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I wrote a chapter, from a critical perspective, on autism genetic research in my 2006 book "The Missing Gene: Psychiatry, Heredity, and the Fruitless Search for Genes." I have attached the chapter as a pdf for interested parties. Jay Joseph On Thu, Nov 30, 2017 at 12:36 PM, Mitchel Cohen <[log in to unmask] > wrote: > http://www.collective-evolution.com/2017/11/30/hiding-behind-genetics-to- > avoid-culpability-for-environmental-causes-of-autism > > <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Collective-evolution/~3/bATynWoSc5A/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email> > > Hiding Behind Genetics to Avoid Culpability for Environmental Causes of > Autism > <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Collective-evolution/~3/bATynWoSc5A/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email> > > by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. > <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Collective-evolution/~3/bATynWoSc5A/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email> > > > Genetics is the darling of the biomedical research industry. For diseases > ranging from cancer to skin disorders, investigators have been busily at > work for decades trying to identify the conditions’ underlying genetic > causes. However, these same investigators—and the reporters who communicate > their findings to the public—are often strangely incurious about the role > of environmental toxins as triggers of disease. > > > A story > <https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/5/11/15508006/what-causes-autism-spectrum-disorder-vaccine-theory> about > autism spectrum disorder (ASD) published in October 2017 by the news > website *Vox* furnishes an example of this genetics-as-the-explanation-for-everything > perspective. *Vox* senior health correspondent Julia Belluz > <https://www.vox.com/authors/julia-belluz> (a self-described “evidence > enthusiast”) interviewed a small sample of five reportedly “cutting-edge” > autism researchers, all of whom focus on autism genetics. Given the lack of > disciplinary diversity in her selective sample, Belluz’s conclusion that > genetic factors are the most “well-established” and “promising” explanation > for autism comes as no surprise. > > > …environmental factors have been underestimated, and genetics > overestimated, for their roles in autism-spectrum disorders. > > Two of Belluz’s five interlocutors (geneticist Stephan Sanders > <http://sanderslab.ucsf.edu/stephan-sanders> and psychiatrist Lauren Weiss > <http://bms.ucsf.edu/faculty/lauren-weiss-phd>) are researchers at the > University of California-San Francisco (UCSF), but neither one mentions a > rigorous population-based study > <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4440679/> of 192 twin pairs > published in the *Archives of General Psychiatry* by UCSF researcher Neil > Risch <http://profiles.ucsf.edu/neil.risch> and colleagues in 2011. Risch > is the director of UCSF’s Institute for Human Genetics. The study’s results > indicated > <https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2011/07/10153/study-debunks-autism-primarily-genetic-disorder> that > “environmental factors have been underestimated, and genetics > overestimated, for their roles in autism-spectrum disorders.” Another > study <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25621899> that involved > families with two ASD-affected siblings (published in *Nature Medicine* in > 2015) likewise highlighted “substantial genetic heterogeneity” in ASD, > again suggesting > <https://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/news/20150126/autism-genes-study#1> that > environmental or other shared risk factors trump heritability. > > > To be fair, Belluz’s discussion gives a nod to a “genes plus environment” > perspective on autism causation by acknowledging that an “underlying > genetic predisposition or mutation” generally needs to “collide” with > environmental triggers in order to give rise to ASD. However, Belluz > characterizes the research on environmental risk factors for ASD as > “blurry,” “murky,” “mixed” and not “robust.” Belluz also cites a study > <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3513682/> that, according > to her, views shared genetic variants in families as “probably more > important” as an autism trigger than shared environments. However, the > article actually emphasizes gene-environment interactions and concludes > that “the amount of evidence supporting a significant contribution of > environmental factors to autism risk” makes it clear that “the search for > environmental factors should be reinforced.” > > > A pivotal paper <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27906501> published > in early 2017 goes a step further, asserting that “The term ‘heritability,’ > as it is used today in human behavioral genetics, is one of the most > misleading in the history of science.” The paper’s two authors argue > against the “deeply flawed” assumption that “genetic influences…can be > separated from their