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

January 30, 2002        News Morgue Search  www.feat.org/search/news.asp

 

* * IMPORTANT CORRECTION: The previous edition of the FEAT * *

Daily Newsletter carried a feature “Survey of Special

Education Alteration, Falsification & Forgery”

that gave an incorrect website address for the

survey.  This is important forensic research and

we encourage those targeted to fill it out:

http://www.angelfire.com/on/FEATNews/finalsurvey.htm

 

RESEARCH

·        New Link Between Birth Defects and Landfill Sites

 

PUBLIC HEALTH

·        MMR: The Facts And What Our Experts Say

·        Reader’s Posts

 

 

New Link Between Birth Defects and Landfill Sites

[By Pat Hagan.]

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20020125/hl/landfill_1.html

LONDON (Reuters Health) - Babies born to mothers living close to landfill sites may be up to 40% more likely to have chromosomal abnormalities such as Down syndrome, according to new research.

But the study authors stress that there is still no proof that chemicals leaking from dumps are to blame for the birth defects.

Their findings, published in the January 26^th issue of The Lancet, come from a study carried out in 1998. At that time, the same researchers found that living near a landfill site was associated with a 33% increase in the risk of non-chromosomal anomalies—such as neural tube defects, cleft palate and certain cardiovascular and gastrointestinal disorders.

This time, the same team—led by researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine—wanted to establish if there was a similar increase in risk for chromosomal defects like Down syndrome.

Dr. Martine Vrijheid and colleagues studied data on residents living near 23 landfill sites across Europe and identified 245 cases of chromosomal defects. A “control” group of more than 2,400 healthy residents was also studied.

After allowing for factors that might skew the findings—such as maternal age and socioeconomic status—the health of people living up to 3 kilometers from a site was matched against that of residents 3 to 7 kilometers away.

The results showed that the risks for chromosomal abnormalities were similar to those for non-chromosomal abnormalities.

In their report, the researchers conclude that “this similarity can be interpreted in two main ways.” One interpretation, they explain, is that landfill exposures can harm an embryo or fetus and cause congenital defects.  On the other hand, they note, it could be that the relation is “not causal and the findings indicate a common bias or chance effect.”

UK government-backed research published in the British Medical Journal last August showed a slight increase in risk of congenital defects. The Department of Health said it could mean an extra 100 babies a year in the UK born with problems such as spina bifida or gut problems and 2,500 more low birth weight babies.

However, that study also failed to establish the reasons behind the link.

Vrijheid, who led the latest research, said in an interview with Reuters Health that the findings add little to the question of whether chemical waste in these sites actually causes certain birth defects.

“A lot more information is needed about exposure and we need to find out if people are actually exposed to chemicals from these sites,” Vrijheid said.

“The fact that we have found another group with congenital abnormalities suggests there may be something going on, but it’s too early to say that it’s a causal effect. The next step is for someone to go out and measure exposure to chemicals,” Vrijheid added.

SOURCE: The Lancet 2002;359:320-322.

 

 

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* * *

 

MMR: The Facts And What Our Experts Say

[femail.co.uk, with its logo ironically demured in all lower case, is

a supermarket woman’s magazine, but found online. “Is your man a true

romantic? Try our quiz to find out” and “How to eat between meals without

ruining your diet” are the two lead cover features in their current edition,

to give you an idea of its intimate focus. (Rodney Dangerfield said that a

male friend of his would wait for a like-magazine’s annual, “Women Who Can’t

Say No” article and lurk by the magazine racks to see who would purchase

one, then follow her out the door with a proposition. Don’t try this at

home, she may instead be purchasing the magazine for Martha Steward’s expose

on decoupage wallpaper.) The publisher claims it to be a leading publication

of its kind in the UK. –LS.  By Charlotte Harding.]

http://www.femail.co.uk/pages/standard/article.html?in_article_id=14573&in_p

age_id=169

 

Confusion and controversy surround the MMR vaccine. Conflicting advice from the Government and scientists leaves parents baffled and frightened.

Are they protecting their children from three potentially dangerous childhood diseases or exposing them to other unknown risks by giving their children the jab?

More than 1,800 parents around Britain claim their children have suffered serious side effects from the injection and are calling for single measles jabs to be re-licensed in the UK.

