LEADER 04257nam 2200673 a 450 001 9910791459003321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a1-282-79643-7 010 $a9786612796432 010 $a0-231-51796-3 024 7 $a10.7312/offi14636 035 $a(CKB)2560000000050198 035 $a(EBL)908183 035 $a(OCoLC)826477001 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000474703 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)12190169 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000474703 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10454263 035 $a(PQKB)11511019 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC908183 035 $a(DE-B1597)459179 035 $a(OCoLC)1013962187 035 $a(OCoLC)940693955 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780231517966 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL908183 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10419515 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL279643 035 $a(EXLCZ)992560000000050198 100 $a20101112d2010 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur|n|---||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aAutism's false prophets$b[electronic resource] $ebad science, risky medicine, and the search for a cure /$fPaul A. Offit 205 $aPbk. ed. 2010. 210 $aNew York $cColumbia University Press$d2010 215 $a1 online resource (333 p.) 300 $aOn cover: With a new preface by the author. 311 $a0-231-14637-X 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. [283]-284) and index. 327 $tFrontmatter -- $tContents -- $tPrologue -- $tIntroduction -- $t1. The Tinderbox -- $t2. Lighting the Fuse -- $t3. The Implosion -- $t4. A Precautionary Tale -- $t5. Mercury Rising -- $t6. Mercury Falling -- $t7. Behind the Mercury Curtain -- $t8. Science in Court -- $t9. Science and the Media -- $t10. Science and Society -- $t11. A Place for Autism -- $tEpilogue: "Next, on Oprah" -- $tNotes -- $tSelected Bibliography -- $tAcknowledgments -- $tIndex 330 $aA 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. 606 $aAutism in children 606 $aAutism$xEtiology 606 $aMedical misconceptions 615 0$aAutism in children. 615 0$aAutism$xEtiology. 615 0$aMedical misconceptions. 676 $a618.92/85882 676 $a618.9285882 700 $aOffit$b Paul A$0866942 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910791459003321 996 $aAutism's false prophets$93703469 997 $aUNINA