Biofeedback Aids Kids With ADHD Health Behaviour News Service Dec. 14, 2002 Therapy holds hope for improvement without medication Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) benefit from biofeedback therapy. That's the claim of a study in Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. The study found that a year of medication and counseling helped relieve ADHD symptoms in a group of children, but only the children who also received biofeedback therapy maintained that improvement after going off medication. The study found that the year's worth of treatment with the drug Ritalin improved attention deficit and impulse control in most of the children. That improvement was independent of the parental counseling and biofeedback therapy. But when the children stopped taking the medicine, their ADHD symptoms returned. Not so for those children who had received biofeedback therapy. The study found that biofeedback therapy was the only one of the treatments that greatly reduced the level of slow brainwaves in the children. (complete article) Biofeedback Enhances ADHD Treatments Therapy Helps Some Patients Reduce or Eliminate Medication By Sid Kirchheimer WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD December 20, 2002 Biofeedback, a therapy in which patients are taught to control their brain waves, is emerging as an effective treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). And new research suggests that it may be especially beneficial to patients who can't tolerate or don't benefit from often-used stimulant medications. A new study, published in Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, indicates that ADHD kids who had weekly sessions of biofeedback therapy for a year were able to reduce or eliminate their medication - and maintained the same level of improvement in focus and concentration as when they had been on drug therapy. (complete article) University of Kentucky Chemist Tilts at Autism's Origins Challenging the Scientific Wisdom, Boyd Haley Takes Aim at Mercury By Andy Mead and Jim Warren HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITERS July 2005 When the 500 marchers from across the country reached the front of the Capitol on Wednesday, they heard from several members of Congress, a 5-year-old child, and Boyd Haley, a 5-foot-6 University of Kentucky chemist who says he is "mad as hell" at the country's medical establishment. Haley, until recently chairman of University of Kentucky's chemistry department, is a leader in a nationwide effort to tie the vaccinations that were required for millions of American children to a rapid increase in the number of youngsters being diagnosed with autism. The devastating developmental disorder severely affects verbal communication and social interaction, and is thought to strike at least 25,000 children each year. (complete story) Autism, Autoimmunity and Immunotherapy: a Commentary by Vijendra K. Singh, Ph.D. Department of Biology & Biotechnology Center, Utah State University, Logan Scientific Board Member, Autism Autoimmunity Project Autism is an early-onset biological disorder that causes severe deficits of higher mental functions, as well as behavioral manifestations. There is no single, clear-cut cause and no complete cure for autism. Causally speaking, immune factors, neuro-chemical factors, genetic susceptibility factors and environmental factors (such as microbial infections and chemical toxicity) have been implicated. I view autism as a very complex, multifactorial disorder. In this article, I will attempt to describe succinctly the role of autoimmune etiology and immune therapy for autism. (full article) Brain Serotonin Enzyme Finding Might Explain Psychiatric Disorders Duke University Medical Center 7/8/2004 DURHAM, N.C. -- Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have provided the first direct evidence in mice for the role of an enzyme that specifically controls the production of serotonin in the brain. Different versions of that serotonin enzyme have a major effect on brain levels of the chemical messenger, which has been linked to many basic behavioral and physiological functions including mood, emotion, sleep and appetite, the researchers reported in the July 9, 2004, issue of Science. The finding has major implications for understanding psychiatric disorders and their treatment, the researchers said. (complete article) Controlling kids: are diet and toxic substances linked to attention deficit disorder? 3/1/2003 Gillette, Becky Is it the diet? Parents who have children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) have long been told that their kids can't be helped by dietary changes, and only a small percentage of kids with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are helped by a restrictive diet. One reason why earlier research may have given physicians a bum steer on the diet/ADHD connection is that foods now considered to be a concern were not eliminated in the earlier diets tested: milk, chocolate, wheat, rye, corn, citrus, legumes and eggs. In order to determine what's at fault, foods that commonly cause problems can be eliminated and then added back in one at a time to judge the reaction. Such diets should be done in consultation with a physician and a dietician. There is also evidence that pollution can cause behavioral changes in children. "Toxic chemicals pollute our air, soil, food and water and adversely affect our health," says Stevens. "Gases, cleaning fluids, formaldehyde, scents and other chemicals can make a child irritable, inattentive, spacey, aggressive, depressed or hyperactive." Also, lead poisoning can mimic ADHD symptoms. Indoor mold and second-hand tobacco smoke can also affect children's health and behavior. Some experts suggest combining a toxic- and allergy-free environment with vitamin and mineral supplements. Rachel Bell and Dr. Howard Peiper, authors of The ADD and ADHD Diet Book, also believe that food and environmental allergens are important. (complete story) Think First Before Asking for Another Drug St.Petersburg Times 4/18/2005 Prescription use has grown like wildfire in our medication nation. It is impossible to watch TV at any hour of the day without seeing commercials touting the latest prescription drug for the latest disease, and urging all of us to go to our doctor to ask for them. And if there are not enough old diseases for which to take a pill, don't worry, there are many new diseases coming around the bend. You can now take a pill for slight social anxiety and a recent TV report says it is estimated that 8-million people have Adult Attention Deficit Disorder - a whole new market for drug companies. (complete story)

