comment in: Autism activists unmoved - thimerosal studies

[Guest guest]

Important issues remain unresolved. Several peer-reviewed studies have

reported associations between environmental toxins and autism (D'Amelio

2005; Palmer RF 2006; Windham 2006); thimerosal injections are not the

only culprit in the current epidemic. Studying thimerosal " safety " in

regard to most children does not preclude adverse effects for a small

subgroup with genetic or acquired predisposition. Many other toxins are

injected [whether or not] thimerosal is injected, thus

thimerosal/no-thimerosal models do not evaluate the injecting of

multiple adjuvants and ever so conveniently avoid considering immune

hyperstimulation in children with predisposing alleles (eg Poland GA of

Mayo, series of studies). The outcome of establishmentarian thimerosal

" studies " seems predetermined by study designs which incline towards

non-findings. A bonus for the medical community derives from the fact

that treating chronic pathologies induced by vaccinations is lucrative.

- - - -

*Autism activists unmoved*

Many scientists are satisfied that mercury in vaccines is not the cause

of the condition, but some parents reject the research and reassurances

that immunizations are not to blame

By Desmon

Sun reporter

January 9, 2008

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-te.infocus09jan09,0,1363729.story

For years, the scientific evidence has been accumulating. The latest,

published this week, once again showed that thimerosal, a mercury-based

preservative long used in childhood vaccines, does not cause the

neurological disorders associated with the U.S. autism epidemic.

In fact, scientists at the California Department of Public Health

demonstrated that in the years since nearly all thimerosal was removed

from vaccines in 2001, the rate of autism has continued to rise there.

Had thimerosal been the culprit, those numbers should have decreased.

Case closed?

Not in the world of autism, an emotionally charged place where Web

sites, blogs and parent advocacy groups have spent a decade promoting

the theory that the thimerosal injected into babies beginning when they

were just weeks old has left as many as one in 150 children disabled by

autism. These advocates have lobbied Congress, screamed about coverups

and filed financial claims against the government.

" I know the people who want to believe it's thimerosal will find fault

with this [study], " said Dr. Goldstein, president & CEO of the

Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. " The scientists, they're saying,

'Why are we still talking about this?' "

Thimerosal, which is almost 50 percent mercury, has been a preservative

in vaccines since the 1930. The first case of autism was identified at

s Hopkins University in the 1940s.

Before 1991, only one vaccine - the one for diphtheria, tetanus and

pertussis - contained thimerosal. Starting in 1991, two more were added

to the schedule for infants - sharply increasing the quantity of mercury

given to young children. Most other vaccines have remained mercury-free.

By 1999, some government scientists were concerned that infants might be

getting too much mercury. As a precautionary measure, the federal

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of

Pediatrics asked pharmaceutical companies to remove thimerosal from

vaccines.

Still, according to Dr. A. Offit, the infectious diseases chief at

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, doctors kept insisting that parents

not worry about the safety of vaccines.

But the firestorm came. " Many parents, frightened by a sudden change in

policy, reasoned that thimerosal was targeted because it was harmful -

and their faith in the vaccine infrastructure was shaken, " Offit wrote

in a September issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

By 2002, the last U.S. doses of required vaccines for children made with

thimerosol had expired, though other countries continue to use it.

Those who publicly deny the link between thimerosal and autism have been

harassed - some have received death threats. Goldstein said he has

gotten hate e--mails and a call saying, " I hope your child dies. "

In the new California study, published in Archives of General

Psychiatry, researchers looked at data reported to the California

Department of Developmental Services, which serves the state's disabled

population. " To me, the body of evidence is persuasive, " said study

author Dr. Schechter.

But Lyn Redwood, a co-founder of SafeMinds, a nonprofit that raises

awareness of mercury exposure in children, said she isn't ready to write

off the thimerosal/autism connection. That's because thimerosal has not

disappeared. Pregnant women receive flu shots - which contain a full

dose of thimerosal - and flu vaccines for babies often contain it, she said.

" Our children are still getting exposed to mercury, " said the Atlanta

nurse practitioner and mother. " I think mercury should still be on

everybody's radar screens. "

She said the California data are flawed because the continued rise in

autism could be explained by immigrants there who were vaccinated in

other countries where thimerosal is still used.

" I think it's a little bit early to close the books on thimerosal, " she

said.

Dr. Mark Geier, a Silver Spring epidemiologist, agreed. " Everyone

worries about lead poisoning, " he said. " Do you know how much more

dangerous mercury is? "

It is still unknown what causes autism, a spectrum of disorders marked

by impairment in social development and communication. Autistic children

usually exhibit language delays and often have difficulties relating to

people, failing to read basic social cues in the faces of others.

Most specialists believe autism's cause will be found in genetics, but

many also suspect that an environmental trigger contributed to the

explosive growth in autism cases in the past generation. Doctors also

attribute some of the growth to better diagnosis and a broadening of

autism's definition.

But it's the scientific community's inability to provide a definitive

cause that has led so many to thimerosal. " The final answer to me will

come when that paper is written that says, 'This is what causes

autism', " said Dr. Deth, a pharmacologist at Northeastern

University in Boston, who calls thimerosal " a prime suspect. "

Some health experts are concerned that thimerosal worries might keep

some parents from vaccinating their children, forgetting the value of

protecting them from diseases that were once major killers.

" Immunizations have kind of become the fall guy for problems, " said Dr.

W. Zimmerman, a pediatric neurologist at Kennedy Krieger, " but

the public has a short memory - because before immunizations, the

diseases themselves were much worse. "

stephanie.desmon@...

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