As the debate over whether MMR is safe continues, femail.co.uk’s child and family experts offer their opinions.

Below we also offer a guide to the main facts and figures about the jab, the chance to chat to other mothers about the controversy, plus all recent news stories about MMR.

WHAT THE FEMAIL.CO.UK EXPERTS SAY:

Femail.co.uk’s paediatrician Dr Ilona Bendefy:

Dr Bendefy wholeheartedly recommends the MMR jab and does not believe that it causes autism or Crohn’s disease. ‘There’s so much conflicting evidence that I can understand why parents are concerned and confused,’ she says. ‘But I wholeheartedly recommend that parents should let their children have the vaccine.

‘It is easy to be swayed by parents who believe their children have autism as a result of MMR. But I do not believe there is a link between the vaccine and autism and Crohn’s disease. Autism comes on as a child develops so you don’t see it until they are 12 to 14 months old. The trouble is that this is exactly when the jab is given. All the evidence is anecdotal and the research that caused all the controversy in the first place never stood up to medical scrutiny.’

‘People forget that measles is a serious and deadly disease. It causes a fatal inflammation of the brain and in less extreme cases leaves children suffering from fits for the rest of their lives. I find it quite frightening that children are being exposed to an illness that could kill them. Everyone should have their children immunised.’

Femail.co.uk’s GP Rosemary Leonard:

Both Dr Leonard’s children have been immunised with the MMR vaccine and she strongly recommends other parents allow their children to have the jab. She has already had two cases of measles in her surgery this year, the first time she has seen the disease in Britain for many years.

‘The facts speak for themselves,’ she says. ‘The risk of getting measles is much higher than any side-effects from the jab and measles is a highly distressing disease. Because many parents are not having their children immunised at the moment measles is starting to emerge again.

‘Today’s parents haven’t seen measles and don’t realise how serious it can be. But I have had one little boy in my surgery already this year who has been left deaf by the disease. His mother did not have him immunised because she didn’t think the MMR vaccine was safe. She now knows she has made a foolish decision.

Dr Leonard does not believe there is any link between autism and MMR.  ‘The incidence of autism has not increased since MMR was introduced. One of the problems with autism is that we do not yet know the cause. People who have children with autism want to blame it on something and because autism naturally develops at the same age children are given their MMR jab they blame it on that.’

Femail.co.uk’s family expert Anne Atkins:

Anne believes most parents should research the background of MMR themselves and then decide whether their children should have the MMR jab or single measles injections.

‘The more choice parents have the better,’ she says. ‘The way society is going, the choice of the parent is constantly being undermined. But it seems to me that it is much more our business than anyone else’s how we should protect our children.

‘Parents are intelligent enough to look at the evidence and make a decision. In a civilised society parents should have the right to choose between whichever injections they believe are right for their children.’

* * *

 

Reader’s Posts

Looking for a person to provide classroom support, curriculum modifications,

and individual tutoring for a 6^th grader who is in a regular classroom.  You

would be a member of a team of ASD experts. Extensive, on the job, training

is provided.  Located in the Seacoast area of New Hampshire.  Please send

I, too, send material or site url’s to people who have requested info,

on FEATnews posts or message board posts. If I don’t get

Anything back, that’s still okay. I don’t do it for strokes for me, I do it

to try to assist those who are wondering or wandering in territory I may

have already been through. The point is, are you doing it to help you or

Looking for pointers on how to deal with a very difficult school district in Rocklin, CA (near Sacramento).  We are new to the state, and are trying to get services for our 5-year-old son—and are hitting a wall.  If anyone out there has had success with the Rocklin, CA school district, please email Kris at krisschlepp@aol.com.

 

>>  FREE (Almost) READER’S POSTS <<

For Individuals, organizations, non-commercial and commercial. Limit your posting to no more than 60 words please. There is no charge for this service, but posters are obligated to thank all those who take the time to answer your ads. This is a consideration for others with autism after you and yours, who seek assistance from appreciated readers. Send submissions to:

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I am looking for information on ABA computer programs, we have not been able to obtain ABA for my son, now almost 9 yrs. old we’ve been able to help him in a lot of areas but not in academics, he is bright but his education has not been intensive. Also if anyone were willing to train parents to do this I’d love this info. as well. Heidi Colonnese [heidicallin69@yahoo.com]

 

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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.