Vaccines and Brain Inflammation

Vaccines and Brain Inflammation







Thanks to Harold E Buttram, MD and Catherine J Frompovich




Harold Buttram, MDJune 1, 2011

Inflammation

Inflammation is a biochemical process resulting from pathogens, irritants, or damaged cells. It should not be compared to infection, although inflammation can result from infection. A cascade of biochemical events
propagates and matures the inflammatory response, involving the local
vascular system, the immune system, and various cells within the
injured tissue. [1] [Emphasis added]

Several diseases have their origin in the inflammatory process:
Alzheimer’s [2], coronary artery disease [3-6], and cancer. [7-9] Other
disorders with which inflammation is associated include acne vulgaris,
asthma, autoimmune diseases, chronic prostatitis, glomerulonephritis,
hypersensitivities, inflammatory bowel disease, pelvic inflammatory
disease, reperfusion injury, rheumatoid arthritis, transplant rejection,
vasculitis, interstitial cystitis. Inflammation, therefore, is well
known in the etiology of disease.

Furthermore, inflammation is a protective attempt of the organism to
remove harmful stimuli and is achieved by the increased movement of
plasma and leukocytes (especially granulocytes) to initiate healing.
[10]

Encephalitis is an acute inflammation of the brain, usually associated
with meningitis. Some symptoms associated with encephalitis include
fever, drowsiness, fatigue, and convulsions. The primary diagnostic
procedure is a lumbar puncture with removal of cerebrospinal fluid for
culture and microscopic analysis.

Another aspect of encephalitis known as Rasmussen’s encephalitis causes
chronic inflammation with infiltration of T lymphocytes into the brain
leading to atrophy and epilepsy.

Several viruses including polio, chicken pox, and West Nile are capable of causing encephalitis.
And, an allergic reaction to vaccinations [11], as per the
National Institutes of Health, also can cause encephalitis with brain
swelling. Encephalitis was included as one of the vaccine injuries to
be compensated for under the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury
Act. [12]
Vulnerabilities of the Infant Brain, Uniquely Susceptible to Lipid Peroxidation

By
way of explanation, the term “lipid peroxidation” refers to lipid
degradation resulting from free radical generation from a series of
pro-inflammatory chain reactions, which can be very damaging if the
process is prolonged. “Free-radicals” in turn refer to atoms with
unpaired electrons, resulting in heightened instability and reactivity.
The end result of abnormally prolonged lipid peroxidation may be abnormal brain inflammation with secondary brain edema (swelling).

Of all the organs of the body, the brain is the most susceptible to
oxidative degradation, commonly referred to “lipid peroxidation.”
Although an infant’s brain receives 15 percent of normal cardiac output,
it utilizes nearly 25 percent of the body’s oxygenation. [13] As
elevated oxygen levels in the environment bring increased risk of
explosions or fire, comparable physiological risks exist in the brain.
In addition to being a highly oxygenated organ, the human brain has
heightened vulnerability to harmful peroxidation because the brain has
by far the highest fat content of any organ of the body with membrane
lipids constituting 60 percent of the solid matter. [14] In addition,
both brain and retina contain a relatively high percentage of the
omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) [10-20]
and arachidonic acid (ARA) that serve as a primary building block of the
membranes of these structures. DHA and ARA are high in energetics,
but they are far more unstable and vulnerable to pro-inflammatory
peroxidation (oxidative lipid degradation) than saturated fats. [13-22]
In essence, the brain might be compared with highly inflammable dry
grass or brush enclosed in an area with elevated oxygen levels, needing
only a spark to set off a conflagration of inflammatory lipid
peroxidation. In all likelihood, vaccine adjuvants provide this spark
far more often than generally realized.
The Pourcyrous Study: A Major Milestone in Medical History

A study on primary immunization of 239 premature infants with gestational ages of less than 35 weeks by M. Pourcyrous et al. (Journal of Pediatrics,
2007) [23] was conducted to determine the incidence of
cardio-respiratory events and abnormal C-Reaction Protein (CRP)
elevations associated with administration of a single vaccine or
multiple vaccines simultaneously at or about two months of age. The
vaccines given were: DTaP (Infanrix), Hib (ActHIB), HBV (Engerix-B), IPV
(Inactivated-IPOL™), and PCV7 (Prevnar).

