Vaccines
SYNOPSIS
British and Swedish scientists raise concerns about limited understanding of vaccine aluminum’s impact on the human body, raise risk of autoimmune response.
TITLE
The immunobiology of aluminium adjuvants: how do they really work?
CITATION
Exley C, Siesjo P, Eriksson H. Trends in Immunology. 2010;31:103-109.
SUMMARY
“Boys vaccinated as neonates had threefold greater odds for autism diagnosis compared to boys never vaccinated or vaccinated after the first month of life. Findings suggest that U.S. male neonates vaccinated with the hepatitis B vac- cine prior to 1999 (from vaccination record) had a threefold higher risk for parental report of autism diagnosis compared to boys not vaccinated as neonates during that same time period.”
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It is feasible that vaccinations may contribute to the mosaic of autoimmunity.
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Vaccines and autoimmune diseases of the adult
CITATION
Orbach H, Agmon-Levin N, Zandman-Goddard G. Discovery Medicine. 2014;10(2):101-107.
SUMMARY
Infectious agents contribute to the environmental factors involved in the development of autoimmune diseases possibly through molecular mimicry mechanisms. Hence, it is feasible that vaccinations may also contribute to the mosaic of autoimmunity. Evidence for the association of vaccinations and the development of these diseases is presented in this review.
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Vaccine aluminum injected into mice created significant motor deficits and motor neuron degeneration.
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Aluminum hydroxide injections lead to motor deficits and motor neuron degeneration
CITATION
Christopher A. Shaw and Michael S. Petrik. Journal Inorganic Biochemistry, 2009 November; 103(11): 1555.
SUMMARY
“Aluminum-treated mice showed significantly increased apoptosis of motor neurons and increases in reactive astrocytes and microglial proliferation within the spinal cord and cortex. Morin stain detected the presence of aluminum in the cytoplasm of motor neurons with some neurons also testing positive for the presence of hyper-phosphorylated tau protein, a pathological hallmark of various neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia. A second series of experiments was conducted on mice injected with six doses of aluminum hydroxide. Behavioural analyses in these mice revealed significant impairments in a number of motor functions as well as diminished spatial memory capacity. The demonstrated neurotoxicity of aluminum hydroxide and its relative ubiquity as an adjuvant suggest that greater scrutiny by the scientific community is warranted. Overall, the results reported here mirror previous work that has clearly demonstrated that aluminum, in both oral and injected forms, can be neurotoxic.”
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Newborn monkeys given a mercury-containing hepatitis b vaccine had significant delays in neonatal reflexes and neurological development.
TITLE
Delayed acquisition of neonatal reflexes in newborn primates receiving a thimerosal-containing Hepatitis B vaccine: Influence of gestational age and birth weight
CITATION
Laura Hewitson, Lisa A. Houser, Carol Stott, Gene Sackett, Jaime L. Tomko, David Atwood, Lisa Blue, E. Railey White, Andrew J. Wakefield. NeuroToxicology, 2009; doi:10.1016/j.neuro.2009.09.008.
SUMMARY
“In summary, this study provides preliminary evidence of abnormal early neurodevelopmental responses in male infant rhesus macaques receiving a single dose of Th-containing HB vaccine at birth and indicates that further investigation is merited.”
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French scientists report aluminum from vaccines causes chronic cognitive dysfunction.
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Long-term persistence of vaccine-derived aluminum hydroxide is associated with chronic cognitive dysfunction
CITATION
Maryline Couette, Marie-Françoise Boisse, Patrick Maison, Pierre Brugieres, Pierre Cesaro, Xavier Chevalier, Romain K. Gherardi, Anne-Catherine Bachoud-Levi, François-Jérôme Authier. Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, 2009.
