday to spend the night with his dad and other family members at the home in the 1500 block of Northwest Seventh Terrace.

Family members told police Jordan went to bed around 9 p.m. Saturday and that his great-grandmother checked on him and his three cousins around 11.

Payne woke up around 8 a.m. Sunday and went to wake Jordan to give him his medicine and breakfast.

He wasn’t in bed. A search of the house, regular hiding places and neighborhood didn’t turn him up either. The family notified police shortly before 10 a.m.

* * *

 

More From the British Press

What Wakefield is Doing Is Unforgivable

MMR Row Putting Young Lives At Risk.

 

[By Bill Greig in the Express on Sunday, UK. There is a perjorative

characterization made of an autism mother. The Express is considered a

tabloid, crude British newspaper, which makes it indistinct in the opinion

of some American news trackers. -LS.]

http://www.express.co.uk/

The row over the MMR vaccine is one of the most disgraceful I can remember in my many years of writing about British politics.

Stand condemned Dr Wakefield, whose stubborn one-man campaign will probably lead to the deaths or handicapping of dozens of children and will not stop one child from becoming autistic.

Meanwhile, many parents are charging lemming-like towards a return to the dark ages, preferring to believe the myths of the scaremongers rather than the scientists who, no doubt, are going to be the next target for the antieverything anarchists.

Why am I so certain that Wakefield is wrong? Because I have just spent a week tracking down studies from around the world, which all come to the conclusion that there no link between the vaccine and autism.

And the important point about Wakefield’s own studies is that he has been unable to prove a link either. Even when his original study - carried out on only 12 patients - was published in The Lancet, that publication carried an editorial which effectively dismissed his claims.

But, of course, parents are bound to be deeply concerned about something which they think could harm their children so all it requires is Wakefield and a few fellow travellers to sow doubt and the result is near panic.

What Wakefield is doing is unforgivable. In the absence of scientific proof, he keeps pushing a theory which none of his peers believe has any scientific basis.

Last week on radio, I heard an idiot of a woman make the claim that the circumstantial evidence for a link between the vaccine and autism was overwhelming.

That is a lie. There is a small group of parents who believe that their children only became autistic after receiving the MMR vaccination.  They are entitled to make that claim - to watch a healthy child become autistic must be utterly awful.

Autism is definitely increasing in America, say the MMR critics.

This is usually based on a raw Californian census which appears to

show a 300 per cent increase in the number of autistic children.

But the figures were not balanced. They did not take into account a 25 per cent increase in the population over the same period, or population movement or a simple fact that it was known parents of autistic children were, in fact, moving from adjoining states to receive treatment for them in Californian centres.

More importantly, even if the Californian figures were correct and MMR was to blame, the increase in vaccinations should have paralleled the increase in autism, but immunisation had only gone up by 14 per cent.

Of course, argue the critics, looking for another conspiracy theory, the drug companies and doctors are closely linked. Even if this was the case, the problem is that the drug companies would make more money from single vaccines than the three-in-one MMR so if they are backing the latter they are not doing it to boost their profits.

Just as dangerous as the anti brigade are those like Tory health spokesman Dr Liam Fox, who argue that because parents are concerned, the Government should make the single vaccine available.

The antis would immediately claim that this was proof the Government had doubts too.

This should be a non-political issue. All the parties should unite and back proven science against backwoods mumbo-jumbo. If not, then children’s lives will be lost.

 

 

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* * *

 

MMR Contains Same Strains of Virus As In The Single Vaccines

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,7-204458,00.html

In cold scientific terms, the Government has a compelling case for saying that the MMR jab is safe. It was introduced in Britain in 1988 and is used in at least 30 countries, including the US and Canada. Five hundred million doses have been administered worldwide and countries that support it have seen the three diseases almost eradicated.

The South London outbreak, where vaccination levels have fallen to 73 per cent (the World Health Organisation says a level of 95 per cent is required to prevent epidemics) shows that vaccination succeeds in keeping the diseases at bay. But there are thought to be 1,000 families who believe that the vaccine has damaged their children.

