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by Eric's mum
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 Eric Gallup was born on January 17, 1985. He was normal at birth and
received all his vaccines on schedule including the
measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine on April 28, 1986. He was
progressing but after receiving the MMR vaccine , his speech and
cognitive skills deteriorated. In 1995, we got blood work back from
Vijendra Singh, Ph.D. that showed that Eric tested positive for myelin
basic protein antibodies indicating an autoimmune disorder. Also, that
same year we got in touch with James Oleske, MD of UMDNJ, Newark, NJ
who is a world famous pediatric immunologist whose speciality is AIDS.
Dr. Oleske found that Eric had T cell abnormalities and the "highest
measles titer he had ever encountered equal to such neurological
disorders as sub acute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE)" after doing
an immune blood panel test. Also, Dr. Singh found that Eric had high
reading on the measles antibodies and human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6)
antibodies tests as well. After 19 intravenous gamma globulin (IVIG)
infusions from February 1996 to May 1997, Eric tested negative for
myelin basic protein antibodies and his titers/antibodies , while still
elevated, came down. Subsequently, in my discussions with Dr. Oleske ,
he told me that children that came after had higher measles titers than
Eric.
To date there have been 60 autistic children tested by Dr. Oleske. In
1998, after seeing that there would be no research into autism and the
immunological issues facing our children, I decided to start an autism
charity for immunological research. In October, 1998, the IRS approved
the Autism Autoimmunity Project as a 501 (c) (3) charity and we were
incorporated in the state of New Jersey. We are in the process of
funding research by Vijendra Singh, Ph.D. and hope to do the same for
James Oleske, MD and Andrew Wakefield, MD of the Royal Free Hospital in
London, England. Dr. Wakefield has found autism enterocolitis that has
all the indications of an autoimmune colitis. The Autism Autoimmunity
Project can be accessed at:
http://www.gti.net/truegrit
My gratitude and thanks to Meryl Dorey who is doing a tremendous job helping parents to find answers to help our children.
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