Let’s talk about “science.”
You know what “science” is, don’t you? It’s that magical, talismanic word that settles any bar bet with the same type of certainty that in the middle ages any priest could use by saying, “That’s not what it says in the Bible.”
However, any person who has spent even the slightest bit of time in Bible studies knows that there is a rich intellectual tradition and that the interpretation of the words of the Bible, considering cultural traditions at the time, as well as the different and imprecise translations of words and concepts, can take up a lifetime. Just as any Talmudic scholar.
My point is that any person who wants to settle an argument by saying “it’s science” or “That’s not what it says in the Bible” is probably a moron and you should probably find another place to sit in the bar.
But I do believe science is the route to truth which is why for the past ten years the State of California has been paying me to teach it.
I believe it with the same certainty that for the fifteen years I was a lawyer I thought there was no higher expression of the glory that is humanity as when a witness or party in a legal case put his hand on the Bible and swore an oath to “Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
You see, I really am a Dudley-do-right, goody-two-shoes, straight-arrow kind of guy.
So what does “science” say about the causes of autism?
How do they create animal models to study? Shouldn’t the creation of animal models of autism have some bearing on what causes autism in human beings? I mean, isn’t that why we make monkeys chain-smoke to see if they develop lung cancer, or feed newly-developed drugs to rats and see what happens to them? Do I have you with me? Good.
Let’s look at the work of two giants in the field, Drs. Ian Lipkin and Mady Hornig of Columbia University. You all know Columbia University, don’t you? It’s like the “Vatican of Science.” (However, when your ancestor is supposedly the Protestant reformer, Martin Luther, you always have to wonder what you’re going to do when you get to anyplace that even remotely resembles the Vatican.)
So in 2003 and 2004 Ian Lipkin and Mady Hornig were mucking about with the question mercury and autism. They ended up writing a paper which was entitled Neurotoxic Effects of Postnatal Thimerosal are Mouse Strain Dependent, which is a fancy way of saying that mouse with certain genes are more susceptible to damage from mercury than others. Kind of like some of you out there are better at handling your alcohol than others.
On September 8, 2004, Dr. Mady Hornig, Director of Translational Research, Jerome L. and Dawn Greene Infectious Diseases Laboratory and Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, gave testimony on this work to Congress, specifically the Committee on Government Reform, chaired by Congressman Dan Burton. This is her entire statement:
“Chairman Burton, Congressman Watson, and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to submit for the record this statement regarding our new animal model of the toxicity of thimerosal (ethylmercury preservative in vaccines) and its implications for public health.
I regret that I am unable to personally present this testimony today due to a family medical emergency. Our work addresses whether genes are important in determining if mercury exposures akin to those in childhood immunizations can disrupt brain development and function.
I also submit for the record an electronic copy of the first paper published on this animal model in the Nature Publishing group journal, Molecular Psychiatry, (Hornig M, Chian D, Lipkin WI. Neurotoxic Effects of Postnatal Thimerosal are Mouse Strain Dependent. Mol. Psychiatry 2004; 9:833-845).
The premise of our research is that if mercury in vaccines creates risk for neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, genetic differences are likely to contribute to that risk. We built upon an extensive, existing literature on the toxicity of other forms of mercury in inbred mouse strains that affirmed the importance of specific genes controlling immune responses (major histocompatibility complex or MHC) in determining mercury-induced auto-immune outcomes in mice. Earlier studies, however, did not use the form of mercury present in vaccines, known as thimerosal, and did not consider whether intramuscular, repetitive administration during early postnatal development, when the brain and immune systems are still maturing, might intensify toxicity. Based on reports of immune disturbances and family history of autoimmune disease in a subset of children with autism, we hypothesized that immune response genes linked to mercury immunotoxicity in mice would predict damage following low-dose, vaccine based mercury in our mouse model.
Our predictions were confirmed. Using thimerosal dosage and timing that approximated the childhood immunization schedule, our model of postnatal thimerosal neurotoxicity demonstrated that the genes in mice that predict mercury-related immunotoxicity also predicted neurodevelopmental damage. Features reminiscent of those observed in autism occurred in the mice of the genetically sensitive strain, including: general behavioral impoverishment and abnormal reaction to novel environments; enlargement of the hippocampus, a region of the brain involved in learning and memory; correlation of hippocampal enlargement with abnormalities in exploration and anxiety; increased packing density of neurons in the hippocampus; and disturbances in glutamate receptors and transporters. Only mice carrying the H-2s susceptibility gene showed these autism-like effects (SJL/J mice). Two mice strains with different H-2 genes (C57BL6/J mice, BALB/cJ mice, H-2d) did not demonstrate adverse consequences following thimerosal exposure.
