Synergistic Destruction: How Vaccines and GMOs Converge to Fuel Autism and Neurodegenerative Conditions

By:  Dr. Matthew Buckley, PSc.D.

There is a lot of debate as to what is the cause, or better yet, causes of autism.  This post isn’t intended to cover all of the variables which fuel autism.  It is intended to provide the reader with an understanding of chief mechanisms related to how consumption of Monsanto’s RoundUp, by way of consuming genetically modified corn, soy, canola oil, sugar beets, or any other “RoundUp ready” crop, as well as vaccines may fuel microglial activation, a leading factor in all neurodegenerative conditions, including autism (1)(2)(3), Alzheimer’s(4)(5), ALS(6)(7), Parkinson’s(8)(9), non-situational depression(10)(11), and virtually all forms of chronic illness.  While this post is more directed towards the discussion of autism, the reality is that all of the factors that I discuss below are unquestionably major factors of consideration in all neurodegenerative conditions. 

What is microglial activation?

In short, the microglia are the  resident immune cells within the central nervous system.  They are known to exist in two different states, and while in the “surveillance mode”, they play a key role in both cleaning up debris such as dead neurons (brain cells), in addition to fighting off infection within the nervous system.  That “surveillance mode” role of the microglia, can be shifted into an inflammatory and destructive state where they secrete toxic substances (glutamate) and break down the neurons.  That destructive state is referred to as “microglial activation”.  Research indicates that the body’s ability to maintain adequate amounts of antioxidants, in particular glutathione and superoxide dismutase, play key roles in determining the threshold by which the microglia may be shifted into the destructive activation state.(12)

To reiterate a previous post, the role that Monsanto plays in microglial activation is related to the fact that their genetically modified crops (corn, soy, canola, sugar beets) along with conventionally raised wheat, that is being doused with RoundUp as a drying agent, is accumulating the chemical residue within the crops that people and most conventionally raised farm animals are consuming.(13)  Research carried out by “Moms Across America” has been documenting evidence of RoundUp bio-accumulation in the American population, while the USDA and FDA have claimed that they lack the funding to test for it in food.(14)  The argument in favor of the use of RoundUp has centered around the idea that humans lack any enzymes which can be adversely affected by glyphosate, which is the chief ingredient in RoundUp.  Research suggests otherwise.(15)(16)(17)  What is beyond dispute however, is the fact that RoundUp residue does affect the microbes living in and on our bodies, and not in a good way.  Research demonstrates that glyphosate, a patented antibiotic, which is the active ingredient in RoundUp, alters the microbial ecology to become dominant in pathogenic strains of bacteria, including the highly toxic Clostridium Botulinum.(18)(19)(20)  Would you be surprised to learn that farmers and farm animals are experiencing an increased rate of Clostridium Botulinum infections?  You shouldn’t be.(21)(22)  Likewise, studies of autistic populations have demonstrated altered intestinal flora, with an increase in toxic Clostridia species.(23)(24)(25)

What triggers microglial activation?

The significance of the shift of the microbial ecology to become dominant in pathogenic strains of bacteria, particularly as it relates to autism and other neurodegenerative conditions is that pathogenic bacteria promotes an increase of two chemicals which are known to fuel microglial activation, “lipopolysaccharide” (LPS), and Interleukin 1B (IL-1b).  The LPS is a cell wall fragment of some of the pathogenic bacteria, and the IL-1b is one member of a class of immune system messenger molecules, referred to as “cytokines”, generated in response to bacterial infections. (26)  Cytokines are recognized to be prime factors in relation to how poorly we feel when we get sick.  As the pathogenic bacteria grow in numbers, as they would with continued glyphosate consumption (not to mention sugar and/or refined carbohydrate consumption), they can degrade the lining of the intestines, a process called “leaky gut”, which then allows for the LPS to enter into the blood stream.(27)  The immune system responds by producing IL-1b.   In fact, LPS or IL-1b have become standard agents in studying microglial activation, so this idea that the pathogenic bacteria may fuel microglial activation by way of LPS and/or IL-1b is well established.(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)  Additionally, it’s been demonstrated that the LPS or cytokines produced in the periphery of the body, promote signals up to the brain by way of the vagus nerve, causing the brain to produce these destructive cytokines within the nervous system.   Both LPS and IL-1b have also been demonstrated to degrade the blood brain barrier (BBB), which serves as an important protective fence from infections and/or other toxins which may have entered into the body.  In a state of leaky gut, where the microbes from the intestines can migrate into the blood stream, invasions from these microbes, both “good” and bad may find their way into the nervous system and continually promote ongoing microglial activation once the BBB has been compromised.

 

 

Does the autistic population show evidence of LPS or IL-1b?

Yes, studies involving autistic populations evaluating levels of cytokines, such as IL-1b, have demonstrated very clearly that the autistic population, in particular the subset with gastrointestinal complaints, have shown consistently high levels of IL-1b.(33)(34)   [box]J Neuroinflammation. 2013; 10: 38.

