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Autism and the Brain
Posted By avi
Since the subject of Autism is still fairly fresh here, this is some recent news on the science front:
Carnegie Mellon researchers discover key deficiencies in brains of people with autism
The news is not that there are differences, but where those differences are. The people they tested in the 2nd study used a form of visual thinking in places where most of us use language or symbolic thinking. This is very interesting, and could suggest some reasons why Autism may offer specific advantages and disadvantages from an evolutionary perspective.
Jul 12th, 2006
One researcher believes he has found the cause of autism: http://wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=5146301
According to him, our bodies do not produce enough electrical impulses to power the number of cells in the autistic’s brain. This does seem to me to be at least theoretically possible. The cure could mean that autistics could have “supercharged” brains and might also explain why a “dash” of autism can often lead to genius. It would be an interesting world if it was the autistics who ended up making the decision about whether to implement eugenics with neurotypicals. Perhaps the increased incidence of autism is tied somehow to evolution.
Sorry, but I think that http://wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=5146301 was a poorly written lay review of Casanova’s work. Casanova has done all of his analysis on post-mortem brains (i.e., he has not actually measured electrical activity in the brain). His research does compellingly show that in the autistic brain, there short range connections are favored over long range ones (with short-range being greater and long range being less than that measured in neurotypicals). Coupled with this are enhanced volume and perhaps cellular density in brain columns (a strucure that acts as a processing unit within a brain region). This might lead to increased local processing of ‘information’, but trouble with integrating information from multiple brain regions. This finding is supported by the studies that Avi referenced that do examine living brains and show decreased synchronization (an outcome of integration of information across multiple brain regions) in the brains of individuals with autism. What Casanova appears to be considering, is stimulating regions of the brain in which long range connections predominate to enhance their function and compensate for their reduced numbers (power). Because of the different columnar structure, I agree that it’d be interesting to see whether, if successful, Casanova’s technique would reveal genius in some autistics. I think that the evolutionary angle is very interesting. Those genes that have changed the most across evolution are those that contribute to brain development and brain size (Nature, 2005, v.437,p.64). It may be true that enhanced mini-columns mark some evolutionary development. However, long range connections and integration power have also been clearly important in brain evolution too.
Don,
I believe it would be very interesting to look at individuals such as Daniel Tammet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Tammet . Mr. Tammet is a very unusual “multi-savant”.
In autism research, there is a lot of “scientific” quakery (see Geier and Geier). Casanova’s declaration “I’ll match the university funding” makes me a little uncomfortable. I’m not familiar with his previous work so I’m not sure if he is legitimate. In addition, his stated “certainty” also is a bit alarming as well. I don’t think a responsible scientist would necessarily proclaim such “eureka” comments as Dr. Casanova did.
Alexander’s Daddy, there’s certainly some BS in neuroscience as well as other scientific and non-scientific fields. But since I know Don to be an experienced neuroscientist himself, I trust him to be able to differentiate on the scientific merits and not rely on layman clues.
I’d love to get my hands on Daniel Tammet’s brain, he may be more ‘evolved’, but notably, his wiki entry states that he does not have deficits in social interaction, so I don’t know how well his brain models anything typical or fundamental in autists (or that used by scientists to classify the neurodevelopmental disorder that is the focus of these studies).
Otherwise, I wouldn’t get too concerned about Casanova. He will need IRB (institutional approval) even if he buys his own stimulator and likely his affect as reported in that article was designed to encourage private donations from those ISO a cure.
Autists can adapt socially as adults, so the lack of deficits in the social domain in adulthood is not all that unusual. In the Discovery channel documentary, Tammet’s mother relates how Daniel as a child did not show interest in other children or people and it was Dr. Baron-Cohen who diagnosed him as autistic as an adult.
