The Company They Keep
2010-07-22 22:24:07.4131+02 by petronius 0 comments
The other day we were talking about autism and trying to put together reasons for its differing prevalence in differing populations. One of the problems is that the autism field is becoming ground zero for strange medical ideas.
Back in October of 2009, there was news of a breakthru in research on Chronic Fatique Syndrome with scientists claiming to have found a retrovirus associated with the vague disease. hey recommended antiretrovirals, normally used for HIV as a possible treatment. However, by March of 2010 some people who had tried to replicate the experiments were not able to do it, and they were suggesting caution. Now we hear that the study's main researcher, Judy Mikovits, has shown up at the AutismOne convention, ground zero for the anti-vaccine movement. She was pushing her retrovirus as a possible cause of sutism as well.
Dr. Jonson called patriotism the last refuge of a scoundrel. One wonders if autism is becoming the last refuge of a crank.