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Autistic boy dies during controversial treatment
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | 8/24/2005 | Karen Kane and Virginia Linn

Posted on 08/24/2005 3:09:44 PM PDT by Born Conservative

A 5-year-old Monroeville boy died this week during a medical treatment that's being touted by some as a cure for autism.

The autistic boy died while receiving chelation -- an intravenous injection of a synthetic amino acid known as EDTA, for ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid. The Food and Drug Administration has approved the practice only to treat heavy metal (such as lead) poisoning. The treatment is becoming increasingly popular, though still controversial, for autism.

Police are investigating the boy's death, which occurred Tuesday morning in the office of Dr. Roy Kerry in Portersville.

(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: autism; bc; chelation; edta; health; healthcare; junkscience; justdamn; medicine; quack
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To: TheSpottedOwl

Oh dear.

That IS a lot.

I'm very sorry.

:-(


141 posted on 08/25/2005 5:14:32 PM PDT by tiamat ("If some guy named Marduk calls, tell him I'm not home! ")
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To: afraidfortherepublic

I didn't catch Andy's age, but when my son was young, he had to take everything apart. He broke everything, so a family friend bought him a Tonka dump truck for Christmas one year. He figured that no kid can break a Tonka truck. It took the boy 2 years, but he managed. He also "borrowed" his sisters Barbie dolls, lined them up on the sidewalk, and ran them over repeatedly with that truck.

I can't be sure what's up with my son, since he was never diagnosed, despite reams of paperwork from school and my input.

Lock the basement, pronto!


142 posted on 08/25/2005 5:31:29 PM PDT by TheSpottedOwl ("President Bush, start building that wall"!)
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To: tiamat

That's okay Tiamat, I don't have to deal with the day to day anymore. It WAS a lot when I dealt with him daily, though.


143 posted on 08/25/2005 5:34:55 PM PDT by TheSpottedOwl ("President Bush, start building that wall"!)
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To: Born Conservative
"If they are treating autism with EDTA, they DESERVE to lose their license."

Ditto. Loss of cash and maybe some jail time too.

144 posted on 08/25/2005 5:37:55 PM PDT by spunkets
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To: lepton
Valid points. You are correct. We can measure a glucose level with a simple prick but definitive assessments of brain function evade us.

On a personal level, I have considered what would happen if I had a brain injury -- would I still have faith in God. As I pondered it, I have been blessed by the Down's syndrome children with whom I come in contact. Overall, they seem to have stronger, non-doubting faith than those with higher IQs. Since God is all-powerful, I realized that I had to entrust my salvation entirely into his hands because my brain & my strength are corruptible.

Medical students hope that they will be the ones to make a difference in the mortality rate some day. The day dawns when they realize that the mortality rate will always be the same. 100%
145 posted on 08/26/2005 1:21:08 AM PDT by Kay
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To: TheSpottedOwl

LOL. His parents have a good handle on this, luckily. But it is wearying and expensive to raise an autistic, as you know.

Andy is eleven and big for his age.


146 posted on 08/26/2005 6:37:44 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
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To: TheHound
I have a new child and have researched the vaccine mercury issue. Go here: http://www.fda.gov/cber/vaccine/thimerosal.htm#t1. Personally, I believe that this whole mercury vaccine thing is just another trial lawyer grab.

I agree.

No correlation between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism
147 posted on 08/26/2005 6:58:58 AM PDT by Antoninus (Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini, Hosanna in excelsis!)
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To: afraidfortherepublic
The few autistics who have recovered tell of sort of a "tunnel vision" where the focus of their vision is off to the side. This is a problem that many adults have with autistics as they fuss at the child to "look at me" and the child is looking at them out of the corner of his eye -- which is the only spot he can see clearly.

Which is why vision therapy is being experimented with for autism now.

Seeing Through New Eyes
148 posted on 08/26/2005 7:03:35 AM PDT by Antoninus (Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini, Hosanna in excelsis!)
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To: Hildy
You find autism in very intelligent homes. I wonder if there's ever been a study to that effect.

Dr. Thomas Sowell wrote a book on it and a number of columns -- not a study exactly. But he tried to do a scientific analysis of the commonalities of late-talking children. His child did not talk until very late and has been diagnosed on the autistic spectrum.

I purchased the book for my daughter when we were first noticing Andy's problems, but the doctors were denying that there was a problem.

I think Sowell's book is called "The late talking child", or something like that. In any case, he wrote a column about his son and his frustrations of raising him as a single dad. The response to the column was so great that he formed a support group to share backgrounds and stories. He then put all of the resulting information into a matrix, or data base, and made some very interesting observations and wrote a book sharing some of the stories. His observations may, or may not, have any validity -- as he freely admits.

Sowell wrote that he did not have time to continue this research and do a proper study, but he offered his preliminary findings to any scientist who wanted to take this on as a project.

Among his findings was that something like 90% of autistics have an engineer, mathemetician, or musician, in their close family -- father, mother, grandfather, uncle, aunt. That one lept out at me and made me wonder why ALL of my grandchildren were not autistic, to say nothing of my own kids!

BTW, Sowell's son (who must be high functioning) eventually learned to talk and has graduated from college and was pursuing a career in computers at the time the book was written -- 10 years ago. As I remember, Sowell's son learned to play chess before he learned to talk.

