MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'anti-vaccine'. Tue, 04 May 2010 18:46:57 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2745601&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FeS5NXjcpyJM%2F Let’s say there IS a massive conspiracy and coverup. Big Pharma knowingly produces vaccines manufactured with a substance (thimerisol) that causes neurologic or immunologic damage (no one’s completely sure of the mechanism) to some children, who then become autistic. Photo courtesy of Martin Burns (flickr.com) Doctors are complicit in this malpractice: they prescribe and administer vaccines. And nurses ask you to hold the baby while they administer a shot they know could result in a devastating developmental condition. There are people who believe this. But I’m not one of them. You’re not going to meet many people who actively dislike and distrust doctors as much as I do.  Jeff and I transferred Alex as an infant from one hospital that declared, He needs a tracheo... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2745601 Sat, 29 Aug 2009 21:52:56 +0100 2745601 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1321801&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fleftbrainrightbrain.co.uk%2F%3Fp%3D753 As I’ve pointed out, Kirby has messed up his maths on the Huffington post blog. He’s now done much the same in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article (clearly, their Editor does not check for mathematical errors, or general stupid). Kirby’s article is titled “Give us answers on vaccines”: I don’t expect any answers from Kirby, but correct sums would be a start. Kirby argues that: Most striking is how typical Hannah’s cellular dysfunction [mitochondrial disorder] may be among children with autism. While extremely rare in the general population, at two per 10,000 people, it seems unusually common in autism — with estimates up to 2,000 per 10,000. To go over these figures again – a 2,000 per 10,000 incidence of mitochondrial disorder am... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1321801 Sun, 23 Mar 2008 01:33:20 +0100 1321801 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1320558&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fleftbrainrightbrain.co.uk%2F%3Fp%3D751 So many times I have heard it said by the anti-vaxx/autism believers how they are ‘the mainstream voice’ – the autism community. Today, they got a bit of a reality check. The New York Times discussed an NYT article in which parents who refuse to vaccinate their kids say: I refuse to sacrifice my children for the greater good,” said Sybil Carlson, whose 6-year-old son goes to school with several of the children hit by the measles outbreak here…..........Ms. Carlson said she understood what was at stake. “I cannot deny that my child can put someone else at risk,” she said. This piece was written in the wake of a measles outbreak in San Diego: In a highly unusual outbreak of measles here last month, 12 children fell ill; nine of them had not... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1320558 Sat, 22 Mar 2008 09:45:36 +0100 1320558 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1283513&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fleftbrainrightbrain.co.uk%2F%3Fp%3D742 Kirby’s crowing about a recent US government concession in a vaccine damage court case has got a fair bit of attention, and has been well-covered by several blogs – for a general appraisal, I’d start with posts on LBRB and Respectful Insolence, if you haven’t already. I was interested to see, though, that Kirby manages to get his basic maths wrong on the Huffington Post – meaning that his claims about autism, mitochondrial disorder and vaccine damage are left looking entirely ridiculous. Stephen Novella argues that “Among stiff competition, this is perhaps the most absurd and scientifically ignorant thing Kirby has every written.” It might be the most absurdly mathematically and statistically ignorant thing that Kirby has ever written, too. For K... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1283513 Thu, 06 Mar 2008 12:10:07 +0100 1283513 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1271863&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fleftbrainrightbrain.co.uk%2F%3Fp%3D738 ...even more evidence its not about the mercury. Or even about the autism. Meet Kim. Kim likes to say things like: “Some days you’re the windshield. Some days you’re the bug.” This week I was the bug. And the autism world (those of us who care about helping kids feel better that is) have been “the bug” for a long time. So today I took off the gloves on HuffPo. I might have even taken off my bra and panties Um. Form an orderly queue gents? So Kim – she who is part of the community who care about helping kids feel better – posts a good ol’ rant on Huff Po: Moms and Dads are waking up and refusing to drink the Kool Aid offered by their patronizing pediatrician, CDC Pharma shill, FDA schmuck…..When docs start pushing a &#822... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1271863 Sun, 02 Mar 2008 15:37:47 +0100 1271863 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1268450&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fleftbrainrightbrain.co.uk%2F%3Fp%3D734 This is a guest blogged piece, originally written by SL. It conains some words of wisdom regarding Mito and autism. This began on AutismVox when comments began rolling in here over the supposed autism-vaccine case that the Government conceded on. Truth is, it was a mito-vaccine case, and people who feel vaccines caused their child’s autism have no reason to celebrate over this. The government is not declaring that vaccines cause autism, or mito, or anything. While I disagree with the government’s decision on this one, I also see how very different it is from the autism-vaccine cases. For one, this one could actually prove that vaccines MAY have done harm BECAUSE of the mitochondrial disease. I still don’t feel there was a case here, I think this child would have been di... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1268450 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:41:44 +0100 1268450 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1247920&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fleftbrainrightbrain.co.uk%2F%3Fp%3D726 From the Age of Autism: They need to start listening to parents’ concerns and take them seriously,” said Amy Carson from Moms Against Mercury. She and cofounder Angela Medlin came all the way from balmy North Carolina to freeze in front of the AAP, abetted by TACA and NAA Chicago, led by Chapter Development Director Karen McDonough. This was their fifth rally outside the AAP, timed to greet employees arriving at work and remind them that thousands of American families believe vaccines have triggered an epidemic of autism and other developmental and chronic health disorders. And here is the proof positive of the teeming throngs of ‘thousands of American families’. You can click the image to make it bigger. Sadly it doesn’t increase the amount of attend... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1247920 Thu, 21 Feb 2008 20:27:30 +0100 1247920 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1245126&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fleftbrainrightbrain.co.uk%2F%3Fp%3D724 This is a Guest Blogged post, written by an author with a keen interest in Wakefield related issues. My gratitude to Nigel for writing the post which follows. Wakefield and his colleagues were fast off the mark (http://www.thoughtfulhouse.org/pr/020608.htm) to criticise the study by Baird et al which recently appeared in Archives of Disease in Childhood. This was a well conducted study which failed to detect measles virus (MV) or elevated measles antibodies in the blood of autistic children. There is a general feeling that even if the almighty Jehovah himself, collaborating with the top researchers at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and Yale, and with an advisory board of all recent Nobel laureates in medicine, produced a negative study on measles virus in autistic childre... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1245126 Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:51:19 +0100 1245126 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1236241&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fleftbrainrightbrain.co.uk%2F%3Fp%3D717 This blog post will be edited further. The information implicating JB Handley and Gilchrist & Soames in Aug 2007 was innacurrate and has therefore been removed. Further information on JB’s business practices (entirely unrelated to Gilchrist and Soames) will be posted shortly. (Source: Left Brain/Right Brain) Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1236241 Sat, 16 Feb 2008 07:47:04 +0100 1236241 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1233282&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fleftbrainrightbrain.co.uk%2F%3Fp%3D715 During WWII a number of German doctors conducted painful and often deadly experiments on thousands of concentration and death camp prisoners without their consent. ........ The second category of experimentation was aimed at developing and testing pharmaceuticals and treatment methods…. Source Its always a dangerous thing to invoke the spectre of the Nazi’s. There is a profound risk of undermining or belittling the full horror of what happened in Europe during the second world war. I hope I don’t do that. However, there are times that I simply know of no other way to illustrate the sort of things that one is sent from the various extreme biomed groups that exist on Yahoo and elsewhere. Who can forget Christine Heeren’s poor son being chelated with garli... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1233282 Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:53:26 +0100 1233282 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1217996&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fleftbrainrightbrain.co.uk%2F%3Fp%3D711 In the days following the latest in an increasingly long line of studies repudiating the MMR/autism hypothesis, adherents to this belief system have clung wildly to the flotsam and jetsam that is pretty much all that is left to hang on to. On the ADC Online forum, John Stone encapsulates this position with a letter I’ll go through point by point: Of the original 1770 Special Educational Needs (SEN)cases in this study 255 were Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Of the 1770 735 dropped out, then a further 780 were excluded for reasons which are not transparent. 