The MMR jab in Britain and America is manufactured as MMR II by the pharmaceutical giant Merck. It comprises three live attenuated viruses.  “Attenuated” means the vaccine contains small portions of viruses of measles (Edmonston strain), mumps (Jeryl Lynn) and rubella (RA27/3). The dangerous segments of the viruses have been removed, leaving enough biological material to tutor a child’s immune system to recognise the whole virus but not enough to cause disease. When a child encounters one of them, the immune system, primed by the jab, can recognise it and produce antibodies to kill it. The vaccine is administered in two stages: an injection at age 12 to 15 months and a booster before a child joins school.

The vaccine is not advised for those with “impaired immunity” or a history of allergy to vaccines or egg. Listed adverse reactions for those who have the vaccine include malaise, rash, fever and nausea. Those, say doctors, are nothing compared with the consequences of, say, measles, which causes the deadly brain disease encephalitis in one in 1,000 children.

What about the main voice behind concerns, Dr Andrew Wakefield, a consultant gastroenterologist? He left the Royal Free Hospital in North London by mutual agreement last year, and is now at the International Child Development Resource Centre in Florida. He published a paper in The Lancet in 1988, looking at 12 patients with bowel disorders. Nine were later diagnosed with autism; all but one had been given the MMR jab (one had caught measles). Wakefield contends that the MMR triggers a bowel disease in some children: toxins can leak from the gut into the bloodstream, which subsequently impedes brain development. Hence his call for single vaccines to be available.

But Wakefield’s research papers show no clear link. For example, a research paper to appear in the April issue of the journal Molecular Pathology shows that among 91 children with developmental disorders and bowel disease, 75 had the measles virus in intestinal (gut) tissue. Of 70 healthy children, only five had the measles virus in their gut. Wakefield supplied the tissue and is listed as a co-author.

Yet the researchers did not look to see which of the children had been given MMR (Wakefield said later that most children had been given it but several had had the single measles vaccine, which implies that single vaccines may be just as risky for vulnerable children.) Neither did they seek to establish whether the measles strain found in the gut tissue of affected children matched those in the vaccine, which would be a vital piece of scientific evidence.

Professor John O’Leary, a molecular pathologist in Dublin who co-authored the paper, said: “I stand by the findings of our research, which raises many questions about whether measles virus has a role in bowel inflammation in developmental disorder. But the research did not set out to investigate the role of MMR in the development of either bowel disease or developmental disorder, and no conclusions about such a role could, or should be, drawn from our findings.”

The editors of the journal added: “The paper did not set out to investigate the role of MMR in developmental disorders or bowel disease, and no role for MMR is suggested in it.”

* * *

 

New Research on Autism And Measles “Proves Nothing”

[By Lynn Eaton, BMJ.]

http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/324/7333/315/a?view=full&pmid=11834548

Controversial new research showing that many children with both autism and bowel disease have the measles virus in their intestinal tissue has fuelled further debate over the possible link between the illness and the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine <<...>> although no such link is proved in the research.

The paper, to be published shortly by the specialist journal Molecular Pathology (which is co-owned by the BMJ Publishing Group) and already available on its website (<http://mp.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/54/6/DC1>), was highlighted by a television programme (Panorama, BBC1, 3 Feb) on the safety of the MMR vaccine.

It looked at tissue samples of 91 children from the Royal Free Hospital, London, who had both autism and inflammatory bowel disease.  Seventy five of the samples tested positive for the presence of measles virus in intestinal tissue, compared with five of 70 controls.

Professor John O’Leary, of the department of pathology at Coombe Women’s Hospital, Dublin, who undertook the analysis, emphasised that the results did not prove that any of the children acquired their condition as a result of being vaccinated.

“You can’t say at the moment that it is linked to the vaccine,” he said. “There are several strains of the virus out there. They could have picked it up from the wild virus.”  But he thought it unlikely that parents would have missed measles symptoms in their child. “A measles rash is pretty classic,” he said. “The child is irritable and gets a fever. The parents would probably have spotted that.”  He said the paper had been very carefully prepared, because this was such a major public health issue. “It is fair to say these children are not representative of autism per se,” he said. “It is a very distinctive subset. The important point we are trying to get across is that it is a biological association.”

