02-20-2006, 08:58 AM
NO AUTISM EPIDEMIC?
Reuters
20th February 2006
St Louis - American Association for the Advancement of Science - Dr. Judith Grether, a California epidemiologist, said she questions the idea that there is a new autism epidemic.
She said it is impossible to find out how many cases of autism there were in the past, because many people with autism were often diagnosed as retarded, or never diagnosed. Without that information, it is impossible to say if the number of cases has grown, she said.
"We have to do the studies to find the answers," she said.
Grether said researchers in California have begun taking prenatal blood samples from pregnant women and will look for clues when and if some of their children are diagnosed with autism. They are examining hormones, heavy metals, immune system proteins and other factors.
The studies found no link with vaccines, said Dr. Irving Gottesman, a psychiatrist at the University of Minnesota, but said the CDC has initiated four new studies "to tie up the loose ends."
New studies are focusing on genetic susceptibilities.
Gottesman said the studies may help ease the fears of parents that a vaccine-autism link has been covered up.
But he said scientists are battling a plethora of Internet Web sites devoted to the idea that mercury causes autism like http://www.safeminds.org/.
Gernsbacher, the mother of a child with autism, said some parents may join these lobbying groups over the advice of doctors because they get "pat answers" to initial concerns about their children. Many may have been told that boys develop later than girls, for instance.
"The mistrust (of government-funded studies and of their pediatricians) may have arisen from those kind of experiences," she said.
ENDS
Reuters
20th February 2006
St Louis - American Association for the Advancement of Science - Dr. Judith Grether, a California epidemiologist, said she questions the idea that there is a new autism epidemic.
She said it is impossible to find out how many cases of autism there were in the past, because many people with autism were often diagnosed as retarded, or never diagnosed. Without that information, it is impossible to say if the number of cases has grown, she said.
"We have to do the studies to find the answers," she said.
Grether said researchers in California have begun taking prenatal blood samples from pregnant women and will look for clues when and if some of their children are diagnosed with autism. They are examining hormones, heavy metals, immune system proteins and other factors.
The studies found no link with vaccines, said Dr. Irving Gottesman, a psychiatrist at the University of Minnesota, but said the CDC has initiated four new studies "to tie up the loose ends."
New studies are focusing on genetic susceptibilities.
Gottesman said the studies may help ease the fears of parents that a vaccine-autism link has been covered up.
But he said scientists are battling a plethora of Internet Web sites devoted to the idea that mercury causes autism like http://www.safeminds.org/.
Gernsbacher, the mother of a child with autism, said some parents may join these lobbying groups over the advice of doctors because they get "pat answers" to initial concerns about their children. Many may have been told that boys develop later than girls, for instance.
"The mistrust (of government-funded studies and of their pediatricians) may have arisen from those kind of experiences," she said.
ENDS