255 were left (a different 255 from before): some ASD, some just SEN but we do not know in what proportion. Then, exactly 100 were excluded because of inadequate blood tests. Of the remainder 101 had ASD (less the 40 per cent... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1217996 Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:10:47 +0100 1217996 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1212102&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fleftbrainrightbrain.co.uk%2F%3Fp%3D708 A couple of days ago, Brad Handley wrote a blog entry on Age of Autism called ‘DR. NANCY MINSHEW & ME: WHO’S CRAZY?’. The temptation to reply with a one word answer starting in ‘y’ and ending in ‘ou’ is nearly irresistible so I’ll resist it. Let us instead examine Brad’s criteria for deciding on who is crazy and who is not between Dr Minshew and he. I disagree with almost every single thing you have written or said about autism. Since we both can’t possibly be right, one of us has to be crazy. I’m scared to death it might be me. As a psychiatrist, I thought you could help. Says Brad to Dr Minshew in an email. He then continues with: It is maddening for parents like me that our “experts” can’t ag... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1212102 Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:35:55 +0100 1212102 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1204696&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fleftbrainrightbrain.co.uk%2F%3Fp%3D705 Yet another study will shortly be published that yet again shows no link between autism and MMR: There is no evidence for a link between the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) jab and autism, finds research published ahead of print in the Archives of Disease in Childhood. The authors took almost 250 kids born between ‘90 and ‘91. 98 were ASD. 52 had special needs with no ASD. 90 had no special needs and were developing within ‘normal’ parameters. All the children had been vaccinated against MMR, but not all of them had been given both doses. The team took blood samples and found no persistent measles infection, no abnormal immune response. Results of the blood sample analysis showed that there was no difference in circulating measles virus or antibody levels betw... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1204696 Mon, 04 Feb 2008 22:34:44 +0100 1204696 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1198714&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fleftbrainrightbrain.co.uk%2F%3Fp%3D703 Mark Blaxill, the token man of the mercury moms at SafeMinds, has written a lip-trembling post over on Age of Autism about how mean bloggers can be. Lets have a bit of fun with it shall we? The rapid evolution of the Internet has created a host of fascinating, exhilarating and occasionally despicable new things. The Age of Autism is a blog and we’re proud to be a part of a new phenomenon called the blogosphere…...But as one might expect with any new form of cultural expression, there’s a bizarre variant of the blogosphere out there. It’s a strange hybrid: it looks like a regular low end blog, based almost entirely on opinion, a dressed up version of the typical online discussion groups and chat rooms….In a disturbing way, this new hybrid has found its way in... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1198714 Sun, 03 Feb 2008 23:55:16 +0100 1198714 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1195894&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fleftbrainrightbrain.co.uk%2F%3Fp%3D702 The Eli Stone thing is very closely following the ‘fallout’ trajectory of the MMR/Wakefield program (Hear The Silence)over here a few years ago in that the protagonists were virtually canonised and the evil medicos painted as uncaring, duplicitous swine. If the path of trajectory continues to be followed then Eli Stone’s canonisation should enjoy a brief, bright blaze followed by a long slow loss of interest from the general public and he will be relegated to one more point of disagreement that only matters to Age of Autism readers. However, I do wonder if the Legal Editor at Age of Autism might be coming ever so slightly detached from reality: Thanks to Eli Stone, our new patron saint of autism, we are no longer “Lost” to the mainstream media. Well no... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1195894 Sat, 02 Feb 2008 08:50:30 +0100 1195894 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1192865&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fleftbrainrightbrain.co.uk%2F%3Fp%3D701 This is a Guest Blogged piece written by new bloggers from Hollywood Spectrum. For those who don’t know (I wish I were one of you), there is a TV show about to premiere called "Eli Stone". It was likely going to be a pretty run-of-the-mill premiere. Possibly, it was going to be a total non event.But, the plot includes autism. Not only does it include autism, but it involves a lawyer doing what has never happened in real life-he win’s a case about how mercury in vaccines caused autism in a child. This led to a number of news stories, internet discussions and blog posts.Well, after the initial press on this, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) sent a letter to ABC/Disney asking them to pull the show since it could erode confidence in vaccines.  