Mr. Tammet relates his social deficits in this interview with the Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/core/Content/displayPrintable.jhtml;jsessionid=P3QDGCCWRUPBRQFIQMFCFFOAVCBQYIV0?xml=/health/2006/07/10/hsavant10.xml&site=13&page=0
IRB’s (Institutional Review Boards) can be legal yet ethically “challenged”. See: http://neurodiversity.com/weblog/article/98/an-elusive-institute-significant-misrepresentations-mark-geier-david-geier-the-evolution-of-the-lupron-protocol-part-two
I appreciate many of the comments regarding my research; however, the press release by our local TV station was a bad attempt by a lay person at reconstructing our findings. I never said many of the statements attributed to me, e.g. not enough “juice” to power the connections. The focus of the press release should have been our latest findings which can be accessed online via pubmed. However, the interviewer found it more interesting that I was funding a putative intervention based on the results of our research. In this regard, I do not need donation from individuals. For anybody interested I have made available documentation of our proposed trial via an ftp server: ftp://fornix.louisville.edu/pub/05research-plan.pdf You can also obtain more information regarding my background from http://136.165.150.3/people/casanova/index.html or you can email me directly at m0casa0@louisville.edu. again, I am deeply sorry for any misunderstanding. I read the press release and it troubled me considerably.
Dr. Casanova, I’ve had so-called journalists misquote me as well, so I understand the frustration of being used as a character in someone else’s play. I’m sorry to hear about it happening to you.
Follow-up:
My suspicions in regards to Dr. Cassanova were correct. Just look at the company he keeps> http://www.autismone.org/leftside.cfm?page=14&tl=
A legitimate scientist has no business presenting/speaking at this conference which is full of quacks.
Dr. Cassanova, why are you presenting at this conference which is full of discredited “scientists” one of which is being prosecuted by the British NHS? Another was found by one medical journal of misrepresenting his credentials as well as setting up a bogus IRB stocked with his friends, parents of his “research” subjects, dental hygenists and his lawyer? Not to mention the institute is operated out of his home and isn’t registered with the state. In addition, said scientist is probably guilty of insurance fraud because he wants to test Lupron on autistic children and has purposely misdiagnosed them with precocious puberty in order to get insurance companies to pay for the Lupron. Said scientist is trying to patent a Lupron protocol which will chemically castrate these children.
Don,
Avi said that you were a neuroscientist. Take a look at that link to the Autism One conference. Are you familiar with those “scientists”. Would you speak at a conference comprised of that panel?
Hi,
I was invited to Autism One by one of the founders of our local FEAT chapter. More than anything, these are concerned parents whose views (right or wrong) deserve respect and consideration. I appreciate the opportunity they provided me and will always be thankful for the same. I was not aware of the facts you have presented. The qualifications of other speakers were not a concern when I accepted the invitation. However, knowing the facts, I would still have participated. I am not being disrespectful; we just have two different points of view on the same issue.
For what is worth you can take a look at my personal web page and CV in regards to congress presentations. http://136.165.150.3/people/casanova/index.html Just came back from Spain where I presented alongside a Nobel laureate. You can also search pubmed with my name for publications. Attached I am including my academic activities for this year (not including teaching, clinical, grant submissions or administration).
Thank you. I always stand to learn from criticsm.
Best regards,
Manuel
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Lectures:
Cortical Modularity. Grand Rounds. Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Tennessee, Memphis, February 14, 2006
“Cortical Abnormalities in the Modular Arrangement of the Cortex in the Brains of Autistic Patients,†Institute for Psychiatric Research Grand Rounds, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, February 16, 2006.
“Cortical Modularity: Normal Physiology and Pathological Aspects,†Birth Defect Center Research Seminar, University of Louisville, March 7, 2006.
Plenary lecture “The Neurobiology of Autismâ€, Dutch National Autism Congress, Netherlands, March 17, 2006.
“Cortical Modularity,†The Birth Defects Center Seminar Series, University Of Louisville, March 21, 2006
Plenary lecture “Cortical modularity in the normal and Pathological State,†The Cajal Centenary Conference on the Cerebral Cortex, Barcelona, Spain, April 25, 2006.
