Atlanta, GAThe Ohio Department of Health has been named in an autism lawsuit filed by the parents of a toddler stricken with the disorder. At issue is an alleged denial by the state of Ohio of federally mandated treatment options that the plaintiffs hold should be made available for their infant son. The lawsuit is but one example of the issues surrounding autism, and its potential causes.
A potential link between the emergence of autism in a child and the use of various SSRI-based antidepressants by a mother during pregnancy has been suggested by research. Not lost on researchers involved in a study published in 2011 in the Archives of General Psychiatry (7/11), is an increase in the prevalence of autism and autism spectrum disorders at the same time as a dramatic increase in the use of antidepressants??"up 400 percent in the last 20 years. The emergence of SSRI antidepressants has given doctors more medicinal options in the treatment of depression and depressive disorders, and their popularity is demonstrative by the dramatic increase in SSRI use.
SSRI autism, however, is an issue given that the most critical time for a fetus is within the first trimester of pregnancy??"a time when many women are not yet aware they have become pregnant. Autism lawyers claim that SSRI manufacturers should have thought of that, and should have been more forthcoming with the potential risks before lobbying the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval of autism drugs (in other words, drugs that have been linked to autism).
And now there is a concern with regard to vaccines and autism.
Vanguard (11/3/12) reports that studies done on infant monkeys have revealed a link between the emergence of autism symptoms and the application of standard vaccines. The research, identified as groundbreaking, was formally presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) at a symposium in London, England.
According to Vanguard, young macaque monkeys were administered a standard schedule of vaccinations that mirrored a vaccination schedule recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from the 1990s. Doses of the vaccines were appropriate to the participants' size and age.
The researchers found that monkeys inoculated with the vaccines developed symptoms associated with autism, while a control group of monkeys receiving no vaccinations developed no such symptoms.
There is little doubt that more research needs to be done??"especially given the fact that some SSRI drugs are used to actually treat the symptoms of autism. And a causal link between autism and use of SSRI antidepressants by the mother in her first trimester of pregnancy, while suspected, has not been conclusively established. However, such potential links to autism from SSRI antidepressants and now vaccines brings to the fore a concern for behavioral issues stemming from autism which prove especially stark in light of the recent massacre in Newtown, Connecticut.
According to The Activist (12/22/12) there is a correlation between autism, medication and acts of violence. With regards to the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, Adam Lanza was reported by multiple sources to have been suffering from Asperger's syndrome, which is a form of autism. While it is not known if Lanza's mother, who also allegedly died at the hands of her son, had taken autism medication such as an SSRI antidepressant while pregnant with Adam, a former babysitter told The Activist that Lanza had been taking medication since the age of 10.
The links between ssri and autism, according to The Activist, date back to the Columbine High School massacre in which Eric Harris was one of two teenage shooters responsible for the death of 13 individuals and the wounding of 23. Harris was known to have been taking SSRI antidepressants at the time. There are other examples of this, as evidenced by a sortable database maintained by SSRI Stories, a website that lists no fewer than 4800 incidents of suicide, violent crime and other incidents across the 23 years from 1988 through 2011.
Little wonder then, that an autism lawsuit, or any legal action involving allegations of disorders such as ssri autism potentially stemming from standard issue vaccines or SSRI antidepressants, takes on a more urgent tone in the wake of the horrific shooting in Connecticut.
If you or a loved one have suffered losses in this case, please click the link below and your complaint will be sent to a drugs & medical lawyer who may evaluate your Autism claim at no cost or obligation.