Alan Morris, reader in the department of biological sciences, Warwick University, and author of the journal’s commentary on the paper, described it as “interesting.”  “The paper is technically good. The data look fine, but it is looking at an unusual subset of children and it proves nothing.  Its implications will only come out in the wash.”  But one of the paper’s authors, Dr Andrew Wakefield, a former senior lecturer at the Royal Free Hospital and the main advocate for a link between the MMR vaccine and autism (Lancet 1998;351:637-41[Medline]

</cgi/external_ref?access_num=9500320&link_type=MED>), said the study raised important questions.

“We don’t know whether it is the vaccine strain or not,” he admitted, “but these children’s only exposure has been to the vaccine strain. None of them had a history of measles. It takes the science to an entirely new level.”

Dr Wakefield worked at the Royal Free Hospital, where the samples came from, until last November, when he was told that his research was “no longer in line with the department of medicine’s research strategy.”

* * *

 

What it DOES Prove

http://bmj.com/cgi/eletters/324/7333/315/a#19463

The response I have read proves one thing. The status quo is being defended “at all odds” while kids continue to be adversely affected by something which no-one is prepared to look into seriously. Most of the responses to Wakefield’s work and his potentially alarming findings has been a rather shameful reactive and data-fudging repetitive reassertion of “It is all OK “ when it clearly is not.

While it is equally clear that the majority do not get adversely affected, until we know what it is about the subgroup who do report time-associated reactions, it surely behoves the companies who make these vaccines or the governments who advocate them in such a fear-engendering way, to respond with research designed to find out why. Otherwise the charge that all is directed to protecting drug company profit will hang around.

My reading suggests that those with a family history of G-protein related diseases are more likely to react. Many of the patients I have, who complain of fundamental changes in their childrens character or of the onset of a condition classifiable as part of the autistic spectrum also report night blindess in one of the parents. This issue has already been addressed by Dr Mary Megson, but the association and its implications remains unaddressed by the research community unless I am mistaken.

The statisticians and vaccine advocates always seem to forget that

STATISTICS RELATING TO VACCINE SAFETY MEAN ABSOLUTLEY NOTHING when your

child is affected FOR LIFE. Until such independant rigourous and exhaustive research has been conducted into this issue along with other vaccine associated concerns I remain supportive of parents rights to decide whether or not to vaccinate their children.

Philip Stowell,   Brisbane, Australia.

GP and father of two boys

 

 

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* * *

 

American Press Starting to Cover MMR - Vaccine UK Controversy

NYTimes: Britain Tries to Quell Fear Over Vaccine for Children

[By Sarah Lyall.]

The British government is struggling to quell fears about a common childhood vaccine that increasing numbers of parents believe may be linked to autism, despite strong official assurances to the contrary.

At issue is the so-called MMR vaccine, which immunizes children against

measles, mumps and rubella, three potentially deadly diseases that were once

common and have been mostly wiped out. The government says that the vaccine,

which is administered in two doses, the first when babies are about 18

months old, is perfectly safe.

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/10/international/europe/10VACC.html

* * *

 

Wash. Post: New Measles Cases in Britain Add to Concern Over Vaccine

Inoculation Rate Declines as Study Stirs Parents’ Fears

[By T.R. Reid. Friday, February 8, 2002]

Public health officials reported a dozen new cases of measles this week as Britain’s latest health scare—this time focusing on a vaccine used in 90 countries around the world—prompted thousands of parents to refuse to allow their children to receive the recommended shot of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine.

Britain’s chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, warned today that the country faced a resurgence of the three childhood diseases, and Prime Minister Tony Blair accused the media of “totally irresponsible scaremongering” about the vaccine.

But parents continued to express doubt, and the vaccination rate in

some cities was falling sharply, the National Health Service said. Some

Britons are having their children vaccinated separately for each of the

diseases, a method they believe is safer but that the government calls less

effective.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42102-2002Feb7.html

* * *

 

South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Is There A Link Between Vaccines And Autism?

[Liz Doup.]

A few weeks after Steven Demos turned 1, his mother noticed a difference. He stopped looking her in the eye. He started flapping his arms.  Around 18 months, high-pitched screams replaced his words.

When Steven was 3, a neurologist diagnosed autism, a neurological disorder that severely affects a child’s ability to communicate and learn.

Now Steven is the subject of a lawsuit against the nation’s major vaccine manufacturers. His parents, Linda and Nick Demos of North Miami Beach, believe his autism is linked to vaccinations containing mercury.