CRP is a standard blood test indicator for body inflammation, which in
the present study would represent brain inflammation. CRP levels and
cardio-respiratory manifestations were monitored for three days
following immunizations in a neonatal intensive care unit sponsored by
the University of Tennessee. Elevations of CRP levels occurred in 70
percent of the infants administered single vaccines and in 85 percent of
those administered multiple vaccines, 43 percent of which reached
abnormal levels.

As the Pourcyrous study noted,
<blockquote>A plausible explanation for variation in the magnitude
of CRP responses to immunization may be attributed to viral versus
bacterial antigenic stimulation, minor variability in the quantity of
antigens in different vaccine lots, the multiple antigenic component of
a vaccine, the presence and the quantity of aluminum adjuvant, genetic
polymorphism or to decrease immunologic responses in some preterm
infants. [24]</blockquote>Overall, 16 percent of infants had potentially lethal
vaccine-associated cardio-respiratory events with episodes of apnea
(cessation of breathing) and/or bradycardia (abnormal slowing of the
pulse). Intraventricular (brain) hemorrhages occurred in 17 percent of
those receiving single vaccines and in 24 percent of those receiving
multiple vaccines.
Pourcyrous, et al. further indicated that
<blockquote>Other investigators also have reported on
cardiorespiratory events following immunization with DTaP-based
multivalent vaccines or when DTaP was given simultaneously with other
vaccines. Omenaca et al. after excluding from their study infants with
chronic illnesses and using only one lot of combination vaccine,
observed cardiorespiratory events in 42% of infants with BW [body
weight] <1000 g. [25]</blockquote>Furthermore, the Pourcyrous
study noted that the DTaP vaccine was associated with the highest
incidence of cardio-respiratory events in those infants given a single
vaccine.


1. Brain inflammation as indicated by elevated C-Reactive Protein tests.
2. Brain swelling (edema) as one of the cardinal signs of inflammation.
3. Potentially lethal cardio-respiratory events.
4. Brain hemorrhages.

The Pourcyrous study also raises a question. Why were the brain
hemorrhages in the Pourcyrous study intraventricular rather than
subdural, the latter almost invariably being attributed to Shaken Baby
Syndrome/Non-Accidental Injury (SBS/NAI) in hospital emergency rooms in
the absence of a known major accidental trauma. The answer is that the
Pourcyrous study was performed on preterm infants, some born less than
30 weeks term, in whom intraventricular hemorrhages are known to be
characteristic. This may be due, at least in part, to the infant
brain/skull interactions at different stages of development. In preterm
infants the skull would be highly flaccid, providing little if any
resistance to a swollen (edematous) brain.

Early animal studies have shown that brain inflammation frequently
ensues following vaccines and is also commonly associated with brain
hemorrhages.[26-28] In term infants, in contrast to preterm births, the
inner surface of the skull presents a relatively firm surface, and when
brain inflammation and swelling take place from vaccines, it would
require very little swelling for the outer surface of the brain to
impact against the inner surface of the skull and, tourniquet-like, cut
off the passive outflow of blood from the subdural venous network. With
cranial arterial blood coming in at much higher pressures, this would
predictably cause a precipitous rise in intra-cerebral venous pressure,
the true cause of many subdural hemorrhages.

According to a report by W. Squier and J. Mack (2009) [29], most
childhood subdural hemorrhages are identified in infants 0-4 months of
age, a time when the subdural compartment consists of 10-15 layers of
loosely arranged flake-like cells with fluid between them and few
intercellular junctions. [30] Under these highly permeable
conditions it is predictable that a rapid surge of intracerebral venous
pressure would force blood from the subdural venous network into these
loosely connected subdural membranes, the true cause of many subdural
hemorrhages now being erroneously attributed to Shaken Baby
Syndrome/Non-Accidental Injury.
Proinflammatory Vaccine Adjuvants