You mention that "something has happened in the last 25 years". THree things, I think.

1)The definition of autism has widened.
2) Parents no longer hide these children from the public.
3) The number of vacinations given to babies in recent years has multiplied exponentially.
I do believe that to certain sensitive children, the vaccinations are an exacerbating problem. My compny health plan provided me with a handy chart yesterday on childhood vaccinations that are now required -- a baby is vaccinated for 15 different diseases by the time he is 15 months.

I noted that the MMR is now recommended at ONE YEAR! That is the vaccination that is suspect in my grandson's autism and he received it in its mercury-laced form at 15 months. He might have been fine, had his parents put it off until he was 2 or 3. His younger brother had those shots separated and administered much later, and he is just fine.

149 posted on 08/26/2005 7:13:49 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
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To: lepton
Do you KNOW that was the source?

Of course not. It is just one measurable factor that the doctor observed. Andy was part of a blind study that a doctor specializing the the treatment of autism was conducting. As part of the study, he was subjected to numerous tests that normal children never undergo. I know that his mother is convinced that mercury had something to do with the problem because of the sudden onset. In any case, the doctor's several treatments did not help this case and Andy no longer sees her. His numerous educational therapies have not helped much either.

Regarding the "powdered mercury": I don't know what compound it was. I'll have to ask my husband. I was more concerned on the legality of possessing it and the fines I might have to pay, or licenses I would have to purchase, if it were discovered. I was told that it was illegal for me to have and that I needed to get rid of it. I remember asking my husband why it wasn't silver and liquid, but I don't remember his answer.

All I know is that I am lucky to get rid of it for only $50. I had much higher quotes from Haz Mat disposal companies. I have no idea why it was in our lab in the first place! A former employee found it, reported it, and I was always worried that he might report me for having it after he left the company.

150 posted on 08/26/2005 7:31:30 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
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To: Antoninus

Thanks. I've forwarded the page to my daughter.


151 posted on 08/26/2005 7:39:32 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
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To: afraidfortherepublic
Thank you for that intensive exmination...I found this interesting:

Among his findings was that something like 90% of autistics have an engineer, mathemetician, or musician, in their close family -- father, mother, grandfather, uncle, aunt. That one lept out at me and made me wonder why ALL of my grandchildren were not autistic, to say nothing of my own kids!

My brother was a musician, a brilliant musician and mathemaetician. My brother had full scholarship to MIT before he left for the New England Conservatory of Music. And my sister-in-law's Father was an engineer of the highest caliber. She herself a very talented musician.

152 posted on 08/26/2005 6:51:06 PM PDT by Hildy
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To: TheSpottedOwl

As the parent of an autistic child I would consider chelation therapy after much research.


153 posted on 08/27/2005 6:36:32 AM PDT by Mfkmmof4
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To: TheHound

My son's autism did not become evident until he was about 3 but initially was diagnosed as retarded. He hit all the milestones on time and could repeat his name at a year but at 3 he just would NOT listen. Today at 14 he has come further then I ever though possible.


154 posted on 08/27/2005 6:41:49 AM PDT by Mfkmmof4
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To: afraidfortherepublic

Bingo!


155 posted on 08/27/2005 6:43:14 AM PDT by Mfkmmof4
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To: 4mycountry

I have a 20 year old niece who frequently tells me how to parent my autistic son. Of course this summer she threatened him with "if you don't hug me I am NOT your cousin". He hates her now.


156 posted on 08/27/2005 6:47:12 AM PDT by Mfkmmof4
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To: Hildy

Music and mathematical talent often go hand and hand. I think the scientists say they use the same part of the brain. Of course, engineering relys heavily on mathmatics.

But Sowell's findings could be subjective too. I suppose he could have made a case that the close relatives of his autistic study group all spoke English too!


157 posted on 08/27/2005 2:00:52 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
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To: lepton

Obviously a compound of some sort. what was it combined with?
It was elementqal mercury. I thought it was powdered because it was contained in Tupperware and taped closed -- like a box of flour. It looked white through the semi-opaque plastic. I never looked inside because I was told to leave it alone. My husband informed me this morning, when I asked, that there was a JAR inside the Tupperware and it was full of the standard, silvery Mercury that we all know and love so much. I kid you not, that box of mercury has been sitting in the back of a storeroom adjoining my office for 10 years, and in our lab for many years previous. LOL.


158 posted on 08/27/2005 2:06:49 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
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To: TheSpottedOwl

My son is ADD-well, that't the "diagnosis" anyway.

He takes things apart. It drives me NUTS. I always have to FIND both halves of my broom, mop, or whatever, before I can USE it!! : )


159 posted on 08/27/2005 2:47:07 PM PDT by Politicalmom (Just one more reason to hate the government....)
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To: Born Conservative
People die all the time from traditional medical treatment but it's just accepted that the patient died in spite of doctors doing all they could to treat the patient.

I'm sick of the double standard. I don't know what caused the death of this child. I know of a few people who have done chelation and swear by it.

I know of people who have heart by-passes and their health is not so good afterward and some have even had strokes on the operating table. Others have died, yet we have by-passes being performed all the time.

We need to keep an open mind about this.

One person I know who had chelation has a daughter who is a pharmacist and the daughter was all for her mom doing this and is pleased with the results.

160 posted on 02/26/2006 5:26:57 AM PST by Conservativegreatgrandma
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