Mercury linked to autism?
Moms View Message Board: Parenting Discussion: Archive January-June 2005:
Mercury linked to autism?
I found this article this afternoon and found it very interesting. This the first article I read that says that though mercury isn't definately linked to autism, there are some coincidences to look at.
Possible Mercury, Autism Connection Found in Study
Thu Mar 17, 7:55 AM ET Top Stories - Los Angeles Times
By Thomas H. Maugh II Times Staff Writer
Texas researchers have found a possible link between autism and mercury in the air and water.
Studying individual school districts in Texas, the epidemiologists found that those districts with the highest levels of mercury in the environment also had the highest rates of special education students and autism diagnoses.
The study does not prove that mercury causes autism, cautioned the lead author, Raymond F. Palmer of the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, but it provides a "provocative" clue that should be further investigated.
"Mercury is a known neurotoxin," said Dr. Isaac Pessah of UC Davis' MIND Institute, who was not involved in the study. "It's rather intriguing that the correlation is so positive," meaning that there was a strong, direct relationship between mercury and autism levels. "It makes one worry."
California has the highest environmental burden of mercury of any state in the country, and it also has what appears to be the highest rate of autism as well — although some critics attribute this perceived high rate to enhanced surveillance associated with the state's special education program.
Autism is a severe developmental disorder in which children seem isolated from the world around them. There is a broad spectrum of symptoms, but the disorder is marked by poor language skills and an inability to handle social relations.
The incidence of autism has grown dramatically over the last two decades, from about one in every 2,000 children to as high as one in every 166. Researchers have been hard-pressed to explain the increase, but many believe mercury to be the culprit.
The purported link between autism and mercury has been a subject of intense debate. In the past it has centered primarily on the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal, which was once widely used in vaccines.
Many parents have argued that thimerosal causes autism because their children seemed to develop the neurological disorder shortly after they received childhood vaccinations.
That link has been largely discredited, and researchers are beginning to look at the potential effects of the metal from other sources.
Mercury is routinely released from power plants burning fossil fuels, and it spreads widely in air and water. Much of the fish consumed in some regions is contaminated with mercury. In California, gold mining was a big mercury source, and there are many mercury hot spots near mines and downstream, such as in Clear Lake.
In the new study, Palmer and his colleagues used Environmental Protection Agency (news - web sites) data about the release of mercury in 2001 in Texas' 254 counties and correlated that with the number of special education cases and autism diagnoses in the 1,200 school districts. Texas is fourth in the amount of mercury released into the environment annually, trailing California, Oregon and West Virginia.
The study, which will appear in the journal Health & Place, found that for every 1,000 pounds of mercury released into the environment, there was a 43% increase in special education services and a 61% increase in the autism rate.
The exception to the rule was Brewster County, which had a high autism rate but did not report significant mercury levels to the EPA. When Palmer investigated, however, he found that the county had been home to one of the largest mercury mines in the nation.
"Perhaps [the mercury] just stays in the environment forever. We don't know," Palmer said.
More work will be required to determine whether mercury is the agent that causes the disorder. Palmer is expanding his studies to look for historical correlations — attempting to determine, for example, if increases in the rate of autism over time can be associated with increases in mercury release.
Dr. Irva Hertz-Picciatto and her colleagues at the MIND Institute, meanwhile, have begun a potentially more definitive study in which they are measuring the levels of mercury and other toxic metals, such as cadmium and lead, in children with autism to see if they are higher than in healthy children. Results will be available in a couple of years.
Very interesting! Thanks for posting.
Great article. We actually had my son tested for all heavy metals via blood and hair tests. We detoxed him per say and it made a huge difference. There are huge programs to do this through, we just really went about changing some things in our lives. John Travoltas wife is big into this. One of the big things we do is taking our shoes off, or having house shoes to wear. If you are walking on the streets where lots of cars have been you bring all those toxins into your house. Also that article says no on the immunizations, but I think they are incorrect. Most companies no longer use themosil because of the risk. I don't think it "causes" autism, but I think it certainly can affect children who are predeposed to be so.
I firmly believe that my son's autism was, if not caused, certainly made worse by the mercury in the environment and his vaccinations. We have been able to track the batches his shots came from and KNOW that they contained thimerosal. Since thimerosal-containing vaccines were used through 2002 (I believe) I think it could be interesting to see if the increase in autism diagnoses begins to slow down. I think that the reason autism is becoming more common is more due to increased awareness but I will not be surprised if vaccines are held responsible to some degree in the future.
I don't have any personal knowledge of the connection between Thimersol and austim. Thimersol has been taken out of most vaccines, however it is still present in most (although not all) flu shots.
We still all had our flu shots this year, doctor said it is just too risky to get the flu. It's a really hard call. I am relieved that they have taken it out of childhood vaccines, there is just too much controversy and I'd rather play on the safe side. I know what I just said is a bit contradictory but I just felt getting the flu shot was the right thing to do, hopefully they will phase it out of the flu shot as well.
I don't have any personal knowledge of the connection between Thimersol and austim. Thimersol has been taken out of most vaccines, however it is still present in most (although not all) flu shots.
We still all had our flu shots this year, doctor said it is just too risky to get the flu. It's a really hard call. I am relieved that they have taken it out of childhood vaccines, there is just too much controversy and I'd rather play on the safe side. I know what I just said is a bit contradictory but I just felt getting the flu shot was the right thing to do, hopefully they will phase it out of the flu shot as well.
Tink, what year did that start?
You can request a thimerosol free flu shot.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6332053/
I'm sorry, Kim. What year did what start? My son's autism or the thimerosal being removed from vaccines?
Was there always thimerosal in the vaccines? What years was it added, in other words.
Any statistics I can find on it state that it was definitely used beginning in 1968. That is when the United States Code of Federal Regulations began regulating the use of preservatives in vaccines.
Because they can't say for sure that there is not a link we have opted not to give our 6 month old any vaccines right now. My 5 year is autistic and the baby has a 15-30 percent chance of also being autistic. We felt that if he's going to be autistic that is something that we can live with but if he wasn't and we gave him something that made him that way we never know if it was meant to be or the vaccines. The doctor is not happy about our decision but it is a informed choice.
Jenn, we've done the same with our youngest. She is now three and we haven't decided whether we will give them to her or not. The risks apparently go down around three but there is still a risk. Of course, there is a risk that she could be exposed to one of the diseases that she should have been vaccinated against. Unfortunately, there isn't a decision that will sit easy on my heart no matter what I choose.
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