It is important to emphasize that these animal studies do not provide conclusive evidence regarding a link between mercury exposure and human autism. Nonetheless, the finding that a specific genetic constraint profoundly alters the brains and behavior of thimerosal-exposed mice confirms the biological plausibility of thimerosal neurotoxicity, provides critical guidance for the interpretation of existing epidemiological investigations into the potential association of thimerosal with neurodevelopmental disorders, and suggests important new avenues for future research.
Our work implies that if genetic factors are operating in mediating a link between thimerosal and autism in humans, then studies that fail to consider genetic susceptibility factors will be compromised in their ability to detect a statistically significant effect even if one exists.
Recent findings, presented at scientific meetings but as yet unpublished, suggest that thimerosal neurotoxicity in susceptible mice involves the generation of autoantibodies targeting brain components. This autoimmune response persists long after the presence of mercury can no longer be detected. If confirmed, these findings will enable us to develop a human diagnostic test to determine whether some individuals with autism have similar autoantibodies present in their peripheral blood.
Such work would not only bring us a step closer to identifying the genes associated with thimerosal neurotoxicity in humans, facilitating prevention programs, it would also validate the utility of this animal model for the development of safe and effective modes of intervention.
It is highly likely that the neurotoxic effects of cumulative mercury burden, including exposure to other sources or forms of mercury (thimerosal in products other than vaccines; methylmercury in contaminated fish), follow similar patterns of genetic restriction; it is also likely that similar genetic factors influence the neurotoxicity observed following exposure to xenobiotics other than mercury (e.g., PCBs, the PBDEs used as flame retardants in computers, and infectious agents). Age and developmental status at the time of exposure, nutritional factors, and gender are known to influence outcomes.
We have limited ability to explain the interplay of such factors in humans; consider the example of the disparate cognitive outcomes reported in children in the Faroe Islands and the Seychelles after similar prenatal methylmercury exposures. The reasons for this divergence remain unclear.
The design of future epidemiologic studies must take into account the possibility of multiple xenobiotic exposures as well as the influence of factors that modulate risk. Our studies have important implications for understanding the role of gene-environment interactions in the pathogenesis of autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders.
I refer Subcommittee Members to our recent publication in Molecular Psychiatry where experimental findings and their implication are discussed in more detail.
Thank you for your attention.
Mady Hornig, MD
New York, NY[i]
Big stuff, right?
There you have it. Mercury exposure and a certain set of genes creates something that looks very much like autism in an animal model.
On September 19, 2013 I was a guest of Mady Hornig and Ian Lipkin at a cocktail party at the Soho Grand Hotel in New York City. Up to that point I’d been communicating with just Ian Lipkin and this was my chance to talk to Mady Hornig. There are certain questions I like to ask face to face, and I felt Mady Hornig was more likely to give me an honest answer than Lipkin.
I walked up to Hornig, introduced myself, we made some small talk, then I said, “Mady, I’ve got a question I’ve wanted to ask you for years.”
I paused for a moment and she gave me a look that I interpreted as “Proceed.”
I said, “I consider your article, ‘The Neurotoxic Effects of Postnatal Thimerosal are Mouse Strain Dependent’ to be one of the most important papers in autism. But you published that in 2004 and now it’s 2013. Why no other papers?”
She rolled her eyes and said, “You don’t know?”
I shrugged. “I live in California. I don’t know what happens out here.”
She proceeded to tell me that after the publication of her paper, a blogger named Autism Diva had published many articles criticizing her work, referring to it dismissively as the “Rain Mouse” experiments and it had caused her a great deal of difficulty with the Columbia administration. “I felt like I was on probation for like five years after the paper came out. I’m just getting out from under that cloud now.”
