Items 1 through 11 have been deleted, since they are primarily for families
living in Virginia and Maryland, and I did not want to send useless
information to the folks in the rest of the country. However, please let me
know if you live in Virginia, Maryland or DC; so that I can add you to my
private email distribution list for events in those states.


12. "Parents Express Outrage Over Covert Tactics as CDC Circumvents HIPAA
and FERPA Laws, Prompting a Call for Congressional Investigations" dated 1
March 2006 in the PRNewswire at
<http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03-0
1-2006/0004311514&EDATE>
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03-01
-2006/0004311514&EDATE=.

"The National Autism Association (NAA) today expressed dismay over the CDC's
continuing ability to obtain confidential medical and educational records of
children without parental knowledge or consent for an autism study conducted
largely in secret. Last week, an Arkansas parent confirmed that not only
had her daughter's medical records been accessed without her knowledge, but
school records had also been secretly obtained and used without her
permission. News stories last year from Colorado revealed that medical
records had been turned over to the CDC in apparent violation of the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), enacted to protect the
privacy of patients. Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
(FERPA), such educational records are considered confidential. A former
employee of the Arkansas school district informed the child's family of the
secret gathering of information after the fact, indicating that school
personnel had been expressly forbidden to inform parents of the study, or
that confidential records had been accessed and re-typed. "This is an
outrageous invasion of privacy," said NAA President Wendy Fournier, "one
that the CDC must now explain. This agency has become notorious in the
autism community for its mishandling of data linking mercury in vaccines to
the development of autism. For the CDC to now be given carte blanche access
to our children's confidential records is frightening. Why bother having
such laws as HIPAA and FERPA, when government can obviously obtain whatever
information it wants, even that of innocent children?" Calling upon
Congress to investigate the activities of the CDC regarding its methods of
collecting data for the study, NAA Board Chair Laura Bono stated, "The CDC
has continually set up roadblocks to outside access of the taxpayer-funded
Vaccine Safety Datalink which could hold answers for the hundreds of
thousands of children now diagnosed with autism. It's an alarming irony that
the public is denied access to information it's clearly entitled to, while
this agency continues to monitor personal information which by law is
considered confidential." For more information, go to
<http://www.nationalautism.org/> http://www.nationalautism.org."

13. "New study links mercury to autism- Level of disorder dropped
dramatically after element removed from vaccines" dated 3 March 2006 in
WorldNetDaily.com at
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?article_id=49094
<http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?article_id=49094> .

"A new study shows a direct relationship between mercury in children's
vaccines and autism, contradicting government claims there is no proven
relationship between the two. Published in the March 10 issue of the
<http://jpands.org/> Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, the data
show since mercury was removed from childhood vaccines, the reported rates
of autism and other neurological disorders in children not only stopped
increasing but actually dropped sharply - by as much as 35 percent. Using
the government's own databases, independent researchers analyzed reports of
childhood neurological disorders, including autism, before and after removal
of mercury-based preservatives. According to a statement from the
Association of American Physicians & Surgeons, or AAPS, the numbers from
California show that reported autism rates hit a high of 800 in May 2003. If
that trend had continued, the reports would have risen to more than 1,000 by
the beginning of 2006. But the number actually went down to 620, a real
decrease of 22 percent, and a decrease from the projection of 35 percent.
Stated the AAPS: "This analysis directly contradicts 2004 recommendations of
the Institute of Medicine, which examined vaccine safety data from the
National Immunization Program of the CDC. While not willing to either rule
out or to corroborate a relationship between mercury and autism, the IOM
soft-pedaled its findings and decided no more studies were needed." ..."

14. "Parents Credit Chelation With Autism Cure" dated 3 March 2006 from
KNTV-TV at <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11660709>
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11660709.