SUMMARY
“In conclusion, long-term persistence of vaccine-derived aluminum hydroxide within the body assessed by MMF is associated with cognitive dysfunction, not solely due to chronic pain, fatigue and depression. In conclusion, this work is the first firm demonstration that cognitive dysfunction is a central feature in MMF, this dysfunction being much more frequent and severe than suspected by routine neurological evaluation. Instead of being a non-specific bystander effect of pain, fatigue or depression, MACD seems to reflect an underlying organic, inflammatory or toxic, brain involvement.”
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Swedish researchers found that children who had natural measles infection had much lower rates of allergy than children vaccinated against measles.
TITLE
Allergic disease and atopic sensitization in children in relation to measles vaccination and measles infection
CITATION
Rosenlund H, Bergstrom A, Alm JS, … PARSIFAL Study Group. Pediatrics. 2009;123(3):771-778.
SUMMARY
In these analyses, measles infection [natural measles] was inversely associated with any allergic symptom or physician’s diagnosis of allergy, suggesting that natural measles infection may protect against allergies in children.
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Higher aluminum intake from drinking water is associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
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Aluminum and silica in drinking water and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease or cognitive decline: findings from 15-year follow-up of the PAQUID cohort
CITATION
Rondeau V, Jacqmin-Gadda H, Commenges D, Helmer C, Dartigues JF. Aluminum and silica in drinking water and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease or cognitive decline: findings from 15-year follow-up of the PAQUID cohort. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2009;169(4):489-496.
SUMMARY
A long-term study in Southern France found that a higher intake of aluminum from drinking water was linked to an increased risk of cognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Conversely, an increase in silica intake (10 mg/day) reduced the risk of dementia. A unique feature of the study, which followed elderly individuals for 15 years, was its measurement of individual daily intake of drinking water (both tap and bottled water), in addition to assessing the geographical concentrations of aluminum and silica.
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Boys receiving the hepatitis B vaccine series were nine times more likely to need special education and be developmentally disabled.
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Hepatitis B triple series vaccine and developmental disability in US children aged 1-9 years
CITATION
Gallagher C, Goodman M. Toxicological and Environmental Chemistry. 2008;90(5):997-1008.
SUMMARY
This study investigated the association between vaccination with the hepatitis B triple series vaccine (pre-2000) and subsequent developmental disability. The odds of receiving special education were approximately nine times as great for vaccinated boys as for unvaccinated boys, after adjustment for confounders. The evidence, statistically significant, suggests that boys in United States who were vaccinated with the triple series hepatitis B vaccine were more susceptible to developmental disability than were unvaccinated boys.
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Three gene variations are associated with adverse reactions to smallpox vaccination.
TITLE
Genetic Basis for Adverse Events Following Smallpox Vaccination
CITATION
Reif DM, McKinney BA, Motsinger AA, Chanock SJ, Edwards KM, Rock MT, Moore JH, Crowe Jr. JE. Genetic basis for adverse events following smallpox vaccination. The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2008;198(1):16-22.
SUMMARY
A pair of NIH-funded studies identified three genetic variations that make people more susceptible to systemic adverse events following smallpox vaccination. By studying the smallpox vaccine, the researchers focused on a vaccine historically noted for frequently causing adverse reactions in population-wide vaccination programs. In the two studies, 16/96 and 24/46 individuals experienced systemic adverse events after vaccination, and three candidate genes (MTHFR, IRF1 and IL4) had the strongest association with the adverse events. In susceptible individuals, “vaccination appears to trigger an acute inflammatory response that is excessive.”
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A CDC-sponsored database showed much higher rates of neurodevelopmental disabilities from mercury-containing vaccines.
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Thimerosal exposure in infants and neurodevelopmental disorders: An assessment of computerized medical records in the Vaccine Safety Datalink
CITATION
Young HA, Geier DA, Geier MR. Journal of the Neurological Sciences. 2008;121:626-631.
SUMMARY
“Consistent significantly increased rate ratios were observed for autism, autism spectrum disorders, tics, attention deficit disorder, and emotional disturbances with Hg [mercury] exposure from TCVs [thimerosal-containing vaccines]. By contrast, none of the control outcomes had significantly increased rate ratios with Hg exposure from TCVs.”
