Autism and Stealth-Adapted Viruses - Science or Non-Sense?

A New Brunswick acquaintance of mine, BJ McKelvie, is a fervent promoter of the work of Dr. W John Martin. BJ devotes all, or some, of the profits generated by the Autism song "I'm In Here" to fund an "investigational study", described on the ACE Pathway Investigational Study site as:


A double blind research study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of methods aimed at activating an alternative cellular energy (ACE) pathway in the therapy of autism and related childhood disorders.

The study involves the scientific discovery that autism and other unexplained disorders are caused by viruses that escape immune recognition. These viruses are called stealth-adapted viruses. The major advance is that the existence of stealth adapted viruses has helped bring into focus the discovery of an auxiliary virus defence mechanism that involves an alternative cellular energy (ACE) pathway. Fortunately, the body has an anti-virus defence system other than the immune system. This pathway can be activated using enerceuticals. Activation can lead to symptom improvements and, importantly, can also potentially prevent autism from occurring.

Someone posting under the pseudonym s3support left an article by Dr. Martin on this site earlier in response to my blog post President Bush Signs Combating Autism Act into Law:

s3support said...

Autism: The Mounting Toll of Denying the Existence of Stealth-Adapted Viruses

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will receive additional funding for autism research through the Combating Autism Act signed into law today by President Bush. Let’s hope it will use a modicum of this funding to confirm and extend findings that indicate active virus infection in the majority of autistic children. The viruses found in these children do not activate an effective anti-virus immune response and have, accordingly, been grouped under the term stealth-adapted. In spite of repeated requests, no formal effort has been made within CDC to perform stealth-adapted virus testing on children with autism. Contributing to this indifference is a lack of real expertise in atypical viral infections and a political concern that some stealth-adapted viruses arose from the simian cytomegalovirus of African green monkeys (SCMV). As confirmed by studies within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), earlier batches of live polio vaccines were not uncommonly contaminated by SCMV.

Autism is a descriptive term for symptoms attributed to brain damage. By many measures, an increasing number of children are showing this affliction. Indeed, the phase “autism epidemic” is widely being used in the media. Yet, why hasn’t serious consideration been given to a potential underlying infectious cause? Again, this is partly because most of the professional dealing with this disorder are not microbiologists and sadly, also because a lot of money is being made from parents of an ever expanding pool of patients.

An infectious cause for autism is not only suggested by its increasing prevalence but also by chronic fatiguing illnesses that are commonly present in other family members. Parents of autistic children will sometimes deny any symptoms hoping to keep the focus on their son or daughter. Closer questioning, however, will often reveal less than stellar health with fatigue, impaired sleep, poor memory and other symptoms consistent with ongoing brain damage. Indeed, it is reasonable to have predicted that such parents were at an increased risk for having a child slip into autistic behavior as he or she faced the emotional challenge of socialization. It can also be argued that a stealth-adapted virus infected infant may be especially susceptible to additional damage caused by vaccinations that can potential over activate the immune response.

A useful course of action is for a small grouping of parents of autistic children to insist that the CDC or corresponding State Health Department, obtain a blood sample from their child and culture the blood in a manner suitable to demonstrate the presence of stealth-adapted viruses. Undoubtedly, some if not most cases will yield a positive culture. Such findings will help offset the politically motivated denial of the existence of stealth-adapted viruses and once more draw attention to the issue of SCMV contaminated polio vaccines. For additional information please refer to www.s3support.com or e-mail to s3support@mail.com
W. John Martin, M.D., Ph.D.
Institute of Progressive Medicine

I do not pretend to have the expertise, with a few exceptions, to determine the merits of any purportedly scientific theory about the causes or treatment of autism. [I refuse to take "swimming with Dolphins", Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Treatment" and some other interventions seriously]

For the most part I rely on responsible expert professionals to make those determinations. To that end I frequently cite reputable reviews of autism interventions such as the US Surgeon General, the MADSEC (Maine) Autism Task Force, the New York State Department of Health and the American Academy of Pediatrics. I have found no mention of Dr. Martin's "stealth-adapted viruses"theory or his "activation of alternative cellular energy (ACE) pathway" treatment mentioned by any credible review of autism and autism treatments.

A simple Google Scholar search using the words "stealth adapted virus" produced 9 articles - ALL written by Dr. W. John Martin:

Stealth Adaptation of an African Green Monkey Simian Cytomegalovirus
WJ Martin - Experimental and Molecular Pathology, 1999 - Elsevier
... individuals. recognize and respond to virus infections [1]. A successful Sequence
studies on a prototype stealth-adapted virus have immune ...
Cited by 7 - Related articles - Web Search - BL Direct - All 5 versions

Alternative cellular energy pigments mistaken for parasitic skin infestations
W John Martin - Experimental and Molecular Pathology, 2005 - Elsevier
... Complex intracellular structures have also been observed within cells seen on brain
biopsies of stealth-adapted virus infected individuals (Martin, 2003b). ...
Cited by 2 - Related articles - Web Search - All 3 versions