FDA "Asleep At the Switch" Says 2003 Congressional Report :Finds Thimerosal, (Mercury) In Vaccines "Did Pose A Risk" June 17, 2005 12:00AM Health Agencies' Failure to act "Institutional Malfeasance" For Complete In-Depth Coverage and Stats of US National Academy of Sciences Continuing Investigation… UNINFORMED CONSENT, SEATTLE. WA - After an exhaustive three-year investigation on the safety of Thimerosal, (mercury), use in vaccines and mercury in dental amalgam fillings initiated by the Congressional Committee on Government Reform and the Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness, the investigation found; See Report "Rather than acting aggressively to remove thimerosal from children's vaccines, the FDA and other agencies with the Department of Health and Human Services, (HHS), adopted an incremental approach that allowed children to continue to be exposed to ethyl mercury, (thimerosal), from vaccines for more than two additional years." "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC) refused even to express a preference for thimerosal-free vaccines," "Thimerosal used as a preservative in vaccines is likely related to the autism epidemic. This epidemic in all probability may have been prevented or curtailed had the FDA not been asleep at the switch regarding the lack of safety data regarding injected thimerosal and the sharp rise of infant exposure to this known neurotoxin." "Our public health agencies' failure to act is indicative of institutional malfeasance for self-protection and misplace protectionism of the pharmaceutical industry." In 1999, the House Committee on Government Reform initiated an investigation into the dangers of exposure to mercury through vaccinations. The investigation later expanded to examine the potential danger posed through exposure to mercury in dental amalgams. Among the 18 Findings of the committees found: "Mercury is hazardous to humans. Its use in medicinal products to undesirable, unnecessary and should be minimized or eliminated entirely." Manufacturers of vaccines and thimerosal, (an ethyl mercury compound used in vaccines), have never conducted adequate testing on the safety of thimerosal. The FDA has never required manufacturers to conduct adequate safety testing on thimerosal and ethyl mercury compounds. Studies and papers documenting the hyperallergenicity and toxicity of thimerosal (ethylmercury) have existed for decades. Autism in the United States has grown at epidemic proportions during the last decade. At the same time the incidence of autism was growing, the number of childhood vaccines containing thimerosal was growing, increasing the amount of ethyl mercury to which infants were exposed threefold. A growing number of scientists and researcher believe that a relationship between the increase in neurodevelopmental disorders of autism, attention deficit hyperactive disorder and speech or language delay, and the increase use of thimerosal is plausible and deserves more scrutiny. In 2001 the Institute of Medicine determined that such a relationship is biologically plausible. The FDA acted too slowly to remove ethylmercury from the over the counter products. The FDA and the CDC failed in their duty to be vigilant as new vaccines containing thimerosal were approved and added to the immunization schedule. When the Hepatitis B and Haemophilus Influenzae Type b vaccines were added to the recommended schedule of childhood immunizations, the cumulative amount of ethylmercury to children were exposed nearly tripled. Federal health officials have conceded that the amount of thimerosal in vaccines exceeded the EPA threshold of 0.1 micrograms per kilogram of bodyweight. The actions taken by the HHS to remove thimerosal from vaccines in 1999 were no sufficiently aggressive. The CDC's failure to state a preference for thimerosal-free vaccines in 2000 and again in 2001 was an abdication of their responsibility. As a result, many children received vaccines containing thimerosal when thimerosal-free alternative were available. The CDC and the National Immunization Program are conflicted in their duties to monitor the safety of vaccines, while also charged with the responsibility of purchasing vaccines for resale as well as promoting increased immunization rates. Dr H. Vasken Aposhian, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Pharmacology at the University of Arizona at the July 18, 2000 hearing and part of the record: "The mercury amalgams in your mouth, the so-called silver fillings, contain 48 to 50 percent of elemental mercury. These fillings continuously emit mercury vapor, which will go to the brain and is converted to mercuric mercury….Certain fish contain methylmercury; again, very rapidly taken up from the GI tract, transported quickly to the brain, and converted very slowly to mercuric mercury….thimerosal which again will be taken up by the brain and quickly converted to mercuric mercury - all three forms are neurotoxic. By neurotoxic, we mean it will damage nerve and it will damage brain tissues. Let me just say as a final statement that there is no need to have thimerosal in vaccines." Dr. Aposhian recently resigned his position on an FDA advisory position because he felt the FDA public warnings on fish were too lax. During the July 2000 hearing Congresswoman Helen Chenoweth-Hage (R-ID), said, addressing the governmental agencies present, "You listened to the testimony just as I did and you are willing to, with a straight face, tell us that you are eventually going to phase this out after we know that a small baby's body is slammed with 62 times the amount of mercury that is supposed to have…(sic) No wonder people are losing faith in their government. And to have some of the witnesses tell us it is because mothers eat too much fish? Come on. We expect you to get real…(sic) Just wait until it gets in the courts. This case could dwarf the tobacco case. And we would expect you to do something now before that circus starts taking place." In describing the pros and cons of each option, Dr. Bernier of the CDC returned several times to financial issues. "It could entail financials losses of inventory if current vaccine inventory is wasted. It could harm one or more manufacturers and may the decrease the number of suppliers." The financial health of the industry should never have been a factor in this decision. The financial health of vaccine manufacturers certainly should never have been more important to the Federal health officials than the health and well being and the nation's children. The CDC has a responsibility to protect the health of the American public. If there were any doubts about the neurological effects of ethylmercury in vaccines on children- and there were substantial doubts- the prevailing consideration should have been how best to protect children from potential harm. However, it appears that protecting the industry's profits took precedent over protecting children form mercury damage. Thimerosal remains in some vaccines.

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