October 7, 2008
NIMH pulls the plug on chelation therapy trial for autism
A clinical trial of chelation therapy in autistic children with detectable blood levels of mercury has been cancelled by the NIMH.
The agency explained that a suggested link between mercury-containing vaccines and autism has not been proven.
Also, rat studies suggested that chelation therapy might be dangerous in the absence of blood lead.
No children had been enrolled in the clinical trial before it was cancelled.
All of Medicine tab
This month’s edition of Archives of Disease in Childhood compiles a recent study finding no link between the MMR vaccine and autism with letters responding to that study.
Practical Articles/News
A recent article in Psychiatric Times reviews complementary therapies for autism.
Evidence-based Medicine
Placebo worked just as well as chelation therapy in reducing distress among people concerned about the mercury in their dental fillings, according to an old randomized study found in this article category.
(The chelating drug did elute mercury, but people on placebo scored equally on anxiety and somatization measures after treatment.)
No Comments » | 
Adolescent, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Uncategorized | Tagged: immunization, chelation therapy, autism, vaccines, mercury, lead | 
Permalink
Posted by smnewsletters
September 2, 2008
CDC reports highest measles rates for more than a decade
Measles cases in the US this year are at their highest in more than a decade, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports. In 2000, the CDC declared the disease eradicated in the US.
The increase was due not to people catching measles abroad but largely to unvaccinated children catching it from those who carried the infection from outside the US.
(Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
States with more lenient vaccine exemption policies have increased infection rates, according to a recent report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Patient Education
Look in this category (in the list above the main search results) for take-home information for parents about measles.
Practice Management
This tab (above the search box) offers practical information about what to do when patients (or their parents) refuse immunization.
No Comments » | 
Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Respiratory_Infectious | Tagged: immunization, measles, vaccination | 
Permalink
Posted by smnewsletters
Posted by Cranky Aged Mama