Plenary lecture: “Abnormalities of Cortical Circuitry in the Brains of Autistic Individuals,†Autism One Congress, Chicago, Ill May 26-27, 2006.
“Abnormalities of Cortical Circuitry in the Brains of Autistic Individuals,†Grand Rounds, Department of Psychiatry, University of Louisville, June 8, 2006.
Honors
Elected President, Society for Neurosciences, Louisville chapter.
International Meeting for Autism Research IMFAR 2007 Scientific Program Committee
Books:
Textbook of Asperger’s Disorder. Jeffrey L. Rausch, Maria E. Johnson, and Manuel F. Casanova (eds.), Informa Healthcare, New York, NY, 2006.
Chapters:
El-Zehiry N Y, Casanova M, Hassan H, Fahmi R, Farag AA: Volumetric MRI analysis of dyslexic subjects using a level-set framework. Jasjit Suri and Aly Farag (Eds.) Parametric and Geometric Derformable Models: An application in Medical Imagery , Volume II, Chapter 14, Springer-Verlag, New York, May 2006:
Casanova MF: Cortical circuit abnormalities in the brains of autistic patients. In New Developments in Autism: The Future is Today. J Martos and Gonzales MP, Llorente M, Nieto C (eds.). Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Ltd, London, England, ch. 12, pages 267-288, 2006.
Parthasarathy L, Seelan RS, Tobias C, Casanova MF, Parthasarathy R: Mammalian inositol 3-phosphate synthetase: its role in the biosynthesis of brain inositol and its clinical use as a psychoactive agent. In Lahiri Majumder A and Biswas BB (eds.) Biology of Inositols and Phsophoinositides, series of Subcellular Biochemistry, Volume 39, chapter 12, 2006.
Casanova MF. Neurohistological aspects of Asperger’s. In Rausch J, Johnson ME, and Casanova MF (eds): Textbook of Asperger’s Disorders. Informa Healthcare, New York, NY, 2006.
Refereed Articles:
Casanova MF, Switala A, Trippe J. A comparison study on the vertical bias in neocortex and hippocampus. Developmental Neuroscience, in press.
El-Zehiry N, Casanova M, Hassan H, Farag A. Effect on minicolumnar disturbance on dyslexic brains: an MRI study. Proceeding of the International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging, Virginia, USA, April 2006, in press.
Casanova MF, Trippe J, Switala AE: A temporal continuity to the vertical organization of the human neocortex: a study spanning prenatal development and aging. Cerebral Cortex, in press (available Epub).
Casanova MF, van Kooten I, Switala AE, van England H, Heinsen H, Steinbuch HWM, Hof PR, Schmitz C Abnormalities of cortical minicolumnar organization in the prefrontal lobes of autistic patients. Clinical Neuroscience Research, in press.
Casanova MF, Trippe J: Regulatory mechanisms of cortical laminar development. Brain Research reviews, in press (Available Epub).
Seelan RS, Parthasarathy R, Casanova MF: The importance of using equimolar DNA for transfection analysis of the 5′ flanking promoter regions of genes. Analytical Biochemistry, in press.
Casanova MF. Neuropathological and genetic findings in autism: the significance of a putative minicolumnopathy. The Neurocientist, in press.
Casanova MF, Kreczmanski P, Trippe J, Switala A, Heinsen H, Steinbusch HWM. Schmitz S. Neuronal distribution in the neocortex of schizophrenic patients. Psy Res submitted for publication.
Casanova MF, van Kooten IAJ, Switala AE, van Engeland H, Heinsen H, Steinbusch HWM, Hof PR, Trippe J, Stone J, Schmitz C. Minicolumnar abnormalities in autism. Acta Neuropathologica, in press (available Epub).