Symptomatic relief of herpetic skin lesions utilizing an energy-based approach to healing
WJ Martin, J Stoneburner - Experimental and Molecular Pathology, 2005 - Elsevier
... cultured cells, have been shown to affect, both positively and negatively depending
on intensity, cell viability in stealth-adapted virus cultures (unpublished ...
Cited by 1 - Related articles - Web Search - All 3 versions

Etheric biology
WJ Martin - Experimental and Molecular Pathology, 2005 - Elsevier
... coalescence of pigmented material that was initially diffusely distributed within
the cluster of MRC-5 cells that developed in a stealth-adapted virus culture. ...
Cited by 1 - Related articles - Web Search - All 3 versions

Alternative cellular energy pigments from bacteria of stealth virus infected individuals
WJ Martin - Experimental and Molecular Pathology, 2005 - Elsevier
... solid and thread-like structures similar to the alternative cellular energy pigments
(ACE pigments) seen in cultures of stealth-adapted virus infected patients ...
Web Search - All 3 versions

[PDF] ►ARTICLE IN PRESS
WJ MartinT - s3support.com
... solid and thread-like structures similar to the alternative cellular energy pigments
(ACE pigments) seen in cultures of stealth-adapted virus infected patients ...
Related articles - View as HTML - Web Search

Progressive medicine
WJ Martin - Experimental and Molecular Pathology, 2005 - Elsevier
... cellular energy (ACE) pathway as an auxiliary defense mechanism against various
diseases, including both conventional and stealth-adapted virus infections. ...
Web Search - All 4 versions

Therapy of stealth virus associated cancers and other conditions using light
WJ Martin - US Patent App. 10/044,683, 2002 - Google Patents
Page 1. US 20030129583A1 (19) United States (12) Patent Application Publication
(io> Pub. NO.: US 2003/0129583 Al Martin (43) Pub. Date: Jul. ...
Web Search

ISOLATED STEALTH VIRUSES AND RELATED VACCINES
W MARTIN - 1999 - freepatentsonline.com
Isolated stealth viruses whose presence is positively correlated with the induction
of a vacuolating cytopathic effect in tissue cultures and which are associated ...
Related articles - Web Search - All 5 versions

The earliest of these 9 articles was written in 1999. The ACE Pathway Investigational Study site has a section called "the Scientific Research". All articles in the section are authored by Dr. W. John Martin:

The Scientific Research

* Brain cells with cellular images of the diseased mitochondria
* Explaination how the viral pigments may be a source of energy for cells
* Ace Pigments
* Viteria: Bacterial Sequences in Animal and Human Viruses
* 4 Physicians all develop stealth virus illnesses
* ACE Pigments mistaken for Parasitic Skin Infestations

The "stealth-adapted" virus concept does not appear to have been picked up by Dr. Martin's professional colleagues. It does not appear to have been take seriously by medical professionals.

Now we have an "investigational study" being conducted. Some of those who are encouraging parents to have their children participate in this studies are "true believers" in Dr. W. John Martin and his work. I recently engaged in a Facebook "discussion" with some of Dr. Martin's advocates. I had a few weeks ago posted a response to a comment by BJ McKelvie who cited a 1999 article about ABA and other scientific autism treatments. Then recently someone named Cherie Pettie commented on the same thread and accused me of being "ignorant" and "uneducated". When I pointed out that I had read some of what Dr. Martin has had to say I was told by Ms Pettie that I should call Dr. Martin and speak to him personally if I wanted to understand the man and his work. Expressions of faith in Dr. Martin are encouraged, serious questions are discouraged.

Ms Pettie and Mr McKelvie are strong proponents of Dr Martins' treatment theories. Their belief is disturbing to me. Mr. McKelvie at least partially finances the current "investigational study" with proceeds from "I'm in here". Both he and Ms Pettie are already convinced that the treatment works and that is the message they are delivering with great fervor, to parents when asking them to participate. Their strong belief in Dr. Martin is interesting but faith and belief do not necessarily make for good science.

The parents who are indoctrinated with Mr. McKelvie's and Ms. Pettie's belief in Dr. Martin's theories, with their biases, will then become "clinical investigators":

This investigation is done at home in the childs least restrictive environment. It's administered and documented by the parents who become “clinical investigators” under the direction of “The Institute of Progressive Medicine” Burbank, California. It is understood that bringing children who battle autism into clinics or hospitals enduces “meltdowns and the related stress can trigger epileptic seizures in those who battle autism related epilepsy. The treatment can be done while the child sleeps at night in bed or is awake. This decision is best left to the parents. For this study a "clinical investigator" is simply someone who administers the treatment and takes notes under strict guidelines. There are several protocols to follow during the study. A baseline is first taken on the child’s current condition, then the treatment is administered then the parents are required to complete online weekly clinical data journal of the child’s progress.

I see nothing wrong with parental input in professional studies. I do see a problem when those parents are recruited with emphatic personal testimony that the treatment being studied works. I see a problem when any questioning of Dr. Martin's theories is met with outright hostility. With such a biased foundation I find it doubtful that the ACE Pathway "Investigational Study" will be anything more than an exercise in affirming the work of Dr. W. John Martin; a study with little or no scientific value.

autism