Adjuvants Defined

Vaccine
adjuvants are substances added to vaccine formulations during the
manufacturing process that are designed to boost and prolong the
overall immunological responses to vaccines. This results in a priming
of the brain’s immune cells, the microglia and astrocytes, followed by
intense microglial and astrocyte reactions with each successive series
of vaccination. As reviewed by Viera Scheibner, PhD, there are three
general classes of adjuvants:


1. Aluminum: Aluminum phosphate, Aluminum hydroxide, Aluminum hydroxyphosphate sulfate, and Aluminum potassium sulfate
2. Various oils including Freund’s emulsified oil, mineral oil, emulsified peanut oil (adjuvant 65), and squalene (shark oil),
3. Bacterial products including Bordettella pertussis (whooping
cough), Mycobacterium (tuberculosis), cholera toxin, and others. [31]
Adjuvants in various vaccines are listed on vaccine package inserts.
[32]

In what may be the most comprehensive review to date on the
pathophysiology of adverse vaccine reactions, neurosurgeon Russell
Blaylock has compiled a mass of evidence that repeated stimulation of
the brain’s immune system results in intense reactions of microglial and
astrocyte cells, which serve as the brain’s immune system, with each
successive series of vaccinations. This is primarily the result of vaccine adjuvants that are added expressly for immune stimulation purposes. [33-35]

In explanation, microglia and astrocytes are first-line immunological
responder cells located in the brain that defend against foreign
infectious invaders. Normally this response, such as to a viral
infection, is of limited duration and harmless to the brain. However,
when microglia and astrocytes are over-stimulated for prolonged periods,
which vaccine adjuvants are designed to bring about, this extended
activation can be very destructive to the brain causing inflammation
and/or bleeding.
Because of the critical dependence of the developing brain on a timed
sequence of cytokine, and excitatory amino acid fluctuations, according
to Blaylock, sequential vaccinations can result in alterations of this
critical process that will not only result in synaptic and dendritic
loss, but abnormal (nerve) pathway development.
<blockquote>When microglia are excessively activated by vaccines,
especially chronically, they secrete a number of proinflammatory
cytokines, free radicals, lipid peroxidation products, and the two
excitotoxins, glutamate and quinolenic acid, which may become
proinflammatory and highly destructive when activated for prolonged
periods.[33] [Emphasis added]</blockquote>This process was suggested as the principle mechanism resulting in the pathological as well as clinical features of autism.
As a potential connecting link between vaccines, brain inflammation,
and autism, Diana Vargas and colleagues (2005) [36] examined the brains
from autopsies of 11 autistic patients ranging in ages from 5 to 44
years, in which they found the presence of extensively activated
microglia and astrocytes (the brain’s immune cells) along with
proinflammatory cytokines.
Normally dormant, the microglia and astrocytes can become very
destructive when overstimulated for prolonged periods of time, which
vaccine adjuvants are designed to bring about. As with the Pourcyrous
study, it was the first study of its kind, clearly documenting a
significant association between autism and brain inflammation.

For many years two forms of aluminum, aluminum hydroxide and aluminum phosphate,
were the only compounds specifically authorized by the FDA to be used
as vaccine adjuvants. These virtually insoluble aluminum compounds
serve to dramatically boost and prolong the immune reaction to the
vaccination by prolonged activation of the macrophagic immune sub-system
in some people. [33-45] Currently four forms are used in vaccines
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Because vaccine adjuvants are designed to produce prolonged immune
stimulation, they pose a particular hazard for the nervous system.
Studies have shown that immune activation following vaccination can last
up to two years, which means that destructive over-stimulation of
microglia may also be primed for this length of time or even longer. In
addition, it is known that aluminum accumulates in the brain and that
this accumulation is associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
diseases and with Gulf War Syndrome. [43-45]

