MMR Vaccine and Autism, 2

Autism, MMR Vaccine, HIV Similarities and Growth Factor Cell Signaling - Part 2, by Barbara Brewitt, Ph.D.

Autism spectrum disorder is an exponentially rising epidemic with an incidence as high as 1:139 ⁽¹⁾, ⁽²⁾. In Scotland, there was an 18% increase in year 2000 primary school children diagnosed with autism once vaccination policies were implemented. The U.S. Dept. of Education said autism in school age children has risen 556% in the last five years. Experts in California point out that it took 25 years between 1969-1994 to have 5,100 persons diagnosed with autism, then only five years (1994-1999) to have another 5,100 diagnosed and now only 2.5 years have passed (1999-2001) to diagnose another 5,100 cases. This accounts for 500,000 U.S. autistic children and millions more around the world. Autism cases are rising in the U.S. such that 6 new children are diagnosed daily! Autism costs the American public $13.3 billion per year ⁽³⁾.

Autism is a neuro-biological disorder whereby children do not communicate or respond in the same manner as the general population. Autistic children have developmental delays that impair social interactions, verbal and non-verbal communications, ability to make eye contact, and speech. These children also enter into repetitive and stereotypical patterns of behavior, and appear to have no fear or understanding of societal definitions of danger. They have little ability to identify self from non-self. These children have a low tolerance for frustration, poor comprehension of communications directed toward them, exhibit poor skin color, have sleep disturbances, reveal little awareness of their surroundings and have a low interest level in their interactions with the world outside of themselves. Seizures and other co-existing central nervous system disorders plus intestinal imbalances and hepatic dysfunction are also common.

The cause and successful treatments for autism are unknown. Theories of cause range from environmental toxicity to viral infections, and biochemical imbalances to developmental defects ⁽⁴⁾,⁽⁵⁾. Researchers believe that autism is triggered by environmental insults or toxicity that damage immature, fragile immune systems of a fetus, infant or very young child causing autoimmunity against the neuroimmuno-endocrine system, including the gastrointestinal system or "second brain" ⁽⁶⁾. Many autistic children also have a long history of susceptibility to infections and experience hormonal imbalance, such as hyperthyroidism and early puberty. Some children even display coagulation and circulatory disorders. Similar to the early days of HIV infection, people form support groups and attempt behavior modification, nutritional/dietary changes, detoxification cleansing and just about anything that might provide some quality of life to their children. This is the time for practitioners to rethink the MMR vaccine with a beginner’s mind.

A three-year worldwide controversy began when Dr. Andrew Wakefield implicated the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, which began in the U.S. in 1971, to autism onset ⁽⁷⁾, ^{(13,) (8),(9)}. Two epidemiological studies highlight the issue. A University of Birmingham survey found most parents intended to resist the second MMR vaccine since thirty percent of parents cited autism and others cited general malaise after the first MMR as the reason ⁽¹⁰⁾. Another Welsh study on MMR vaccine perceptions, (completed on 239 practice nurses, 206 doctors and 148 health visitors, n=628) demonstrated that 48% of the doctors and nurses had reservations of the second MMR dose and 3% totally disagreed with the vaccine ⁽¹¹⁾. Nurse practitioners (27%) associated the MMR vaccine to autism onset and another 33% associated the MMR to Crohn’s disease onset. Parents, including professionals, with autistic children suggest that MMR vaccines coincide too closely with the onset of autism to disregard it.

Several studies have shown that compared to normal children, there are statistically significant types and levels of toxins, abnormalities, and inflammation characterized as Crohn’s disease, enterocolitis and inflammatory bowel disease throughout the gastrointestinal tract of autistic children ⁽¹²⁾. In 1998, Dr. Andrew Wakefield published in the Lancet his first findings that autistic children had inflamed and enlarged intestinal lymph nodes as a prime feature distinct from other inflammatory bowel problems ⁽¹³⁾. Last year a small study in Japan identified the MMR vaccine strain of measles in the gastro-intestinal tracts of 30% of the autistic children tested compared to wild-type strains in the general environment ⁽¹⁴⁾.

The parental, professional and researcher information linking the MMR to autism are negated by the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) that states there is insufficient risk-to-benefit evidence against the mandatory MMR vaccine. Clinicians and researchers respond that while the MMR vaccine may be efficacious, safety testing and follow-up studies on the MMR are woefully inadequate and terribly too short lasting only weeks. The MMR is given at 1-1.5 years old and long-term follow-up data show high correlation to rising autism immediately after vaccination or as long as 2.5 years later ⁽¹⁵⁾.

