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  1. This is really good overview on Autoimmune Encephalities. My son was checked for the NR 1 receptor for NMDAR encephalities in November but it came back negative. However, I still think my son has a form of encephalities because of his high glutemate levels. So I am going to see if our doctor will check for GABA receptors that affect the levels of glutamate. There is lots of information in this article. This doctor talks about different things that can cause encephalities. http://www.ssi.dk/~/media/Indhold/DK%20-%20dansk/Diagnostik/DiagnostiskHaandbog/Autoimmune%20encephalitis%2044.ashx
  2. Need advice about best place if hospitalization needed. Current flare severe. We are trying to manage at home until IVIG. Need a plan B. Also looking for advice on best provider experience for second consultation. We are pleased with our current Pans Provider but want to make sure we didn't miss anything in the testing. Thanks in advance!
  3. What is the significance of a "not likely" cunningham panel. If the initial flare was over a year ago is it possible that the cunningham changes with time? My son met the clinical criteria for Pans/Panda's 1.5 years ago. Recently had the panel done with no definitive result. Any thoughts?
  4. Hello friends, This is going to be an unusual thread. I am new to this whole disorder. My child is 7 and I will get my child's lab results on Monday. We are testing for PANDAS and other potential viruses. My question is this... has anyone ever used the Hippocrates Institute in Florida to treat this illness? I have been into the natural medicine/ alternative therapies world for my own autoimmune illness since 2009 and I am very familiar with this retreat/resort, etc. (There are hundreds of youtube videos if you want to research it). I never would have spent the money for me, but since it's my child, it's a whole different ball game. Their testimonials are fantastic!!!! I am entertaining this treatment along with many other options. My concern is his... this would be hard on a 7 year old ... boring and long (3 weeks in a hotel environment, wheatgrass, living foods, educational classes, etc). If I decide to do it, I would have my child bring a DVD player with headset to entertain him while he sits next to me throughout the classes. If any other mom's are considering this treatment, it would be nice to have a child for my son to play with. I have spoken to Brian Clement (the founder) and they will treat children. Anyway.... this is all in the air. I have not even spoken to my husband about it. But just wanted to see if any other families have tried this approach. If we try this, it will be soon. Maybe in the next month or two. I am looking forward to hearing back from you.
  5. Hi there, I am a 23 year old female. I've been doing quite a bit of reasearch on PANDAS lately, and everything is just pointing to it. I developed a sudden onset of severe OCD at the age of 10, followed by a sudden onset of Anorexia at age 15. I also had PLMD at age 16. And at age 21, I started getting tic like sypmtoms and body movements (I'm not really sure if they were present when I was younger as well). As a child, I was in the doctor's office almost every month getting a throat culture for strep or had some sort of ear infection. I was sick quite often as a child. I even remember having a fever of 107 at the age of 2. My question is, does anyone know if antibiotics could help an adult who possibly has PANDAS untreated? I have tried countless treatments and therapies and medications for my OCD and anorexia and nothing has helped. I feel like things just keep getting worse, and I just want some relief. I remember being totally fine as a child, and the one day waking up and feeling like my world turned upside down and had no idea why I was doing the things I was doing. This happened with the OCD and Anorexia. No previous implications of it, just literally overnight. Does anyone know (or suffer themselves) and are older? Is there anyway to know if it's PANDAS even though I am older now - symptoms never got better over the years, only worse. And of course al ldoctors do is just push this SSRI or that SSRI. I'm worried it's too late in the game to test for anything or possibly treat it. It wasn't ever a known thing when I was younger, and I've even tried to bring it up to doctors now, but I'm just looked at like I have 10 heads. I just want to be okay and recover from these horrible symptoms that didn't plague me for years. If anyone has any words of support or anything they could offer/advice/anything at all - it would be greatly appreciated. I feel like I am trapped in my own body and have been for years. Thanks everyone.