"A treatment for lead poisoning that's been around for decades is now being
used to treat autistic children. Some parents say chelation is bringing
about dramatic change, but it is also bringing about controversy. Josh
Shoemaker, almost 4, is not his old self, his parents are happy to say.
Angie Shoemaker, Josh's mom, says, "It's just not even comparable. He's just
not the same child." Josh was diagnosed with autism a year ago. His parents
say Josh barely spoke, rarely responded and had slid into his own world as
was captured in home video from June. His father, Scott, said, "He used to
spin himself in circles constantly, we were losing him daily." But within
five months, Josh was talking and responsive. The Shoemakers credit a
treatment called chelation, outlined in a recent edition of Mothering
Magazine. Josh's parents spread a sulfur-based cream on his skin, a
compound that they and doctors who prescribe it say roots out toxins like
mercury from the body, which they blame for Josh's autism. Dr. Phil De Meio
believes in chelation therapy for autism. "The sulfur grabs onto the
mercury like a magnet, so our body can exrete it where it would never have
the ability to do that on its own without something like this," De Meio
said. There is far from consensus about what causes autism, NBC11's Brooke
Hart reported. Most doctors see no place for chelation and dealing with it.
Two years ago, the Centers for Disease Control commissioned a report that
found no evidence of a mercury-autism link. Mercury's other effects on
children are a concern, however. The Food and Drug Administration warns
pregnant women to avoid certain fish and has had a mercury ingredient
removed from most vaccines. ..."

15. "Deaths Associated with Hypocalcemia from Chelation Therapy --- Texas,
Pennsylvania, and Oregon, 2003--2005" dated 3 March 2006 from The Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at
<http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5508a3.htm>
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5508a3.htm.

"Chelating agents bind lead in soft tissues and are used in the treatment of
lead poisoning to enhance urinary and biliary excretion of lead, thus
decreasing total lead levels in the body (1). During the past 30 years,
environmental and dietary exposures to lead have decreased substantially,
resulting in a considerable decrease in population blood lead levels (BLLs)
(2 <http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5420a5.htm> ) and a
corresponding decrease in the number of patients requiring chelation
therapy. Chelating agents also increase excretion of other heavy metals and
minerals, such as zinc and, in certain cases, calcium (1). This report
describes three deaths associated with chelation-therapy--related
hypocalcemia that resulted in cardiac arrest. Several drugs are used in the
treatment of lead poisoning, including edetate disodium calcium (CaEDTA),
dimercaperol (British anti-Lewisite), D-penicillamine, and
meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (succimer). Health-care providers who are
unfamiliar with chelating agents and are considering this treatment for lead
poisoning should consult an expert in the chemotherapy of lead poisoning.
Hospital pharmacies should evaluate whether continued stocking of Na2EDTA is
necessary, given the established risk for hypocalcemia, the availability of
less toxic alternatives, and an ongoing safety review by the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA). Health-care providers and pharmacists should ensure
that Na2EDTA is not administered to children during chelation therapy. ..."

16. "Chelation treatment for autism: dated 4 March 2006 from KFOR.com at
<http://www.kfor.com/Global/story.asp?S=4582318>
http://www.kfor.com/Global/story.asp?S=4582318.

"There is a treatment that has been around for decades and it's commonly
used to treat lead poisoning, but now some are using it to treat autism.
Parents and therapist claim Chelation causes dramatic changes in autistic
children's behavior. Others say there is some controversy surrounding the
drug. Now almost 4-years-old, Josh Shoemaker is not his old self; his
parents are happy to say. "It's just not even comparable he's just not the
same child," says Angie shoemaker, Josh's mother. Josh was diagnosed with
autism a year ago. His parents say josh barely spoke, rarely responded, and
he had slid into his own world. Scott Shoemaker, Josh's father says, "He
used to spin himself in circles constantly, we were losing him daily." But,
within five months, Josh was talking and responsive. The Shoemakers credit a
treatment called Chelation outlined in this edition of Mothering Magazine.
Josh's parents spread a sulfur-based cream on his skin, a compound they and
doctors who prescribe it, say roots out toxins like mercury from the body,
toxins they blame for Josh's autism. Dr. Phil Demio prescribes Chelation
for autism. "The sulfur grabs onto the mercury like a magnet so our body
can excrete it where it would never have the ability to do that on its own
without something like this," Dr. Demio says. Authorities are far from
consensus about what causes autism, and most doctors see no place for
Chelation in dealing with it. Two years ago the Centers for Disease Control
commissioned a report that found no evidence of a mercury-autism link. ..."

17. "Government knew of autism link" dated 7 March 2006 by Jon Brodkin from
the Milford Daily News at
<http://www.milforddailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=87552>
http://www.milforddailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=87552.