Child Development-Networking the Neuroimmuno-Endocrine System

Children’s central nervous, immune and gastrointestinal systems are still developing at two years of age, needing further time for their directional communication and long-term memory capabilities to network together. The brain is also highly vulnerable to toxic insult and damage at this age because it has higher than normal production of neurons during this time.

One key developmental process in the nervous system is called synaptogenesis ⁽¹⁶⁾. This is how synaptic transmission - the process whereby electrical signals are conveyed between a neuron and its target cell – forms an integrated nervous system. Behavior and movement are controlled by these synaptogenic processes and it is believed that synaptic connectivity and transmission strength enable the nervous system to adapt to environmental challenges. Synaptogenesis underlies some of the higher brain functions and forms the cellular basis of learning and memory.

Synaptogenesis peaks above normal levels during a child’s first two years of postnatal development. During this period neurons travel to their correct brain locations to form specific impressions and memories that will be critical for survival later in life. After two years of age these newly formed connections between neurons are appropriately reduced for the next six months as distinct personality and memories form. Likewise, during this age period immune system activities are still developing as the complex networks of immature immune cells and memory immune cells learn to distinguish ‘self’ from ‘non-self’. During the first two years of life a delicate one-to-one ratio between CD4 (helper) and CD8 (suppressor) cells forms, anything short of that indicates abnormality. Helper cells begin immune reactivity and suppressor cells stop immune reactivity to prevent autoimmunity. Autism is characterized by abnormal CD4/CD8 ratios. Also, during the early years of life immune cells that contain immunologic memory are still locating themselves within the intestinal tract. Given that boys mature more slowly than girls, it is no surprise that boys are three to four times at greater risk of developing autism.

Early immune stimulation prevents auto-immunity later in life due to up-regulating a wide repertoire of growth factor communications, strengthening the body’s agility and ability to return to homeostasis ⁽¹⁷⁾. Provocation by outside stimuli activates growth factors to regulate the bi-directional flow of information within the neuroimmuno-endocrine system. Early childhood infections are assumed to have this “protective effect” against the development of such things as asthma and allergic reactions. In fact, a study of 262 people in Africa found that measles infection prevented the development of allergic sensitivities compared to those people who were vaccinated or had not had measles (P=0.01)⁽¹⁸⁾. Furthermore, Israeli children in rural settings exposed to farm animals and environmental pathogens specific to the gastrointestinal tract developed a much stronger, adult-like cellular immune system compared to children from an economically privileged urban population. ⁽¹⁹⁾

Many homeopaths and Pacific Rim healers believe that childhood measles and chicken pox infections are ‘rites of passage’ necessary to increase the person’s odds of survival long term. Scientific studies back this conclusion since new genetic information carried by these viruses strengthens the neuroimmuno endocrine system for the adult’s lifetime of exposures to a wide array of environmental pathogens ⁽²⁰⁾.

Growth Factors and Viruses Compete for Gene Regulation

Growth factors or cytokines, are the common language of the neuroimmuno-endocrine systems that regulate growth, repair, and renewal processes including apoptosis. Growth factors need not enter cells to modulate cellular activities via DNA expression. Growth factors convey their signals to highly specific cell receptors that in turn carry the message via a cascade of intracellular messengers into the DNA where gene transcription and expression are ultimately changed. Specific growth factors, such as platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF_B) play critical roles early in the G1 phase of the cell cycle where the cell’s fate is determined. The former two provide positive feedback to drive the cell cycle forward toward DNA synthesis and cell division and TGF_B provides negative feedback to induce apoptosis or ‘hold position’ signals depending upon environmental cues. Many viruses compete for the same DNA gene regulatory (transcription) sites as growth factors. Viruses must overcome the growth factor control of the cell’s fate so that the virus can multiply and infect more cells.