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Australian scientists describe the role of vaccines in triggering acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (“ADEM”).
TITLE
Post-vaccination encephalomyelitis: Literature review and illustrative case
CITATION
William Huynh, Dennis J. Cordato, Elias Kehdi, Lynette T. Masters, Chris Dedousis. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, 15 (2008) 1315–1322.
SUMMARY
“Post-infectious and post-immunization encephalomyelitis make up about three-quarters of cases, where the timing of a febrile event is associated with the onset of neurological disease. Post-vaccination Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis has been associated with several vaccines such as rabies, diphtheria-tetanus-polio, smallpox, measles, mumps, rubella, Japanese B encephalitis, pertussis, influenza, hepatitis B, and the Hog vaccine. We review ADEM with particular emphasis on vaccination as the precipitating factor.”
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Children who delayed the timing of the DPT vaccine had lower rates of asthma.
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Delay in diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus vaccination is associated with a reduced risk of childhood asthma?
CITATION
McDonald KL, Huq SI. Journal of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. 2008;121:626-631.
SUMMARY
“Early childhood immunizations have been viewed as promoters of asthma development by stimulating a T(H)2-type immune response or decreasing microbial pressure, which shifts the balance between T(H)1 and T(H)2 immunity. Among 11, 531 children who received at least 4 doses of DPT, the risk of asthma was reduced to (1/2) in children whose first dose of DPT was delayed by more than 2 months.”
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Neonatal deaths following hepatitis B vaccination should be investigated as possible vaccine-related deaths.
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An investigation of infant deaths following initial hepatitis B vaccination based on the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), 1992-2002
CITATION
Soldatenkova VA, Yazbak FE. Medical Veritas. 2007;4:1414-1421.
SUMMARY
This study argues that all unexpected neonatal deaths occurring after initial hepatitis B vaccination should be systematically investigated. Over one-fifth (22%) of neonatal hepatitis B vaccine injuries reported to the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) from 1992 to 2002 were deaths (38/170) that, in nearly all cases, occurred within hours or days of vaccination. Although most of the deaths were officially classified as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or “unexplained” rather than as vaccine-related deaths, the authors note “a statistically significant increase in [the] proportion of neonatal SIDS since implementation of universal vaccination of newborns against hepatitis B.” The VAERS reports also are suggestive of higher risks for premature, small, or slightly ill infants.
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Repeated influenza vaccination at a young age substantially increases the risk of influenza at older ages.
TITLE
Repeated influenza vaccination of healthy children and adults: borrow now, pay later?
CITATION
Carrat F, Lavenu A, Cauchemez S, Deleger S. Repeated influenza vaccination of healthy children and adults: borrow now, pay later? Epidemiology & Infection 2006;134(1):63-70.
SUMMARY
This study shows that repeated influenza vaccination at younger ages may double the risk of influenza in the elderly. The study suggests that the “possible benefits of vaccinating children after 5 years of age, and otherwise healthy adults—particularly over a long period and mainly for economic reasons—could be outweighed by severe clinical consequences and increased costs in the elderly.” Moreover, the findings are “solely due to differences between vaccine-induced immunity and naturally acquired immunity.” Unlike vaccination, naturally acquired immunity can provide long-lasting protection against subsequent infection by the same viral subtype.
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Among girls, those who received both BCG and DTP experienced higher mortality than those who received only one of the two vaccines (hazards ratio 2.4; 95% confidence interval 1.2-5.0).
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Evaluation of non-specific effects of infant immunization on early infant mortality in southern Indian population.
CITATION
Moulton LH, Rahmathullah L, Halsey NA, Thulasiraj RD, Katz J, Tielsch JM. Tropical Medicine and International Health, 2005 Oct;10(10):947-55.
