No Link Between Mercury and Autism: Study

[Guaranteed]

Source: AFP

MONTREAL (AFP) - Mercury levels have no relationship to the development of autism, a developmental disorder whose cause remains unclear, according to a Canadian study published Thursday.

"In recent years, hypotheses have been raised concerning a possible relationship between mercury exposure and autism," said Eric Fombonne, head researcher and director of pediatric psychiatry at the Montreal Children's Hospital.

"Specifically, the concerns have been related to childhood thimerosal-containing vaccines, dental amalgams, and methylmercury in food," he said in a statement.

The research team examined mercury levels in hair and blood samples provided by autistic children and their mothers and concluded that the levels observed did not differ largely from those taken from children without autism.

<more>

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070503/hl_afp/canadahealthautism_070503210131

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I think autism is on the increase because of increased variance in the human gene pool. There are probably some environmental factors, as well, but I don't believe they are the primary cause.

[shenmue]

1. Thank goodness

for the findings. I don't believe the anti-vaccine hysteria. It's unfounded, and it needs to stop.

[WindRavenX]

3. word

:thumbsup:

[gorbal]

38. Here's some words for yah-

Deadly Immunity

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. investigates the government cover-up of a mercury/autism scandal

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.
In June 2000, a group of top government scientists and health officials gathered for a meeting at the isolated Simpsonwood conference center in Norcross, Georgia. Convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the meeting was held at this Methodist retreat center, nestled in wooded farmland next to the Chattahoochee River, to ensure complete secrecy. The agency had issued no public announcement of the session -- only private invitations to fifty-two attendees. There were high-level officials from the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration, the top vaccine specialist from the World Health Organization in Geneva and representatives of every major vaccine manufacturer, including GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Wyeth and Aventis Pasteur. All of the scientific data under discussion, CDC officials repeatedly reminded the participants, was strictly "embargoed." There would be no making photocopies of documents, no taking papers with them when they left.

The federal officials and industry representatives had assembled to discuss a disturbing new study that raised alarming questions about the safety of a host of common childhood vaccines administered to infants and young children. According to a CDC epidemiologist named Tom Verstraeten, who had analyzed the agency's massive database containing the medical records of 100,000 children, a mercury-based preservative in the vaccines -- thimerosal -- appeared to be responsible for a dramatic increase in autism and a host of other neurological disorders among children. "I was actually stunned by what I saw," Verstraeten told those assembled at Simpsonwood, citing the staggering number of earlier studies that indicate a link between thimerosal and speech delays, attention-deficit disorder, hyperactivity and autism. Since 1991, when the CDC and the FDA had recommended that three additional vaccines laced with the preservative be given to extremely young infants -- in one case, within hours of birth -- the estimated number of cases of autism had increased fifteenfold, from one in every 2,500 children to one in 166 children.

Even for scientists and doctors accustomed to confronting issues of life and death, the findings were frightening. "You can play with this all you want," Dr. Bill Weil, a consultant for the American Academy of Pediatrics, told the group. The results "are statistically significant." Dr. Richard Johnston, an immunologist and pediatrician from the University of Colorado whose grandson had been born early on the morning of the meeting's first day, was even more alarmed. "My gut feeling?" he said. "Forgive this personal comment -- I do not want my grandson to get a thimerosal-containing vaccine until we know better what is going on."

But instead of taking immediate steps to alert the public and rid the vaccine supply of thimerosal, the officials and executives at Simpsonwood spent most of the next two days discussing how to cover up the damaging data. According to transcripts obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, many at the meeting were concerned about how the damaging revelations about thimerosal would affect the vaccine industry's bottom line. "We are in a bad position from the standpoint of defending any lawsuits," said Dr. Robert Brent, a pediatrician at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Delaware. "This will be a resource to our very busy plaintiff attorneys in this country." Dr. Bob Chen, head of vaccine safety for the CDC, expressed relief that "given the sensitivity of the information, we have been able to keep it out of the hands of, let's say, less responsible hands." Dr. John Clements, vaccines advisor at the World Health Organization, declared that "perhaps this study should not have been done at all." He added that "the research results have to be handled," warning that the study "will be taken by others and will be used in other ways beyond the control of this group."

In fact, the government has proved to be far more adept at handling the damage than at protecting children's health. The CDC paid the Institute of Medicine to conduct a new study to whitewash the risks of thimerosal, ordering researchers to "rule out" the chemical's link to autism. It withheld Verstraeten's findings, even though they had been slated for immediate publication, and told other scientists that his original data had been "lost" and could not be replicated. And to thwart the Freedom of Information Act, it handed its giant database of vaccine records over to a private company, declaring it off-limits to researchers. By the time Verstraeten finally published his study in 2003, he had gone to work for GlaxoSmithKline and reworked his data to bury the link between thimerosal and autism.

