Allergy resource

The USDA has published an allergy resource, essentially an annotated bibliography on food allergy information. The introduction states:

This publication is a collection of resources on the topic of Food Allergies and Intolerances for consumers. Resources include books, pamphlets and audiovisuals and Web resources. Many of the pamphlets are available in single copies and some may also be purchased in bulk from the organization listed (Web addresses are provided for materials available online). The books and audiovisuals can be either borrowed from your local library or purchased from your local book store. Materials may also be available to borrow from the National Agricultural Library (NAL) collection. Lending and copy service information is provided at the end of this document. If you are not eligible for direct borrowing privileges, check with your local library on how to borrow through interlibrary loan. Materials cannot be purchased from NAL. Contact information is provided for the producing organization if you wish to purchase or order any materials on this list. This contact information can be found in section C.

The whole text in clear format is available online at http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/pubs/bibs/gen/allergy.pdf
There are sections for types of publication, as well as a breakdown by allergen. There is also a section on resources meant for use by children.
p.s. See section B-7 for sulfite intolerance

My books

I've started cataloging my books on LibraryThing as you all may know. I've gotten about 720 in so far, and extrapolating to what's sitting around the house I realize we have somewhere in the neighborhood of 4500-5000 books. If anything, that's a low estimate. And we're not shy about using the library, either.
I go into some people's houses and they have one, maybe two shelves of books; others have bookcases covering every free wall of every room and every staircase. Needless to say, I feel more at home in the latter. My parents have some books, but nothing like our library. We have bookcases everywhere, every child's room has at least one, many of our shelves are double-shelved. There are books piled on my nightstand, books on Kayla's floor, books in 9 month old Adele's room.
I am spending a lot of time on BookMooch now trying to get rid of books we'll never use or never read again (nasty science fiction, lovely craft books of crafts we'll never actually take up, duplicates of mysteries I didn't realize I had already bought, and more). I'm racking up the points sending them out, and I don't want to use the points to bring in more books right now (I should just donate the points right away so I can't use them). There have been times when I have brought 5-6 grocery bags at a time to donate at the library book store and we STILL have all these books (what in the world have I already given away?!)!
I realize I have a very deep relationship with my books. I can't bring myself to give up a good book. I re-read, I treasure, I love them. I can't pass up a good read, and I am somewhat obsessed with providing good books for my children. Books the older children all hate I keep on the chance that in a few years one might change his or her mind, or one of the younger ones may have a different opinion. Books that are classics I stock around the house just in the hopes that one child or another will pick it up at some point (it's worked with Heidi, The Little Princess, The Secret Garden, Little Women, Black Beauty, and more). I've started searching out books I read as a teenager to see if they pique the girls' interest the same way (Tirtze does like Nancy Springer, but rejects H. Beam Piper; she hasn't really checked out Mary Stewart yet--I have to find the werewolf one).
My name is Leesy, and I'm a bookaholic. I don't think I'm ready for recovery.

Bear with me--more librarian-type stuff

This is a holding-pen for a bibliography of journal articles disputing the idea that vaccination has any relationship to autism. Just move on by (unless you want the list). As of now (2/8/08) I have just copied and pasted a couple of others' lists; I haven't examined, edited, added to, or verified any of the citations, so do not give me any credit for any of this!
Thanks to Interverbal and Stavros, who have done all the work.

from Stavros:
- Peltola H & Patja A, Leinikki P, Valle M, Davidkin I and Paunio M (1998) No evidence for measles, mumps and rubella vaccine associated inflammatory bowel disease or autism in a 14 year prospective study (Research letters) Lancet 351:1327-8
- Gillberg C & Heijbel H, (1998). MMR and autism [commentary]. Autism, The International Journal of Research and Practice; 2:423-424.
- Taylor B et al (1999) Autism and measles, mumps and rubella vaccine: no epidemiological evidence for a causal association. The Lancet; 353: 2026-29.
- Kaye J et al (2001). Mumps, measles and rubella vaccine and the incidence of autism recorded by general practitioners: A time trend analysis. British Medical Journal 322 :460-3.
- Farrington P et al (2001). MMR and autism: Further evidence against a causal association Vaccine 19:3632-5 Volume 19, Issue 27, 14 June 2001, Pages 3632-3635
- Black C (2002) Relation of childhood gastrointestinal disorders to autism: nested case-control study using data from the UK General Practice Research Database. British Medical Journal 325 :419-21.
- Taylor B et al (2002) Measles, mumps and rubella vaccination and bowel problems or development regression in children with autism: population study. British Medical Journal 324 : 393-396.
- Donald A & Muthu V (2002) No evidence that MMR vaccine is associated with autism or bowel disease. Clinical Evidence, 7:331-40