SUMMARY
In a study of children under 2 years of age in Guinea-Bissau, Kristensen et al. (2000) found immunization with Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) vaccine to be associated with lower mortality, but stated that oral polio vaccine (OPV) and diphtheria, tetanus, polio (DTP) vaccines were associated with higher mortality. More recently, it has been suggested that this effect may be gender-specific, existing primarily among girls. This evaluation, focused on relating timing of BCG and DTP vaccine receipt to mortality from 1 week to 6 months of age, with emphasis on gender differentials found that girls that received both BCG and DTP experienced higher mortality than those who received only one of the two vaccines.
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The mercury used as a vaccine preservative is far more neurotoxic than the mercury found in fish.
TITLE
Comparison of Blood and Brain Mercury Levels in Infant Monkeys Exposed to Methylmercury or Vaccines Containing Thimerosal
CITATION
Thomas M. Burbacher, Danny D. Shen, Noelle Liberato, Kimberly S. Grant, Elsa Cernichiari, and Thomas Clarkson. Environmental Health Perspectives, Volume 113, Number 8, August 2005.
SUMMARY
The mercury used in vaccines (and still in the flu vaccine given to pregnant women) is far more toxic than the mercury found in fish, because it stays in the brain at much higher levels. “Data from the present study support the prediction that, although little accumulation of Hg in the blood occurs over time with repeated vaccinations, accumulation of Hg in the brain of infants will occur. Thus, conclusion regarding the safety of thimerosal drawn from blood Hg clearance data in human infants receiving vaccines may not be valid, given the significantly slower half-life of Hg in the brain as observed in the infant macaques. There was a much higher proportion of inorganic Hg in the brain of thimerosal monkeys than in the brains of MeHg monkeys (up to 71% vs. 10%). Absolute inorganic Hg concentrations in the brains of the thimerosal-exposed monkeys were approximately twice that of the MeHg monkeys.”
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Many heavy metals increase the apparent toxicity of low levels of mercury.
TITLE
Mercury toxicity: Genetic susceptibility and synergistic effects
CITATION
Haley BE. Medical Veritas. 2005;2:535–542.
SUMMARY
This article discusses mercury intoxication and several normally appearing factors that increase the susceptibility to mercury toxicity. Boys with autism represent a subset of the population that is more susceptible to the toxic effects of mercury and thimerosal because they are not efficient excretors of these toxic materials. Research confirms that a lead-toxic person would be more susceptible to mercury toxicity than a healthy, non-toxic person. Researchers routinely observe that many heavy metals increase the apparent toxicity of low levels of mercury. In other words, the synergistic effects of other heavy metals, diet, antibiotics, etc. on mercury toxicity make it impossible to define a “safe level of mercury exposure.”
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Vaccine mercury depletes a vital antioxidant, glutathione.
TITLE
Thimerosal Neurotoxicity is Associated with Glutathione Depletion: Protection with Glutathione Precursors
CITATION
S.J. James, William Slikker, Stepan Melnyk, Elizabeth New,
Marta Pogribna, Stefanie Jernigan. NeuroToxicology, 26 (2005) 1–8.
SUMMARY
“Thimerosal is an antiseptic containing 49.5% ethyl mercury that has been used for years as a preservative in many infant vaccines and in flu vaccines. Environmental methyl mercury has been shown to be highly neurotoxic, especially to the developing brain. Because mercury has a high affinity for thiol (sulfhydryl (-SH)) groups, the thiol-containing antioxidant, glutathione (GSH), provides the major intracellular defense against mercury-induced neurotoxicity. Cultured neuroblastoma cells were found to have lower levels of GSH and increased sensitivity to thimerosal toxicity compared to glioblastoma cells that have higher basal levels of intracellular GSH. Thimerosal-induced cytotoxicity was associated with depletion of intracellular GSH in both cell lines. Although Thimerosal has been recently removed from most children’s vaccines, it is still present in flu vaccines given to pregnant women, the elderly, and to children in developing countries.”
