NAA And SafeMinds Call For Increased Environmental Research On Autism At IOM Workshop

Main Category: Autism
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience
Article Date: 01 May 2007 - 0:00 PDT

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The National Autism Association (NAA) and SafeMinds (Sensible Action for Ending Mercury Induced Neurological Disorders) urged scientists working on autism to focus on environmental factors including vaccines at an April 18-19 Institute of Medicine (IOM) workshop. The workshop, titled "Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research," was planned by a committee representing government agencies, academic institutions, and autism organizations. Planning committee members included NAA board member Laura Bono and Safe Minds vice president Mark Blaxill. Both are parents of children diagnosed with autism.

In discussing the most promising areas of autism research, past performance by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the role of vaccines in the development of autism were addressed. Ms. Bono presented "Perspectives of the Advocacy Community," stating, "We believe the CDC has a performance and credibility problem. Their failure to declare an epidemic beginning with the 1989 birth cohort, to study the time trend data, or to examine the toxic and viral body burdens of children are why we are here today -- over 15 years too late."

The two-day meeting concluded with a panel discussion on "Public-Private Partnerships" among scientists and advocates. Panelists included NAA board member Lyn Redwood, RN, MSN and Sallie Bernard, executive director of SafeMinds, who urged federal agencies to allocate significantly more to the environmental side of the "gene-environment" equation and to reach out to parents who are the stakeholders in this disease. "We need the guidance of parents in identifying the most promising areas of investigation to find meaningful ways of improving the lives of those with autism now and to prevent its occurrence in the future," stated Ms. Redwood.

Many attendees, including parents, physicians, and researchers, expressed optimism following the workshop that autism research might now be shifting to more fruitful areas examining toxin and pathogen effects. Sue Swedo of NIH and Irva Hertz-Picciotto of the MIND Institute reported that major autism research databases will incorporate exposure histories including immunization records. David Schwartz, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), suggested that applications for developing exposure and body burden testing methods for autism be made to the NIEHS's Exposure Biology Program, part of its Gene-Environment Initiative. As part of his power point presentation, Dr. Larry Needham of the CDC's National Center for Environmental Health listed the mercury-based vaccine preservative thimerosal among five other chemicals linked to autism spectrum disorders.

"I see it as a turning point," said Dr. William Raub, science adviser to the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Dr. Raub said the workshop would give "a higher profile" to the possibility that environmental agents are contributing to the development of autism.

For more information: http://www.nationalautism.org and http://www.safeminds.org

National Autism Association
http://www.nationalautism.org

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