Is Aborted Fetal DNA in Vaccines Linked to Autism

Last Wednesday I was invited by Representative Laura Brod to a conference call meeting with Theresa A. Deisher, Ph.D. The purpose of the call was to discuss the vaccine-autism controversy and her recent studies.

Dr. Deisher has an impressive background and credentials. She is an internationally renowned expert in the field of adult stem cell therapies and regenerative medicine, brings 17 years of experience in scientific and corporate leadership positions involving research, discovery, production and commercialization of human therapeutics. Dr. Deisher’s penchant for groundbreaking scientific discovery and her distinguished scientific research has resulted in 23 patents issued. She has published numerous scientific manuscripts and is a frequent invited lecturer and guest speaker in the area of stem cell technology and regenerative medicine.

Throughout her career, Dr. Deisher has been recruited by some of the country’s top biotechnology companies, including Genentech, Repligen, ZymoGenetics, Immunex and Amgen. She has managed and mentored undergraduate honors students, post-doctoral fellows, scientific executives and over 20 research assistants/scientists at all levels of responsibility.

Dr. Deisher graduated with honors and distinction from Stanford University, and obtained her Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Physiology from Stanford University.

Subsequent to obtaining her Ph.D from Stanford, Dr. Deisher was recruited by Repligen Corporation (Cambridge, MA) and accepted a position as Research Scientist where she managed a staff of associates and scientists and directed the development of research and clinical assays in support of Phase I and Phase II clinical trials for various Repligen developmental efforts. Additionally, Dr. Deisher was selected by Sr. Management to participate in strategic alliance initiatives, including serving on the Repligen / Eily Lilly joint development committee.
Following Repligen, Dr. Deisher accepted a position at ZymoGenetics, Inc (Seattle, WA) as Sr. Scientist, Cardiovascular Biology. While at ZymoGenetics, Dr. Deisher’s research and discovery in the area of cardiovascular biology led to the filing of dozens of patents. Dr. Deisher was the first person world-wide to identify and patent stem cells from the adult heart, including what are now called ‘very small embryonic-like stem cells’. Her discovery remains one of the most significant discoveries in the area of stem cell research. Within the field of regenerative medicine, Dr. Deisher is also a patented inventor of the most potent mesenchymal growth factor ever identified (licensed to Serono for clinical development), and of the use of cytokines to mobilize adult embryonic-like cells.

Following ZymoGenetics, Dr. Deisher was named Sr. Staff Scientist, Vascular Biology at Immunex (Seattle, WA) where she was the project leader for both the Antithrombotic division and the Inflammation and Myocardial Repair division.

Dr. Deisher was named Principal Scientist at Amgen, Inc. (Seattle, WA) following Amgen’s acquisition of Immunex. She led multi-disciplinary teams working on the biology and commercial development of novel co-stimulatory pathways involved in the initiation and progression of cardiac failure. Her research interests encompassed stem cell therapies for myocardial regeneration. Additionally, Dr Deisher introduced revolutionary non-invasive imaging technologies for pre-clinical research to the company, including ultrasound (echocardiography) and near-infrared imaging. As a result, the company was honored as an official ‘Site of Excellence’ by Philips Medical for her department’s pioneering work.

Most recently, Dr. Deisher served as Vice President of Research and Development for Cellcyte Genetics Corporation, a post she held until October 2007 prior to founding AVM Biotechnology.

Dr. Deisher spoke with us for nearly an hour and the first thing that struck me, was that most people had never heard that aborted fetal DNA was used in the manufacturing of vaccines. This is morally reprehensible to me and appeared to be to the other legislators in the room as well. Because there has been a concern with the increase in autism, recent literature suggests that l out of 100 children are now impacted by autism spectrum disorder. Dr. Deisher has been studying the link and wants to alert the public about the possible dangers, as well as the wrenching moral dilemmas for parents and consumers.

How could the contaminating aborted fetal DNA create problems? According to Dr. Deisher, "It created the potential for autoimmune responses and/or inappropriate insertion into our own genomes through a process called recombination. There are groups researching the potential link between this DNA and autoimmune diseases such as juvenile(type I) diabetes, multiple sclerosis and lupus." Her organization, Sound Choice Pharmaceutical Institute is focused on studying the quantity, characteristics and genomic recombination of the aborted fetal DNA found in many of our vaccines.

Dr. Deisher also asks the following questions: "Could genomic insertion of the aborted fetal DNA, found in some of our childhood vaccines since 1979 be an environmental trigger for autism? Could the fact that genes critical for nerve synapse formation and nervous system development found on the X chromosome provide some explanation of why autism is predominantly a disease found in boys? Could the "hot spots" identified in these autism associated genes be sites for insertion of contamination aborted fetal DNA?"

These are important questions and I am glad that this issue has been brought to the attention of the legislature. I will inform you in the future of further developments.

Wasteful spending, misplaced priorities

Today, I had the privilege of shadowing one of the great conservatives in the Minnesota House, Mark Buesgennes and spent the afternoon on the floor listening to debate on House File 2624.

The majority party passed the LCCMR(Legislative Citizen Commision on Minnesota Resources) bill which funds environmental projects using state lottery proceeds. Unfortunately, wasteful projects made their way into the bill. There were a series of amendments offered by Republicans to challenge the wasteful spending of this money. When one Republican challenged the use of the "hard earned tax dollars", DFL Representative Wagenius countered with a statement, that these were not "hard-earned" but "easy dollars, because they are gambling dollars". Below are some examples of what the DFL voted to spend these dollars on:

Will Steger's Global Warming Adventures
"$250,000 is from the trust fund to the
commissioner of natural resources for an
agreement with the Will Steger Foundation
to provide curriculum, teacher training,
online learning, and grants to schools
on investigating the connection between
Minnesota's changing climate and the
impacts on ecosystems and natural resources."

Bird Breeding Maps
"$372,000 is from the trust fund to continue
development of a statewide survey of
Minnesota breeding bird distribution and
create related publications, including a book
and online atlas with distribution maps
and breeding status."

Unique Microbe Characterization
"$545,000 is from the trust fund to the Board
of Regents of the University of Minnesota
to characterize unique microbes discovered
in the Soudan Underground Mine State Park... "

"Fragile" Granite Ecosystem Protection
"$1,800,000 is from the trust fund to the
Board of Water and Soil Resources, in
cooperation with the Renville Soil and Water
Conservation District, to continue to acquire
perpetual easements of unique granite rock
outcrops, located in the Upper Minnesota
River Valley."

Show Teachers How to Use a Digital Camera
"$160,000 is from the trust fund to the
commissioner of natural resources to hold
teacher training workshops on the use of
digital photography as a tool for learning
about nature."

"Hey Kids, Go Outside!"
"$15,000 is from the trust fund to the
commissioner of natural resources for an
agreement with Project Get Outdoors, Inc. to
develop out of school programs connecting
children to local nature experiences."

Cross-cultural Fishing
"$155,000 is from the trust fund to the
commissioner of natural resources for
an agreement with the Association for
the Advancement of Hmong Women
in Minnesota to provide environmental
information and teaching skills to and
increase participation of Southeast Asian
communities through the gateway of fishing
skills."