A New Parent Considers Vaccination

[Guest guest]

A New Parent Considers Vaccination

by Matt Robison

http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=34143

Dr. Wakefield was once again in the news earlier

this month, reminding everyone that he was supposedly

discredited. The attacks on Wakefield are nothing really

new, of course. But for a scapegoat to work, it has to

remain in the forefront of the public's consciousness,

and so we continue to get this not-so-subtle reminder

that the Lancet report, which suggested more study into

a possible link between MMR and autism, has been

shrugged aside by people with more letters after their

last name than us commoners. It also presents another

excuse for pro-vaccine advocates to shake their heads in

condescension at those of us who question the

establishment's talking points about vaccines, as if the

matter is now settled. You would think they want to

softly pat dissenters on the head and try to send them

to their rooms for nap-time. Stop fighting. There's

nothing to see here. Remember the CDC and your ABC's.

But those of us who have done any research on the topic

know that the Lancet report represents just the surface

of the issue of the link between vaccines and autism.

I'm not a doctor. I'm not a scientist. I'm just a new

parent (with a 4-month-old daughter) who wants to know

the truth, or at least not be ridiculed for asking

simple questions. And I know there are many more out

there just like me, and many were made aware of the

potential dangers in different ways.

For me, it was my mother,

who is a special-ed teacher in the public school system,

and has been helping teach autistic children for over 10

years. She's in the trenches with affected children and

parents. She sees patterns. And she has mentioned to me

several times that she has lost count of the number of

parents who have told her that their child stopped

making eye contact and severely regressed in language

skills after their 12 to 18 month round of vaccinations.

In her own research and education, she has seen compared

brain scans of autistic children to children with

healthy brain function. It's easy to see the difference.

And yet, as she is quick to point out, there has still

not been a long-term placebo-controlled study done, when

it would be very simple to monitor the effects with

brain imaging after certain rounds of vaccinations long

term. This is a serious red flag. Why have no studies

like this been attempted? The medical community has had

plenty of time to begin integrating this research, yet

this has not happened.

The Background The previous articles on LewRockwell.com

are enlightening, and I encourage you to read them,

particularly the ones authored by Dr.

. In at least two of these articles,

Dr. mentions the work of Dr. Blaylock, a

neurosurgeon studying and researching the concept of

"excitotoxicity" in the brain. Not much detail was

given, because it was beyond the immediate scope. The

other points Dr. makes were enough to satisfy me.

However, they won't be enough to satisfy everyone.

And in light of the latest Wakefield coverage, some

family members questioned our decision to go against the

CDC's normal schedule. My explanations were not enough

for them, so I began going even deeper into the rabbit

hole in order to gain more ammunition. I began looking

even closer at Dr. Blaylock's work. The result was

fascination at the complexity of the brain, and a larger

arsenal of facts and research to justify our decisions.

As it turns out, excitotoxicity is related to all

neurological disorders.

The papers Dr. referred to are one

talking about excitotoxicity and its relation to

vaccines (This is the entire issue of the journal,

but Dr. Blayock's article is the first one, with 141

references). And then another

talking about Gulf War Syndrome also has some keen

insights.

Also watch the

14-part lecture series Dr. Blaylock gave. It's

just a bit over an hour long and well worth the watch.

In the following summary, I link to some of Dr.

Blaylock's individual references. Unfortunately, many of

these links are behind a pay-wall and you can only read

the first 100 words or so. But this will give you a good

list to begin doing your own due diligence if you so

choose, or the beginnings of something informative to

hand to an ornery pediatrician.

I would highly recommend you read both the above papers

and watch the lecture, however, and I hope this summary

convinces you to delve a bit deeper.

Excitotoxicity the Common Cause for Nearly all

Neurological Disorders Recent evidence suggests that all

neurological disorders have common causes, despite

different presentations and symptoms (1).

At the center is something called excitotoxicity, named

in 1969. This is the triggering of certain brain

mechanisms through over-stimulation of susceptible

neurons by certain amino acids, the primary culprits

being glutamate and aspartate (2). If these

sound familiar to you, and bring to mind monosodium

glutamate (MSG) and aspartame, you're one step ahead of

the game.

Glutamate is the most abundant neurotransmitter in the

brain. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that transmit

signals from brain neurons to other cells and neurons (3),

and glutamate makes up 50% of all neurotransmission, and

controls other neurotransmitters like serotonin,

epinephrine, and dopamine. Yet Glutamate, like many

things our body needs to work, is also toxic, and in

this case is the most toxic of neurotransmitters, and is

therefore heavily regulated in the body by other

mechanisms. When glutamate is released, certain proteins

attach to and transport the glutamate. The normal

destination is to an astrocyte, where the glutamate is

deposited (4).