More here-

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/7395411/deadly_immunity/

[Warren DeMontague]

4. There's no good reason to put mercury in vaccines, no matter how you slice it.

I don't believe in anti-vaccine hysteria, but I sure as hell accept that we don't need any more mercury accumulation in our bloodstreams. It's tough enough eating fish.

It's more expensive for the drug companies to preserve the vaccines w/o thimerosol- but that's too bad. In some places, like here in California, they have to leave it out of pediatric vaccines. So the kids get the vaccines- but not the mercury. The only losers are the drug company bean counters.

[silverojo]

8. Vaccines made me VERY sick as a child

Maybe it's not the mercury, but the fact that a plethora of horrible diseases is rising in the wake of increased vaccination is NO coincidence.

[triguy46]

17. Long on anecdote, short on science n/t

[KittyWampus]

22. Science points quite clearly to children being damaged by vaccines

and anyone labeling those of us who are cognizant of the facts as "hysterical" have a problem.

To pretend that some children are irrevocably damaged via vaccines is dishonest or ignorant.

And as the number of vaccines has risen from the basic 3 I recieved as a kid, the percentages simply keep going up.

[NickB79]

43. And the science also points clearly the number of lives saved far outnumbers those injured

"To pretend that some children are irrevocably damaged via vaccines is dishonest or ignorant."

And pretending that vaccines haven't been anything but one of the major success stories of the 20th century is beyond dishonest.

[FloridaJudy]

21. The old pertussis vaccines

Had a lot of nasty side effects. Both my son and I had high fevers/convulsions as a result of vaccinations as infants, though both of us seem to have recovered without incident (unless you count being yellow dog Democrats, and that seems to be genetic in our family).

The newer vaccines are a lot safer.

[TalkingDog]

25. Gluten intolerance can cause a bad reaction.

They use it as a stabilizer.

I have friend with Celiacs and even though he will be adamant in his demands for vaccines without gluten, occasionally some ill-read nurse will give him one anyway and send him to bed for 2 weeks. (or worse, the hospital)

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if some of these children had problems with gluten intolerance which exacerbates a genetic predisposition. I know 2 people with autism and both have "wheat" allergies.

[Canuckistanian]

29. It's a far too simplistic answer

And the statistics never backed it up.

I have an autistic son and we've watched this theory come up again and again. And the studies KEEP REFUTING the hypothesis.

This wasn't the first one that tried to disprove the idea.

[Orsino]

37. There are so many toxins in our environment...

...that I don't believe in obsessing over one. I want more and more research into autism and many, many other problems, and I want other pollutants thoroughly evaluated for risk.

I sure as heck don't want this study to reinforce media inertia concerning mercury pollution.

[MannyGoldstein]

2. There Has Never, Ever Been A Study That Showed A Link

And there have been many studies that have looked.

(Many were done in Northern Europe, in good Liberal countries).

[triguy46]

5. This is old news scientifically.

It has been studied and restudied by independent researchers.

[Guaranteed]

13. Still disputed on DU, however.

For whatever reason.

[triguy46]

16. I don't hang out here much anymore...

So this is a deja vu type experience to see this once again rear its head....

[Tesha]

33. Willful ignorance, mostly.

> Still disputed on DU, however. For whatever reason.

Willful ignorance, mostly. People can't accept that
genetics might be a factor in autism so they flail
around looking for other explanations.

Tesha

[medeak]

6. well let's all take mercury then!!!

makes me wonder why doc friend had all his fillings removed after Parkinson's diagnosis.

[depakid]

7. I have news

Some of the newer dental amalgams have bisophenol-A in them, which is an endocrine disrupter at very low doses such as one might see leaching from teeth...

Curiously, higher doses are far less toxic, due to the body's feedback mechanisms.

[medeak]

10. he had high mercury on heavy metals test

radiology oncologist

[Orrex]

27. Lots of smart people do lots of things for lots of dumb reasons

If your doctor had his fillings removed to cure his Parkinson's, then he's one of them.

And your post is irrelevant to this topic because, even if it were true that dental amalgam causes Parkinson's (a claim for which there is no supporting evidence), then it still would have no bearing on whether or not thimerosal in vaccines causes autism in children (a claim for which there is likewise no evidence, nor has any been put forth to date).

[RobinA]

40. Yeah...

My father is a Dr., smokes like a chimney. So do some of his Dr. friends. Does this mean smoking is harmless?

[hedgehog]

9. Now, about the melamine (and who knows what else) that's been

entering the food chain.....

[Mend]

11. suppose the neurons of some babies are more susceptible to mercury....

that they lack protection to withstand the neurotoxic effects of mercury and develop autism because of this difference. There are many examples in medicine of people who are immune or not immune to certain toxins. This study said nothing about that.