Moeller JR, Rusinek H, Casanova MF, Hoffman JM, Votaw JR, Tune LM, Jewart RD, Perdomo C, Leni JR. Neuroimaging and therapeutics in Alzheimer’s disease. J Nucl Med, submitted for publication.
Casanova MF, Trippe J, Tillquist C, Switala A. Morphometric variability of minicolumns in primates. Cerebral Cortex, submitted for publication.
Casanova MF, Tillquist C, Trippe J, Switala A. Radial bias in structure of dolphin insular cortex likely reflects minicolumnar organization characteristic of mammalian neocortex. Cerebral Cortex, submitted for publication.
Hoffman W, Casanova MF. Immunologic inflammation of the choroids plexus in fatal diabetic ketoacidosis. In preparation.
Congress Presentations:
Casanova MF, van Kooten I, Switala AE, van Engeland H; Heinsen H; Steinbusch HWM; Hof PR; Trippe J; Stone J, Schmitz C. Minicolumnar Width Abnormalities in Autism. Biological Psychiatry 59 (8S): 19S, 2006.
Casanova MF, van Kooten I, Switala AE, van Engeland H; Heinsen H; Steinbusch HWM; Hof PR; Trippe J; Stone J, Schmitz C. Neuronal Size and Numbers in Autism. Biological Psychiatry 59 (8S):20S, 2006.
Casanova MF, Trippe J, Switala AE. A Temporal Continuity to the Vertical Organization of the Human Neocortex. Biological Psychiatry 59 (8S):110S, 2006.
Casanova MF, Giedd J, Rumsey JM, Mannheim G. A Negative Study on the Gyrification Index in Patients with Autism. Biological Psychiatry 59 (8S):110S, 2006
Casanova MF. White matter parcellation in dyslexia reveals a significant diminution of the outer (radiate) compartment. Biological Psychiatry 59 (8S):223S, 2006.
Casanova MF, van Kooten I, Switala AE, van Engeland H; Heinsen H; Steinbusch HWM; Hof PR; Trippe J; Stone J, Schmitz C. Abnormalities of Cortical Minicolumnar Organization in the Prefrontal Lobes of Autistic Patients. Biological Psychiatry 59 (8S):119S, 2006.
Casanova MF, van Kooten I, Switala AE, van Engeland H; Heinsen H; Steinbusch HWM; Hof PR; Trippe J; Stone J, Schmitz C. Minicolumnar Width Abnormalities in Autism. Federation of European Neuroscience Societies, Vienna, Austria, 2006.
Seelam RS, Casanova MF, Parthasarathy R. Differential methylation of the gene encoding Myo-Inositol synthase in rat and human brain tissue. Neuroscience Day 2006 (April 20, 2006), University of Louisville.
Seelam RS, Parthasarathy R, Casanova MF. Differential methylation of the gene encoding Myo-Inositol synthase in rat and human brain tissue. Society for Neuroscience, November 2006.
Casanova MF, van Kooten I, Switala AE, van England H, Heinsen H, Steinbuch HWM, Hof PR, Schmitz C Abnormalities of cortical minicolumnar organization in the prefrontal lobes of autistic patients. Society for Neuroscience, November, 2006.
Casanova MF, Giedd J, Rumsey JM, Mannheim G, Parthasarathy P. A negative study on the gyrification index in patients with autism. Society for Neuroscience, Novemeber, 2006.
Hart R, Litvan I, Fernandez-Botran R, Casanova MF, Tillquist C, Crespo FA.Cytokines polymorphisms, neuroinflammation and brain disorders. Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP) University of Louisville, August 2, 2006.
“The qualifications of other speakers were not a concern when I accepted the invitation. However, knowing the facts, I would still have participated. I am not being disrespectful; we just have two different points of view on the same issue.”
Dr. Casanova, if you wish to keep company with known quacks, and known dangerous quacks, then that is your business. However, there isn’t two different points of view on legitimate science and quackery. I’ll take a look at your past work.