from Interverbal:
1. Bertrand, J., Mars, A., Boyle, C., Bove, F., Yeargin-Allsop, M., & Decoufle, P. (2001). Prevalence of autism in a United States population: the Brick Township, New Jersey, investigation. Pediatrics, 108, 1155-161.
2. Chakrabarti, S., & Fombonne, E. (2001). Pervasive developmental disorders in preschool children. Journal of the American Medical Association, 285,3093-3099.
3. Chakrabarti, S., Fombonne, E., (2005). Pervasive developmental disorders in preschool children: confirmation of high prevalence. American Journal ofPsychiatry, 162(6), 1133-1141.
4. Fombonne, E. (2002). Prevalence of childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD). Autism 6, 2, 147-155.
5. Fombonne, E. (2003). Epidemiological surveys of autism and other pervasive developmental disorders: an update. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 33, 365-382.
6. Fombonne, E. (2001). Is there an epidemic of autism? Pediatrics.Vol 107 (2), 411-412.
7. Gernsbacher, M.A., Dawson, M, & Goldsmith, H. H. (2005).Three reasons not to believe in an autism epidemic. Current directions in psychological science, 14 (2), 55-58.
8. Gallo C, Volkmar F. Diagnosis of autism. Trends Evidence-BasedNeuropsychiatry 2003;5(1):23– 8.
9. Honda, H., Shimizu, Y., Imai, M., & Nitto, Y. (2005). Cumulative incidence of childhood autism: a total population study of better accuracy and precision. Developmental Medicine And Child Neurology. 47(1), 10-8.
10. Jick H, Beach KJ, Kaye JA. Incidence of autism over time.Epidemiology. (2006). Epidemiology, 17(1), 120-121.
11. Laidler, J. (2005). US Department of Education data on "autism" are not reliable for tracking autism prevalence. Pediatrics, 116 (1), 120-124.
12. Mandall, D. S., Novak, M. M., Zubritsky, C. D. (2005). Factors associated with age of diagnosis among children with autism spectrum disorders. Pediatrics,Vol 116 (6), 1480-6.
13. Spitzer, R., Siegal, B.(1990). The DSM-III R field trial of pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 29, 855–862.
14. Tidmarsh, L., Volkmar, F, R. (2003)Diagnosis and epidemiology of autism spectrum disorders. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. 48, 517-525.
15. Yeargin-Allsopp, M., Rice, C., Karapurka, T., Doernberg, N., Boyle, C., Murphy, C. (2003). Prevalence of autism in a US metropolitan area. Journal of the American Medical Association, 289, 49-89.For the MMR:
16. Fombonne E. MMR and autistic enterocolitis: a consistent epidemiological failure to find an association. Mol Psychiatry 2003;8:133–4.
17. Honda Shimizu, Y., Rutter, M. (2005). No effect of MMR withdrawal on the incidence of autism: a total population study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, vol 46 (6), 572-579.
18. Horton, R., (2004). A statement by the editors of the Lancet. Lancet, 363, 820-1
19. Kaye, J. A., del Melero-Montes, M., & Jick, H. (2001). Mumps, measles, and rubella vaccine and the incidence of autism recorded by general practitioners: A time trend analysis. BritishMedical Journal, 322, 460–463.
20. Madsen KM, Hviid A, Vestergaard M, Schendel D, Wohlfahrt J, Thorsen P, andothers. A population-based study of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccinationand autism. New Engl J Med 2002;347:1477–82.
21. Madsen KM. Measles, mumps and rubella vaccination and autism. N Engl J Med2003;348:951–4.
22. Murch, S., Anthony, A., Casson, D., Malik, M., Berelowitz, M., Dhillon, A., Thomson, P., Valentine, A., Davies, S., & Walker-Smith, J. (2004). Retraction of interpretation, 363, 750.
23. Roberts W, Harford M. Immunization and children at risk for autism. PaediatricChild Health 2002;7:623–32.
24. Spitzer W. Measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination and autism. N Engl J Med2003;348:951–4.
25. Stoto MA, Cleary SD, Foster VB . Epidemiologic studies of MMR vaccine andautism. Washington (DC): Institute of Medicine Immunization Safety ReviewCommittee; 2001.
26. Taylor B, Miller E, Farrington CP, et al. Autism and measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine; no epidemiological evidence for a causal association. Lancet, 353, 2026-2029.For Thimerosal:
27. Andrews, N., Miller, E., Grant, A., Stowe, J., Osborne, V., Taylor, B. (2004). Thimerosal exposure in infants and developmental disorders: a retrospective cohort study in the United kingdom does not support a causal association. Pediatrics. 114(3), 584-591.
28.Meadows, M. (2004). IOM report: no link between vaccines and autism. FDA Consumer. 38(5), 38-9.2
9. Nelson K, Bauman M. Thimerosal and autism? Pediatrics 2003. 111, 674–679.
30. Parker, S, K., Schwartz, B., Todd, J., Pickering, L, K. (2004). Thimerosal-containing vaccines and autistic spectrum disorder: a critical review of published original data. Pediatrics. 114(3), 793-804.
31. Singh, V, K., Hanson, J. (2006). Assessment of metallothionein and antibodies to metallothionein in normal and autistic children having exposure to vaccine-derived thimerosal. Pediatric Allergy and Immunology. 17, 291–296.
32. Stehr-Green, P., Tull, P., Stellfeld, M., Mortenson, P., Simpson. (2003). Autism and thimerosal-containing vaccines lack of consistent evidence for an association. American Journal of Preventative Medicine. 25(2), 101-106.
33. Verstraeten T, Davis RL, DeStefano F, et al. Safety of thimerosal-containing vaccines: a two-phased study of computerized health maintenance organization databases. Pediatrics.2003; 112 :1039 –1048
34. Vertraeten, T. (2004). Thimerosal, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and GlaxoSmithKline. Pediatrics. 113(2), 932.


