Some research which has been independent reproduced suggests that in some cases, autism is caused by an auto immune disorder. The susceptibility to this disorder is genetic, but the auto immunity is triggered by a combination of viral infections. Currently there are 4 vaccines that suppress the immune system, measles is one of them. in most people the measles vaccine works as expected, however, in those with the genetic marker, the available levels of specific complement immune components, which inhibit the production of auto antibodies, is lower than normal.

Measles is a suspects, because of its immunosuppressive qualities, and for its known affinity for the 5ht5a seratonin receptors in the Purkinje cells, In the past few years, through dissection and analysis of brains of deceased autistic individuals common finding included atrophy of the Purkinje cells, the presence of myelin basic protein antibodies, and in some cases where tested, the presence of measles virii.

There is a lot more research to be done, but none of the researchers involved have advocated prohibiting vaccines. The idea is to develop a simple test to determine who is at risk, and for those who are, there are several possible strategies.

First, they could be exempted from the vaccine, with the hope that they will be protected through herd immunity, however, if the percentage of people that are genetically susceptibly is to high herd immunity wont offer much protection.

Second, they could be given an alternative vaccine, such as a viral fragment vaccine. These vaccines are less effective and require more frequent boosters, but may be safer for the few with the genetic suggestibility.

Third, it may be possible to "Turn off" the gene causing auto-immune susceptibility temporarily, around the time of the vaccination, enabling tie immune system to form measles antibodies without also forming mbp antibodies.

On one side of the argument I see the Anti-Vaxer laymen wanting to stop all vaccines because of the adverse reactions of the few, while on the other side I see the Pro Vaxer laymen point to dozens of statistical studies to "prove" that vaccines are 100 percent safe.

A few in the scientific community recognize the politically driven idiocy of both approaches, and are trying to make vaccines safer, and prevent disease.

Science is done in journals, not on Youtube.

Paul wins the thread for that comment. :)

Am I doing it rite?

Peanut allergy is epidemic among our vaccinated children. 1 in 125 have a SEVERE peanut allergy which means they could die if they smell peanuts.

Yes, and milk-drinking generally precedes heroin addiction. Your point?

thimerosal, a preservative that was used in MMR and some other vaccines.

Thimerosal was never used in MMR. I realize this is a necro, but it's worth noting. This does not stop delusional people making the claim that thimerosol in vaccines causes autism, and fingering the MMR at the same time. Of course, most in the movement have moved away from thimerosol in recent months and now talk more about "toxins" and "aborted fetuses" in vaccines. But some do still mention thimerosol and the MMR.

Dr. Andrew Moulden has done the research that connects vaccines and autism. You can watch his videos on youtube or his website brainguardmd.

Science is done in journals, not on Youtube. If this doctor's research followed any sort of scientific rigor, it should be publishable far and wide. And if it did not, it is worthless. I'd also love to see how he explains autistic children that received no vaccinations, such as Kim Stagliano's later spawn (she did not vaccinate because she blamed her earlier childrens' autism on vaccinations. Much good it did.).

Peanut allergy is epidemic among our vaccinated children. 1 in 125 have a SEVERE peanut allergy which means they could die if they smell peanuts.

How is this relevant? Peanut allergy is "epidemic" among unvaccinated children as well. Can you seriously point to papers linking vaccination to allergies? Reminder: correlation is not causation. Otherwise, we could just as easily argue that video games cause peanut allergy or autism.

She eats pies, cakes, cookies, ice cream, and candies. She give us eating peanut-butter fudge. Then she moans and groans. She has proven over and over and over again every time that she gives up one food that sweets do not cause obesity. She gave up the fudge for a year and didn't lose an ounce!

Dr. Andrew Moulden has done the research that connects vaccines and autism. You can watch his videos on youtube or his website brainguardmd. All vaccines cause ministrokes.

Also many autistic children have severe food allergies which is also caused by vaccinations! There is a new book out "The History of the Peanut Allergy Epidemic" by Heather Fraser. She found some interesting facts:

The WHO and FDA decided that refined peanut oil is GRAS and does not have to be listed on the package insert of pharmaceuticals. If you want to know if peanut oil is an ingredient in a vaccine, you are not entitled to know because it is a protected trade secret.

Peanut allergy is epidemic among our vaccinated children. 1 in 125 have a SEVERE peanut allergy which means they could die if they smell peanuts.

I want full disclosure of all ingredients on all pharmaceutical products... how about you?

It is one thing to be paranoid about the world around you, abusing children by not giving them vaccines; it is quite another, as in the case of the MMR vaccine and several others, to label caring and loving parents who are concerned for their child's health as "delusional."

Those two traits are completely orthogonal. Unfortunately, being deeply loving and concerned about a child's health does not prevent parents from holding factually unfounded and deeply dangerous false beliefs about the best way to care for them - whether in this case, in the case of parents who forsake all medicine in favor of prayer, or otherwise. I do not consider "delusion" to be too strong a word for such beliefs.

The fact is that in the case you describe above, their is little correlation between people who are generally "anti-vaccines" and those who are confused about the autism connection. Parents are doing everything they can to keep up with the studies, but different research centers in different countries are confusing the situation. I, for one, will not trust anything coming out of the American drug and pharmacy industry - not because I am a conspiracy theorist or a delusional troglodyte, but because I know where the money flows.

It is one thing to try to inform and educate the public, it is quite another to lambast them for not being up to date with whatever the drug companies are now telling them or which ones they should be trusting.

Similarly, after my daughter was diagnosed with high-functioning autism by a psychiatrist specializing in the condition, her pediatrician at the time summarily "blew off" the diagnosis after observing, to paraphrase, that Joey did not display a complete and total lack of any affection or responsiveness whatsoever towards her mother. Needless to say, we found a different pediatrician afterward.

I mention this because, while I'm aware that "the plural of anecdote is not data," in my experience your impression is 180 degrees wrong. I've seen no evidence that ASDs are casually overdiagnosed, and plenty of evidence that many specialists seem to have a strong, even almost phobic, aversion of these specific diagnoses except in the most undeniably blatant cases.

The symptoms of autism, and there are many claimed "symptoms", are very similar to those "symptoms" that got kids put into "special ed" classes that I observed back in the 70's and early 80's.

So, what are the characteristic symptoms of autism, then (specifically, which symptoms are considered diagnostic of autism rather than related ASDs - do you even recognize the significance of that term - any of the psychotic disorders, or mental retardation)? Can you even list them?

Want me to?

While autism is accompanied by cognitive disability in some cases, it manifests in specific, if pervasive ways, primarily in terms of social functioning, which is quite distinct from, but easy for the ignorant to confuse with, general "slowness." The fact that autistic symptoms are now recognized as a separate disorder from "mental retardation" is not a result of an effort to "make parents feel better", it's the result of the difference being recognized and that information being disseminated. Additionally, there is no concerted effort to label genuinely mentally retarded children "autistic." Quite the opposite, actually: since autism can be successfully treated to varying degrees with various behavioral therapy approaches that teach the autistic child the skills and realizations they need to function in society in a way that they can understand - therapies that aren't cheap - there is significant pressure from entities like school districts (who would be legally obligated to pay for them) to label autistic children "retarded" if they think they can get away with it, since there's much less that can be done to help a retarded child and a correspondingly lower price tag. (The Folsom-Cordova Unified School District is notably unforgivable in this area).