The Demos family is hardly alone. A coalition of 35 law firms, headed

by a Portland, Ore., attorney, is currently handling lawsuits for about

1,000 families nationwide.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/sfl-livaccinefeb10.story

* * *

 

Repligen Does the Research

[A note on yesterday’s article on Secretin, “Secretin Takes Another Research Hit.”  One reader writes in to note that the study does not take into account its effectiveness with subgroups and therefore is not really “a hit.”

Another reader writes in to add that Repligen is doing much to advance our understanding of autism and develop methods for assessing its efficacy in this difficult to measure population.  The following are excerpts from press releases made by Repligen just last week. –LS]

Repligen Announces Conference Call to Update Autism Phase 3 Clinical Program www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-08-2002/0 001665520&EDATE <- - address ends here.

Repligen Corporation announced Feb. 8 that the Company President and Chief Executive Officer, Walter C. Herlihy, Ph.D., will host a conference call and webcast on Friday, February 15, at 11 a.m. EST, to update the company’s Phase 3 clinical program in autism. The company is evaluating the ability of secretin to improve reciprocal social interaction, a core symptom of autism, in young children with the disorder. Dr. Herlihy will be joined by Helen Tager-Flusberg, Ph.D., the primary psychometric consultant for the trial.

Dr. Tager-Flusberg has been asked to join the call to provide an expert perspective on the tools for diagnosis and assessment of the symptoms of autism. Dr. Tager-Flusberg is the Director of the Laboratory on Developmental Cognitive Neurosciences at Boston University School of Medicine and is a Principal Investigator of an NIH-funded Collaborative Program of Excellence in Autism.

Please access the call at 10:55 a.m. EST on Friday, February 15^th via the internet at http://www.vcall.com/EventPage.asp?ID=80734 or via the Repligen web site at www.repligen.com. To listen to the webcast via the internet, please go to the web site at least five minutes early to register, and if necessary install Real Player audio software. If you are unable to access the webcast via the internet, you may also listen to the live broadcast by calling 1 - 888 - 280 - 8771. For those who cannot participate in the live conference call, an archive will be available shortly after the call at http://www.vcall.com/EventPage.asp?ID=80734 for 90 days.

* *

 

Repligen Updates Product Development Programs Secretin for Autism

www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-07-2002/0 001664666&EDATE <- - address ends here.

During the quarter we submitted a Phase 3 clinical trial plan to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to evaluate the ability of secretin to improve reciprocal social interaction, a core symptom of autism, in young children with the disorder. The Phase 3 trials are expected to begin in the first quarter of calendar year 2002 and will seek to enroll 300 children with autism who will receive six doses of secretin or a placebo, once every three weeks.

We have completed five multi-dose animal safety and toxicology studies and submitted the results of these studies to the FDA. Based on the program’s designation as Fast Track, we have been advised by the FDA that there are no additional animal safety and toxicology studies required at this time to support the submission of a New Drug Application, provided the safety profile of secretin in the Phase 3 study is consistent with the results observed in the Phase 2 study. If a New Drug Application is approved for secretin treatment of autism, further animal studies may be required post NDA approval.

* *

 

Repligen and McLean Hospital Initiate Brain Imaging Study of Secretin

Clinical Study to Assess Activation of Amygdala by Secretin in Healthy

Adults

www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-06-2002/0 001663903&EDATE <- - address ends here.

Repligen Corporation announced today the initiation of a clinical trial to assess the neurological activity of secretin by functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). The study is being conducted in collaboration with the Brain Imaging Center at McLean Hospital, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School.

The trial will assess the impact of a single injection of secretin or a placebo on the activity of the amygdala, a social integration center in the brain, in 12 healthy adults. Subjects will also perform facial recognition tasks to determine if a single injection of secretin affects this aspect of social awareness. This study is part of a comprehensive clinical program to evaluate secretin for the improvement of social interaction in children with autism.

* * *

 

Reader’s Posts

Need to find a vision therapy specialist in the San Jose area that works

with children who have Autism. A parent from Guam will be in the San Jose

area in March with her 6 year old son who has Autism. She sent me an email

asking If I knew of a specialist. I don’t, and have looked and have had no

success. If you can help I would greatly appreciate it.  Barbie Dunham

 

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