Glutamate receptors control calcium channels, and around

these channels are areas of zinc and magnesium that help

prevent over-activation of the channel. It's this

possible over-activation that causes excitotoxicity and

results in neurodegeneration.

Excess levels of glutamate can lead to very bad things.

One result is that the calcium channel remains open for

too long, resulting in too much calcium, which can

eventually lead to the formation of certain radicals

that are very damaging to mitochondria, the energy

source of brain neurons (5).

It can also lead to the formation of pro-inflammatory

molecules (6).

One of the eventual byproducts is called

4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), which can produce extensive

cell damage (7).

The impaired energy supplies caused by this process

raises sensitivity to glutamate, increasing its negative

effects. Synapses connecting brain neurons can be

destroyed, and in some cases even lead to direct neuron

degeneration.

About 30% of autistic children have visible seizures (8).

One study showed that 82% have persistent seizures that

don't fall under what the public typically defines as a

seizure, and can only be detected by monitoring brain

activity (9).

Why bring up seizures? Because they are intimately

connected to excitotoxicity (10).

Glutamate can precipitate seizures when injected into

the brain, and then the seizures themselves can lead to

even more release of glutamate.

Infants More Vulnerable to Excitotoxicity During the

critical time of brain formation, typically during the

last trimester and the first two years of life, excess

glutamate can alter development (11).

Glutamate levels are carefully regulated, and they rise

and fall during certain periods as the brain is being,

in some sense, sculpted. There's a real Goldilocks

dilemma, where the amount needs to be just right at

certain stages. Levels either too low or too high can be

damaging. And as should be obvious, altering these

levels, depending on the timing and dose, can have

profound effects on the brain. A developing brain has

more glutamate receptors than an adult, and so an infant

is more susceptible to excitotoxicity (12).

The Immune System and Excitotoxicity So what does all of

this have to do with vaccines?

Due to the blood-brain barrier, the brain has it's own

immune system, and cells called microglia are part of

this system. They are also present in the spinal cord.

Microglia are constantly scavenging the Central Nervous

System (CNS) for damaged neurons, plaques, and

infectious agents. Wikipedia

has a good summary if you want to know more, with

references.

But even though the CNS's immune system is separate and

unique from the regular body's immune system, it has

been shown to be interlinked and connected. Microglia

can be activated during immune stimulation, and can

occur during immune challenge as when can happen during

vaccination (13,

14).

Activation then leads to the release of cytokines,

inflammatory substances, and free radicals, and it has

also been shown that glutamate and quinolinic acid, both

excitotoxins, can be released directly from the

microglia. And as mentioned earlier, excess levels of

glutamate interferes with the growth and distribution of

brain pathways (and glutamate deficiency interferes with

learning and memory; again, it needs to be just right),

and infants are even more susceptible to damage to

neuron connectivity.

Not only that, but products from microglial activation

can also deactivate the glutamate transport family of

proteins, leading to disruption of glutamate disposal.

This interference has been possibly linked to Alzheimers

(15,

16).

And as Dr. Blaylock says, "All of these inhibitory

factors can be seen in cases of over-vaccination and

autoimmunity."

When multiple vaccines are given together, particularly

live viral vaccines, the stress on the immune system is

high, and the associated microglial activation is

increased. On top of that, to ensure the immune system

reacts, vaccines also contain adjuvants like aluminum to

further excite the immune response.

The direct mechanism and sequence that results in autism

is still unknown. However, we do know that immune

stimulation of the brain, especially if prolonged and

severe, can cause the release of excitotoxins from

microglia (17),

even without direct viral infection in the brain. And we

know that this excitotoxicity is a major cause of

neurodegeneration. For instance, it used to be a mystery

why some AIDS patients suffered dementia when the virus

doesn't infect the brain. Now we know that due to the

constant stress the immune system is under, the brain's

immune system is also in overdrive, leading to constant

excitotoxicity.

The bottom line: there is a clear path of cause and

effect going on here that is heavily documented. The

immune system is stimulated, microglia are activated in

the brain, and excitotoxicity occurs. This happens when

you normally get sick as well. If you have ever had a

bad case of the flu, you know how hard it can be to

think, to be around other people. Your behavior is

modified. Excitotoxicity is one of the reasons. The good

news is that once everything has calmed down, the brain

begins to repair the bystander injury that its immune

system caused. But things have to calm down. And that's

not the case when a child is given up to 6 shots every 2

months or so, each shot full of adjuvants.