IL-1β appears to be the cytokine most involved in the quantitative traits and clinical subgroups of ASD (Figure 4). Involvement of IL-1β in the physiopathology of autism is generally supported by several studies reporting higher levels of this cytokine in the plasma of children with ASD, high-functioning children with ASD, and adults with severe ASD compared with unrelated controls [48]. It has been shown that peripheral blood cells from subjects with ASD produced higher levels of IL-1β both at baseline and after stimulation with Toll-like receptor (TLR)2 or TLR4 [48][/box]

Setting the stage for autism and an adverse event to a vaccine, has a lot to do with diet, including moms diet.

Consider everything I’ve said above, and think for a moment of how many mothers are eating the SAD diet, laden with gut ecology disrupting RoundUp residue.  Does mom like to eat GMO flakes for breakfast?  Perhaps she opts for a RoundUp laden whole wheat bagel, or maybe she prefers the roundup laden tortillas for her egg tacos in the morning?  Either way, for the average mom, odds are high that she’s consuming RoundUp residue with regularity.   A rather common denominator to autism are mothers that have hypothyroidism(35)(36), and the prime cause of hypothyroidism is autoimmunity(37), which has leaky gut as its prime cause.(38)(39)(40)   What this suggests is that mom is in a pro-inflammatory state to begin with, her gut ecology is less than ideal, and the significance of that is that those microbes that she has living in and on her body are what are shared with her offspring, assuming she gives birth vaginally.   If the baby is delivered vaginally, the baby will have the disrupted gut ecology of the mother, and have all of the basic ingredients in place for microglial activation to already be set in motion.  If the baby is born via C-Section, the gut ecology isn’t likely to be better, and may be worse.(41)(42) What I suspect is happening is a sort of smoldering state of low level microglial activation in both the mom and her offspring.  To make matters worse, millions of moms are feeding their babies the frankenfood cocktail called “infant formula”, which is commonly GMO’d soy and high fructose corn syrup based, all of which feed the wrong microbes at a critical time of brain and immune system development.(43)(44)

As I’ve pointed out, autoimmunity has a common denominator in leaky gut, and autoimmune disorders are increasing at an unprecedented rate right now.  Given the fact that at least 1/5th of the US population is suffering from an autoimmune condition, and many mothers don’t know they have such a condition, the stage has been set for an adverse event to a vaccine.

Vaccines, gas to the smoldering fire of LPS and IL-1b driven microglial activation.

As I’ve pointed out, LPS and IL-1b are considered standard agents for inducing microglial activation in a lab setting, and both LPS and IL-1b are driven largely by bacterial infections.  Another standard agent to consistently induce microglial activation is the cytokine Interferon Gamma (IFN-y).(44)(45)(46)

A number of vaccines are live virus vaccines, and the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine is one such vaccine.   Viral infections are known triggers for the production of IFN-y.(47)(48)(49)  Can you see where this is going?   The principle cytokine driven by the MMR vaccine has been identified as IFN-y.  (50)  If any of these live viruses from the vaccines managed to withstand an inadequate immune response, and instead became a chronic infection, which does happen(51), and therefore become a chronic inducer of IFN-y, you have a perfect recipe for significant ongoing brain inflammation, particularly in the GMO induced gut flora altered individual given the fact that IFN-y is also a known promoter of leaky gut.(52)

Is IFN-y elevated in the autistic population?

Yes.  (53)(54)   It’s worth pointing out that all vaccines induce some pro-inflammatory cytokine response, and are potential triggers for microglial activation.

What’s the bottom line?

As I have very clearly illustrated above, the factors which promote neurodegenerative conditions such as autism, can be traced back to those factors which promote microglial activation.  Without question, autism like all forms of chronic illness are multifactoral in nature, but common threads tie many of these illnesses together, like microglial activation and leaky gut.  If we can address and control these issues, and we certainly can in most cases, we can go a long way towards preventing and/or reversing the collective nightmares of neurodegenerative conditions.  For the sake of brevity, I have chosen not to address the issues of vaccine adjuvant ingredients, how they promote nueroinflammatory autoimmunity(55)(56)(57)(58)(59), or other environmental factors, like tylenol use (60), or genetic factors such as MTHFR which can lead to low levels of glutathione and a ripened system for ongoing microglial activation for life in a toxic world.

In order to solve our collective health challenges and the explosion of chronic degnerative diseases, it is imperative that we bring sanity back to our food production and disease prevention.  Doing so means eliminating the scourge on humanity that Monsanto represents, and educating people about the necessity of detoxification strategies and nutrient repletion.

 

About the author:  Dr. Buckley is a 2002 graduate of Logan College of Chiropractic.  Dr. Buckley entered the health care field largely to understand and resolve his personal struggles with chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia which began late in his teens.  His ongoing study of functional medicine, nutrition, nutrigenomics, applied kinesiology, and energetic medicine has provided him with keen insight and understanding into the holistic dynamics of the body and how we lose and maintain our health.  He has maintained a busy practice in Austin, Texas for the past 13 years and works with people of all ages interested in maximizing their health, and overcoming the modern scourge of all forms of chronic illness.