Re: Will a 9 Year Old Change the Vaccine debate?

[Guest guest]

I think it's complete BS to say that the reason Hannah has autism is

from a rare mitochondrial disorder! Mitochondrial dysfunction is not

rare at all, in fact it is present in all people with chronic

fatigue, MS, RA, fibromyalgia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ALS,

autism, implant illness, etc.

I believe we ALL have the potential to develop mitochondrial

disorder if exposed to enough toxins. All mitochondrial dysfunction

means is a lack of energy within and between cells due to an

accumulation of toxins. Even the healthiest baby in the world would

develop mitochondrial dysfunction if given FIVE vaccines at one

time...way too much for any infant! - PH

>

> http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/12/will-a-9-year-old-change-

the-vaccine-debate/?em & ex=1208232000 & en=5a8ccf2d06b0f099 & ei=5087

>

> April 12, 2008, 4:39 pm

Will a 9-Year-Old Change the Vaccine Debate?

> Hannah Poling (W.A.Harewood/Associated Press)

> There's no question that the case of 9-year-old Hannah Poling of

> Athens, Ga., has fueled the controversy about childhood vaccines.

But

> what's less clear is whether it will help unlock the mysteries of

> autism.

> Hannah was 19 months old and developing normally until 2000, when

> she received five shots against nine infectious diseases. She

became

> sick and later was given a diagnosis of autism.

> Late last year government lawyers agreed to compensate the

Polingfamily on the theory that vaccines may have aggravated an

underlyingdisorder affecting her mitochondria, the energy centers of

cells. (Toread more about the decision, click here.)Vaccine critics

say the Hannah Poling settlement shows the governmenthas finally

conceded that vaccines cause autism. But governmentofficials say

Hannah's case involved a rare medical condition, andthere is still

no evidence of a link between vaccines and autism.

> Hannah's father, Dr. Jon S. Poling, a practicing neurologist in

> Athens and clinical assistant professor at the Medical College of

> Georgia, says the case has shifted the autism debate forever and

points

> to a promising new area of research.

> Writing in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday, Dr. Poling

> says there is compelling evidence that mitochondrial disorders,

like

> the one his daughter has, are strongly associated with autism.

>

> To understand Hannah's case, it is important to understand

> mitochondria, which act like batteries in our cells to produce

energy

> critical for normal function…. Emerging evidence suggests that

> mitochondrial dysfunction may not be rare at all among children

with

> autism. In the only population-based study of its kind, Portuguese

> researchers confirmed that at least 7.2 percent, and perhaps as

many as

> 20 percent, of autistic children exhibit mitochondrial dysfunction.

> While we do not yet know a precise U.S. rate, 7.2 percent to 20

percent

> of children does not qualify as " rare. " In fact, mitochondrial

> dysfunction may be the most common medical condition associated

with

> autism.

> Dr. Poling urges the Institute of Medicine and public health

> officials to pursue research into mitochondrial conditions, which

he

> describes as a " breakthrough in the science of autism.'' He writes:

> National public health leaders, including those at CDC,

> must now recognize the paradigm shift caused by this biological

marker

> with regard to their current position of dispelling a vaccine-

autism

> link. In light of the Hannah Poling concession, science must

determine

> more precisely how large the mitochondrial autism subpopulation

is: 1

> percent, 7.2 percent, 20 percent?

> To be sure, many health experts do not agree with Dr. Poling's

> conclusions. The case has " added nothing to the discussions of what

> causes or doesn't cause autism, " said Dr. Edwin Trevathan,

director of

> the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental

Disabilities at

> the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

> On Friday, many of the main players involved in this debate —

> including Hannah's mother and her grandparents, prominent vaccine

> skeptics and some of the government's top vaccine researchers —

took

> part in the federal government's first-ever public meeting to

discuss a

> government-wide research agenda to explore the safety of vaccines.

> To read Dr. Poling's complete essay, click here.Last month, Dr.

A. Offit, chief of the infectious diseasesdivision of the

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, explained his viewthat the

Hannah Poling case has been mischaracterized by vaccinecritics. To

read the piece, click here. Hannah Poling's parents wrote this

response to Dr. Offit's report. Last month, The Atlanta Journal-

Constitution wrote this profile of Hannah and her parents.

> Note: To read additional comments from Dr. Poling, see comment

#103.

>