[Thor_MN]

34. Suppose that the same child then eats a tuna sandwich...

Better get them little cans out of the stores

[Mend]

42. the neurotoxicity of mercury is mostly in the developing fetal and baby brain

as we age, our blood-brain barrier improves and we can withstand more things. Some people think Alzheimer's is a break-down of the blood-brain barrier due to aging...

[CharmCity]

12. Father's age may be related

A recent study found that the older the father is, the more likely the child will be autistic. You can read more here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5768623

[Guaranteed]

14. That wouldn't surprise me. nt

[politicat]

30. Same with schizophrenia: it's called the Copy Error Factor.

It's a very simple concept: a woman has every egg she will ever have by puberty. She never makes more. On the other hand, sperm begin dividing at puberty, and will divide every sixteen days until the man dies. Just like making a copy of a copy of a copy of a document (or an MP3) will cause degradation in subsequent generations of the document, the same thing happens with sperm. At 20, you're looking at 20 generations. At 45, 700. It's a big difference and there's a lot more room for error in that 700.

The best thing a guy can do to ensure that his children are genetically the best they can be is to deposit a few samples at age 16 or 18 or 20 in the sperm bank and use those when, at thirty or forty or sixty, he decides he's ready for a kid.

[hedgehog]

15. Has anyone investigated a link between autism and Made in China

baby bibs contaminated with lead?

[Orrex]

28. Not as such, at least not yet

This revelation is far too new for an extensive study to have been performed.

However, testing for lead exposure in infants and children is commonplace; if there were any statistical correlation between autism and lead poisoning, it would likewise have been discovered by now.

[jmondine]

18. This study is meaningless

The damage done by ethyl mercury in thimerosal happens within hours of the vaccination being administered. By the time the diagnosis of autism is given, usually months later, the mercury is already out of the system, and the damage is done.

It's incredibly disingenuous, if this is truly the only thing measured, for them to declare that this means mercury is not a factor in the increase in autism.

[depakid]

24. Wrong. Mercury is persistent and bioaccumulative

It would have shown up in at least many of the samples.

The fact that it's NOT present is pretty damn good evidence that exposure isn't a major factor in the etiology of autism.

[Orrex]

26. That makes no sense for at least two reasons

If the "damage done by ethyl mercury in thimerosal happens within hours of the vaccination," then by all means let's document this grievous crime and put a stop to it. Incidentally, thimerosal is absent from pretty much all infant vaccines by now; is it so toxic that it manages to damage even those children who weren't vaccinated with it? Amazing!

And if the diagnosis of autism follows the neurological damage by several months, then on what possible basis are you identify mercury (long since flushed out of the system, by your reckoning) as the cause?

There is no shortage of people happy to trip over themselves in their zeal to indict thimerosal. The have plenty of passion, plenty of intelligence, and plenty of eager proponents. The only thing the lack is evidence.

[Codeine]

31. Mercury accumulates.

It doesn't leave the system to any great degree at all, hence the danger posed by eating fish high on the food chain.

[xchrom]

19. been proven AGAIN.

we've come to a point of where people with no expertise are starting wildfires in society regarding good public health practises.

[KittyWampus]

23. you better look at where the money the experts YOU prefer to listen to is coming from

[xchrom]

32. YOU better figure out real science and real medicine.

[Odin2005]

36. Fallacious argument.

The woo woos like to think the scientific community is far more corrupted by money then it really is. I find it very offensive, especially since my chosen field (Biotechnology) has similarly been declared evil by the woo woos.

[diamidue]

20. Researcher has ties to pharmaceutical industry.??

I have no horse in this race, but I couldn't help but notice that groups dealing with autism on-line have been saying for a year that Eric Fombonne's study is innaccurate and that he has ties to the pharma industry.

http://www.nationalautismassociation.org/press070906.php
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=22490
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=18809

I don't think this study will be the last word on autism/vaccines.

[gorbal]

39. EVERYONE READ THAT ARTICLE!!!!

There is no ONE cause of any ONE disorder. There are factors in the enviroment that affect the body, brain and nervous system, and studies show that mercury is ONE of them!!!!!

[Zorra]

41. Nice catch!

;-)

[Odin2005]

35. Jesus Christ, can all the anti-vacine woo woos please just STFU?

There is no rise in the number of people with autism spectrum disorders, just the number of people being DIAGNOSED with it.

[BrokenBeyondRepair]

44. mercury is bad 4 u.. period

this is like studying the effects of not breathing

[KamaAina]

45. Whatever causes autism, the fact is there are more and more of us every day

indeed, if present trends continue, we will be in the majority by late in this century. :-)

So you might as well beat the rush and just elect me President now!

edit: emoticon