"Eight years before the U.S. government decided to remove mercury from most
childhood vaccines, federal health officials were already receiving reports
linking vaccinations to new cases of autism. Starting in 1991 after the
government set up a database to record adverse reactions to vaccines,
doctors, parents and others reported frightening responses to inoculations
in children subsequently diagnosed with autism. Vaccinated children
exhibited severe brain damage, high-pitched "hyena" laughs and screams,
drunken behavior, senseless babbling, infantile spasms and seizures,
"bug-eyed" looks, and the complete loss of abilities like toilet training
and language, according to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System
(VAERS). There were 83 such reports from across the country before the
government asked vaccine manufacturers in 1999 to remove thimerosal -- a
preservative containing mercury. The government still denies that toxic
mercury injected into infants caused a huge increase in autism prevalence,
but parents say federal officials did not act upon reports linking vaccines
to autism quickly enough. "My stomach twisted and turned," Acton parent
Jeannie Meijer wrote in an e-mail after reading the reports. "It's tough to
think that if people had been paying more attention, or been more honest,
the autism epidemic may not have happened and my son may have been spared.
Really tough." The 83 autism reports in the 1990s in VAERS were submitted
as evidence in a Texas court case that ended last year. Government
officials say the VAERS database cannot be used to draw conclusions about
autism because it records reports from anyone, whether they be doctors,
patients or lawyers. But government officials relied on VAERS data when it
suspended a rotavirus vaccine in 1999 after just 15 reports linking it to
infant bowel obstruction. VAERS had already recorded 15 reports linking
vaccines to autism by 1994. ..."

18. "Bill calls for SLED to investigate abuse of disabled- Currently
agencies that care for the individuals conduct probes themselves" dated 8
March 2006 by Roddie Burris from The (SC) State at
<http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/nation/14044029.htm>
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/nation/14044029.htm.

"Reports of abuse and neglect of South Carolinians with disabilities would
be examined by a special S.C. Law Enforcement Division under a plan being
discussed by lawmakers. Such a unit would provide independent
investigations of the agencies charged with caring for the disabled - the
departments of Mental Health, and Disabilities and Special Needs. Those two
agencies have long been criticized because they currently investigate
themselves when criminal abuse and neglect allegations arise in the
facilities they operate across the state. Money for the proposed
seven-person unit is in a spending plan likely to advance today out of the
House budget-writing committee. And the full Senate is likely to send to the
House today a bill giving SLED the authority to complete investigations.
SLED Chief Robert Stewart cautioned seven positions won't be enough. If done
properly, however, the unit could help protect the vulnerable, he said.
"The key to this is having a good law and the forces to enforce it," Stewart
said. "From what I've heard, the concept that has been developed, if
properly implemented and funded could make a difference." Advocates for
disabled, vulnerable adults said a change is essential for safety's sake.
"Common sense says an organization can't investigate itself effectively,"
said Gloria Prevost, executive director of Protection and Advocacy For
People with Disabilities Inc., an organization authorized by state and
federal law to protect the rights of people with disabilities in South
Carolina. Both Mental Health and Special Needs have used internal law
enforcement squads to investigate maltreatment of clients that might
constitute crimes, she said. ..."

19. "Top 10 Skin Allergens Identified" dated 8 March 2006 on the Ivanhoe
Newswire from American Academy of Dermatology annual meeting in San
Francisco, March 3-7, 2006 at
<http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=13302>
http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=13302.

"The 10 most common causes of allergic contact dermatitis were released in a
new study from the Mayo Clinic. The report shows the top allergens are
nickel, gold, balsam of Peru -- a fragrance used in perfumes and skin
lotions; thimerosal -- a mercury compound used in local antiseptics and
vaccines; neomycin sulfate -- a topical antibiotic common in first aid
creams and ointments; fragrance mix -- fragrance allergens in foods,
cosmetics, dental products, and insecticides; formaldehyde -- a
preservative; cobalt chloride -- a metal used in medical products, hair dye,
antiperspirant, and items plated in metal like snaps and buttons; bacitracin
-- a topical antibiotic; and quaternium 15 -- a preservative in cosmetic
products and industrial products. The study also confirms using patch
testing is effective in identifying common contact allergens. The process
consists of placing potential allergens covered with patches on patients'
backs for two days to find out which substances cause skin inflammation.
Sixty-nine allergens were tested on 3,854 patients. Results show 69 percent
had at least one positive reaction, and 50 percent had two or more positive
reactions. Other research from the Mayo Clinic shows overall, patients are
satisfied with the contact dermatitis patch testing process and with the way
their skin improved following the testing. The patients, however, only
remember half of the allergens for which they tested positive an average of
13.4 months later. Researchers say avoiding allergens is the main
treatment for contact dermatitis, as well as corticosteroid creams for
rashes, but 3 percent of patients are allergic to the topical steroids that
would alleviate their symptoms. This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com,
who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go
to: <http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/> http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/."