  6. We are testing for Strep today. My son is starting to hate needles. Is there anything else I should test him for (like Lyme) at the same time to eliminate the need to come back and draw blood again. He throws a temper tantrum which is not good for all his tics and stress levels. I am new to this. I am reading "Childhood Interrupted". It has been eye-opening. I just realized what the possible situation was last night and I am overwhelmed to say the least. Any referrals or advice is appreciated. Thanks. Heidi
  7. Hello all, I just joined the group. My 7 year old son is being tested for the strep strain today by his pediatrician, but I need to find a doctor who will take a PANDAS patient. He local doctor knows nothing about this illness. I have called 2 already and they are not accepting new patients. Any recommendations? Thanks!
  8. Hi, Can anyone help with how to take Zeolite. I purchased the powder form and it states "Does not mix well in water" They suggest putting it in yogurt but we are dairy free. Can I mix in applesauce? or something else. My DS is great with taking anything. I'm sure if I did put in water he would just down it, how much water, full glass? Also do you detox everyday or maybe just on weekends? I'm assuming you need a 4 hour window just like activated charcoal so at best I can only do this once a day.....good enough? For how long, weeks, months? thanks for any help frifrak
  9. Hi, I know that alot of people use magnesium for their children to help them sleep. My DS (24) sleep has gotten worse, to the point that only seroquel works. I would prefer not to give this and want to try magnesium. My question: His magnesium levels are fine so is it still ok to give magnesium. Also he has constant diarrhea which we are trying to fix so I read to give Magnesium Glynicate because it doesn't create diarrhea, yes? There is also a newer form out now...Magnesium Threonate, supposedly gets into the brain better, has anyone used this? Also what dosage....500 mg. before bed? thanks for any help frifrak
  10. Hello. I am new to this forum. My son is starting on abx treatment this week for Pandas. It was recommended that I log his response. I was wondering if there was a standard or verified tool for tracking symptoms. I am currently using a simple excel sheet and plan to use the Yale OCD scale. Any suggestions for logging/tracking symptoms? Thanks.
  11. I'm learning about this after reading about a success story on one of my many Facebook PANDAS groups, and went searching for information. There are others that have been helped by it, although I'm still trying to understand it. My ND's office has a chiropractor who uses it for Lyme patients, but he is not that familiar with PANS. I know it reduces inflammation and increases blood flow and helps facilitate healing, but does it kill bacteria? I don't know whether or not to try it. Has anyone had any experience with this?
  12. I am looking for a doctor (neurologist, neuropsychiatrist, psychiatrist, immunologist, etc.) in New Orleans who has experience treating PANDAS.
  13. Me again. Nothing is helping our dd. Nothing. Over 10 years of extreme anxiety, (and I do mean extreme), OCD, intrusive thoughts, anorexia nervosa, etc... We're always thinking we've found an answer, but it never works out. Current doc is beginning to think it's just her low weight causing all the trouble, even though we've told her repeatedly that this started years before the eating disorder, with urinary frequency and anxiety. Everyone wants this to be "mental" so they don't have to deal with it. Dd recently became extremely exhausted, nauseus, heavy leg feeling and temp as low as 94.2 - but doc insists it's because she doesn't eat enough protein. (We've told her REPEATEDLY that dd eats LOTS of protein - but once "eating disorder" is thought of they assume it's all connected to that. Ugh... Fortunately, this illness occurred at the same time I requested some labwork, and the labwork came back positive for mycoP and positive for ASO titer. Sadly, she's been on abx for them, and it doesn't do any good. We went to a psychiatrist who specializes in methylation issues. It's obvious from his office protocol that he leans toward metals issues. (You know what I mean... some LLMD's assume everyone has Lyme until proven otherwise!) The thing is, he did do a provoked metal test and dd DID show high lead and mercury. According to this doc, that is why dd takes abx for strep, myco, etc, etc, and rarely clears it. He says the metals are screwing up her immune system so she is unable to respond correctly to the abx. I've researched a lot of what he's said, and it does seem to make sense. (But doesn't it all at the time when we're desperate and tired?) IF he's right, and getting rid of the metals helps her immune system, then all these weird symptoms of so many other things she has might actually go away. Wouldn't this explain why the PANDAS/PANS kids KEEP getting sick over and over? Something like metals is keeping the immune system screwed up, and that's why there are recurring problems? Antibiotics never bring our dd anywhere close to a baseline - although they can help with extreme fatigue and the kind of intrusive thoughts where she literally grabs her head and screams, "Please make them go away!" But the thoughts are always there, and the anxiety for her makes life not worth living. Another year, and college classes have to be cancelled AGAIN. She truly has no life and nothing to look forward to. She worked her butt off to get a wonderful scholarship, and this disorder has taken it all away. Has anyone tried removing the metals to see if it helps, or are we just barking up another wrong tree?