AD, I don’t know which of the people you believe are Quacks or Dangerous Quacks. However, speaking at a conference doesn’t imply endorsement of its other speakers. If that were the case, I might never get to speak at (or attend) a science fiction or game developer conference. I would have had to be very selective in terms of which university I attended–I wouldn’t want some teacher with wrong or dangerous views on the same campus… No. That’s just silly.
I understand you believe that a cure for Autism is the equivalent of genocide. So if one of the speakers was presenting such research findings, I’m not if sure you’d call them a dangerous quack as well. Other people might come to different conclusions. I’m not saying you’re wrong about the alleged quacks. But the best way to debunk them is to do more science.
For anyone interested in the scientific debunking and misrepresentations of some of the speakers at Autism One, please go to this webiste: http://neurodiversity.com/weblog/article/107/citations
Avi, the science has been done, by the NIH, CDC and IOM.
Here is a list of some of the speaker’s beliefs:
Mercury causes Autism- treat with chelation (children have died from this treatment and its only approved for Lead poisoning, and the FDA does not endorse its use for mercury.
Lupron- a drug used to stop precocious puberty, which has nothing to do with autism and the doctors who advocated that have had their published research retracted from their journal.
MMR causes autism- disproved through various studies. This “researcher” is currently being prosecuted by the NHS in Britain and is responsible for the measles outbreak in Britain. He lost his tenureship and had his article retracted from Lancet. In addition, he has had his medical liscense suspended.
Testosterone causes autism by binding to Mercury - one study about 60 years ago supported this, but only under the conditions of heated Benzene in a petry dish.
HBOT can cure autism- No research supports this
One of the speakers is a certified sex therapist and has redirected her practice to treating autism with supplements, which she has a financial interest in .
Another speaker is a businessman who owns a laboratory currently under investigation with a suspended liscense.
Avi, this conference has nothing to do with whether I believe autism should be cured, its about poisoning children with quack science and parting desperate autism parents from their pocketbook.
Have you looked at any of the links I have every provided?
I do believe if you are a respected scientist, you simply do not keep this type of company. I’d be interested if the Medical Dean at the University of Louisville supports Dr. Casanova’s appearance at this conference.
“I would have had to be very selective in terms of which university I attended–I wouldn’t want some teacher with wrong or dangerous views on the same campus… No. That’s just silly.”
Avi, your missing the point. Its not silly when the “science” in question can actually be phsically harmful and even lethal to children who have no say. I think you’ll agree with that. See recent death by chelation:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9074208/
This is the type of practioner that Dr. Casanova is linking himself to. If he is a legitimate scientist, he shouldn’t lend his good name to “legitimize” the other speakers.
What you’re not getting is that Dr. Casanova isn’t endorsing anyone, at least not that I’ve seen.
You can find deaths in every aspect of medicine, even deaths caused by bad science. Ethics dictates we don’t experiment on humans this way, but it still happens. For example, there may not be a single serious study of the developmental effects of anti-depressants on children (only adults), but yet we prescribe them all the time. Is it wrong? Yes. Is it harmful? Who knows? But ignoring the issue scientifically isn’t the way to fight it. More research is the way to fight it. Unfortunately, it would need to be publicly funded research, which Bush has cut drastically.
What you should be asking Dr. Casanova or anyone else with credentials to do, IMO, is attend the presentations by those doctors you dislike and ask pointed questions that would expose the quackery you detect. If the so-called quacks can’t answer those scientific questions, then that will help expose them.
So why don’t you pose some scientific questions that should be asked to the presenters that would both be respectful (despite your strong feelings) and have some scientific validity, and for which the answers will show that the Griers or whomever are conducting bad science. Better yet, suggest an experiment that one could reasonably do that would disprove their claims.
If you come up with acceptable questions and any conference attendees reading this don’t pose those questions due to fear or politics or ignorance, then you’d be safer saying that those people are supporting the quackery. Otherwise, you’re just making stuff up.
