Autism First Steps 11-23-01 (Part 1)

AUTISM FIRST STEPS
AUTISM DAILY NEWSLETTER
Friday, November 23, 2001

INDEX:
* Alzheimer’s Drug Shows Promise As Treatment for Autism
* Classroom Connection Upcoming Meetings
* MMR: CAMPAIGNERS HAIL 'VICTORY FOR SINGLE JAB'
* MMR: Now get ready for the Quadruple Jab
* Full list of UK Licensed Vaccines containing mercury (thiomersal)
*
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Psychiatric News November 16, 2001
Volume 36 Number 22
© 2001 American Psychiatric Association
p. 16

Alzheimer’s Drug Shows Promise As Treatment for Autism

Joan Arehart-Treichel
A drug already on the market for treating Alzheimer’s
patients can improve speech in children with autism, a
new study suggests.

One of the most heartbreaking aspects of autism,
parents of children with the disorder often say, is
how their child often started off developing normally
in life, but then around the age of a year and a half
began to withdraw from them and the world, into an
inner realm of self-absorption and silence. As one
mother recalled with anguish, "He became totally
nonverbal, zoned out. It was as if he was no longer
even in the solar system."

Thus, if a medication were identified that could
improve speech in youngsters with autism, it would be
a remarkable medical advance.

Such a medication may possibly have been found. It is
donepezil—one of several drugs on the market for
countering symptoms in the early stages of Alzheimer’s
disease.

The discovery comes from Michael Chez, M.D., a child
neurologist and assistant professor of neurology at
Rush Medical School in Lake Bluff, Ill., and
coworkers. He reported the group’s findings at a
poster session at the annual meeting of the American
Neurological Association in Chicago in October.

The idea for this study, Chez explained in an
interview with Psychiatric News, came after he had
visited conferences where he interacted with
scientists studying Alzheimer’s disease. "It came to
me," he said, "that if we tried one of the Alzheimer’s
drugs on children with autism, it might sort of
kick-start some of the dormant areas [of the brain]
that maybe had never developed due to the fact that
there may have been a lack of developmental input
early on, since many of these kids regress between 18
months and 3 years of age."

So in 1999 he and his coworkers gave donepezil to some
children with autism in a pilot study and found an
improvement in speech. That led, in 2000, to a
placebo-controlled study.

They enrolled 51 children with autism into this study.
All were comparable in their speech disabilities. Half
received donepezil and half a placebo during a
six-week period. Then the placebo group received
donepezil for another six weeks. Neither families nor
investigators knew when the subjects were getting
donepezil or a placebo.

At the end of both the six-week and 12-week periods,
subjects’ receptive speech (verbal comprehension) and
expressive speech (ability to express through words
and pictures) were assessed and compared. That is, the
speech of the treatment group was compared with that
of the placebo group, and the speech of the placebo
group was compared with when it was getting a placebo
and when it was getting donepezil. In the first case,
the subjects who had gotten donepezil were found to be
significantly better at both receptive and expressive
speech than those who had not received the drug. In
the second case, subjects who did not get donepezil
initially but who later did proved to be significantly
better at both receptive and expressive speech after
taking donepezil.

"We are now planning to publish our findings," Chez
said, "and we were invited by one of the major
neurology journals to submit it.

"I believe that Michael Chez’s Aricept [donepezil]
study in autism is promising, conceptually intriguing,
and a worthwhile first step in addressing the language
deficit domain, which has not been improved with other
agents to date," Eric Hollander, M.D., a professor of
psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New
York City, told Psychiatric News. "Of course, his
initial study needs to be replicated with larger,
well-designed placebo-controlled trials that utilize
validated outcome measures."

"The study is encouraging and intriguing," Steve
Roach, M.D., a child neurologist at the University of
Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, said in
an interview with Psychiatric News. "In fact, for
these kids, this is actually one of the more
encouraging studies I’ve seen. . . .You know, if this
pans out, this is something that is going to help the
kids."

An aspect of the study that gives it credibility,
Roach believes, is that the children who seemed to
improve from donepezil were mild to moderately
affected, not severely affected.

"This sounds intuitively right," he said, because
donepezil is a symptomatic treatment. That is, the
drug does not reverse the damage caused by the disease
process or halt the patient’s deterioration; instead,
it improves the patient’s functioning for a time.

