Vaccines

[emma1]

I know this will not apply to many of you, but I was actively following the vaccine discussions earlier, and was really concerned when I read a recent article on the new cervical cancer vaccine. It said a lot of teen girls were fainting. Of course, they would not attribute it to the vaccine (though it is happening during or immediately after the shot!). This makes me even more concerned about all these vaccines.

[faith]

Now that you've mentioned this vaccine, (yes its me, the vaccine nazi !!!), has any of your kids had this new vaccine or has anyone (friends, family) that you know of? What is the age this is due? Does anyone know any more about that recent incident with the school kids (I forget what town) who started twitching a couple of months ago. I think they did say it was only a few and they were girls. Wouldn't be surprised if this was involved.

 

All they said on the news tonite was that the company said the fainting could be caused from the pain or fear of pain and that they don't believe there is any problem with it. Very informative......cut to the more important news of Britney Spears' very bad day......

 

Mom2three, sorry to ask again, I know you said your daughter had last shots about a year ago? Was it more than a year ago or closer to six months ago? Do you remember when you first noticed any different symptoms or behavior, even if it was slow to come? I sure do hope you get something from your recent appointments, maybe the titers testing will reveal something. Since the doctor sounds agreeable to antibiotics, perhaps they will give you a trial regardless of what shows up just to see what happens. For symptoms to be that pronounced in a short period of time at a later age really makes me wonder what could be going on. Good luck

 

 

Faith

[Chemar]

I put this info up on NT about a year ago and the more info that comes out about this vaccine the more concern I have about it

here is the thread on NT about it

Gardisil Vaccine Not Proven Safe

[emma1]

Cheri, Thanks so much for posting the link!! I definitely think there is something up with this vaccine. I mean, a lot of teens have shots (flu, allergy, etc.), and I never heard of so many fainting!!

 

Does anyone know anything about the meningococcal meningitis immunization? It is still a couple of years before I have to decide on this one, but I know it is recommended before college.

[CSP]

Hi emma1,

 

Just before my son's explosion of tics he was given the meningitis vaccine, he was 12 at the time. However, my daughter was also given the shot, she was 14, she had no problems with it. Makes me mad and I'm sick over the fact I didn't know all the data on these vaccines.

 

C.P.

[michele]

On the topic of vaccines, those of you who have had a child or family member with tics, were you hesitant about vaccinating your other younger children ? We are coming up on one year shots and with Andrew's history I am starting to worry.

Michele

Cheri, Thanks so much for posting the link!! I definitely think there is something up with this vaccine. I mean, a lot of teens have shots (flu, allergy, etc.), and I never heard of so many fainting!!

 

Does anyone know anything about the meningococcal meningitis immunization? It is still a couple of years before I have to decide on this one, but I know it is recommended before college.

[bmom]

I am really up in the air on the vaccines. I feel stuck in what to do with either of my children. My daughter (age 3) is past due for 2 shots, but I cant decide. What do the rest of you do? Kim? Anyone? Im afraid not to, yet afraid to especially with my son. What is your plan Cum Passes?

[kim]

Bmom,

 

 

I am not getting either of the boys any more vaccines.

 

If one of them were to contract chicken pox and have a permanent disability, or develope meningitis with a supposedly vaccine preventable strain, would i question if i had done the right thing. Yes. If I allow further vaccines and they suffer a permanent disability or a deterioration in health, would i suffer? Yes. I have educated myself to the best of my ability, prayed, continue to read everything relating to this subject that i can find, but currently this is the decision that i am at peace with.

 

Here is an article that was posted recently. I also have a study saved somewhere, showing where 33 out of 100 autistic kids in the study had tics of one form or another. With all that i have learned about the "unknowns" with vaccines, the thought of taking my child in to recieve a Gardasil (will probably be addded to the schedule for boys too, in the near future), 6th dose Tdap, meningitis vax, flu shot, and 2nd dose of chicken pox, in some cases all in the same day? You may as well shoot me. You would have to shoot me, or it would not happen

 

I do sympathize with your situation. All i can say is that it took a ton of time and research to come to this decision, and it's not one that anyone can make for you. It's a complex issue.