Avi, I don’t need to pose questions. These “scientists” have already been questioned and ostracized by their peers who are far more qualified than I am. That is why they loose their medical liscenses, tenureship and so forth. How many medical boards would it take to disprove this “so-called” science.
If you want to read more about these people, go to quackwatch.com which is a site run by doctors.
Thank you for expanding on your thoughts and allowing me to clarify any misconceptions. First of all, my administration is quite pleased with all of my academic activities. Like for any other university professor, they approve any leave or congress presentation that I take. Second, in regards to the Autism One Congress,I was there for only day. I never established a personal dialogue with other lecturers. I only share 1 interview with another participant. The only people in the audience were parents and so were the organizers. After meeting with them I am quite convinced that, as concerned parents, they are quite sincere in their quest to find a cure for their children. In this regard, I applaud their efforts. However, in regards to your feelings of my being found guilty by association….well, that is your prerogative. I presented my lecture and answered questions, just like I am doing in this forum. I try not to prejudge or take things personally. If you have any questions regarding the science of the trial that I presented (ftp://fornix.louisville.edu/pub/05research-plan.pdf), please let me know. If you require additional information, you can email me directly.
Alexander’s Daddy,
I just wanted to give you another scientist’s perspective. You have to judge Dr. Casanova based on his publications (quality of journal, significance and novelty of findings), his ability to get funding (from sources that require peer review) and from his being recognized as a leader in his field (e.g., is the scientist requested to speak at national and international conferences or citation index). Dr. Casanova is an outstanding scientist and has been making fundamental contributions to his field for several years (his findings are solid). Also, I did look at his grant, which he generously linked with his previous post and his proposed experiments appear to be totally logical and sound. Before you attack him, I really think that you have give him a chance and deal with him based on his work. Please understand that speaking at conferences and attending conferences are an important part of Dr. Casanova’s job and conferences are fundamental to the progress of science. Furthermore, having scientists like Dr. Casanova as contributors at conferences can only help to expose flaws and improve the overall quality and relevance of the research being performed.
Don
Don, I have never taken issue with Dr. Casanova’s work. It goes without saying that part of his job is to speak at conferences. However, I still take issue with Dr. Casanova lending his presence to a conference filled with hucksters and discredited “professionals”, some of whom are under investigation by their respective boards and governments. Dr. Casanova would have performed a greater service by debunking the snake oil of the other speakers who are stealing money from those parents in that audience. Many of those parents feel a since of desperation and will grasp onto anyone who is willing to say “I know the way to a cure”, if you just chelate your child, give him this supplement, shoot him full of Lupron, put him in an oxygen chamber, oh and by the way, pay me thousands of dollars out of pocket for my “expertise”, never mind the science, never mind that I lost my medical license, never mind that my laboratory is under investigation with a suspended license, never mind that testimony I have given in court related to vaccine injury was thrown out as unscientific, never mind that I encourage insurance fraud, never mind that I stock my IRB with unqualified people with conflicting and financial interest in my “research”, never mind that I mislead you into thinking that my research was performed at a major university when I was really only a grad student who took 3 semester hours before dropping out, never mind that I failed the medical boards in the area where I concentrate my “research” on, and never mind that I use non-standard medical practices, and never mind the disciplinary action that resulted in my medical license suspension. I do believe even scientists have an ethical and moral obligation to society.
I think if you guys had a background in this area (autism research), I think that you would understand my points a little better, or at least give more weight to what I am telling you.
I don’t know how a a conference selection is typically made, but if I were to speak to a group, I would want to know what that group was about, at the very least. I assume Dr. Casanova doesn’t have a financial interest in his research, unlike every “scientist” at that conference. I also assume that Dr. Casanova walked passed all those booths where the hucksters were selling their snake oil.