As pointed out by L Tomljenjovic and CA Shaw:
<blockquote>“Aluminum is an experimentally demonstrated neurotoxin and
the most commonly used vaccine adjuvant. Despite almost 90 years of
widespread use of aluminum adjuvants, medical science’s medical
understanding of their mechanisms of action is still remarkably poor.
There is also a concerning scarcity of data on toxicology and
pharmacokinetics of these compounds. In spite of this, the notion that
aluminum in vaccines is safe appears to be widely accepted.” [66]</blockquote>Experimental
research, in contrast, clearly shows that aluminum in adjuvant
form…carries a risk for autoimmunity, long-term brain inflammation and
subsequent neurological complications and may thus have profound and
widespread adverse health complications. [66]
Unlabeled Peanut Oil

In a newly released book, The History of the Peanut Allergy Epidemic
[46], Heather Fraser thoroughly documents how highly allergenic peanut
oil came to be used in vaccinations without being listed on the
package insert. With her background as a historian and mother of a
child that required repeated hospitalizations for severe peanut
allergy, Ms. Fraser wrote from personal knowledge and experience.

The first use of peanut oil in vaccines was reported in 1964 by The New York Times,
which announced that pharmaceutical giant Merck had begun to use a new
vaccine ingredient that promised to extend immunity against influenza,
polio, and other illnesses. [47] When injected into the muscle, the
oil was gradually metabolized by the body providing a sustained release
of the other ingredients and producing 13-fold higher levels of antibodies than had formerly taken place from aqueous vaccine formulations. [48]

In the 1970s and 1980s, following modifications of the original
adjuvant 65-4, the use of peanut oil in vaccines became common practice.
[49-51]

As tabulated by Heather Fraser, it was during this time period that the
incidence of peanut allergies began to rise in exponential
proportions, as did the incidence of Guillain-Barré Syndrome. [51]
Toxic Environmental Chemicals and the Work of Rachel Carson

In
the 1960s Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring sent a shudder through our
nation’s spine as she quietly warned of growing environmental havoc
brought about by our advancing technology, largely involving hundreds of
petrochemical-derived products (pesticides, etc.), which are
fat-soluble and therefore of foremost danger to the brain and nervous
system. Although there has been some recognition of the dangers from
these chemicals, there appears to be little awareness that toxic
environmental chemicals of commercial origin may be replacing infectious
microorganisms as the primary threat to human health and life on this
planet. [52] One research area in which these dangers are being
graphically demonstrated is in animal studies reporting losses of
cerebellar neurons and Purkinje cells resulting from alcohol and/or
OXR-saporin administration. [53-55]
Vitamin C and Cardiovascular Disease

As reported by TE Levy in
“Vitamin C and Cardiovascular Disease” (Townsend Letter, 2011) [56],
the author makes the case that atherosclerotic coronary artery disease
begins with severe depletion of vitamin C in the intima (connective
tissue and collagen) of the coronary arterial wall. In the
degenerative state of atherosclerosis, there is always a loss of the
gel-like nature of the arterial basement membrane.
As described by Levy:
<blockquote>“The proliferative state of atherosclerosis comprises the
longest or most extended phase of plaque development. Once the
basement membrane has lost its gel-like nature, the endothelial cell
layer has become more porous, and the sieve-like nature of its collagen
mesh has lost much of its integrity, there is a steady invasion of
blood solutes like calcium, lipids, fats, and even pathogenic microbes
with their associated toxins. Such microbes often, but not invariably,
originate from dental foci.”</blockquote>If the above information is
applied to the area of brain inflammation, with pro-inflammatory
vaccine adjuvants rapidly depleting vitamin C, which is already
marginal in a large portion of our society [57], we have a ready
explanation for the 70 percent elevations of C-Reactive Protein with
single vaccines and 85 percent elevations with multiple vaccines. For
these reasons the Pourcyrous study will remain incomplete until plasma
vitamin C levels are also tested following vaccines as a part of the
study.
As the Pourcyrous study points out, cardio-respiratory events occurred
within 48 hours in preterm infants vaccinated while in hospital,
indicating that there were no Shaken Baby Syndrome nor Non-Accidental
Injury incidents that could influence those cardio-respiratory events,
which parents apparently also can experience at home after children are
vaccinated and for which they seek hospital emergency room treatment
for their child.
Vaccines, Vitamin C Depletion, Brain Inflammation, and the Current Epidemic of Childhood Autism