  14. Just got off the phone with one of my NDs and talking about immune modulation and how we can redirect the immune system into fighting bacteria and viruses instead of DS' brain. She said she uses larch arabinogalactan with a lot of kids - I've been doing a lot of reading and this is the first I've heard of it. Anyone else use it? She also recommended olive leaf extract. What is a good brand to use? And dosage?
  15. Hi all my son has suspected pandas (more than likely it is this)... Behaviour when Ill is horrendous and has been happening for over two years finally being listened to that something was not right. Attended paeds apoingtment last week and the paediatrician advised that the condition is likely to be pandas due to the extreme behaviour ocd etc. I received a letter today advising that we have been referred to a psychiatrist and that some bloods that were taken have given a result of asot level 1200 I have no idea what this means and whether this is good or bad???? My son will not be seen for three months now by the paediatrician as he said it is difficult to diagnose and there isn't much in terms of treatment and I am at my wits end.. I feel so sorry for him he cannot control his behaviour has extreme rages is violent obsesses about germs wets frequently has pains in legs and cannot sleep at night.... This all occursvwhen he is Ill...it takes him weeks to calm back down and at present he is having recurrent infections of throat ears and chest...can anybody offer any advice at all???? Sorry for the massive rant but I am so worried ....and tired!!!! Thank you in advance!
  16. Hi all - I am new to this board and am looking for some help. My son has been to therapists and psychiatrists for years with not much changing with a mood and discipline problem. He was finally diagnosed a year ago with bipolar NOS and has been on medicine -some of which made him worse and some that did not help at all. Finally took my son to a doctor of functional medicine and she took a ton of blood (and stool and urine - still not back). I also noted (had to ask the pediatrician about this) that he had strep one time in early 2011 - similar time frame to when he started having issues (pulling his hair out in a large circle on his head). He has only been on antibiotics twice - once for the strep and one ear infection. He is 7 1/2 years old. Since then it has been hitting yelling being mad irritable etc. All of the doctors did not think it was a possibility of something like PANS as we did not notice an immediate onset (we did with the hair pulling but took him to a therapist since we thought it was anxiety induced). I have not spoken to her but got the tests back and I have this info: TSH 4.81 <4 ASO AB 859 <150 DNASE B AB 447 <376 M PNEUMONIAE AB (IGG), EIA 2.12 <9 HERPESVIRUS 6 (IGG, IFA) 1:160 1:110 Past Infection Cytomegalovirus AB (IGG) 1.68 <.91 Cytomegalovirus AB (IGM) 1.2 >1.1 Positive My psychiatrist says all kids have high levels of these and that it is not an issue. Does anyone know if this means he has an issue with inflammation in the brain? Anyone have these results from their kids? I know I should just want and talk to the doctor next week when all the tests are back but I am searching so hard for something. He was asked to leave camp for the summer since they could not control him. Thank you so much. Melmix
  17. I've noticed this happening over the winter and it's happening now too. DS seems to flare after he is sick, but not during. For example, this past Monday he seemed to have some slight improvements which continued on through the week, but on Wednesday he developed a stuffy nose/cough in the evening. The worst of it was Thursday and Friday, but his tics were still improving. However, by Saturday he had gotten over the worst of it (and passed it to me and DH), but his tics really flared up that night. And Sunday, and until now. I find it curious and wonder what is happening with his immune system - when he is sick, is his immune system "busy" with the virus? then he gets better, and his immune system can go back to attacking himself? Also, he kicked a hole in the drywall while ticcing this morning - anyone know how to fix it?
  18. I am trying to learn more about this testing. Is this testing still in research or has it been released? I am understanding it can be used to identify patients that have had rhumatic fever in the past. Has your child had this testing and what did it mean towards their diagnosis? Was it helpful in getting the treatment that was needed?