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The MR (mortality rate) was 1.81 (95% Cl: 0.95, 3.45) for the first dose of DTP and 4.36 (95% Cl: 1.28, 14.9) for the second and third dose
TITLE
The introduction of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine and child mortality in rural GuineaBissau: an observational study.
CITATION
Aaby P, Jensen H, Gomes J, Fernandes M, Lisse IM. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2004 Apr;33(2):374-80.
SUMMARY
Prior to the introduction of vaccines, children who were absent at a village examination had the same mortality as children who were present. During 1984-1987, children receiving DTP at 2-8 months of age had higher mortality over the next 6 months, the mortality rate ratio (MR) being 1.92 (95% CI: 1.04, 3.52) compared with DTP-unvaccinated children, adjusting for age, sex, season, period, BCG, and region. The MR was 1.81 (95% CI: 0.95, 3.45) for the first dose of DTP and 4.36 (95% CI: 1.28, 14.9) for the second and third dose. BCG was associated with slightly lower mortality (MR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.30, 1.33), the MR for DTP and BCG being significantly inversed. Researchers found in low-income countries with high mortality, DTP as the last vaccine received may be associated with slightly increased mortality. Since the pattern was inversed for BCG, the effect is unlikely to be due to higher-risk children having received vaccination. The role of DTP in high mortality areas needs to be clarified.
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Scientists identify vaccine mercury’s role in blocking crucial neurodevelopmental pathways.
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Activation of methionine synthase by insulin-like growth factor-1 and dopamine: a target for neurodevelopmental toxins and thimerosal
CITATION
M Waly, H Olteanu, R Banerjee, S-W Choi, JB Mason, BS Parker, S Sukumar, S Shim,
A Sharma, JM Benzecry, V-A Power-Charnitsky and RC Deth. Molecular Psychiatry , (2004) 9, 358–370.
SUMMARY
“The ethylmercury-containing preservative thimerosal inhibited both IGF-1- and dopamine-stimulated methylation with an IC50 of 1nM and eliminated MS activity. Our findings outline a novel growth factor signaling pathway that regulates MS activity and thereby modulates methylation reactions, including DNA methylation. The potent inhibition of this pathway by ethanol, lead, mercury, aluminum and thimerosal suggest that it may be an important target of neurodevelopmental toxins.”
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French scientists tie aluminum adjuvant in vaccine to macrophagic myofasciitis.
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Macrophagic myofasciitis lesions assess long-term persistence of vaccine derived aluminum hydroxide in muscle
CITATION
R.K. Gherardi, M. Coquet, P. Cherin, L. Belec, P. Moretto, P.A. Dreyfus. Brain, 2001, 124, 1821-1831.
SUMMARY
“Macrophagic myofasciitis (MMF) is an emerging condition of unknown cause, detected in patients with diffuse arthromyalgias and fatigue, and characterized by muscle infiltration by granular periodic acid-Schiff’s reagent-positive macrophages and lymphocytes. Intracytoplasmic inclusions have been observed in macrophages of some patients. To assess their significance, electron microscopy was performed in 40 consecutive cases and chemical analysis was done by microanalysis and atomic absorption spectrometry. Inclusions were constantly detected and corresponded to aluminium hydroxide, an immunostimulatory compound frequently used as a vaccine adjuvant.”
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CDC scientists admit that 90% of infectious disease mortality decrease in the United States happened before vaccines were available.
TITLE
Annual Summary of Vital Statistics: Trends in the Health of Americans During the 20th Century
CITATION
Bernard Guyer, MD, Mary Anne Freeman, MA, Donna M. Strobino, PhD, Edward J. Sondik, PhD. Pediatrics, Dec 2000, Vol. 106, No. 6.
SUMMARY
“Thus vaccination does not account for the impressive declines in mortality seen in the first half of the century…nearly 90% of the decline in infectious disease mortality among US children occurred before 1940, when few antibiotics or vaccines were available.”