Michael E. Pichichero, Angela Gentile, Norberto Giglio, Veronica Umido, Thomas Clarkson, Elsa Cernichiari, Grazyna Zareba, Carlos Gotelli, Mariano Gotelli, Lihan Yan and John Treanor
Mercury Levels in Newborns and Infants After Receipt of Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines
Pediatrics 2008;121;e208-e214 http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/121/2/e208.pdf

University of California - Davis - Health System (2008, February 12). Some Cases Of Autism May Be Traced To The Immune System Of Mothers During Pregnancy. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 15, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/02/080211172535.htm

From David Gorski at Science-Based Medicine:

Schechter R and JK Grether (2008). Continuing Increases in Autism Reported to California’s Developmental Services System. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 65: 19-24.
Shattuck P (2006). The Contribution of Diagnostic Substitution to the Growing Administrative Prevalence of Autism in US Special Education. Pediatrics 117:1028-1037.
Hviid A, M Stellfeld, J. Wohlfahrt, and M Melbye (2003). Association between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism. JAMA 290:1763-1766.
Madsen KM, MB Lauritsen, CB Pedersen, P Thorsen, AM Plesner, PH Andersen, PB Mortensen (2003). Thimerosal and the Occurrence of Autism: Negative Ecological Evidence From Danish Population-Based Data. Pediatrics 112:604-6.
Fombonne E, R Zakarian, A Bennett, L Meng, D. McLean-Heywood (2006). Pervasive Developmental Disorders in Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Prevalence and Links With Immunizations. Pediatrics 118:e139-50.
Thompson WW, C Price, B Goodson, DK Shay, P Benson, VL Hinrichsen, E Lewis, E Eriksen, P Ray, SM Marcy, J Dunn, LA Jackson, TA Lieu, S Black, G Stewart, ES Weintraub, RL Davis, F DeStefano; Vaccine Safety Datalink Team (2007). Early Thimerosal Exposure and Neuropsychological Outcomes at 7 to 10 Years. NEJM 357:1281-1292.
Parker SK, B Schwartz, J Todd, and LKPickering (2004). Thimerosal-containing vaccines and autistic spectrum disorder: a critical review of published original data. Pediatrics 114:793-804.
Fombonne E (2008). Thimerosal disappears but autism remains. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 65: 15-6.

CDC List of Studies (pdf), with results and findings and citations

article on recall bias specifically related to vaccines:
Murphy, D., Hotopf, M., Wessely, S. (2008). Multiple vaccinations, health, and recall bias within UK armed forces deployed to Iraq: cohort study. BMJ, 337(jun30 1), a220-a220. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.a220
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Info pages and statements:
CDC
IOM Report

AAP especially "Autism Facts for Parents" which states:

The higher number of ASD cases is NOT due to vaccines. At one time it was thought
that thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative in vaccines, could contribute to ASD.
However, studies have shown there is no link. Indeed, thimerosal was removed from
childhood vaccines by 2002, and the cases of ASD have still risen.

A librarian moment

I just have to post for my own thought process on a current professional issue. The peer-reviewed journal Proteomics has an epub advance version of an article which purports to portray "Mitochondria, the missing link between body and soul: Proteomic prospective evidence." Now not only is there question about the level of peer review which went into this, given the poor science portrayed in the abstract, it turns out thanks to some checking by online readers that there is significant plagiarism.

As a medical librarian, I can only hope that the publishers will take a long hard look at this. Was adequate review performed? By whom? Did the authors send a different version to the publisher from what was sent for review? On whose authority? Will the article be retracted? On what grounds? What process failed here, exactly?

Medical literature is only as good as it's proven to be. We cannot make use of material we need to second guess. Librarians depend upon the peer review process to ensure that material we disseminate for clinician and researcher use is up to basic standards of science and publishing. If journals are not doing an adequate job of publishing only science which meets basic standards of practice, we will need to find a new medium of information reporting and management. Up until now the medical journal model has served well; it's up to the publishers of Proteomics to ensure it continues to do so.