Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure
A London researcher was the first to assert that the combination measles-mumps-rubella vaccine known as MMR caused autism in children. Following this "discovery," a handful of parents declared that a mercury-containing preservative in several vaccines was responsible for the disease. If mercury caused autism, they reasoned, eliminating it from a child's system should treat the disorder. Consequently, a number of untested alternative therapies arose, and, most tragically, in one such treatment, a doctor injected a five-year-old autistic boy with a chemical in an effort to cleanse him of mercury, which stopped his heart instead.
Children with autism have been placed on stringent diets, subjected to high-temperature saunas, bathed in magnetic clay, asked to swallow digestive enzymes and activated charcoal, and injected with various combinations of vitamins, minerals, and acids. Instead of helping, these therapies can hurt those who are most vulnerable, and particularly in the case of autism, they undermine childhood vaccination programs that have saved millions of lives. An overwhelming body of scientific evidence clearly shows that childhood vaccines are safe and does not cause autism. Yet widespread fear of vaccines on the part of parents persists.
In this book, Paul A. Offit, a national expert on vaccines, challenges the modern-day false prophets who have so egregiously misled the public and exposes the opportunism of the lawyers, journalists, celebrities, and politicians who support them. Offit recounts the history of autism research and the exploitation of this tragic condition by advocates and zealots. He considers the manipulation of science in the popular media and the courtroom, and he explores why society is susceptible to the bad science and risky therapies put forward by many antivaccination activists.
Product Details
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Attempting to answer the enormous frustration and unhappiness of parents "tired of watching their autistic children improve at rates so slow it's hard to tell if they are improving at all," pediatrics professor and vaccine researcher Offit explores purported causes and cures. Examining false approaches like facilitated communication ("a massive, nationwide delusion") and secretin injections ("no better than salt water"), and mistaken theories of origin (the MMR vaccine, thimerosol), Offit pleads with journalists to resist the lure of "dramatic headlines, advertising dollars, and ratings" rather than report an unconfirmed or untrustworthy study. The only worthwhile studies, Offit purports, are those meeting three criteria: "transparency of the funding source, internal consistency of the data, and reproducibility of the findings." Overall, Offit's text seems unbalanced: though he takes on the "$40-billion-a-year" alternative medicine industry, he's largely silent on the much larger pharmaceutical industry; and after 10 chapters of debunking the "false prophets," there's just one brief chapter on what is known about autism causes and cures. A thorough and convincing debunker, however, Offit will likely leave parents still hunting for information, albeit better armed to find it.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"[A] thoughtful and readable study." -- Library Journal (starred review) "Enlightening, highly readable and... timely." -- Rahul K. Parikh, M.D., Salon.com "Arguably the most courageous and most knowledgeable scientist about vaccines in the United States." -- Robert Goldberg, New York Post "[Dr. Offit] has done a huge public service by exposing the tragic and dangerous place the anti-vaccine hysteria has taken us." -- Huntly Collins, Philadelphia Inquirer "An invaluable chronicle that relates some of the many ways in which the vulnerabilities of anxious parents have been exploited." -- Linda Seebach, Wall Street Journal "A good read and an important piece of work." -- Lisa Jo Rudy, About.com "More than a book about a disease, it is an ode to uncorrupted science and a cautionary tale that data alone is never enough." -- SEED magazine "[Offit] provides important insight into the fatal flaws of the key arguments of vaccine alarmists." -- Buffalo News "A very good read." -- Dom Giordano, The Bulletin
A definitive analysis of a dangerous and unnecessary controversy that has put the lives of children at risk. Paul A. Offit shows how bad science can take hold of the public consciousness and lead to personal decisions that endanger the health of small children. Every parent who has doubts about the wisdom of vaccinating their kids should read this book. -- Peter C. Doherty, Ph.D., St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital and Nobel Laureate in Medicine for fundamental contributions in Immunology
As a parent it is my job to protect my children. Hearing all the rumors about vaccine side effects made me question the right thing to do. This book makes it clear that vaccines save lives, and that they clearly do not cause autism. -- Amy Pisani, mother
In his latest book Paul A. Offit unfolds the story of autism, infectious diseases, and immunization that has captivated our attention for the last decade. His lively account explores the intersection of science, special interests, and personal courage. It is provocative reading for anyone whose life has been touched by the challenge of autism spectrum disorders. -- Susan K. Klein, MD, Ph.D., Case Western Reserve Hospital, and Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, Case Medical Center
No one has been more vocal-or courageous-than Paul A. Offit in exposing the false and dangerous claims of the growing antivaccine movement. Offit's latest book lays waste to the supposed link between autism and vaccination while showing how easily Americans have been bamboozled into compromising the health of their own children. Autism's False Prophets is a must read for parents seeking to fully understand the risks and rewards of vaccination in our modern world. -- David Oshinsky, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in History for Polio: An American Story
Review
As a parent it is my job to protect my children. Hearing all the rumors about vaccine side effects made me question the right thing to do. This book makes it clear that vaccines save lives, and that they clearly do not cause autism.