  19. Found a good resources on Autoimmune Encephalities. It even mentions PANDAS. Thought it might be worth sharing. http://www.ssi.dk/~/media/Indhold/DK%20-%20dansk/Diagnostik/DiagnostiskHaandbog/Autoimmune%20encephalitis%2034.ashx
  20. Hi, Just had appt. with new doc and one thing they gave me was Deplin (15 mg.) for my DS (23) to try...supposed to split the pill in 2. I've been reading however that your supposed to also take B12 and B6 yet the doc didn't mention either of those two. Should I call and inquire before giving this? thanks
  21. Hi, Was just given this to try....Haven't found too much info on it, has anyone had any experience with this? thanks
  22. My doctor wants us to try Oral IG. It is the IVIG used but not with needles, We are told to give him a childs does of Pepsid to stop stomach acid and the oral amount is small & given every other day for many months. It is expensive $600. a month and I am fully aware of that. Background: My son is 3.5yrs old, and is in & out of being with us.He has some OCD, it used to be EXTREME. He talks some but not conversationally. He did 20 days of Cefdinir 2 different times. On both occasions he did speak conversationally. And permanently lost some of his worst OCD & separation anxiety symptoms. It was amazing!!! So his conversational speech & socialness did go awa when we stopped the Cefdinir. He has a bit of a yeast Candida battle going on since he was a baby & so we could not keep him on long term antibiotics. I give him Sacchamoyers Ballardii & FiveLac & Nystatin to help that battle and that does work BUT it is not enough when he is on antibiotics. and I am nervous about long term antibiotics with long term Fluconizole/Diflucan. IS that a true concern? The Candida problem is reason we are thinking very seriously about the Oral IG because if he had to be on antibiotics for a year or two I think it is not recommended to be on Diflucan that long. I saw a post from doctor McChandless saying ORAL IG works well for some kids. Are there any families out there that have had experience with Oral IG, Please let me know!!! Thanks,
  23. A little background ds 9. After ivig (12 weeks ago) was making great progress. Happily Returned to school after 6 months hospital homeschool. He loves it and quickly developed friends and did all his work and homework. Developed acute vasulitis and was put on long dose of prednisone. Within a week almost all pandas symptoms gone. Started saying he felt like a normal kid and he remembered what feeling happy was like. After 35 days of 10mg 2xdaily we are slowly tampering him down. He is now flaring and it gets worse everyday. We had a meeting at school and will probably have to pull him out because he is having rage at school. I fear that this is back to square one. Has anyone experienced this. Is it the ivig or the steroids? Any insight would be so greatly appreciated.
  24. The research below, done in Australia shows the dangers of our food supply and why there is an epidemic of diseases with the onset of GMO food both in our meat supply and corn, soy and sugar beets. My mom always wondered why I, and so many of my friends had to have bed rest pregnancies. She use to be a labor and delivery nurse in the 50's and saw miscarriages but mostly early on. Glyphosates were introduced in the 70's and tripled or more in amounts sprayed with GMO foods. Now I have my answer. I met the farmer personally 2 years ago at a lecture. He is 3rd generation and has seen changes first hand in the field and slaughter house. He is passionate about what he has discovered because as he puts it, "I don't know who my kids will marry and I want healthy grandchildren". He presented his findings to the FDA and was ignored. Fortunately he has not given up which led to this extensive research. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/05/18/gmo-foods-inflammation.aspx?e_cid=20140518Z1_SNL_Art_1&utm_source=snl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20140518Z1&et_cid=DM45056&et_rid=524687028 Visit the Mercola Video Library By Dr. Mercola If you're like me, you've probably been asked by many of your friends and relatives why you believe genetically engineered (GE) foods are unsafe. Dr. Judy Carman, one of the few researchers in the world who has carefully and independently evaluated this question, can help you provide answers to your friends and family. Dr. Carman has degrees in both epidemiology and medicine, specifically in the field of nutritional biochemistry in metabolic regulation in relation to cancer, and her research into GE foods provides compelling evidence for avoiding such foods if you value your health, and want to protect the health of your children as they grow older. Her background involves both cancer research, and work as a senior epidemiologist in Australian government, investigating outbreaks of disease. She's currently an adjunct associate professor at Flinders University in South Australia, as well as the director of the Institute of Health and Environmental Research (IHER). Independent GMO Researchers Face Many Challenging Hurdles As one of the few researchers looking into the effects of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), Dr. Carman is no stranger to the many challenges that this kind of research entails. The