Somehow this ... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1192865 Fri, 01 Feb 2008 07:22:51 +0100 1192865 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1191419&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fleftbrainrightbrain.co.uk%2F%3Fp%3D700 Pediatrics released a study refuting the autism/thiomersal hypothesis early yesterday. They said that they did it to counter the upcoming Eli Stone pilot (of which there will be more to speak of soon). If that’s true then we need to thank the creators of Eli Stone for prompting the early release of more science debunking the anti-vaccine stance. I don’t have this new study yet so I want you to bear in mind that I can only go on what’s in the news reports. This isn’t ideal but there are numerous quotes from the study authors over the news. Basically, this study refutes the idea that autistic kids are poor excretors of mercury. Obviously, a lot of Hub bloggers have already taken this silliness apart but this is (IIRC) the first science paper to do so. A proviso ... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1191419 Thu, 31 Jan 2008 18:19:16 +0100 1191419 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1185821&cid=t_114940_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomensbioethics.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F01%2Ffiction-or.html (Source: Women's Bioethics Blog) Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1185821 Tue, 29 Jan 2008 08:50:00 +0100 1185821 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=918938&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fleftbrainrightbrain.co.uk%2F%3Fp%3D680 McCarthy was at the latest TACA bunfight recently and took to the stage to give the crowd some of her patented Sale Increasing Controversial Big Fat Mouth. Her victim was a long time favourite of American news, Barbara Walters (whos now deceased sister was born ‘developmentally disabled). About 3:15 today at the picnic on main stage jenny mccarthy in the most lisa ackerman style of feisty adorable commented that barabara walters said our kids CANT EVER GET BETTER and called her a bitch and said something about naysayers can stick her microphone up their BUTTS! PRICELESS. This is perfect way to get sensationalistic 6:00 news attention to get this aired NOW! Isn’t that lovely? I hope all those who were puzzled by the series of posts on here decrying Mccarthy’s self-appo... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=918938 Tue, 02 Oct 2007 07:44:16 +0100 918938 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=918942&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fleftbrainrightbrain.co.uk%2F%3Fp%3D674 Conclusions” that “[o]ur study does not support a causal association between early exposure to mercury from thimerosal-containing vaccines and immune globulins and neuropsychological functioning at the age of 7 to 10 years.” The statement is plainly false. The study’s conclusions do not reflect the study’s data or the limitations of the study, You’d think that at least A-CHAMP would correct that hanging comma at the end of the sentence there. Sarcasm aside, the study’s conclusions do reflect the study’s data, quite well, as we will see, and A=CHAMP’s complaints boil down to the usual crank technique of cherry picking the evidence, combined perhaps with sour grapes. Let’s lay the abstract out for all to see before we look at ... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=918942 Sun, 30 Sep 2007 18:10:32 +0100 918942 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=918946&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fleftbrainrightbrain.co.uk%2F%3Fp%3D669 This study did not look at autism (a study that will be published next year looks, again, at vaccines and autism), but the mercury-causes-autism crowd are still unhappy with the results. I have been following this issue closely for several years. Although my awareness of the issue goes back much farther, I started to seriously research the claim that the MMR vaccine, or that thimerosal in other vaccines, causes autism while researching an article on the topic for the New Haven Advocate. As a physician (a neurologist) and a skeptical activist I knew I had to get this issue right. I certainly did not want to falsely stoke the flames of public fear, nor did I want to cast myself in the role of denier. Early on in my research I really did not know which way I was going to go with the issue... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=918946 Sat, 29 Sep 2007 18:57:33 +0100 918946 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=893268&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kevinleitch.co.uk%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D650 And so, this was the week that the anti-vaccine/autism hypothesis got its first real airing in a public arena. Jenny McCarthy went on US TV and told her audience that her son was her science (quite possibly the silliest thing on the show since Tom Cruise’s couch/brain malfunction). I’m going to level with you here. I don’t really care too much about Jenny McCarthy spouting on about the evils of vaccines. She’s not the first and she won’t be the last. Despite the raptures the anti-vaccination people are having over her appearance she wasn’t on Oprah because of her vaccine ideas. This is what bothers me: she was on Oprah because she was famous. It scares the shit out of me that we can only apparently have a conversation about something after a celeb ha... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=893268 Sun, 23 Sep 2007 07:04:37 +0100 893268 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=891636&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kevinleitch.co.uk%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D641   What if there were a way that people could dramatically reduce the number of people born with autism? What if it took a concerted effort on the part of everyone to make it happen?  Should we do it?  Would people complain? Would we respect the lessons of  the past if it had already happened? Well, it may have already happened.  “May” as in it requires correlating one set of trends with California DDS numbers on Autism.  We all know how dangerous that can be.  CDDS data are not epidemological.  They don’t tell you how many people in California have autism, they tell you how many people in California are getting services under autism.  People who forgot the importance of that distinction have found themselves promo... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=891636 Fri, 21 Sep 2007 21:42:53 +0100 891636 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=825475&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kevinleitch.co.uk%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D612 On JB Handley’s Rescue Post, there is a new entry from Kent Heckenlively, a science teacher. There is much to admire in Heckenlively’s entry – it contains themes which are decidedly ND (eek!) in nature such as: I came to the realization that I’d been choosing to make my future happiness dependent on a future event. Couldn’t I simply choose to be happy right now, while continuing to work every bit as hard to help my child? Could I be just as effective researching what to do for my daughter if I wasn’t angry?......These kids are doing the very best they can and the world which greets them is often so overwhelmingly negative…..I’m also often horrified by the therapeutic techniques used on these children. “Don’t flap,” an ai... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=825475 Tue, 28 Aug 2007 12:30:17 +0100 825475 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=816694&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kevinleitch.co.uk%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D610 Acceptance. It is a word that some use to describe their relationship with the reality of their children, or their own, autism. We accept the fact our daughter is autistic. For people who claim to ‘fight autism’ this acceptance is a weak passivity. An act of giving in. This, of course, is rubbish. Those who have accepted the reality of their own or their children’s autism know that the work starts right there. We do not attempt to carry on deluding ourselves and using quack treatments such as chelation etc as shields against the reality of who our kids really are. Parents like Brad Handley of Generation Rescue claim at one point in time that: “autism is a misdiagnosis for mercury poisoning…..The whole notion of autism is mythical. It didn’t exist... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=816694 Wed, 22 Aug 2007 18:37:06 +0100 816694 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=804439&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kevinleitch.co.uk%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D608 Over on the Rescue Post (so named so people might think it has an air of authority similar to the Huffington Post – they call themselves ‘editors’ bless them), Brad Handley continues to make an arse of himself in new and interesting ways: Have you ever tried to talk to someone involved with autism from the “other” side about recovered children? Typically, the conversation goes something like this: Us: So you think autism is a genetic condition and biomedical intervention is quackery? Them: Yes, exactly. Us: But what about the children who are recovered, how do you explain them? Them: Well, they may have been misdiagnosed… Us: Well what about the kids who have multiple diagnoses saying they were autistic and have been re-screened and no long... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=804439 Fri, 17 Aug 2007 11:11:37 +0100 804439 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=777766&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kevinleitch.co.uk%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D602 I was interviewed for and quoted in the latest edition of Nature. The piece in question was an uneasy look at the continuing and escalating violent overtones emanating from the mercury militia – parents who believe against all evidence that their kids autism was caused by vaccines. The piece started with a look at the experiences Paul Offit faces now and then: ....as Paul Offit, a vaccine expert who served on the committee, tried to make his way through the crowd, one of the protestors screamed at him through a megaphone: “The devil—it’s the devil!” One protester held a sign that read “TERRORIST” with a photo of Offit’s face. Just before Offit reached the door, a man dressed in a prison uniform grabbed Offit’s jacket. “It was ... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=777766 Fri, 03 Aug 2007 21:25:39 +0100 777766 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=749694&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kevinleitch.co.uk%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D599 (Source: Left Brain/Right Brain) Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=749694 Sun, 22 Jul 2007 23:59:06 +0100 749694 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=719432&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kevinleitch.co.uk%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D577 Nancy Snyderman is a TV Doctor (for the Today Show apparently) who recently got the collective knickers of the mercury militia in a twist when she told her audience the truth about the vaccine/autism connection – that there isn’t one. What particularly galled them was being confronted with the truth of their own behaviour. When asked what she thought the motivating factor was for parents to be taking vaccine makers to court she replied with one word: ‘money’. Several anti vaccine/autism groups published a group response, which you can find on the home page of our old friends and routine liars, the National Autism Association. Let’s go through the main points of the letter. Dr. Snyderman’s ties to Johnson & Johnson, defendants in vaccine injury... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=719432 Sat, 07 Jul 2007 08:09:06 +0100 719432 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=716641&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kevinleitch.co.uk%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D575 Suspicions have been circling for a long time that there was more than just coincidence to the timing of writing and publication of Kirby’s Evidence of Harm. Those suspicions were enhanced for me when it became clear that a lot of Kirby’s associations with certain autism/anti-vaccine groups such as the National Autism Association were on a financial footing. The ‘official’ story regarding the writing of Evidence of Harm, as reported by Kirby himself, was that Kirby was casting about for something to write about of book length and had been approached by several autism parents who wanted to share their beliefs that vaccines had made their kids autistic. According to Kirby, he was skeptical and unsure about whether to proceed with it or not. What made up his mind app... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=716641 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 08:59:03 +0100 716641 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=706597&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kevinleitch.co.uk%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D573 The first of the nine ‘test’ Autism Omnibus cases has wrapped up. This was also the first of the designated three that will attempt to associate autism with MMR and Thiomersal causation. In todays’ Wall Street Journal, Professor Roy Richard Grinker, author of Unstrange Minds wraps up what we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks: Over the last three weeks, I listened to testimony in the first of nine test cases in the U.S. Vaccine Court (Cedillo v. Health and Human Services) considering the question of whether a mercury-based vaccine preservative called thimerosal (which used to be in many vaccines), or the MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) vaccine, or both together, caused autism in Michelle Cedillo, the plaintiffs’ daughter. I heard some of the world&#821... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=706597 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 08:24:13 +0100 706597 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=696935&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kevinleitch.co.uk%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D567 Conclusion: you are 1% more likely to have Aspergers if you have been partially vaccinated. If you are fully vaccinated your chance of being Aspergers is exactly the same as if you were unvaccinated. Number of boys with PDD-NOS Unvaccinated: 1% of total Partially vaccinated: 2% of total Fully vaccinated: 1% Fully and Partially combined: 1% Conclusion: you are 1% more likely to have PDD-NOS if you have been partially vaccinated. If you are fully vaccinated your chance of being PDD-NOS is exactly the same as if you were unvaccinated. Number of boys with Autism Unvaccinated: 2% of total Partially vaccinated: 7% of total Fully vaccinated: 3% Fully and Partially combined: 4% Conclusion: you are 5% more likely to have autism if you have been partially vaccinated. If you are fully vaccin... