Autism and Stealth Adapted Viruses

    /24-7PressRelease/ - BURBANK, CA, April 04, 2007 - The talk began with an overview of the history of poliomyelitis and the development of polio vaccines. It identified several missteps in this process including the decision to use freshly cultivated kidney cells from monkeys, rather than a well characterized cell line, for vaccine production. The issue of SV40 contamination of vaccines produced in kidney cells of rhesus monkeys led to a switch in 1961 to the use of African green monkeys. In 1972 it was realized that African green monkey kidney cell cultures were commonly contaminated with simian cytomegalovirus (SCMV). Industry and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) chose not to make this information public arguing that many millions of doses had been used without signs of an acute CMV illness. The possibility of SCMV causing chronic illness was seemingly not considered even though other viruses were known at the time to become latent in the body.

In 1991, Dr. Martin isolated a cell damaging virus from a patient with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The virus was shown to be an atypical CMV and to have been derived from SCMV. The FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were notified of this finding with the clear inference that the virus probably came from a contaminated polio virus vaccine. The virus causes a severe illness in cats without evoking any inflammatory reaction, the usual hallmark of an infectious disease. Dr. Martin reasoned that the virus had possibly lost or mutated the relatively few viral genes that provide the major target antigens for the cellular immune response. He drew the analogy to a terrorist who avoids homeland security by not wearing military insignia. The terrorist can still cause extensive damage, as can viruses that go unseen by the cellular immune system. Dr. Martin introduced the terms "stealth" and "stealth adapted" to characterize a generic grouping of viruses lacking components for effective immune recognition. Many patients with complex neurological and psychiatric diseases were shown by blood cultures to be infected with stealth adapted viruses, some of which were unequivocally derived from SCMV. As predicted, DNA sequencing of the stealth SCMV confirmed the loss or mutation of the three viral genes that code for the dominant cytomegaloviral antigens normally targeted by the cellular immune system.

The FDA and CDC were unwilling or unable to accept the concept of stealth adaptation and have seemingly been hesitant to criticize vaccines. By 1998, however, the decision was made to switch from using live polio virus vaccines (Sabin type) back to formalin inactivated polio vaccine (Salk type). Finally in 2002, FDA examined older lots of polio virus vaccines for DNA of SCMV. Three of 8 lots from the mid-1970's clearly contained SCMV DNA. More extensive and similarly positive results were obtained in British studies on their vaccines.

Human CMV is the most common infectious cause of infant deaths in the United States, exceeding that of infant AIDS (400 versus less than 50). Moreover, CMV is a common cause of mental retardation and/or hearing and visual impairment, with an estimated 8,000 children affected annually. Congenital CMV has been linked to several cases of autism. It is negligence that the FDA and CDC have not followed up on the finding of SCMV DNA contamination of licensed vaccines, and to have not screened some of these children to determine if their CMV is always of human and never of simian origin. FDA has simply argued that they could not culture virus from these old vaccines and yet, for proprietary reasons, can not provide the contaminated vaccines for independent virus culture studies.

Dr. Martin has reported isolating stealth adapted viruses from autistic children. Congenital infection is consistent with the biochemical evidence of neurological damage at birth in children who subsequently become autistic. A viral infection can cause the diverse symptoms seen in autistic children and can explain some of the illnesses seen in other family members, including mothers. An underlying viral infection would also be expected to predispose an individual to heightened susceptibility to various toxins and to be influenced by various nutritional and genetic factors.

Dr. Martin expressed criticism of the "business of autism" with the selling of products and services at excessive profits, performance of irrelevant laboratory tests, and the hyping of various supposed therapies. Few specialists are well qualified to address autism as a potentially infectious disease of the brain. Unfortunately, some practitioners are also engaging in financial kickbacks with little regard for rigorous science and clinical validation.

In spite of the absence of an effective immune response, the body is able to counter stealth adapted viruses through an alternative cellular energy (ACE) pathway. Indeed, autism can be simplified to a problem of insufficient cellular energy for optimal brain functioning. Various natural products with ACE activity are available for clinical trails.

In summary, Dr. Martin expressed his strong belief that i) stealth adapted viruses exist and can explain the increasing incidence of many types of diseases including autism. ii) The body has an auxiliary defense mechanism that extends beyond the immune system that can provide cellular energy for healing. iii) Enhancing the alternative cellular energy (ACE) pathway will be useful in the prevention and therapy of autism. Additional information on the talk and copies of the presented slides are available at http://www.s3support.com E-mail enquires are welcome at [email protected]

About The Institute of Progressive Medicine
The Institute of Progressive Medicine is a Public Charity. Its faculty includes members with expertise in infectious diseases.

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