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One dose of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine was associated with a mortality ratio of 1.84 (1.10 to 3.10) and two to three doses with a ratio of 1.38 (0.73 to 2.61) compared with children who had received no dose of these vaccines.”
TITLE
Routine vaccinations and child survival: follow up study in Guinea Bissau, West Africa.
CITATION
Kristensen I, Aaby P, Jensen H. British Medical Journal. 2000 Dec 9;321(7274):1435-8.
SUMMARY
Research on vaccines in developing countries recommended by the World Health Organization has emphasised serological responses and protection against specific diseases. The aim of the research has been to optimise vaccine schedules for control, elimination, or eradication of disease. In modelling exercises, vaccination against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and polio has been assumed to save 1.52.0% of the children in areas with high infant mortality. However, these assumptions are not supported by data. Mortality was lower in the group vaccinated with any vaccine compared with those not vaccinated, however, recipients of one dose of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis or polio vaccines had higher mortality than children who had received none of these vaccines.
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Infants receiving mercury-containing vaccines developed speech disorders, sleep disorders and autism, according to CDC scientists.
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Increased risk of developmental neurologic impairment after high exposure to thimerosal-containing vaccine in first month of life
CITATION
Verstraeten TM, Davies R, Gu D, DeStefano F. Proceedings of the Epidemic Intelligence Service Annual Conference, April 2000.
SUMMARY
“This analysis suggests that high exposure to ethylmercury from thimerosal-containing vaccines in the first month of life increases the risk of subsequent development of neurologic development impairment.”
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Japanese scientists find vaccine-strain of measles in the guts of children with autism.
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Detection and sequencing of measles virus from peripheral mononuclear cells from patients with inflammatory bowel disease and autism
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Kawashima H, Mori T, Kashiwagi Y, Takekuma K, Hoshika A, Wakefield A. Digestive Diseases and Sciences. 2000;45:723–729.
SUMMARY
“Additionally, a new syndrome has been reported in children with autism who exhibited developmental regression and gastrointestinal symptoms (autistic enterocolitis), in some cases soon after MMR vaccine. The sequences obtained from the patients with ulcerative colitis and children with autism were consistent with being vaccine strains. The results were concordant with the exposure history of the patients. Persistence of measles virus was confirmed in PBMC in some patients with chronic intestinal inflammation.”
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UCLA researchers find the DTP vaccine is causing asthma.
TITLE
Effects of Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis or Tetanus Vaccination on Allergies and Allergy-Related Respiratory Symptoms Among Children and Adolescents in the United States
CITATION
Eric L. Hurwitz, DC, PhD, and Hal Morgenstern, PhD. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, Volume 23, Number 2, February 2000.
SUMMARY
“Asthma and other allergic hypersensitivity reactions and related symptoms may be caused, in part, by the delayed effects of DTP or tetanus vaccination. Because the proportion of US children who have received at least 1 dose of DTP vaccine approaches 100%, the number of allergies and allergy-related conditions attributable to DTP or tetanus vaccination in the United States may be very high. For example, assuming that the estimated vaccination effect is unbiased, 50% of diagnosed asthma cases (2.93 million) in US children and adolescents would be prevented if the DTP or tetanus vaccination was not administered.”
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Vaccines with mercury significantly raised the body levels of mercury in infants.
TITLE
Iatrogenic exposure to mercury after hepatitis B vaccination in preterm infants
CITATION
Gregory V. Stajich, Gaylord P. Lopez, Sokei W. Harry, and William R. Sexson. Journal of Pediatrics, 2000, 136, 679-81.
SUMMARY
“Thimerosal, a derivative of mercury, is used as a preservative in hepatitis B vaccines. We measured total mercury levels before and after the administration of this vaccine in 15 preterm and 5 term infants. Comparison of pre- and post-vaccination mercury levels showed a significant increase in both preterm and term infants after vaccination. Additionally, post-vaccination mercury levels were significantly higher in preterm infants as compared with term infants. Because mercury is known to be a potential neurotoxin to infants, further study of its pharmacodynamics is warranted.”