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=696935 Tue, 26 Jun 2007 10:39:06 +0100 696935 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=683303&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kevinleitch.co.uk%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D565 You can always tell when the mercury militia are hurting – they wheel out their biggest gun. The biggest gun they have in their armoury is RFK Jr, a man who seems to live on the reputation of his dead family members and not a lot else. Last time he dropped the biggest, steamingest, drippiest turd on the web in the fullsome (and entirely accurate) language of Orac. Well, after reading RFK Jr’s latest verbal tantrum I think Orac might need to get out the Dynorod and try and flush this particular big shit in a small bowl away as quickly as possible. RFK Jr claims firstly that: The poisonous public attacks on Katie Wright this week—for revealing that her autistic son Christian (grandson of NBC Chair Bob Wright), has recovered significant function after chelation treatme... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=683303 Wed, 20 Jun 2007 06:56:13 +0100 683303 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=676214&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kevinleitch.co.uk%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D561 And so, as we approach the end of week one of the vaccine trial, its been truly fascinating to read (albeit a day behind my US counterparts) the ongoing proceedings. One of the things that fascinated me was the culling of the ‘expert witness’ list. Before Monday – the start of the trial – the expert list comprised: Jim Adams PhD Harland Austin D. Sc. David S Baskin MD Jeffrey Bradstreet M.D. Richard Carlton Deth PhD Mark Geier MD M. Eric Gershwin MD Phillippe Grandjean, Ph.D. Sander Greenland, Dr. PH Boyd E. Hayley, Ph D Robert Hirsch PhD Arthur Krigsman MD Cathy A Lally, Master P.H. Mary Megson, MD Elizabeth Mumper MD Andrew J. Wakefield, MB, BS, FRCS, FRCPath And on Monday, the people left from this list were: Arthur Krigsman MD. Amazing. I can only surm... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=676214 Thu, 14 Jun 2007 15:06:31 +0100 676214 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=676218&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kevinleitch.co.uk%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D555 I’ve taken a deliberate and purposeful step away from everything autism related (online anyway) this last week and to be perfectly frank, its been a breath of fresh air. I’ve done some hard thinking and some hard talking/listening to family and friends and tried very hard to firstly compartmentalise what exactly I found so upsetting and offensive about the events of last weekend. First, I was dismayed to find someone I considered an ally calling me names. It doesn’t matter under what guise it was – literary allusion or not – if you call people names they’re never going to find it easy to talk with you. I still haven’t been able to resolve the sheer mindless immaturity of this act and so I simply won’t try and rationalise it any more. It h... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=676218 Sat, 09 Jun 2007 08:44:03 +0100 676218 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=588474&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kevinleitch.co.uk%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D542 As already blogged by Steve and Orac, Generation Rescue have undergone a change in both website and message. Up until this week and for the last two years, Brad Handley – GR Head Honcho (and Stanford Rugby Treasurer) has promoted a message quite unequivocal: “Autism is treatable. It’s reversible. It’s nothing more than mercury poisoning,” said JB Handley, founder of Generation Rescue. In fact, giving a reason for the redesign of the site on Orac’s blog, Brad said: From my perspective, our website and its message have always been broader than “its ONLY mercury”... Huh. Weird. Maybe its just me but I detect a teensy-weensy inconsistency between those two statements. Lets switch to the video!!: And for the non-video-blessed a... Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=588474 Thu, 03 May 2007 23:42:46 +0100 588474 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=566595&cid=t_114940_133_f&fid=35109&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kevinleitch.co.uk%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D538 This was not a pleasant video to put together and I hope it will not be pleasant to watch. However, I think there are more than a few people out there who really need a cold, hard dash of reality. (Source: Left Brain/Right Brain) Left Brain/Right Brain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=566595 Tue, 24 Apr 2007 22:23:48 +0100 566595