Here are some of the roundtable discussions (um, sales pitches):
The curative powers of touch: Acupressure, Acupuncture, Cranio-Sacral & Other Hands-On
The curative powers of neurofeedback and cell-signal enhancers, and hyperbaric oxygen
Learn how to argue with your pediatrician and neurologist when they say the science is junk
What to say to…
• Neurologists and pediatricians who think that special diets or mercury poisoning is junk science
• Nurses and others who cite the Danish study
• Judges who are taking children away for refusing vaccinations
• Pediatricians who are throwing us out of their practices for refusing vaccinations
• Anyone who thinks it’s only genetic
Oh, here are the Lupron Looneys and insurance fraudsters:
New Research
Saturday, May 27 - 1:30 pm - 2:20 / 2:30 pm - 3:20
Mark Blaxill, MBA
Beth Clay
Richard Deth, PhD
Mark Geier, MD, PhD and David Geier
Martha Herbert, MD, PhD
Mary Megson, MD, FAAP
It can safely be said that effective biomedical treatments are less than a decade old. In only the last few years the pace has quickened with a fundamental framework emerging.
Based on this framework, formerly isolated knowledge begins to more readily fit into a greater picture with the resultant growth in knowledge and potential treatments.
Examining current and most-likely future research initiatives, emerging possibilities become candidates for further study as potential treatment options.
Several exciting initiatives are moving forward, others need to become more closely associated with autism. Five years from now, five years will have passed. We want these years to be fruitful and productive with long-term benefits, producing possibilities to help all individuals with autism. Hear the latest, join the discussion.
How about these exhibitors
Doctor’s Data Laboratory- under investigation
Dr. Steenblock/ Brain Therapeutics
BioRay, Inc The natural detox company
Awakenings Holistic Healing Center
Advance Center for Chiropractic and Acupuncture & Nutrition
Internal Balance
Juice Plus (a multilevel marketing company)
Etc. Etc. Etc.
Everybody has a cure and they certainly need the parent’s money. The “science” presented at this conference is done to promote the products of the various vendors there, most of which the “scientists” and experts all have a financial interest in.
What you won’t find in the speeches of the presenters is references to NIH funded studies, CDC, major university studies, references to studies done in major journals and so forth. Almost none of the so-called research has been peer reviewed and relies on faulty science.
Dr. Casanova, please, do not contribute to the hucksterism in the autism community by lending your good work to these conferences. If you do attend, please tell them that no matter what they hear at the conference, there is no cure for autism in any of the information they will hear. It gives false hope to desperate parents who are willing to bankrupty their families to “cure” their child.
Here is an NIH researcher/surgeon (and probably the most read scientific blogger on the net) who describes the Autism One conference as a Quackfest. Now we can sit here and say that you don’t have to agree with every speaker at a conference, but this scientist wouldn’t be caught dead presenting at this conference, and apparently does screen who he speaks to.
http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2006/02/why_not_just_castrate_them_1.php
Example of an the members of an IRB from an Autism One scientist (Geier), patent pending for Lupron combined with Chelation Protocol
Mark Geier, Chair Affiliated Scientist; MD, PhD; Genetics
David Geier
Affiliated Scientist; BA; Biochemistry
Lisa Sykes
Unaffiliated Non-Scientist; MA; Clergy (Rev. Sykes is a Richmond, Virginia Methodist minister, anti-thimerosal activist, and mother of a participant in Dr. Geier’s study. The clinical data for Patient #1 in the Hormone Research article is identical to data from her son’s medical records, which were displayed at the 2005 and 2006 Autism One conferences.)
Kelly Kerns
Unaffiliated Scientist; RDH; Dentistry (Mrs. Kerns is a Lenexa, Kansas dental hygienist, anti-thimerosal activist, and petitioner in vaccine injury complaints for each of her three autistic children.)
