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OB OY IL VEN? DRUG SIDE EFFECTS INCREASING AT ALARMING RATE VACCINATED CHILDREN MORE LIKELY TO HAVE ADHD, AUTISM 4 Aw survey indicates a strong correlation between rates of neurological disorders, such as ADHD and autism, and childhood vaccinations. The survey, commissioned by Generation Rescue, compared more than 17,000 vaccinated and unvaccinated children in nine counties in Oregon and California. The survey found that, among more than 9,000 boys aged 4-17, vaccinated boys were two-and-a- half times (155%) more likely to have neurological disorders compared to their unvaccinated peers. Vaccinated boys were 224% more likely to have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and 61% more likely to have autism. For older vaccinated boys (11-17), the results were even more pronounced. Vaccinated boys were 158% more likely to have a neurological disorder, 317% more likely to have ADHD and 112% more likely to have autism. Generation Rescue also ran a full-page advertisement in USA Today. The ad compares the 36 paediatric vaccines that the CDC recommends today to the 10 recommended in 1983, and asks: "Are we over-vaccinating our kids?" From 1983 to 2007, autism rates climbed from one in 10,000 children to one in 150 children, a growth rate of 6,000% (boys are significantly more affected by neurological disorders, accounting for approximately 80% of all cases). In the same period, the CDC's recommended vaccine schedule more than tripled. The simmering debate over the cause of childhood neurological disorders shows no sign of cooling, but until now, no study had ever been done to look at unvaccinated children. Generation Rescue was formed by parents of children who have been diagnosed with childhood neurological disorders (NDs), and is dedicated to examining the causes and biomedical treatments for autism, Asperger's, ADHD, ADD, PDD-NOS and other learning disabilities. (Source: Generation Rescue press release, 25 September 2007, http://www. generationrescue.org/survey_pr.html) eports of harmful side effects from pharmaceutical drugs are rising at an alarming rate. Serious consequences, such as a reaction that threatened a patient's life or caused a disability, were 2.6 times more frequent in 2005 than in 1998, while deaths increased by 2.7 times, from 5,519 in 1998 to 15,107 in 2005, say researchers who examined data collected by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). By some estimates, UK figures are even worse. Despite the hundreds of millions of dollars that are spent getting a drug to market, the system for monitoring drug safety after approval is far from watertight. The FDA relies on reports from doctors and patients, but when several drugs are being taken at once it is often impossible to know which was to blame for any side effect. Also, since the system is voluntary, many reactions may be going unreported. This means that even though 90,000 reports were sent to the FDA in 2005, it is hard to know the true scale of the problem, says Thomas Moore of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices in Pennsylvania, one of the authors of the study (Archives of Internal Medicine, vol 167, p 1752). Yet even if the absolute number remains of unknown, the increase is troubling. The number of prescriptions went up between 1998 and 2005, but adverse reactions increased four times as fast. Drugs that were withdrawn for safety reasons caused a quarter of the early reactions, but contributed to less than one per cent of total reports in 2005. Whatever the cause, the authors say, many different drugs seem to be involved, so monitoring needs to be beefed up. "This growing toll of serious injury shows that the existing system is not adequately protecting patients," Moore says. (Source: New Scientist, 15 September 2007) if I (dia 8) Nor ss) \ ABOUT? Ae T GET (on ae ) ( oe oop iy if 5 i He ree i i o 6 = NEXUS www.nexusmagazine.com DECEMBER 2007 — JANUARY 2008