I could get more technical and go into even more detail

from the research, talking about the role of damaged

mitochondria which increase sensitivity to

excitotoxicity to even more biological processes

kick-started with excess glutamate. It's interesting,

fascinating, and humbling at the same time. If you want

to know more, read Dr. Blaylock's paper. I hope this

primer has given you more interest to do so, and given

you additional confidence when you decide what do about

vaccinations regarding your own children.

When someone says that vaccines don't directly cause

autism, they are, in some sense, correct. But only

correct in the same way that someone says that eating

food doesn't directly cause the body to have energy.

Technically, it's the digestive process. Yet for some

strange reason, we don't have people being denounced as

fear-mongering quacks for making the connection that

food causes the body to have energy.

Hopefully, this information will become more ingrained

in the public conscious and more widespread. The current

consensus is doing no one any favors by sweeping the

autism issue under the rug. It might even be that the

risk of some diseases is worth vaccination when weighed

against the chance for autism, but until controlled

experiments and studies are actually done, we will never

know.

There might even be a genetic disposition that

determines increased susceptibility to excitotoxicity

that leads to autism after over-vaccination, and that

some children have no risk of autism at all if

vaccinated and given adequate nutrition. But again, we

will never know unless the connection is finally

admitted and these angles are studied thoroughly.

Wouldn't it be nice for a rational, scientific process

to be brought to bear on these issues? That is the

ultimate goal.

Bringing Excitotoxicity in Check Just because

excitotoxicity is common doesn't mean you should fear

permanent brain damage from the common cold. First of

all, your brain isn't going through the growth spurt of

an infant. Secondly, you're immune system probably isn't

getting overly stimulated unless you are getting regular

cocktails of vaccines. Thirdly, if you have adequate

nutrition, you can be guarded by most of its negative

effects. According to Dr. Blaylock, there are key areas

of the diet to focus on:

Magnesium and Zinc. These act as inhibitors of

excitotoxic sensitivity.

Avoid excessive Omega 6 fatty acids. (Peanut Oil,

Safflower Oil, etc). They stimulate inflammation.

Plenty of Omega 3 fatty acids. This is essentially

what the brain is made of, and needs them to do

repairs. Particularly DHA. Also anti-inflammatory.

Take 1000mg to 2000mg per day.

Avoid foods containing additive MSG.

Eat meat, but try and limit your intake to 4 to 6

ounces per day.

Plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Avoid sugar in excess.

Maintain cellular energy production with B Vitamins,

Vitamin K, CoQ10, Acetyl-L-carnitine, and

Acetyl-L-carnosine. Dr. Blaylock is very interested in

carnosine in particular and wants more studies done.

Plenty of buffered Vitamin C.

Natural form of Vitamin E.

Silymarin and Resveratrol are very powerful

inhibitors of microglial activation.

Vitamin D is a neuro/immune modulator so adequate

levels are recommended. Children should get at least

1,000 IU per day, and adults 40005000 IU.

And What About Vaccines? One of the many

problems with the CDC's schedule is that it assumes a

one-size-fits all solution. But that is rarely ever a

good idea with medication. For instance, a child who is

never put in daycare with 20 other kids is going to have

far less of a risk of contracting certain diseases than

one who is.

Try to avoid the HepB vaccine given at birth, unless you

know you are in one of the high-risk groups. Also avoid

the Chickenpox vaccine. Do your research on the other

diseases for risk factors and seriousness to decide

which ones you would like to vaccinate against.

But regardless of what vaccines you decide on, it's

crucial that you space them out accordingly. As

mentioned by Dr. Blaylock, it takes 1 to 2 months for

the immune system to calm back down from an infection or

vaccination, and so he recommends waiting a conservative

6 months between vaccines to be safe. And if the child

gets sick, you will want to wait several months after

they recover before getting a vaccination. When

pregnant, avoid vaccinations, which can prime a baby's

microglia in utero.

No matter what you decide, always remember that a

vaccination is no guarantee. I know a woman whose son

had all four rounds of the pertussis vaccine, and the

child still contracted the illness.

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January 19, 2011

Matt Robison [send him mail] a

web architect and entrepreneur who dabbles in many

interests and hobbies, including Christan Theology,

history, and nutrition, and even plays the occasional

video game. He owns and operates LCD

TV and Pitbull online communities, and offers web

consulting services.

Copyright © 2011 by LewRockwell.com. Permission to

reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided

full credit is given.