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Genetics cause autism in new study – once again, it’s not about vaccines

Let’s start right at the top – a new, powerful study has shown that mostly genetics cause autism. Despite the fear, uncertainty, and doubt from the anti-vaccine religion, we have overwhelming scientific evidence that vaccines are not linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This is settled science. 

Almost all legitimate science researchers who focused on autism never bought into the vaccines link. Not only was there no evidence of this imaginary link (thanks to the cunning fraud Andrew Wakefield), when scientists went looking for a possible link, they never found one. 

However, investigators have been searching for legitimate underlying etiologies for ASD – the hypothesis that genetics cause autism has been the center of research for years. 

So let’s look at this study in detail so that we all have more evidence to shut down the vaccines and autism tropes. Well, at least we can try, since the pseudoscience that permeates the anti-vaccine world is resistant to scientific facts (see Del Bigtree).  Read More »Genetics cause autism in new study – once again, it’s not about vaccines

HPV vaccine efficacy

HPV vaccine efficacy – another study shows long-term immunogenicity

As I’ve mentioned dozens of times, the anti-vaccine religion probably hates the HPV vaccine more than all others put together. They’ve invented numerous myths and tropes about the HPV vaccine, all without any foundation in science. One of these claims is that we don’t know anything about long-term HPV vaccine efficacy.

Of course, the HPV vaccine is a relatively new one, so long-term data requires us to wait for time to pass. Fortunately, we are accumulating a boatload of data that shows us that the long-term HPV vaccine efficacy is pretty strong.

And now, we have a powerful new study from Finland that shows that after 12 years post-vaccination, anti-HPV immunogenicity remains quite high. Let’s take a look.Read More »HPV vaccine efficacy – another study shows long-term immunogenicity

Pandemic flu vaccine and narcolepsy–an analysis

H1N1 vaccineToday, the British Medical Journal published a retrospective study, by Elizabeth Miller, that analyzes the risk of narcolepsy in children and adolescents in England who received the 2009 A/H1N1 pandemic flu vaccine (Pandemrix) from October 2009 through mid-2010. This study followed up on the observations seen in Finland and other countries that there was some increased risk of narcolepsy in children a few months after receiving the vaccine.

As background, narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder caused by the brain’s inability to regulate sleep-wake cycles normally. Individuals with narcolepsy often experience daytime sleep patterns, but the disorder should not be confused with insomnia. It is not caused by a mental illness or psychological problems. It is most likely affected by a number of genetic mutations and abnormalities that affect specific biologic factors in the brain, combined with an environmental trigger during the brain’s development, such as a virus. It may also be a result of an autoimmune disorder. At this time, there is no cure for narcolepsy, but it can be successfully treated by medications and other therapies.

Roughly 70% of individuals who have narcolepsy have a comorbidity of cataplexy,  a sudden and transient episode of loss of muscle tone, often triggered by strong emotions. Read More »Pandemic flu vaccine and narcolepsy–an analysis