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Infectious disease rates declined precipitously in the united states in the 20th century before the implementation of a national vaccine program.
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Trends in Infectious Disease Mortality in the United States During the 20th Century
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Gregory L. Armstrong, MD, Laura A. Conn, MPH, Robert W. Pinner, MD. Journal of the American Medical Association, 1999, 281: 61-66.
SUMMARY
“During the first 8 decades of the 20th century, the infectious disease mortality rate in the United States declined substantially…Improvements in living conditions, sanitation, and medical care probably accounted for this trend.”
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A high percentage of autistic children with positive antibodies to the measles and/or human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) also have autoantibodies to brain components. Might the MMR vaccine be an early event in brain autoimmunity?
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Serological association of measles virus and human herpesvirus-6 with brain autoantibodies in autism.
CITATION
SUMMARY
Environmental exposures to toxins as well as viral infections are known to be triggers for autoimmunity. Individuals with autism suffer from a variety of immunological abnormalities with 55-70% having autoantibodies to brain antigens that include myelin basic protein (MBP), neuron-axon filament proteins (NAFP), and serotonin receptor. Many parents have reported the onset of autism soon after receiving a vaccine for the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) and/or diptheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT). The authors point out that both measles virus and human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) can manifest neurologic sequelae, show molecular mimicry with MBP and NAFP, and are associated with demyelination. To understand a possible association of viruses to brain autoimmunity, these researchers investigated virus serology of the measles virus and HHV-6. Children diagnosed with autism using the DSM-IIIR criteria were compared to normal controls. Both the controls and the children with autism had a high percentage of positive titers to measles as well as HHV-6 antibodies. According to the authors this was to be expected given that, “A high proportion (78%) of general populations is known to have positive titers of HHV-6 antibody.” The high percentage of measles antibody titers (85%) in children with autism was also expected. There is a high rate of seroconversion post MMR vaccination and none of the children had a history of exposure to the wild-type measles infection. An interesting finding was revealed when comparing the virus serology to brain autoantibodies. Among the control group, there were no brain autoantibodies found in any participant. However, among autistic subjects:
“approximately 90% of measles-IgG-positive sera also had anti-MBP”
“73% of measles-IgG- positive sera also had anti-NAFP”
“84% of HHV-6-IgG-positive sera also had anti-MBP”
“72% of HHV-6-IgG-positive sera also had anti-NAFP.”
“the higher the virus antibody titer the greater the chance of brain autoantibody”
The report closing by stating, “In conclusion, we suggest that while the etiology is not known, it is quite instructive to consider environmental factors, for example measles virus and HHV-6, as etiological agents linked to autoimmunity in autism.”
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Addition of the Hepatitis B Vaccine in 1988 Increased the Rate of Type 1 Diabetes 1.62X in Children in New Zealand. The incidence of type I diabetes in person 0-19 years old living in Christchurch rose from 11.2 cases per 100,000 children annually in the years before the immunization program, 1982-1987, to 18.1 cases per 100,000 children annually ( P = .0008) in the years following the immunization, 1989-1991.
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The timing of pediatric immunizations and the risk of Insulin-Dependent diabetes mellitus
CITATION
Classen David C.; Classen, John Barthelow; Infectious Diseases in Clinical Practice: September-October 1997 – Volume 6 – Issue 7 – ppg 449-454.
SUMMARY
Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is believed to be an autoimmune disease induced by a variety of environmental stimuli. Vaccines and infectious agents have been suggested to have an influence, but most of this research has been centered on the ability of these agents to infect the pancreatic islet cells or contain antigens that mimic autoantigens. Classen found that administration of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) and anthrax vaccines to mice and rats at birth prevented the development of diabetes, whereas administration of the DTP vaccine starting at 8 weeks was associated with an increased incidence of diabetes.