environmental context.” According to these authors, > “contemporary biology has demonstrated beyond any doubt that traits are > produced by *interactions* between genetic and nongenetic factors that > occur in each moment of developmental time. That is to say, *there are > simply no such things as gene-only influences* [emphasis in original].” > Stated another way, the paper suggests that “it makes little sense to > attempt to quantify the relative importance of two different factors that > interact with one another [dynamically] to produce an outcome.” > > > …meticulously demonstrated strong parallels between the brain effects of > mercury intoxication and ASD brain pathology. > > Belluz is willing to entertain the idea that environmental factors such as > “air pollution, pesticides, antidepressants and viruses” may contribute to > autism, but she categorically dismisses the possibility of any association > between ASD and the dozen or so vaccines (containing 16 distinct antigens) > currently included in the childhood vaccine schedule in the U.S. Belluz > states, “Vaccines are the wrong explanation for autism, and we should let > the idea go.” This attitude is frankly disingenuous (or worse), given what > we know about the neurotoxicity of vaccine ingredients such as aluminum > <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5596046/> and the > mercury-containing vaccine preservative thimerosal (still used in flu > shots). Landmark papers published in 2004 > <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11339848> and 2012 > <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22810216> meticulously demonstrated > strong parallels between the brain effects of mercury intoxication and ASD > brain pathology. To discount these ideas, Belluz cites a fraudulent study > coauthored by the criminal Danish researcher Poul Thorsen > <https://worldmercuryproject.org/advocacy-policy/criminal-conduct-poul-thorsen/>—a > fugitive from justice who has been indicted for stealing research grant > money from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—and his > unethical then-CDC colleague and girlfriend, Diana Schendel > <https://worldmercuryproject.org/news/love-emails-cdcs-diana-schendel-autism-researcher-poul-thorsen/> > . > > > …it is biologically plausible that the burdensome (in both number and > frequency) vaccine schedule is triggering an immune overload that > contributes to autism as well as other inflammatory diseases. > > In remaining fixated on genetics, Belluz also ignores multiple strands of > evidence highlighting links between autism and immune system challenges. > For example, it is biologically plausible that the burdensome (in both > number and frequency) vaccine schedule is triggering an immune overload > <https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/vaccine-induced-immune-overload-and-the-resulting-epidemics-of-type-diabetes-and-metabolic-syndrome-1747-0862.S1-025.php?aid=24058> that > contributes to autism as well as other inflammatory diseases. Other > important research, carried out by the late neuroscientist Paul Patterson, > has showed that challenges to a mother’s immune system—such as the > influenza and Tdap (tetanus-diptheria-pertussis) vaccines now routinely > given to pregnant women—can lead to “lifelong changes to the child’s > immune system > <http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-paul-patterson-20140719-story.html>,” > and this immune response can affect the child’s brain. In addition, an > article <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4590951/> on > developmental immunotoxicity (defined as “environmentally induced > disruption of normal immune development resulting in adverse outcomes”) by > Cornell researcher Rodney Dietert observes that developmental > immunotoxicity can occur at lower exposure levels than the exposure levels > that usually produce immunotoxicity in adults and also can lead to > dysfunction that remains latent “until it is triggered by a later-life > event” such as vaccination. > > > *Vox* <https://www.vox.com/pages/about-us> proudly states that its job is > to provide “context” and “insight” so that readers can make sense of > science and “everything else that matters.” Belluz herself laments > <https://www.vox.com/2015/2/10/8009973/toronto-star-hpv-vaccine> the > “transparency problem in medicine and health-regulatory affairs” (although > she does so in an article that harshly castigates anyone who dares to > question the safety of the HPV vaccine). While calling on journalists to > “crack open stories about health the same way political reporters do on > justice or defense,” Belluz’s discussion of autism genetics unfortunately > trots out the same old tired refrain that has helped the pharmaceutical and > chemical industries to evade culpability and simply blame the victim. > > > > Sign up <https://worldmercuryproject.org/> for free news and updates from > Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the World Mercury Project. Your donation > <https://worldmercuryproject.org/about-us/donate/> will help to support > us in our efforts. >