20. "M.I.N.D. Institute Launches Largest Biomedical Assessment of Children
with Autism" dated 9 March 2006 in a press release form the
<http://www.newswise.com/institutions/view/?id=359> University of
California, Davis, Health System at
<http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/518634/>
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/518634/.

"Multidisciplinary teams of physicians and scientists at the University of
California, Davis, M.I.N.D. Institute have launched the nation's most
comprehensive assessment of children with autism to detect the biological
and behavioral patterns that define subtypes of the disorder. Called the
Autism Phenome Project, the large-scale, longitudinal study will enroll
1,800 children -- 900 with autism, 450 with developmental delay and 450 who
are typically developing -- who will undergo a thorough medical evaluation
in addition to systematic analyses of their immune systems, brain structures
and functions, genetics, environmental exposures and blood proteins.
Children will be 2 to 4 years old when they begin participating in the
study, and their development will continue to be evaluated over the course
of several years. The first phase of the research is funded by the UC Davis
M.I.N.D. Institute and philanthropic donations. "Children with autism
clearly are not all the same," said David G. Amaral, research director of
the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute and co-director of the project. "The
tremendous variation leads us to believe that autism is a group of disorders
rather than a single disorder -- several autisms versus one autism. We are
determined to provide the specific biomedical and behavioral criteria that
accurately define distinct subtypes." Autism has common hallmarks:
difficulties initiating and sustaining social interactions, impaired
communication skills and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior.
However, these hallmarks vary in severity. In addition, some children with
autism can have co-existing conditions such as cognitive impairments,
seizures, coordination issues or gastrointestinal difficulties, while others
do not. This heterogeneity has been a major obstacle to progress in autism
science. Another obstacle involves access to reliable data. Autism science
includes many quality studies on specific aspects of the disorder -- from
genetics and immunology to behavior and imaging -- that can be difficult to
combine and compare. With the Autism Phenome Project, UC Davis M.I.N.D.
Institute researchers aim to overcome this limitation. ..."

21. "Town gets double dose of diseases- Doncaster has been hit by a double
dose of highly infectious diseases according to health officials in the
town" dated 9 March 2006 from the BBC News at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/4791034.stm
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/4791034.stm> .

"In January, 36 children were diagnosed with mumps in addition to a measles
outbreak that is being described as one of the worse in the country. There
have already been 22 cases of measles, a disease which has not been seen in
the town for five years, and another 18 cases are suspected. Parents are
urged to let children have the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. Dr Wendy
Phillips of the South Yorkshire Health Protection Agency said a fall in the
number of children being vaccinated was partly to blame for the outbreaks.
"I think it is very bad for Doncaster," she said. "The uptake of vaccines
has fallen off and as every year goes by we have a larger and larger number
of people without the vaccine. "The advice is that when you're called to
take your child for a jab, you go for the jab and if you've missed it then
make an appointment with your GP." The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)
immunisation was introduced in the UK in 1988. Children are given a first
dose between 12 to 15 months old and a second, booster dose, at between
three and five years old. But about 2,000 families have taken legal action
claiming their children have been damaged by the MMR jab, with many
believing it has triggered autism. In December 2005, Julie Kirkbride,
Conservative MP for Bromsgrove launched a bid to allow children to be
immunised separately against the three diseases. But the Department of
Health said there was no evidence to suggest that separating the vaccines is
safer."

22. "Study Links Vaccines Containing Mercury With Autism- Article addresses
the CDC's dismissal of the science" dated 10 March 2006 by Roman Bystrianyk
from the Health Sentinel at <http://tinyurl.com/lz53p>
http://tinyurl.com/lz53p.