There you have it. Mercury exposure and a certain genetic variation, and you have autism. Raise the issue and you face the very real possibility that soon you’ll be packing all your belongings into a cardboard box and find yourself out on the street. By her own admission, Horning wanted to keep working at Columbia. If you believe in an afterlife, those are the kinds of decisions which get you sent to the hot place for eternity. If you don’t believe in an afterlife, well, that means you get to spend the rest of your life in the Columbia faculty lounge.
Now, when I tell you a story like that, you’re faced with a binary choice. Either I’m telling you the truth about what transpired on September 19, 2013, or I’m not. If you believe me, thank you. And you know why I have contempt for the courage of most scientists. Tell them they’re going to lose their job, and you can get them to shut up, even if it means millions of children will suffer and science will not move forward because of political considerations.
If you don’t believe me, well, then f— you! No, just kidding. If you don’t believe me, then you can use this wonderful search tool called GOOGLE and see if Mady Hornig and Ian Lipkin published a paper entitled “The Neurotoxic Effects of Postnatal Thimerosal are Mouse Strain Dependent” and whether she actually testified to Congress about it. I have even given you the citation if you don’t know how to use GOOGLE.
So, we’ve got exposure to mercury and a certain genetic profile giving autism to laboratory mice. But we’re phasing out mercury, right? Just all that wonderful aluminum, chemicals, animal tissue, aborted human fetal tissue, and supposedly inactivated viruses. What harm could come from that, right?
Keep Reading…
How about a little article from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, CA entitled “Maternal Immune Activation Yields Offspring Displaying Mouse Versions of the Three Core Symptoms of Autism” published in the journal, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity on January 30, 2012; doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2012.01.011?
Here’s some of that “science” from the abstract and we’ll see if you can interpret it. “The core symptoms of autism are deficits in social interaction and language, and the presence of repetitive/stereotyped behaviors. We demonstrate that behaviors related to these symptoms are present in a mouse model of an environmental risk factor for autism, maternal infection. We stimulate the maternal immune system by injecting to viral mimic poly (I:C) during pregnancy, and analyze the social and communicative behaviors of the offspring.”
Can you figure it out? I’ll let you read it again. (Imagine me whistling while you read. Maybe I’ll fix myself a sandwich.)
Okay, back to school…
\They gave the mother an injection of what her immune system would identify as a viral infection. Sound like anything you know? The response of the mother’s immune system (or possibly the fetus, we can’t really know), gave the offspring something that resembled autism. In fact, it’s such a close match to autism, it’s how scientists now create animal models to study the disease.
Here’s a question for you science fans.
We know that humans are generally considered adults by the age of eighteen, but at what age are laboratory mice considered adult? The answer is about two months. So, considering that human beings take such a long time to reach maturity, isn’t it reasonable to ask whether stimulating their immune system, either by their mother getting flu shots while pregnant, or on the first day of life with that hepatitis B shot, runs the risk of causing an out of control immune response, causing autism?
There you have it people. The two things science knows about creating autism in animal models. Exposure to mercury and a certain genetic profile will give you autism. So will stimulating the immune system of the mother while pregnant with a fake viral assault.
Questions?
[i] Congressional Testimony of Dr. Mady Hornig, U.S. House of Representatives, The Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness, Committee on Government Reform, September 8, 2004, www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-108hhrg98046/html/CHRG-108hhrg98046.htm
Readers should review the 5 “Human” cases below:
Five autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) cases are presented who were treated with Precision, Functional and Genomic Medicine. Each case has different primary causalities for ASD despite having similar symptomatic presentations.
* Case #1, the ASD symptoms are primarily caused by adverse vaccine reactions (pertussis in DPT).
* Case #2, the ASD symptoms are primarily caused by an imbalanced microbiome (clostridia, candida, FUT2 SNPs).
* Case #3, the ASD symptoms are primarily caused by metabolomic issues (lead toxicity, glutathione SNPs [GST, GSS, GSR]).
* Case #4, the ASD symptoms are primarily caused by purely genomic issues (massive load of methylation SNPs exacerbated by severe food allergy).
* Case #5, the ASD symptoms are primarily caused by immunomic issues (Lyme disease and other co-infections).
