Fox & Friends Unethically Pushes Dubious Autism Cure

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http://mediamatters.org/research/201103020023

Fox & Friends Unethically Pushes Dubious " Autism Cure "

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Fox & Friends hosted Bock, a doctor who purports to be able to treat

autism through a change in dietary habits, and Larsen, the owner of a

product made from fermented coconut milk, which he claims improved his own

daughter's autism-related disorder. But Fox & Friends never mentioned that Bock

has promoted numerous dubious, and dangerous autism cures in the past, including

the discredited link between autism and vaccines, or that Larsen stood to gain

financially from the promotion of his " probiotic " drink.

Carlson Hosts Bock, Larsen To Push Dubious Treatment For Autism-Related

Developmental Disorders

Carlson: " Some People Would Hear This And Say, A Miracle Cure. " On the March 1

edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, co-host Gretchen Carlson hosted Bock and

Larsen, along with Larsen's daughter, Tula. Larsen claimed Tula was cured of her

autism-related developmental disorder through a change in diet. During the

segment, Larsen promoted the " body ecology diet, " which " leans heavily on

gluten-free, dairy-free foods and a lot of high probiotic foods, " and claimed

his daughter saw improvement " almost immediately. " Bock promoted his theory that

" the connection between the gut and the brain is very profound " and that a diet

that promotes " good intestinal bacteria " could show improvement in " as many as

60 percent of autistic children, " in Carlson's words.

Fox Chyron, Larsen Promote CocoKefir, A Company Co-Founded By Larsen. During the

segment, Larsen promoted CocoKefir, a fermented drink made from the milk of

young coconuts, and suggested that it was used in the treatment of his

daughter's disorder. During the segment, the following on-screen graphic aired:

At no point during the segment did Fox note that Larsen co-founded CocoKefir

with his wife, Holly, and therefore stood to gain financially from the promotion

of this product. [CocoKefir.com, accessed 3/2/11]

But These Dietary Changes Provide No Benefit To Autistic Children

University Of Rochester Study Shows No Benefit To Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet.

A 2010 study conducted by the University of Rochester " found that eliminating

gluten and casein from the diets of children with autism had no impact on their

behavior, sleep or bowel patterns. " From the study:

Hyman's study enrolled 22 children between 2 ½- and 5 ½-years-old. Fourteen

children completed the intervention, which was planned for 18 weeks for each

family. The families had to strictly adhere to a gluten-free and casein-free

diet and participate in early intensive behavioral intervention throughout the

study. Children were screened for iron and vitamin D deficiency, milk and wheat

allergies and celiac disease. One child was excluded because of a positive test

for celiac disease and one was excluded for iron deficiency. Other volunteers

who were excluded were unable to adhere to the study requirements. The

children's diets were carefully monitored throughout the study to make sure they

were getting enough vitamin D, iron, calcium, protein and other nutrients.

After at least four weeks on the strict diet, the children were challenged with

either gluten, casein, both or placebo in randomized order. They were given a

snack once weekly with either 20 grams of wheat flour, 23 grams of non-fat dried

milk, both, or neither until every child received each snack three times. The

type of snack was given in randomized order and presented so that no one

observing - including the family, child, research staff and therapy team - knew

what it contained. The snacks were carefully engineered to look, taste and feel

the same, which was an exercise in innovative cooking. In addition, the

nutrition staff worked closely with the families to make a snack that met their

child's preferences. Casein was disguised in pudding, yogurt or smoothies and

gluten in banana bread, brownies, or cookies depending on the child's food

preferences.

Parents, teachers and a research assistant filled out standardized surveys about

the child's behavior the day before they received the snack, at two and 24 hours

after the snack. (If the child's behavior wasn't usual at the scheduled snack

time, the snack would be postponed until the child was back to baseline.) In

addition, the parents kept a standard diary of food intake, sleep and bowel

habits. Social interaction and language were evaluated through videotaped

scoring of a standardized play session with a research assistant.