As
described above, it is well established that chronic tissue
inflammation tends to be associated with tissue destruction and/or
malignant degeneration. The section on cardiovascular disease by TE
Levy showing a correlation between tissue degradation of coronary
arteries and vitamin C depletion provides a major advancement in our
understanding that has long been stressed by earlier pioneers in this
field. Although scientific research into the potential therapeutic role
of vitamin C for degenerative diseases remains in its infancy, some
things are already known including studies showing that hydroxylation
(oxidation) of proline and lysine into procollagen is carried out by the
enzyme prolyl hydroxylase, which requires vitamin C as a cofactor.
[59-60]

Although lacking in meaningful NIH-sponsored vaccine safety tests to
date, there is a substantial body of circumstantial evidence that
vaccines are causally related to the current childhood autism epidemic,
the sum total of which shifts the balance into “more likely than not
within a reasonable degree of medical certainty.”

• Several autism-free zones exist in the United States in what is
  otherwise a sea of childhood autism. Most prominent among these are
  Amish communities in Pennsylvania and Ohio where parents rarely
  vaccinate their children. The only exceptions were several vaccinated
  children that were adopted. [61]
  

• “Analysis finds Evidence of Autism in Many Vaccine Injury
  Cases” [62] For years, government health officials and most other
  medical authorities have dismissed the idea that autism might be linked
  to childhood vaccines; and the special court set up by Congress to
  compensate people hurt by vaccines has denied thousands of claims over
  the past decade by parents who have contended that their children
  developed autism because of their inoculations. But a new report in a
  New York law school journal, the Pace Environmental Law Review, [67]
  could re-ignite the often-inflammatory debate over the issue. Based on a
  sampling of cases in which plaintiffs won settlements or awards in
  vaccine court, the authors found that many of the victims demonstrated
  evidence of autism even though—as a legal tactic—their lawsuits
  emphasized other injuries. Of the 170 cases the report’s authors
  examined, 32, or 19 percent, provided documented evidence of autism or
  autism-like symptoms. The evidence in some included that the court
  found evidence of autism or “autism-like symptoms”… or that third-party
  medical, educational, or other court records confirmed an autistic
  disorder.
  

• Fox Morning News, 11 May, 2011, 8:27AM:
  (Fox25/MyFoxBoston.com): Congress will hold hearings Thursday about a
  possible link between childhood autism and vaccination—a thought that
  many thought had been put to rest earlier this year when the Centers
  for Disease Control and Prevention released a study suggesting that
  research does not point to an association between the two. But
  according to information discovered in documents by safeminds.org, at
  least 83 families received federal compensation for vaccine-related
  injuries, and each of these 83 children suffered from autism.
  

• Few are aware of the fact that the measles, mumps, and
  rubella vaccines were administered separately for a number of years in
  the USA with only slight increases in the incidence of childhood autism
  prior to the introduction of the MMF vaccine in 1979. It was only
  following the introduction of this triple vaccine that the incidence of
  childhood autism showed a sharp and dramatic increase. [63-64]
  