"So, if you had a crystal ball that said, O.K., this
drug works, you would actually predict that the
children who had some reasonable function to begin
with might respond, just as you would predict, if you
used it on someone in the very late stages of
Alzheimer’s, that it really wouldn’t do any good. In
other words, you are improving existing function, not
conjuring something up like a rabbit out of a hat. To
me, that was very positive."

The study was funded by the Dr. Michael G. Chez Fund
for Epilepsy and Autism Research. Pfizer
Pharmaceuticals, the maker of donepezil, gave a grant
to the fund after the study was over and did not
influence its design or outcome, Chez said.

Similar articles found in:
Psychiatric News
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Classroom Connection Upcoming Meetings

November 28th @ 7:00 p.m.   The Classroom Connection Orientation
      This meeting is for parents, educators, and therapists. The
philosophy, organization, and goals of The Classroom Connection will
be described. Membership materials will be available.

December 5th @ 7:00 p.m.    Adapting Curriculum and Implementing
Visual Strategies for Students with Autistic Spectrum Disorders

This meeting marks the kick-off of a school-oriented workshop
series. At this meeting, strategies will be discussed and examples
presented. A follow-up eight-part series of workshops is planned.
Each workshop will focus on a particular strategy, e.g., visual
schedules. Participants are invited to come with ideas/samples to
share, then to create new materials using our
Boardmaker/laminator/etc. to take back to their educational setting.

Both meetings are at: The Classroom Connection in Highland Park @
2868 Skokie Valley Road (second floor). Both meetings require RSVP
to 847 681 0324. There is no charge for either of these meetings.

For further information:

contact Cris Lovendahl as follows:

cris@speechkids.net
847 681 0324
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MMR: CAMPAIGNERS HAIL 'VICTORY FOR SINGLE JAB'

By Sarah Westcott and Dylan Dronfield, PA NewsAnti-vaccine groups were today celebrating after a doctor was given the green light to continue offering children single jabs against measles, mumps and rubella.Campaigners claimed the announcement by disciplinary body the General Medical Council (GMC) could open the door for all GPs to offer single jabs against the three diseases instead of the government-

approved MMR vaccine.
Last night the GMC's Preliminary Proceedings Committee said it would not proceed to a full conduct committee against Dr Peter Mansfield but instead ''concluded'' his case with a letter of advice. Dr Mansfield had been facing allegations of acting contrary to normal medical practice and against the best interests of patients by giving the jabs.Jackie Fletcher, founder of Jabs, a support group for vaccine-damaged children, said the announcement was ''brilliant news''.''It has been a long time coming and it should open up the doors for any doctor to offer single vaccinations to parents,'' she said.''We want parents to have all the information they need, both on the vaccines and the diseases as well, so they can make up their own
minds on what their child needs.''The MMR vaccine is a combined jab against the three diseases given to a child at 12-15 months and a second booster dose at between three
and five years old.About 2,000 families in Britain have taken legal action, claiming their children have been damaged by the jab, with many believing it has triggered autism and bowel disorders.Dr Mansfield told PA News: ''I am free to give single vaccines and I never paused in my step. I am not surprised at all and very pleased.''''I am also somewhat gratified the advice is not arduous or arbitrary. It was a rather sympathetic letter and I am already doing all the things they are asking me.''''They don't say if doctors would or would not be harming a child by giving single vaccines,'' he said. ''I will continue giving them.''Dr Mansfield's case was drawn to the attention of the GMC after Worcestershire Health Authority received complaints he had given the jabs to hundreds of children at private clinics in Worcester and Louth, Lincolnshire. In September, he was due to appear before the GMC but the hearing was cancelled after it announced there was insufficient evidence to proceed against him.Professor Brian McCloskey, director of public health in Worcestershire, had initially raised complaints against Dr Mansfield and called on the authorities to ''protect patients.''Worcestershire Health Authority then took the complaint to the GMC which could have stopped him from practising or ordered him not to continue with the
single injections.In a statement the GMC said: ''In this case, the committee decided to conclude Dr Mansfield's case with a letter of advice.''''The committee advised the doctor that he should continue to give advice to patients about the full range of options for inoculations available in the light of the latest scientific evidence and the continuing debate.''''It also advised that he should explore ways of actively informing GPs that he has inoculated their patients, as opposed to relying on the fact that the inoculation record was parent-held and would generally be available to the GP during a consultation.''A spokesman for the Department of Health said: ''We believe that MMR is the best and most effective way to protect children against measles, mumps and rubella - three potentially serious diseases.''''The GMC statement asks Dr Mansfield to take account of the latest scientific evidence and we would say that strengthens the case for use of the triple vaccine.''''Our advice to doctors and parents remains unchanged - that children should not be given separate vaccines in place of MMR since there's no evidence of benefit and a clear risk of harm from such a practice.''
The Press Association
http://www.jabs.org.uk/
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MMR: Now get ready for the Quadruple Jab
Private Eye