Measles Symptoms Too Similar to Autism Symptoms to Ignore

The measles and the German measles (Rubella) are single stranded RNA retroviruses with many similarities to HIV. The measles, specific to humans, normally infects between the ages of 3 and 7 years old and is highly contagious. The viral infection begins in the respiratory tract after being inhaled and then spreads to the local immune system (lymphoid) tissues and skin, kidneys, gastro-intestinal tract, and liver. As with HIV, measles infects monocytes, CD4-T, CD8-T, and B-lymphocytes. Measles symptoms include fever, respiratory distress, intestinal inflammation, skin rash, encephalitis and increased vulnerability to bacterial infections. The measles can invade, infect, and inflame specific areas of the brain causing persistent viral infection and damage. Measles infection usually resolves itself over one to two weeks given good sanitation, water quality, and hygiene. Treatment with Vitamin A, as found in cod liver oil is an effective treatment known since 1932.

At the cellular level, measles causes cell cycle cessation, especially during the G0/G1 phase where major decisions regarding the cell’s fate are determined. ⁽²¹⁾ Measles enters a cell via the CD46 receptor (HIV uses the CD4 receptor). If the CD46 receptor is unavailable, then the measles also enters via IGF-1 and epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors ⁽²²⁾. Areas of the brain affected in autism are similar to the sites affected by the measles and measles-related complications, including the cerebellum, the hippocampus, amygdala, cingulate gyrus, hypothalamus, and the frontal and temporal lobes of the cerebral cortex. The cerebellum is responsible for motor skills and coordination while the hippocampus and cerebral cortex are related to memory and emotions (the limbic system). The amygdala partly controls gastro-intestinal tract functioning as well as processing sensory information especially input related to survival mood-responses such as fear, anger, and aggression. Autistic children have damaged amygdalas and are well known to lack normal fear and stress responses and have dysfunctional gastrointestinal systems.

Ironically, measles both stimulates and suppresses different parts of the immune system ⁽²³⁾. Measles stimulates maturation of antigen presenting cells in skin, gut and lungs. Measles also induces growth factor secretion such as granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and other maturation and stimulation factors that consequently regulate the immune system during future infections ⁽²⁴⁾. Aberrant expression of TGF_B1 can stimulate inflammatory and fibrotic tissue formation and high intracellular TGF_B1 may induce over expression of CD46 receptors, a portal for measles virus entry ⁽²⁵⁾. Measles additionally suppresses CD4 and CD8 lymphocytes, and possibly other prevents cells from entering the cell cycle. The stages of the cellular decision-making process (transition from G₀ through G₁) leading up to the cell division are normally controlled by PDGF, and either epidermal growth factor (EGF) or IGF-1. TGF_B1 also participates in determining what cells will live, die or specialize.

There are three types of measles-related brain inflammations (encephalitis)⁽²⁶⁾. First, an acute post-infectious type can occur near initial infection, characterized by inflammation around blood vessels and loss of myelin. Second, a brain inflammation presenting 1-10 years post infection, called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), characterized by a persistent measles infection with many mutations (like HIV) inside the cells of the cerebellum and spinal cord in people with competent, mature, immune systems. SSPE can be fatal because it destroys brain tissue, leads to progressive dementia, seizures, and chronic neurological disorders affecting coordination.

The final measles-related brain complication is progressive and infectious to immuno-compromised people such as children. This form manifests itself 1-6 months following measles infection. Common symptoms include seizures, motor and sensory system deficits, and lethargy (fatigue) with the acute or sub-acute progressive encephalitis. The symptoms arise from brain tissue death caused by unrestricted viral replication. Symptoms of measles infection in the brains of people without competent immune systems are too similar to autism to ignore. While measles vaccination decreased the first two types of nervous system complication, the third form remains problematic in an increasing population of people with compromised or immature immunity. The measles infects specific brain areas such as the frontal cortex, thalamus, hypothalamus, substantia nigra, locus ceruleus, raphe nuclei, hippocampus, amygdala, rhinal cortex and cingulate gyrus where neurons have specific CD46 or growth factor receptors. These are commonly damaged areas of the brain in autism.

Immunization Policies Need to Rethink Purpose and Child Development Facts

Government immunization policies are based upon the logic that vaccines will stimulate the immune system. The difference with measles is that, similar to HIV, it suppresses the very immune cells that are supposed to fight against it and it is given much to early during childhood development. While the measles normally mutates only one-third as fast as HIV ⁽²⁷⁾ shifts in magnesium to manganese cations in the body can significantly enhance viral mutation rates by 6-10 fold.⁽²⁸⁾ Vaccines contain mercury, theoretically driving the mutation process higher and rendering immune systems less effective. Viral mutations can escape vaccine protection and or drive measles mutant strains in the body toward continued successful mutation.