biotechnology industry has devised a rather clever and sophisticated control system that largely prevents independent research of their products. "Yes, there are a number of problems for anyone doing research," she notes. "They usually center around getting the money to be able to do the research... But you also need to get the materials to test. In this case, it's the seeds from the genetically modified (GM) plants... But it's very difficult to get GM seeds to test. If a farmer wants to buy seeds to plant in the field, the farmer has to sign a technology user agreement, which means [he]... is not allowed to do any research on those seeds, and is not allowed to give them to anyone else to do research on either. You basically have to find some way around that that's legal and we did, but it took us quite some time. Otherwise, you need to go to the industry to ask, 'Pretty please, can we have some seeds?' We did that as well. The conditions placed upon us getting those seeds were such that we couldn't legitimately try and get the seeds from most companies." Besides the hurdle of obtaining the GE seeds in question, protected as they are by rigid patent laws, researchers who venture into GMO research must also be prepared to survive the personal and professional discrediting and abuse that comes with the territory. Truly, anyone who does this kind of research must be close to sainthood, as those who reveal negative findings are figuratively speaking "tarred and feathered" for their efforts. Most must endure being personally attacked and vilified, and many have had their entire career stripped from them in the process. In the last six years, Dr. Carman has survived six different attempts to have her removed from her various university positions, for example. As she notes later in this interview, she was largely "protected" by the fact that she knew this going into the research, and chose to stop receiving a salary and getting paid for her work. Funding is another major barrier, of course. Because most of the agricultural universitiesthe ones that would conduct these studiesobtain their funding from the very companies that make the seeds, they're not interested in research that might jeopardize this lucrative relationship with the industry. In Dr. Carman's case, her team was fortunate enough to obtain the funding for their research from the government of Western Australia. Why Industry Safety Assessments Rarely Reveal the Truth Most pigs raised in American piggeries are fed a GE diet these days; typically, a mixture of GE soy and corn. Howard Vlieger, who is the second co-author of the study, had noticed differences in pigs fed a GE diet compared to those given non-GE feed, and he was one of the primary instigators of the investigation. Dr. Carman explains what got them started: "The two main things he was seeing was an increase in intestinal problems in pigs fed GM feed, particularly an increase in stomach inflammation. He was also seeing things such as a thinning of intestinal walls, and hemorrhagic bowel disease, where a pig can... bleed out from its bowel within 15 or so minutes. The other thing he was seeing was a reduced ability to conceive in the sows (female pigs) and higher rates of miscarriage in female pigs fed GM crops. [in] communities in the United States that still use boars to inseminate their sows... he was also seeing a reduction in the number of piglets born." They decided to take a proper look at these phenomena. Dr. Carman has been an outspoken critic of the protocols used by the genetically modified food industry for their safety assessments, so she was careful about the design of her own study. Generally, industry safety protocols fall into two main camps: What the industry calls a "safety assessment" is really nothing more than an animal production study, Dr. Carman notes. Using significant numbers of animals, they feed some the GE crop, and another group gets non-GE feed. But the outcomes industry researchers look for are typically irrelevant to human health. These studies are basically done to reassure primary livestock producers that if you feed this GM feed to your animals, they will live long enough to get to market and produce a good yield. The second type of studies done are animal studies to determine if a product is going to harm human health. These are quite rare within the GE industry. Here, a very small number of animals are typically used, who are then given GE feed. Sometimes, however, they may not even feed the animals with the GE crop in question. Instead, they might just use the "active ingredient" or in this case the particular plant protein that has been inserted into the plant. For example, a small number of animals might receive a GE protein, and the effects of a singular dose are then noted over the course of seven to 14 days. If the animal (usually a rat) doesn't die, all is presumed to be well. Crazy as it seems, this is sometimes the main safety assessment performed by the industry. Even more remarkable, sometimes, the protein tested doesn't even come from the actual GE plant, but rather from the bacteria they genetically engineer to produce what they hope is the same protein. As Dr. Carman notes, this kind of testing is not going to reveal the long-term health outcomes associated with