The Pentagon -- A Voice of Reason on Vaccines and Autism?

[Guest guest]

Posted December 4, 2008 | 03:01 PM (EST)

The Pentagon -- A Voice of Reason on

Vaccines and Autism?

Kirby – Huffington Post

When it comes to fighting autism, maybe we should send in

the Army.

Autism and the military have a deep history together.

Children of service members are reportedly almost twice as

likely to have autism (1-in-88) than those in the general population

(1-in-150). Meanwhile, the Department of Defense quietly spends millions in

taxpayer dollars researching the possible causes of autism at

far-from-the-spotlight centers around the country.

Recently, several documents have been brought to my

attention which, when viewed together, suggest that the Department of Defense

has legitimate concerns about vaccine injuries and their possible connection to

autism, perhaps more so than other branches of the Federal Government.

These documents raise several questions that I am

currently trying to get answered from DOD officials:

1) Autism may be an " adverse

event " of Tripedia (DTaP) use

According to the website of the Vaccine Healthcare

Centers Network, run by DOD and CDC, autism is listed

as an " adverse event " associated with use of the Tripedia triple

vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.

My questions are: Why does autism appear here? Does VHC

consider autism to be a possible adverse event of DTaP use, or has it simply

been reported that way by parents?

2) Patients who have bad vaccine

reactions should avoid multiple vaccines in the future

According to this VHC slide, any

patient who has a " Systemic Event " following immunization - defined

as " symptoms and signs of illness after vaccination " and " any

reaction that does not involve the injection site " - should avoid multiple

vaccines in the future, if possible.

My questions are: Is that standard DOD policy? Is there an

alternative schedule for these patients? Does this advice apply to children of

service members as well? Why is this information not shared with civilian

doctors and pediatricians?

3) Patients who develop serious

neurological diseases might need vaccine exemptions in the future

This

VHC slide says that a patient who develops a severe neurologic disease

following vaccination might need temporary or permanent exemption from future

vaccines. Such diseases include peripheral neuropathy, encephalopathy

(including autism, presumably) Guillain-Barré syndrome and progressive focal

neurologic disease. Such patients should be given temporary exemptions from

future vaccinations.

Meanwhile, risks for recurrent reactions should be

assessed before additional doses are given, and " permanent vaccine

exemption may be required. "

Again, is this DOD policy? Are such exemptions given?

Because autism is listed as a " severe neurological disease, " would

those patients (ie, children of service members) also be exempt from future

vaccinations? And, on a related note, does VHC consider autism to be a

" neurological disease, " as opposed to a developmental/behavioral

disorder?

4) Mercury, and possibly

thimerosal may cause autism and dementia

According

this slide (#22) on the vaccine preservative thimerosal, from the Armed

Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), " exposure to mercury in utero and

children may cause mild to severe mental retardation and mild to severe motor

coordination impairment. " The slide also seems to indicate that autism and

dementia might questionably be " health effects " of mercury or

thimerosal exposure.

My question is: Why does autism appear on a list of

health effects on a slide about thimerosal, even if it is followed by a

question mark?

5) Alternative biomedical treatments

may be prescribed for thimerosal exposure

The same slide says that " treatments " for

thimerosal exposure include: " Methyl-B12, ointment DMPS, & glutathione

(GSH). " These are all alternative (some would say fringe, radical and

dangerous) treatments being used today by thousands of autism parents and their

children's physicians, with varying degrees of success (including reports of

full recovery).

Methyl-B12 - has been shown to repair damage to the

process of methylation, and to restore methionine and glutathione levels in

patients with autism to within normal ranges.

DMPS - is a sulfur-based amino acid used in the

process of chelation - in which sulfur molecules bind with heavy metals such as

mercury, and eliminate them from the system.

Glutathione - is a sulfur-based protein that binds

with heavy metals and eliminates them from the system. It is also a powerful

anti-oxidant. Many children with autism show signs of glutathione depletion,

heavy metal accumulation and oxidative stress.

My questions are: Was the speaker simply refering to

treatments that some people have tried, or is the AFID endorsing these treatments

for thimerosal toxicity and/or autism? On what evidence is this based? Are

Methyl B-12 and GSH, like chelation, considered standard of care in the

military for mercury toxicity? Can you explain why autism families in the

military have these treatments covered, (at thousands of dollars a year), even

if they also have an autism diagnosis? Is this why military insurance will pay

for visits to doctors in the Defeat Autism Now network, which advocates the use

of these non-traditional treatments?

I eagerly await the replies from VHC and AFID officials,

and will update this blog as soon as I hear anything.

Meanwhile, regardless of the Pentagon's positions on the

above questions, we know for certain that DOD is concerned about the risk of

injury from multiple vaccines.

In fact, it may even need to reconsider the practice.

" We have preliminary findings from one of our many

on-going research studies that suggest a relationship between adverse events

and multiple vaccinations exist, " US Army Colonel Renata J. M. Engler, MD,

director of the VHC, (a " collaborative network " of the Defense

Department and the CDC), wrote

to Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY). " These findings will require

validation, but heighten our concern for the current clinical practice of

multiple vaccinations. "

" The more drugs one is exposed to, the greater the

likelihood of having an adverse event so as vaccine numbers increase, and (sic)

we will see more people who have efficacy or safety issues, " Col. Engler

said. " The standard of care (ie, in the context of mixing vaccines) is to

minimize drug exposures because of the recognition that the more drugs being

used, the greater the chance of a reaction and potentially a serious adverse

event. "

I wonder when the CDC and America's pediatricians will

issue an equally thoughtful and cautionary statement, instead of their usual

reassurance that small children can easily get 100,000 shots at once, without a

single " serious adverse event " among them.

PS: For a list of

scientists and government leaders who called for more vaccine-autism research

in 2008, please CLICK

HERE.