16 November 2001
Dr David Salisbury, head of immunisation at the department of health, has confirmed that the government is considering introducing a new chicken pox vaccine. One option is to combine the new shot with the controversial triple MMR jab.Much to the dismay of parents who believe their children have been damaged by MMR and who want more research into their children's conditions, a trial of the quadruple jab involving 200 children is already under way in Sheffield.Last week the government also introduced another triple jab, combining a new whooping-cough booster for pre-school four year olds with the existing diphtheria and tetanus injection, to be called DTaP. Pre-school vaccines are now one triple DTaP injection, one triple MMR shot and polio drops. Yet this increase in administering multi-doses of vaccines into immature bodies comes at a time when there is increasing concern about their potential combined effects.This week the US Institute of Medicine immunisation safety review is looking at "multiple immunisation and immune system dysfunction", specifically examining two areas of concern. Does the number of vaccines administered "overload" the capacity of the infant's immature immune system, perhaps impairing immunity to other infections or altering the body's tolerance to self-antigens, thereby contributing to a greater risk for allergic or auto-immune disease? And is there a relationship between any of these proposed outcomes and the number, the route of administration, or the nature of the vaccines and vaccine antigens?By the time they have reached five, children in the UK will have received no fewer than 25 vaccines - 15 of these given in the first five months of life. This compares to a total of 16 being given in 1988 (with only eight before five months) and before the introduction of MMR.Lawyers and families involved in the two multi-million pound legal actions against the pharmaceutical companies now underway in both the US and the UK, maintain the increase in vaccine and increase in auto-immune disease, like autism, is no coincidence and that the answer to both the IOM questions is: yes.Of course they have yet to prove their case. But should the government be careering down the multi-vaccine road until it has definitive answers? David Salisbury at the department of health clearly believes so, recently dismissing concerns thus: " There remains no study that identifies evidence of a link between MMR and autism. And I hope that soon, some of the silliness about MMR will have gone."Er... except that one of the latest studies published in the journal Adverse Drug Reactions suggests all the vaccine safety tests for the triple jab - and the more recent studies looking for possible links - are useless because not one of them followed up any children for more than a few weeks.Prof. Walter Spitzer, a professor of epidemiology in Canada, and Scottish child psychiatrist Ken Aitken, found that children who developed autism after receiving the jab were diagnosed on average about two and a half years after the jab. Therefore, the authors argued, it was "grossly inappropriate to argue that there is no connection if post jab follow-up only lasted six weeks"."The findings reported here warrant repeating prospective and historical safety studies or undertaking them for the first time, in most countries. Such studies should be planned with adequate length of follow-up - ie at least three years."That has not happened with this month's introduction of the latest whooping cough booster - a disease said to cause about nine deaths a year, despite high vaccine uptake of about 95 percent. It was introduced after a DoH-funded study at the Public Health Laboratory Service looked at its administration along with MMR and "identified no safety concerns". The follow-up was for only six weeks.A department of health spokesman said the UK had one of the largest and most successful immunisation programmes. "If there are vaccines being looked at and coming on to the market, which will protect people against disease or even death, we would be criticised if we ignore it," he said. Next issue of Private Eye: MMR - the experts answer back
http://www.jabs.org.uk/
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Full list of UK Licensed Vaccines containing mercury (thiomersal)

Childrens vaccines:

Adsorbed Diphtheria and Tetanus Vaccine BP(child) (DT)

Adsorbed Diphtheria Vaccine (BP (child) )

Adsorbed Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis Vaccine BP

Adsorbed Tetanus Vaccine BP

Trivax-AD

Adsorbed Diphtheria and Tetanus Vaccine for Adults and Adolescent (Td)

Act-HIB DTP

Act-HIB DTP d.c.

Adsorbed Diptheria and Tetanus Vaccine BP

Trivax-Hib
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health/story.jsp?story=105760
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