John Young
Unaffiliated Scientist; MD; OB-GYN, Genetics (Dr. Young is Dr. Geier’s business partner in Genetic Consultants of Maryland and Genetic Consultants of Virginia; he, Dr. Geier and various business entities were codefendants in a 1994 medical malpractice lawsuit.)
Anne Geier
Affiliated Scientist; BS; Educator (Mrs. Geier is wife of Dr. Mark Geier and mother of David Geier. She is a ranking member of the U.S. Tennis Association.)
Clifford Shoemaker
Affiliated Non-Scientist; JD; Legal (Mr. Shoemaker is a vaccine injury lawyer, a member of the Vaccine Injury Alliance, and a member of the Omnibus Autism Proceeding Petitioners’ Steering Committee. Dr. Geier has testified on behalf of his clients in Price v. Wyeth et al, Platt v. HHS, Jenkins v. HHS, Lewis v. HHS, Raj vs. HHS, Jefferies v. HHS, and other cases.)
Wow, great scientists on that IRB!
Yeah, I did some reading up on this. From the evidence I’ve seen, the IRB is a sham. So my question is, with all of the industrious opponents to the Grier’s research, why hasn’t anyone sued them and demanded an injunction to stop the study?
And again, I don’t see what this has to do with Dr. Casanova. You should be complaining to the Autism One organizers about who they invite, not the participants.
Dr. Casanova’s work is of scientific interest in the autism field. I’m glad Dr. Casanova has clarified that some of the interpretations of the research as portrayed in the media are not accurate. For example, the idea that there isn’t enough “juice” to power the additional neurons seems highly speculative and doesn’t appear to have any merit. The neuroanatomical differences alone could explain the phenotypical peculiarities of autism. Consider that the Neanderthal species had 10% bigger cranial capacity than Homo Sapiens, and yet it appears that they could not communicate as well.
“Treating” neuroanatomical differences seems like an implausible idea and a bad idea as well. There are neuroanatomical differences between men and women. Should a “treatment” become available for women who’d like to be more like men or vice versa?
Regarding his Autism One presentation, next time Dr. Casanova should take note of what kind of a conference that is. By looking at a list of the presenters and the presentations, it is clear that it is primarily a quack conference by and for those who promote the discredited idea that autism is a form of toxicity, along with dubious “cures” such as chelation therapy and Lupron.
I’m getting tired of this guilt by association crap. For anyone concerned with the Grier’s work, I’d suggest you focus your ample energies on stopping their study before anyone gets hurt, not showing aerial photos of their house, and not attempting to intimidate the innocent bystanders who are doing completely unconnected work.
These bullying tactics work against your cause and make me, for one, less interested in what you have to say.
Dear Joseph,
Thank you for the kind comments. In regards to the participants I only knew that a good friend Dr. Martha Herbet from Harvard had presented the previous year under the same capacity. I regard her research highly and the same has been published in high impact journals like Brain. I was not aware of anything else.
Overall, maybe we should move on in the discussion. Otherwise the same is likely to degenerate.
Personally I was told about the forum and thought that the same constitued an invitation to participate. I will soon be parting ways due to 2 grant submission datelines. Feel free to email me at your discretion if you believe that I can be of any further help. I appreciate all of the comments and have learned from the experience.
Best regards
Avi, I don’t know anything about aerial photographs or bullying. I’m not big enough or clever enough to be a bully, so I’m not sure if this is addressed to me.
As far as suing and injunction, I believe you have to have an interest (legal interest). A non effected party I don’t think can sue or seek relief. I know the pharmaceutical company that manufactures lupron has recently been notified, but since the product is legal I’m not sure what they can do.
Innocent bystanders, like possibly Dr. Cassanova, need to be told who these conferences benefit and what their goals are.
I can understand your anger. I hope you can understand too, as well as Don, and Dr. Casanova that we, those in the autism community, are angry too and must stand up when we see there is a wrong being done to children and their parents.
I’ll leave this discussion now as it’s your blog and you certainly have a right to say enough is enough.