Customer Reviews
Absolutely needs to be read by everyone
This book is truly indispensable. A friend of mine recently found out her 2 year old will be autistic; I told her you must read Autism's False Prophets. The frauds and quacks who have demagogued the issue are exposed. Offit shows that people like Andrew Wakefield (and many other supposed "experts" are doing great harm to children in the name of helping them. Using empirical evidence, scientists have concluded MMR vaccines and thermosal do not cause autism. Whether this fact gets out to the public remains to be seen.
But this book is more than just a review of the autism controversies. Offit takes on the media for its shallow handling of scientific issues. Journalists, Offit believes, make two tremendous mistakes covering scientific issues: 1.they want very much to be on the side of the "underdog" in a controversy, and 2. present both sides of an issue when there aren't two sides. Junk science is dangerous to the health and safety not only of autistic children, but to all of us. The example he uses is chilling: after the false claims of MMR causing autism became public, kids started missing their vaccinations and dying of measles. This is a must-read book.
RN mommy
First and foremost people should know that Dr. Offit invented a vaccine for rotavirus and is associated with Merck pharmaceuticals. He is not unbiased in his opinions.
I do believe that a vaccine may have pushed some children over the edge and into autism. I believe children become at risk through allergies, environmental toxin exposure, overuse of antibioitics and medications, and being born prematurely. An overstressed or immature immune system results. They may also have a decreased ability to detoxify their system naturally. You add a vaccine on top of that and it may just be the fateful straw that broke the camel's back. For other children, autism may develop over time but I believe it is still due to the above factors that put children at risk and a vaccine may just add insult to injury for these children instead of pushing them completely over the edge.
I believe Dr. Offit should be spending his time finding ways to help these poor children instead of writing books against parent's who are just looking for some hope and answers to why their child no longer says "Mommma" or "Dada" or anything else for that matter. I do agree that the more intensive therapies and interventions for autism should be under doctor's supervision and carefully monitored. He does make a point there but that is about all I can find useful from this book. I think all Dr. Offit does here is possibly send more children down a road to autism instead of finding the reason it is happening for so many American children. Until they get ALL the toxins(aluminum, antifreeze, formaldehyde, aborted human fetus cells, chick embryos, monkey kidney cells, fetal bovine serum)out of vaccines, I feel they could still be a contributing factor. (By the way, the flu vaccine still contains the mercury based preservative-beware!) After all the number of autistic children is going up, not down. I am not anti-vaccine, we just need them to be safe, take out ALL the toxins. And let's identify the children who could be at risk for autism through testing before we have more children develop the heartbreaking disorder.
Until Dr. Offit is able to provide the cause for autism, in my estimation, he is not qualified to tell us what does not cause it. The fact is he doesn't know.
Vaccine Safety
An absolute MUST BUY for any parent who is concerned about vaccine safety. It's important to see both sides of an issue before we can give INFORMED consent and this books does an amazing job discussing the people and organizations that are involved in what has become a confusing and somewhat controversial issue today.
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