Following the gluten and casein snacks, study participants had no change in

attention, activity, sleep or frequency or quality of bowel habits. Children

demonstrated a small increase in social language and interest in interaction

after the challenges with gluten or casein on the Ritvo Freeman Real Life Rating

Scale; however, it did not reach statistical significance. That means because of

the small difference and the small number of participants in the study, the

finding may be due to chance alone. [university of Rochester, 5/19/10]

Pediatrician: Gluten, Casein-Free Diet Leads To " No Large Improvement " In Autism

Symptoms. In a statement to Media Matters, pediatrician Dr. Tran wrote:

I see many autistic spectrum children whose family has limited their diet of

casein and gluten--- no large improvement in their [symptoms]. I truly wish it

was this simple for these families' flights were tragic enough without the

misinformation and exploitation in our medical system. [Media Matters, 3/2/11]

Bock Has A History Of Promoting Dubious Cures, Theories For Autism, Including

Fraudulent Link With Vaccines

Bock Previously Promoted Fraudulent Link Between Vaccines And Autism. Through

his clinic, the Rhinebeck Health Center & The Center for Progressive Medicine,

Bock previously advanced the theory that there is a link between vaccines and

autism. Bock claimed: " There is something that can provide an overarching

explanation for this phenomenon of pervasive dysfunction. That is a toxic

substance that we are all aware of; the mercury containing preservative,

thimerosal. " Thimerosal is a compound found in many vaccines and contains

mercury. To forward his claim, Bock referenced the work of (former) Dr.

Wakefield, whose study purporting to find a link between childhood vaccines and

autism was recently found to be an " elaborate fraud. " [bock, accessed 3/1/11;

CNN, 1/5/11]

Tran: Autism Rates Continue To Increase, While Thimerosal Levels Have Decreased.

In her statement to Media Matters, Tran wrote:

Most vaccines now contain none or very little amounts [of thimerosol] except for

some flu vaccines. Most [pediatricians] give the thimerisol-free ones. Yet the

incidence of autism spectrum diagnoses continues to increase as we've seen in a

California study. The incidence did not decrease in Japan and Europe as the

number of MMR vaccine given dropped significantly after the Wakefield study was

published in the Lancet, (retracted later). The landmark study in the

Scandinavian countries which evaluated thousands of children showed the

incidence of vaccinated to unvaccinated children were equal. [Media Matters,

3/2/11]

Bock Promoted Dangerous, Ineffective Therapy To Treat Discredited Connection

Between Vaccines And Autism

Bock Proposed Dangerous And Ineffective Chelation Therapy To Treat Autism. One

of the therapies recommended by Bock to treat autism is chelation. Based on the

discredited theory that mercury in vaccines is a cause of autism, chelation

therapy involves isolating and removing heavy metals, such as mercury, from the

blood. Bock called chelation one part of " a comprehensive treatment program " to

" effectively overcome the inflammation, oxidative stress, nutritional

defiencies, immune dysfunction, and the other disparate factors that often

result in a diagnosis of one of the 4-A disorders. " [bock, accessed 3/1/11]

Chelation Therapy Has Been Shown To Be Ineffective And Potentially Dangerous.

Chelation therapy has been shown to be ineffective for treating autism.

According to the Mayo Clinic's Dr. Jay Hoecker:

Chelation therapy is not an effective autism treatment, and it may be dangerous.

Some doctors and parents have considered chelation therapy as a potential autism

treatment. Proponents believe that autism is caused by mercury exposure, such as

from childhood vaccines. Chelation therapy supposedly removes mercury from the

body, which chelation supporters say cures autism -- but there's no evidence of

a link between mercury exposure and autism. In addition, chelation therapy can

be associated with serious side effects, including potentially deadly liver and

kidney damage.

There's no cure for autism. As a result, many unproven alternative therapies are

often suggested. However, these alternative therapies are usually found to be

ineffective and sometimes harmful. [Mayo Clinic, accessed 3/1/11]

Further, in her statement to Media Matters, Tran wrote that " [t]here are doctors

.... who have also exploit[ed] these children's famil[es] for large profits, "

such as by recommending " chelation of heavy metals even in those who have had no

thimersol vaccines. Many parents ask me to order level metal screens and all

have come back without any abnormal levels. " [Media Matters, 3/2/11]

Chelation Has Also Been Shown To Be Fatal In Some Cases. According to the

Centers for Disease Control (CDC), chelation therapy was associated with at

least three deaths between 2003 and 2005, including one 5-year-old boy who was

being treated for autism. The CDC notes that the only drug recommended for

chelation in children, CaEDTA, itself warns, " The use of this drug in any

particular patient is recommended only when the severity of the clinical

condition justifies the aggressive measures associated with this type of

therapy. " [Centers for Disease Control, 3/3/06]