Treatments by Charles Gant, MD, were entirely or significantly successful in all 5 cases.
http://internationalacademyofprecisionmedicine.org/precision-medicine/autism-solutions-5-case-studies.html
Kent: Thank you for this. Now I understand the deafening silence. Guts are in short supply in the land of the comfortable. The free, full text of the paper is still available, and it’s worth a read. This is a very important paper. Out of curiosity I searched the CDC “library of science” to see if it was there. Typing Hornig and the title brings up the CDC propaganda page concerning how safe and wonderful mercury in vaccines is for developing infants. That’s right, I forgot, the CDC doesn’t do science. Anything that looks like actual science they throw in a big trash can. They know damn well what they’re doing.
Wow, great article. So many walls are put up to stop the #Truth & we need to knock them all down.
Hi Kent
Could it really be that it was Autism Diva and not the CDC (government-pharmaceutical complex pulling the strings) pulling the strings, all along? Why would the university take so much notice of someone who doesn’t even sign their own name? Recently, it was alleged that the premiere of the film Man Made Epidemic was cancelled at a London film festival because of a letter written by another self-diagnosed Asperger lady in Ireland. The best that can be said is that these occurences are camouflage for the real approaches and the real politics. Rather more to the point is what William Thompson told Brian Hooker in the whistleblower tapes about Lipkin. I think Mady is pulling your leg, even if it remains a corrupt reason for changing the science i.e. Hornig and Lipkin have to trim to please the university who for some reason have a great need to appease Autism Diva.
Bravo! Brilliant! Thank you!
The bigger the lie, the more sacred the cow.
What is the use of writing such a lengthy article ??? ; When it does not address banning of all these so called “DESTRUCTIVE” Vaccines !!!
Mr. Author ,why DON’T YOU PUT UP YOUR CASE WITH FDA ??? ; AS OPPOSED TO SCARING HELL OUT OF THE COMMON MAN ???
YOU ARE BARKING AT THE WRONG TREE !!!
Manny, There is an octopus and on one tentacle is the FDA. There are at least 7 other tentacles that one must “bark” at to use your expression. On an individual level you can apply Kent’s knowledge and wisdom in your own life so that you can carry some of the weight in educating those in your sphere of influence. You’ll find it not see easy. See Kent’s previous post.
There aren’t enough Kents….yet, but we are growing.
Manny, are you aware that 2/3 of the funding for the FDA come from the pharmaceutical companies? The CDC also gets funding from the drug companies. Don’t expect either group to keep you safe. And, you can just forget “trusting my doctor.” The doctors base their decisions on the FDA and CDC.
Cognitive Dissonance (“CD”). This country is full of people who suffer from CD. People don’t want to hear it.
Common sense would tell you that a newborn baby would not need a HEP B vaccine within the first 24 hours- and yet it is given and yes, some babies (needlessly) die from it. Common sense also tells you injecting babies with up to 9 vaccines at one time is dangerous. Have people forgotten that vaccines alter the immune system? The CDC now has 70 vaccines on the schedule for children. Common sense tells you that when you alter a child’s immune system repeatedly, it is probable that you will cause some health problems. Our children are sicker than ever. Why? Could it be that we are destroying their immune systems by over-vaccinating?
Kent, this is a great article and I commend you for writing this piece. Sadly, most people won’t pay attention to it, and even if they do, many will revert back to the rhetoric that “Vaccines don’t cause autism…the Lancet study was proven to be untrue.”
For those who actually might have their minds open just a bit, check out the work done by various doctors on the link between the MMR vaccine, nagalase and childhood diseases. Strangely, many of the doctors who were working on this same issue have ended up dead or missing. Maybe Horning should consider herself lucky that only her job was threatened.
https://www.sott.net/article/312619-Dead-doctors-nagalase-and-vaccines-Whats-the-connection
MR AUTHOR? Manny must be a trollbot. ignore it.
Knowing the science from the lience is the key to truth.
We are very slowly making progress. My son recently underwent genetic testing. We found a gene variation involving abnormalities in his genetic makeup controlling the process of cell methylation. That indicates that he is genetically prone to the buildup of certain toxins, including folic acid (which can be a neuro-toxin as it builds up in the body). Avoidance of the toxins and elimination of existing excesses is the only effective treatment. But it’s difficult, since folic acid is added to commercially available flours and baked goods.
Hopefully, as more people obtain genetic testing, which is now surprisingly affordable, there will be more interest in the science of how our bodies function, and how we might avoid gumming up the process. Unfortunately, pharmaceutical companies will fight scientific research with all their considerable might any time that it effects their bottom line.