Perhaps Dr. Nancy Snyderman has an agenda of her own when it comes to Autism & Treatment

For some oddball reason, mainstream medicine is very anxious to say that gut-issues (constipation, reflux, chronic diarrhea, malabsorption, etc.) and autism are not related. WHY? I have no idea. Perhaps because we (parents with kids on the spectrum) are buying organic foods and supplements rather than drugging our children into oblivion?? I don't know. What can explain a woman such as Dr. Snyderman making VERY BOLD assertions that G.I. Issues and Autism are NOT linked, when her information apparently came from a Medical article that said nothing of the sort?? It's bizarre if you ask me, and perhaps ignorant on it's best day, bold face lying and very underhanded at worst. Either way, it's a shame that someone on the Today show, perhaps Snyderman herself (?) either didn't vet the information well-enough, or was unable or unwilling to put personal views aside in the name of research and sharing the findings with America. I want to slap people like that. Just being honest. I prefer not to go to jail for assualt or harrassment, so instead I will be writing a scathing letter to the today show, MSNBC, Snyderman, perhaps the President and anyone else I can think of.



Link to Nancy Synderman's interview: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/32168581#32168581WEB


WebMD also had an article at:


http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/news/20090727/gi-problems-and-autism-no-link-found If you read through the article you will find the sentence, " The Mayo research team, he says, "were probably trying to put the story to rest. What they found is they couldn't fully put it to rest. .........It is very possible there are subgroups of kids (with autism) where part of their symptoms involve the GI tract".

Listen and read for yourself and send your views to MSNBC.

E-mail TODAY at: TODAY@nbcuni.comCall or write:30 Rockefeller PlazaNew York, NY 10112(212) 664-4602http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/29055142/?pg=3#TDY_AboutUsThanks,Nancy CaleUnlocking AutismAutism Research Institute__________________________________________________


Here is a letter worth reading:

Dear MSNBC: I am writing to express my profound disappointment and disagreement with Dr Nancy Snyderman's review of the report in this week's issue of the journal Pediatrics titled "Incidence of Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Children With Autism: A Population-Based Study". I found the commentary by your chief medical editor during the 7/27/09 Today show so erroneous and misleading that I must question her objectivity on this subject. Specifically, Dr Snyderman stated during her Today segment that "...the findings are important. They really dismiss that link between the gut and the neurological problems that we see in autism...and these findings were very conclusive: there is no link between illness in the gut and the signs and symptoms that we see in autism..." (emphasis hers, by distinct vocal inflection). The last, "no link" part of the quoted statement was repeated at the end of the segment to justify her recommendation to parents that, based on this study, they need not use "restrictive diets" and other gut remedies for their autistic children. I have read the article in Pediatrics about which Dr Snyderman commented and the accompanying editorial by two independent medical academic reviewers. Neither the article nor the editorial makes or supports the emphatic statements by Dr Snyderman. In fact, the authors of the article describe the very real limits of their study, including its retrospective nature and the fact that they did not assess or compare the duration, severity and recurrence of the gut symptoms between the autistic subjects and the normal controls. They go on to say that "...there may exist subgroups of children with gastrointestinal disorders that contribute to their autistic behaviors..." In their accompanying editorial, Drs Mark Gilger and Carol Redel of Baylor College of Medicine wrote that the authors "...are to be commended for a well-performed study, with which they attempt to put to rest the nagging suggestion that there exists a link between autism and gastrointestinal disease. Unfortunately, there is more work to be done..." They close their editorial with the statement: "...history alone suggests that more research is needed to determine if there is a unique gastrointestinal lesion(s) in children with PDDs." (pervasive developmental disorders, including autism). Dr Snyderman's comments clearly misrepresented what was supported by the article or the editorial. The Today show owes its audience a substantive clarification of this matter.
Respectfully,
Michael A Catalano MD
Frontier Medical Institute Golden, CO