Children today receive 22-35 vaccines before they reach school age and most of these contain organic mercury (ethylmercury). Before two years of age the amount of mercury a typical child receives from these vaccinations equate to 237.5 micrograms ⁽²⁹⁾ which if excreted in the urine pull out magnesium from the body, thus increasing the manganese levels. ⁽³⁰⁾ Rarely is mercury excreted and most commonly it migrates to the brain where it can drive both brain toxicity and increases in manganese. In either case, increases in manganese relative to magnesium may increase measles viral mutations.

Homeopathic Growth Factor Treatments For Autism

Homeopathic preparations of the MMR vaccine are available from homeopathic practitioners and often stabilize autistic children’s health. Homeopathic growth factors such as, IGF-1, PDGF-BB, TGF_B1, FGF-2, and GM-CSF appear in early assessment to improve healing of autistic children and strengthen the neuroimmuno-endocrine system. The first three growth factors work at the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Five children ages 5-12 years old have demonstrated significant improved eye contact, peer relationships, communication, speech, comprehension, emotional reciprocity and understanding of abstract concepts after 6-8 weeks of using homeopathic growth factors. Homeopathic growth factors stimulate healing and renewal in the neuroimmune, and hormonal systems (including gastrointestinal tract) that is usually injured or damaged in autism.

Fibroblast Growth Factor 2: FGF-2 is a growth factor with receptors present on cells in specific areas of the brain damaged in autism, such as the hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus, and cerebellum. FGF-2 normally stimulates neuronal cell growth from stem cells (“progenitor” cells spawning needed cells) and blood vessel regeneration (necessary for carrying nutrients into the brain). FGF-2 also stimulates the bone marrow, which produces immune stem cells, and the thymus, which contributes to immune cell development. This growth factor is also present in the intestines to regulate healing and repair. Homeopathic dilutions of FGF-2 may help autistic children by stimulating brain stem cell regeneration, blood vessel growth, bone marrow functioning, and intestinal healing without the known side effects of injectable FGF-2 such as increased inflammation and disordered astrocyte turnover.

Insulin-like Growth Factor 1: IGF-1 is another growth factor with receptors present in many areas of the brain, particularly areas relating to emotions (called the limbic system), as well as the hippocampus and cerebellum. IGF-1 regulates G1 phase of cell cycle, often called a “prgression factor”, regulating entry into DNA synthesis. It modulates progenitor cells progression to new cell types and prevents cell death. In situations of toxicity or undernourishment, IGF-1 determines which neurons will survive and which will die. IGF-1 also determines the length of a neuron and how its repair processes will be turned on. Homeopathic IGF-1 is thought to improve autistic symptoms by helping damaged neural tissue to regenerate and repair itself, once again without the side effects possible with use of pharmacologic doses.

Platelet-Derived Growth Factor BB: PDGF-BB transitions the GO/G1 cell cycle phase as a “competence factor”, overcoming stalls in the G₀ phase such as might occur with measles infection. PDGF assists with cell maturation and specialization processes.

Transforming Growth Factor B1: TGF-B1 acts like an “on” and “off” switch that tells cells when to stop dividing and or to die. Both PDGF and TGF-beta have receptors in areas of the brain affected by autism. Homeopathic preparations of these growth factors are thought to provide their respective benefits of initiating the cell turnover cycle and then turning it off before it gets out of control without toxic side-effects.

Autism probably has multiple causes, however one likely contributor is the MMR vaccine. The evidence linking autism onset, MMR vaccination, and measles symptoms is too strong to ignore. Conducting large-scale studies addressing the link between the type of measles virus present in the MMR vaccine and the known abnormalities of autism will be an important first step in trying to prevent further growth of this epidemic. While there is no known cure for autism several therapies have ameliorated some autistic symptoms. Among such therapies are safe, nontoxic homeopathic growth factors known to support normal growth and development in areas of the body affected by autism. Until we are able to address this disorder with appropriate prevention and cures, we can assist autistic children in living the fullest lives possible with therapies known to strengthen the body and act without any toxic side effects.

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Part 1, MMR Vaccine and Autism
Barbara Brewitt, Ph.D.
Well Being Journal, Summer 2001, pages 1, 22-24