eating the GE food over the course of years, or an entire lifetime. In Search of Statistical Significance Dr. Carman's team decided to use pigs instead of rats. Adverse effects have already been observed in pigs raised on GE feed, and the digestive organs in pigs are very similar to those in humans. They also decided to feed them long enough for adverse effects to actually be found. As soon as the piglets were weaned, they were randomly assigned to receive either GE or non-GE feed, and they were fed the same feed for their entire commercial lifespan, which is about five months. At that point, the now fully mature (and very large) animals were slaughtered according to industry standards. All personnel involved in the study were blinded, including the veterinarians who performed the autopsies at the end of the study, meaning no one knew beforehand which animals were receiving which feed. Two years ago, the first-ever lifetime animal feeding study involving GE corn revealed major health problems, including massive mammary tumors, kidney and liver damage, and early death. That study, led by Gilles-Eric Séralini, also attempted to separate out the effects of glyphosate. To do so, some rats were given GE corn that had not been sprayed with glyphosate, while others were given conventional GE corn that had been sprayed. Yet another group received glyphosate in water, but no GE feed. All suffered serious health consequences, although the combination of glyphosate and GE corn was the worst. "In my view, he needed to have more animals to be able to find statistical significance," Dr. Carman says. "That's what we did in the pig study. We made sure that we had large numbers of pigs, so that if there was anything biologically significant happening, we would pick it up in the statistics. We had 168 just-weaned pigs. We split them into two groups: one fed GM feed and the other fed non-GM feed. We had 84 pigs per group. That made quite a lot of difference. We were able to do some more elaborate statistics and actually hunt down some hypotheses within the statistics that we used." Pig Study Reveals Significant Stomach Inflammation The sad reality though is that pigs are not just fed one GE crop at a time. As mentioned earlier, they're fed combinations of GE crops, typically GE soy and corn. Dr. Carman used Roundup-ready soy designed to be resistant to the herbicide Roundup, so that the herbicide will only kill surrounding weedsalong with a couple of different GE corn varieties. "We were in effect feeding three GM genes and their protein products to these pigs at the same time," she explains. This was also done in order to simulate the diet of a typical American who, just like pigs raised in a conventional piggery, will eat a variety of different GE corn crops, not just one specific one at a time.Besides the fact that there are different kinds of GE crops, such as Roundup Ready and Bt, more than 37 percent of the GE crops grown in the US are "stacked" gene crops, meaning they're not just resistant to Roundup, they also have one or two Bt genes in it. So eating foods that have two or more genetically modified genes in it is pretty standard in terms of what you'll find in the typical American diet. "These pigs were eating the Roundup-ready gene, its protein product, two Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) proteins, and the proteins from the two Bt genes, which are designed to produce insecticidal proteins. I suspect that the reason why we got such strong stomach inflammation was the interaction between the proteins that the animals were eating," she says. At the end of the study, Dr. Carman's team discovered a significant increase in stomach inflammation in the pigs fed a GE diet. Overall, inflammation levels were 2.6 times higher in GE-fed pigs than those fed a non-GE diet, and male pigs fared worse than the females. While sows were 2.2 times more likely to have severe stomach inflammation on a GE diet, male pigs were four times more likely to get severe stomach inflammation. "And when I say 'severe,' I'm talking about a stomach that is swollen and cherry red in color over almost the entire surface of the stomach. This is not the sort of stomach that you or I would want to have at all," she says. To see the results for yourself, visit GMOJudyCarman.org. The uterus was also 25 percent heavier in sows fed GE feed. Both of these findings were biologically and statistically significant. In their paper, Dr. Carman et.al. discuss the disease states this kind of uterine enlargement might represent. "The two main things that we were looking at here and the two main things that Howard Vlieger flagged as a problemas things that he was seeing in livestock, particularly in pigswere both things we found statistical significance for: (1) digestive health problems, particularly inflammation in the stomach, and also (2) reproductive issues. In this case, we've found this increased uterus weight," she says. Can We Put the Genie Back in the Bottle? I sincerely believe that if you expose people to genetically engineered foods for a long enough time, we're going to see dramatic increases in disease. My own efforts are all geared toward reducing the number of people affected. And my recommendation is clear: avoid GE foods, and for as long as such