"A 1948 article in the journal Pediatrics opens with, "Inflammatory
reactions involving various parts of the nervous system following injections
or various sera or vaccines have long been known". In that paper they
discuss 15 instances in children at Boston Children's Hospital that
developed "acute cerebral symptoms within a period of hours after
administration of pertussis vaccine." During the same time, the 1940s to
the 1950s widespread use of the DTP vaccine (Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis
- more commonly know as whooping cough) came into use. Analysis of the
historical data available shows that the recorded rate of whooping cough
slowly fell coinciding with the use of the vaccine. However, using
additional historical references from England - which maintained the most
accurate historical disease mortality records - shows that before widespread
vaccination the death rate from whooping cough had already declined by
approximately 98.8 percent from its peak recorded in the 1860s. A 1996
article in Pediatrics noted that a large controlled study, the NCES or
National Childhood Encephalopathy Study, found that, "a significant
association exists between the occurrence of acute neurologic illness and
DTP vaccination with the preceding 7 days." In 1994, an IOM (Institute of
Medicine) committee concluded that the, "balance of evidence is consistent
with a causal relation between DTP and chronic nervous system dysfunction in
children whose serious acute neurological illness occurred within 7 days of
DTP vaccination." However, a 1991 American Academy of Pediatrics report
indicated that severe problems were rare. Although half the children were
reported to be "fretful" or have fevers, severe neurological problems were
reported to be 1 in 140,000 to 1 in 300,000. Seizures were reported to be 1
in 7,500, persistent screaming as 1 in 100, and unusual, high-pitched cry as
1 in 1,000. ..."

23. "The Demands of Love, Fragile Innocence- A Father's Memoir of His
Daughter's Save & Share Tag" in a book review of "Courageous Journey" by
James Reston Jr. reviewed by Suki Casanave in the Washington Post at
<http://tinyurl.com/f8daq> http://tinyurl.com/f8daq.

"Dread settles in from the first sentence of James Reston Jr.'s Fragile
Innocence, and it hovers, an unshakeable shadow, over this carefully crafted
memoir. For a time, we manage to ignore it. Reston is a successful
journalist happily married to lawyer Denise Leary. They are well-connected
-- he comes from a Washington family rooted "in privilege and plenty," and
they have ambitious careers and three happy young children. But Reston's
opening sentence haunts us: "The year 1981 was the end of an era in our
personal lives." Eighteen months after she was born, Hillary, their
youngest child, ran an unusually high fever for five days. Doctors dismissed
her symptoms as unremarkable, prescribing only Tylenol. Hillary recovered,
but within weeks she started changing. Her behavior became frenetic,
uncontrollable. She fell for no apparent reason. She had strange staring
spells; her eyes locked, unseeing. Worst of all, she began to lose her
words, a devastating blow in this language-loving family. "We watched her
language disappear, day by day, word by word," writes Reston, "until toward
December she had only three words: daddy ... mommy, and birdy -- and then it
was only birdy, and then nothing ... nothing but choking, snorting,
frustrated guttural sounds as she tried to form old words, but could not
find the tools to fashion them." ..."

24. "'Nerd' Gene Reported- Association between the arginine vasopressin 1a
receptor (AVPR1a) gene and autism in a family-based study: mediation by
socialization skills" by Yirmiya N, Rosenberg C, Levi S, Salomon S, Shulman
C, Nemanov L, Dina C, and Ebstein RP. from the Department of Psychology,
Hebrew University, Jerusalem at <http://tinyurl.com/48x2u>
http://tinyurl.com/48x2u.

"We examined three microsatellites in the arginine vasopressin 1a receptor
gene (AVPR1a), two in the promoter region (RS1 and RS3) and an intronic
microsatellite (AVR), for association with autism as well as scores on the
Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS), the Autism Diagnostic
Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and the Autism Diagnostic Observation
Scale-Generic (ADOS-G), measures that are widely used to diagnose autism
spectrum disorders. We tested for association between the AVPR1a
microsatellites and autism in 116 families (128 probands diagnosed with the
ADI-R and ADOS-G using a family-based association test (UNPHASED)). Testing
each individual microsatellite showed significant transmission
disequilibrium in these families with the AVR intronic microsatellite
(UNPHASED: LRS=11.46, global P-value=0.009, df=3). ..."


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