 

 

 

"This study is part of a larger effort to learn how changes in immune

system response may make some children more susceptible to the harmful

effects of environmental agents,"

 

CHILDREN WITH AUTISM HAVE DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT IMMUNE SYSTEM REACTIONS

COMPARED TO TYPICAL CHILDREN

 

Immunologists from UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute find clear biological

component to perplexing childhood neurological disorder

 

May 5, 2005

 

(BOSTON, Mass.) – A new study by researchers at the University of

California, Davis, M.I.N.D. Institute and the NIEHS Center for

Children's Environmental Health demonstrate that children with autism

have different immune system responses than children who do not have

the disorder. This is important evidence that autism, currently

defined primarily by distinct behaviors, may potentially be defined by

distinct biologic changes as well.

 

The study was released at the 4th International Meeting for Autism

Research (IMFAR) – a meeting of autism scientists started by Cure

Autism Now, the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute and the National Alliance

for Autism Research to accelerate knowledge of this increasingly

common and perplexing disorder. It is estimated that autism now

affects 1 in every 166 children.

 

"Understanding the biology of autism is crucial to developing better

ways to diagnose and treat it," said Judy Van de Water, associate

professor of rheumatology, allergy and clinical immunology at the UC

Davis School of Medicine and the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute. "While

impaired communication and social skills are the hallmarks of the

disorder, there has not yet been strong scientific evidence that the

immune system is implicated as well. We now need to design carefully

controlled studies that tell us even more about the way in which a

dysfunctional immune system may or may not play a role in the disorder

itself."

 

Van de Water, along with co-investigator of the study Paul Ashwood,

assistant professor of medical microbiology and immunology at the UC

Davis M.I.N.D. Institute, isolated immune cells from blood samples

taken from 30 children with autism and 26 typically developing

children aged between two and five years of age. The cells from both

groups were then exposed to bacterial and viral agents that usually

provoke T-cells, B cells and macrophages – primary players in the

immune system.

 

Of the agents tested in the study - tetanus toxoid,

lippopolysaccharide derived from E. coli cell walls, a plant lectin

known as PHA, and a preparation of the measles, mumps and rubella

vaccine antigens - the researchers found clear differences in cellular

responses between patients and controls following exposure to the

bacterial agents and PHA.

 

In response to bacteria, the researchers saw lower levels of protein

molecules called cytokines in the group with autism. Cytokines

function as mediators of the immune response, carrying messages

between B, T and other immune cells. They also are known to be capable

of having profound effects on the central nervous system, including

sleep and the fever response. Immune system responses to PHA, in

contrast, produced more varied cytokine levels: Higher levels of

certain cytokines and lower levels of others.

 

According to Van de Water and Ashwood, these studies illustrate that

under similar circumstances, the cytokine responses elicited by the

T-cells, B-cells, and macrophage cell populations following their

activation differs markedly in children with autism compared to

age-matched children in the general population. Cytokines are known to

affect mood and behavior, and while their specific role in the

development of autism remains unclear, the potential connection is an

intriguing area of research that warrants further investigation.

 

"This study is part of a larger effort to learn how changes in immune

system response may make some children more susceptible to the harmful

effects of environmental agents," said Kenneth Olden, director of the

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the federal

agency that provided funding for the study. "A better understanding of

the connection between altered immune response and autism may lead to

significant advances in the early detection, prevention and treatment

of this complex neurological disorder."

 

"We would like to take these findings and explore whether, for

example, the cytokine differences are specific to certain subsets of

patients with autism, such as those with early onset, or those who

exhibit signs of autism later during development, " Ashwood said. He

added that the logical next step is to look directly at specific cell

populations that may be responsible for the diverging responses

between patients and controls.

 

This study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of

Environmental Health Sciences, the U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute, Ted Lindsay Foundation and

Visceral. The UC Davis M.I.N.D. (Medical Investigation of

Neurodevelopmental Disorders) Institute is a unique collaborative

center for research into the causes and treatments of autism, bringing

together parents, scientists, clinicians and educators. For further

information, go to http://www.ucdmc. ucdavis.edu/ mindinstitute.