Gross Deficiencies in State-of-the-Art Vaccine Safety Tests

During
the Congressional Hearings on Vaccine Safety (1999-Dec. 2004) an FDA
panel was repeatedly asked, “Where are your (safety) studies?” The
panel could only reply with unsatisfactory answers such as, “They would
be very expensive.” However, it was not until January 14, 2009 that
it became evident that the avoidance of meaningful vaccine safety
studies has long been an established policy by the National Institute of
Health, the primary federal agency responsible for funding health
research in the United States, as reported by the autistic support
group, Age of Autism:
<blockquote>
“Washington, DC – In an
unprecedented move on Wednesday, Jan. 14th, the Interagency Autism
Coordinating Committee (IACC) removed previously approved vaccine
safety research from the Strategic Plan for Autism Research objectives.
With apparent backing from the CDC representation, committee chair
and HIMH director Tom Insel implied that vaccine research conducted by
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) would constitute a conflict
given the involvement of Health and Human Services with ongoing autism
cases filed in the federal vaccine court. The committee’s action is in
direct opposition to the majority of its public members who support
vaccine research, and to the Congressional directive of the Combating
Autism Act of 2006 (CAA) which specifically called for research into
potential links between vaccines, vaccine components, and the autism
spectrum disorder.</blockquote>
<blockquote>“ ‘In addition to the CAA’s mandate for vaccine research,
the legislation specifically called for the establishment of key
research activities to arrive from meaningful public involvement and
advice through the IACC which includes both government and private
representatives.</blockquote>
<blockquote>“ ‘Ignoring the Congressional mandate for investigation to
links between vaccines and the development of autism is a slap in the
face to both Congress and the citizens of this country’, said National
Autism Association board chair and parent Lori Mellwain. ‘Even the
most basic studies comparing health outcomes of vaccinated vs
nonvaccinated populations are consistently ignored despite the
increasing support for them from legislatures, physicians, and
parents.’</blockquote>
<blockquote>“ ‘Dr. Insel’s observation that the NIH is incapable of
conducting conflict-free research supports what a growing number of
parents believe,’ commented Ms. Mellwain. ‘While the motivation for
refusing to allow this critical research to go forward is likely more
related to fear of what such studies would reveal, it is clear that the
system managing our vaccine program is corrupt beyond repair and needs
a complete overhaul.’” [58]</blockquote>Based on these revelations,
the claims of health authorities that there is no proof of a
relationship between vaccines and autism has been technically correct,
but this is only because the tests which could prove such a
relationship have been systematically and knowingly avoided by the NIH
and other government health agencies over a period of many years, which
is confirmed by the above declaration by the National Autism
Association.

However, since the U.S. Congressional Hearings on Vaccine Safety,
1999-December, 2004, which found gross deficiencies in vaccine safety
testing, steadily increasing numbers of highly reputable studies have
been appearing in the medical literature indicating that significant
harm may be taking place from current childhood vaccine programs. The
Pourcyrous study cited above [1] is offered as a prime example.
Safety Recommendation for Parents Who Choose or are Mandated to
Vaccinate Their Children, Based on Guidelines of the Autism Research
Institute

1. Never vaccinate a sick child, even if just a runny
   nose from a viral infection, as all viruses are immunosuppressive,
   rendering the child more vulnerable to adverse vaccine reactions.
   
2. Never allow more than two vaccines per visit; avoid all combination vaccines.
   
3. Administer vitamin C before and after each vaccination, ideally in
   doses of 500 mgs every four hours during waking hours. Also give
   vitamin A in standard doses.
   
4. All forms of sugar should be avoided for several days before and
   after vaccines, as sugar has been shown to diminish the protective
   activities of the immune system by depressing white blood cells’ ability
   to destroy bacteria. [65]
   

Conclusion

The Pourcyrous study confirms cardio-respiratory
events occurred within 48 hours of vaccination for preterm infants in a
hospital neonatal intensive care unit where no other conditions such
as Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) or Non-Accidental Injury (NAI) presented.
That study also indicates a standard medical test, C-Reactive
Protein, can be used to check for and confirm inflammation associated
with brain trauma resulting from vaccine adverse reactions such as
cardio-respiratory events.
The roles of prenatal dietary vitamin C and birth trauma also must be
considered in infant brain anomalies instead of Shaken Baby Syndrome or
Non-Accidental Injury that hospital emergency room doctors are quick to
give as diagnoses in infants who suffer adverse vaccine reactions,
especially when no physical trauma is present on the body.

On vaccine package inserts, cardio-respiratory events such as those
documented in the Pourcyrous study, e.g., apnea, bradycardia,
gastroesophageal reflux, hemorrhage / inflammation of the brain, and
oxygen desaturation, must be listed under contraindications or adverse
reactions.

Vitamin C blood levels can be helpful in determining post-vaccination
brain inflammation occurrences. Furthermore, the importance of proper
vitamin C levels is suggested as possible prevention for
cardio-respiratory events post-vaccination in both preterm and term
infants. Vitamin C correlates directly with prenatal nutrition and the
pregnant mother’s diet being nutrient rich in fresh fruits and
vegetables.


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