foods are not required to be labeled, avoid them by purchasing organic foods. Without labeling, that's the only real workaround at your disposal. As noted by Dr. Carman, the chemical technology industry is NOT doing a good enough job ensuring safety before putting their genetically altered products into the food system. Unfortunately, hundreds of millions have already been exposed. And without knowing it, they've fed GE foods of highly questionable safety to their children, day in and day out, perhaps for years already. Have GE crops contributed to the increased chronic disease burden in the US, especially in children? While the industry says "no way," I believe the evidence suggests otherwise. We have to remember that humans live around 80 years, and this gigantic GE food experiment only began in earnest less than 20 years old agoeven less if you start counting from when GMOs became really prevalent in processed foods. Hence, we may be decades away from tabulating the human casualties. This is why long-term safety studies on animals are so critical, as rats and pigs have far shorter lifespans than humans. Silencing Scientific Dissent Dr. Carman's research, as well as Seralini's, really suggests we need to exercise the precautionary principle and avoid these foods. Needless to say, however, the chemical technology companies that created these crops are in the business of protecting and expanding business, not voluntarily shutting themselves down, and they've proven they're willing to go to great lengths to protect profits. Ruining a researcher's reputation and livelihood is nothing in the big scheme of things to a multinational giant like Monsanto. The Corbett Report above discusses some of the less-than-honorable methods used by industry to silence dissentersespecially scientists whose research doesn't jibe with preconceived industry decisions. The list of victimsresearchers who published research detrimental to the industry's bottom lineis long, and growing. As mentioned earlier, the findings from Séralini's lifetime feeding study, which was published in Elsevier's peer-reviewed journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, were an absolute bombshell. The study was, and still is, among the best evidence of the toxic effects of GE foods. Of utmost importance, Séralini's study showed that the major onslaught of diseases really set in during the 13th month of the experiment, strongly suggesting that industry-funded studies have simply been too short for problems to be detected. Consider this: if 24 months of a rat's life equates to about 80 years of your child's, the 13-month mark would be somewhere in your child's early to mid-40s. The industry immediately went on the offensive. Then, in what appears to have been a last ditch effort to get rid of this stubbornly incriminating study, the publisher (Elsevier) simply retracted it, for no other reason than its findings were deemed to be inconclusive. The thing is, inconclusiveness of findings is not a valid ground for retraction... Elsevier's actions caused a major backlash, and has undoubtedly opened more than a few eyes to the reality of censorship of "unwanted" research. Even the National Institutes for Health (NIH) scolded Elsevier in an editorial titled: "Inconclusive Findings: Now You See Them, Now You Don't!" Harassment, Par for the Course Another poster child for researchers harassed to their wits' end is Tyrone Hayes, whose Atrazine research turned his life into a paranoid nightmare. Rachael Aviv told his story in a February 10 article in The New Yorker. In the late 1990s, Hayes conducted experiments on the herbicide for its maker, Syngenta. As reported by Aviv: "...when Hayes discovered that Atrazine might impede the sexual development of frogs, his dealings with Syngenta became strained, and, in November, 2000, he ended his relationship with the company. Hayes continued studying Atrazine on his own, and soon he became convinced that Syngenta representatives were following him to conferences around the world. He worried that the company was orchestrating a campaign to destroy his reputation." Two years ago, his work on Atrazine provided the scientific basis for two class-action lawsuits brought against Syngenta by 23 US municipalities, accusing the chemical technology company of contaminating drinking water and "concealing Atrazine's true dangerous nature." Documents unearthed during these legal proceedings revealed that Hayes' suspicions were trueSyngenta had indeed been studying him as deeply as he'd been studying their toxic herbicide for the past 15 years. What follows reaches a level of creepy that no one should ever have to endureleast of all a scientist who's working to learn and share the truth about a widely used agricultural chemical that has the power to affect all of us, and our ecology. Aviv writes: "Syngenta's public-relations team had drafted a list of four goals. The first was 'discredit Hayes.' In a spiral-bound notebook, Syngenta's communications manager, Sherry Ford, who referred to Hayes by his initials, wrote that the company could 'prevent citing of TH data by revealing him as noncredible...' Syngenta looked for ways to 'exploit Hayes' faults/problems.' 'If TH involved in scandal, enviros will drop him,' Ford wrote. She observed that Hayes 'grew up in world (S.C.) that wouldn't accept him,' 'needs adulation,' 'doesn't sleep,' was 'scarred for life.' She wrote, 'What's motivating Hayes?basic question.'" Who Will You Listen to: Big Money, or a Researcher Working Next to Free? Indeed, what could possibly motivate anyone to undertake work that is bound to alienate them from their peers, smear their personal and professional reputation, and perhaps even ruin their financial future? In Dr. Carman's case, it was a passion for the truth. And a deep concern for her fellow manyour children and unborn grandchildren included. She is a magnificent role model for all of us as she sacrificed her income and endured professional abuse for the sake of the truth. She was savvy enough to understand the risks of such an undertaking. She knew that people in this field tend to be fired from their jobs once they publish negative findings. Publicly shamed and out of work, many of these scientists are prevented from doing any further research. To circumvent this possibility, Dr. Carman took some proactive steps to ensure that backlash wouldn't force her to discontinue her work. "Early on, it became obvious that there was really no money. You couldn't go to a funding organization and ask for money to be able to do research in this area. I was concerned about the possibility of bad health effects occurring in people. I decided that I needed to go looking. I needed to do some proper animal studies to see if there were any adverse effects occurring in animals that might translate into people. I realized I needed to leave paid employment to be able to do it. I'm actually unfunded in this work. At the age of 45, I had enough investment income to be able to do work on this area basically for free, and on very little money. I've been poor now for quite a few years. But it became imperative for me to look; I had a burning question about whether it was safe for people to eat GMO's or not... Most people would probably choose to look after their families [rather] than to continue on with the research. Not only is it very hard to get money to be able to do the research, but you have to be able to survive the abuse you get afterwards, and the threats to your livelihood afterwards. In fact, a lot of people who work in this area are people who are retired from paid employment, because once again, they can't be threatened with losing their livelihood." Follow the Money... Ever since the introduction of genetically engineered seeds about 20 years ago, the market for these chemical-dependent crops have spawned a multibillion dollar industry. Funding for the development of more varieties of GE crop varieties has come primarily from the privately-owned pesticide industry itself. Over the last 15 years, conflicts of interest within science have exponentially increased, and at this point, it's blatantly obvious that financial conflicts of interest play a major role when it comes to what research is done; what gets published, and what doesn't. Virtually all of the research done on GMOs is performed by the industry itself or scientists funded by them either directly or indirectly through grants to the agricultural universities. The results, therefore, are predictable. Few are those who have both the right qualifications and the willingness to "bear the cross," as it were, that seems to come standard when you're investigating GMOs as an independent researcher. My sincere gratitude goes to Dr. Carman for her personal sacrifices to get this all-important work done. Without such research, we'd remain clueless as to what these foods might be doing to us in the long term. With it, we can make far more educated guesses about the real ramifications of this massive, unannounced human experiment, and decide for ourselves if we really want to partake in it or not. My recommendation? Avoid it, as best as you can. Vote with Your Pocketbook, Every Day The food companies on the left of this graphic spent tens of millions of dollars in the last two labeling campaignsin California and Washington Stateto prevent you from knowing whats in your food. You can even the score by switching to the brands on the right; all of whom stood behind the I-522 Right to Know campaign. Voting with your pocketbook, at every meal, matters. It makes a huge difference. By boycotting GMA member Traitor Brands, you can help level the playing field, and help take back control of our food supply. I-522 poster I encourage you to continue educating yourself about genetically engineered foods, and to share what youve learned with family and friends. Remember, unless a food is certified organic, you can assume it contains GMO ingredients if it contains sugar from sugar beets, soy, or corn, or any of their derivatives.
  25. Hi, My DS (23) lately has been very touchy..meaning touching/playing with EVERYTHING...sees the garlic on the counter and starts peeling it...takes the salt shaker or pepper and puts it in whatever is around like iced tea...just basically playing with everything, can't seem to sit still. If we go somewhere he will pick up whatever is around and play with it. Is this considered ticcing? OCD?....If so then I guess he does have pandas as well as lyme. thanks for any thoughts his mom
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