Autism, mercury and cover up???

blueheaven · Jul 17, 2005

I think the arguement that "we are just diagnosing it more" is a crock of doo doo too!! I often wonder if the vaccinations that my brother (7 years younger) received didn't cause his autism too. He had so many different diagnosis through the years that it isn't funny. To me autism fits his patterns better than any of them. As the years went on it seemed like more children were being born with it. AMEN PR on the pharmaceutical companies!!!! :angryfire

fergus51 · Jul 17, 2005

As far as I knew there still hasn't been a large scale study to show a link. The only studies there had done were all retrospetive ones. A lot of things have changed in the last 30 years other than vaccines.

LydiaNN · Jul 17, 2005

Did someone say there was a large scale study to show a link? The naysayers are all starting to think long and hard about protesting the very notion that a link might exist, however, since preliminary numbers from CA Dept of Developmental Services indicate a slight drop in the rate of autism dx. So whatever else has changed in the last 30 years, the only suspected cause of autism that has been addressed is that mercury has been taken out of many vaccines (although apparently not all of them).

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-sci-autism13jul13,1,3202137.story

July 13, 2005

The number of newly diagnosed cases of autism in California, which had been skyrocketing for more than a decade, has leveled off and may even be declining, according to new data compiled by the state Department of Developmental Services.

Although the total number of autistic children receiving special education services from the state continues to grow-bringing the current total to 28,046-the rate of increase peaked in 2002 and has dropped slightly since then.

The findings are important because California has the best reporting system for autism in the United States and is generally considered a bellwether for the rest of the country.

Experts do not have a good explanation for the slowdown in new cases.

"Perhaps whatever caused [the number of cases] to go up-environmental insult, or whatever-is no longer present," said Dr. Robert Hendren, executive director of the UC Davis MIND Institute, which researches neurodevelopmental disorders. "It's all speculation. I wish we had good studies."

Parent activist Rick Rollens of Sacramento, who played a key role in the creation of the MIND Institute, said that the trend roughly corresponds to the removal of mercury preservatives from pediatric vaccines. Many activist groups say that the use of mercury in the vaccines caused the sudden increase in autism cases. Federal scientists, however, have continually said that the evidence does not support such a link.

The state data do not include children under the age of 3. According to the department, about 90% of all autistic children are entered into the system before the age of 6.

That means, Rollens said, that children born since 1999, about the time that mercury was phased out of vaccines, are just now entering the system. The slowdown could thus reflect the change in vaccination practices.

"We can argue till the cows come home about what caused the increase," Rollens said, but the bottom line is that the increase is slowing.

California guarantees access to special education for all children diagnosed with autism and other developmental problems. Thus, the state's data are considered particularly reliable.

According to the state data, 2002 was a record year for new autism diagnoses, with 3,259 cases. In 2003, the number of new cases slipped to 3,125. In 2004, the number was 3,074.

For the first half of 2005, there were 1,470 new cases, compared to 1,518 in the same period in 2004.

"The interesting thing is that, before 2002, every quarterly report had shown an increase over the previous year," Rollens said. "Now, that is no longer the case."

fergus51 · Jul 17, 2005

I'm not a "naysayer" MTP, just someone who cares about research before I can claim something and I want to stay current. They've been talking about this possible link for years and years, so I'm surprised there haven't been any concrete studies done to prove it.

sgent · Jul 18, 2005

I wish someone would point out some research....

Thermisol, the form used in vaccines, is not chemically reactive, and is expelled from our body in a matter of days. Ethyl Mercury is the stuff that is dangerous because it bonds with our neurons, and remains there essentially forever (about 1% a yr is expelled).

There has been no study showing a definative link, and multiple studies of thousands of children showing no link at all. These have been done in Japan & Europe, as well as the US, and have been government funded (not at behest of drug companies).

Finally, the amount of thermisol was cut to 1/100th of its then current amount in 1998, and yet there is no decrease in the diagnosis of autism (usually diagnosed between 2-3). No one has made a credible argument, backed by science, that thermisol is a contributing factor in autism.

That being said, their IS some evidence that the ETHYL Mercury found in our drinking water and in the air from coal exhaust may be responsible for this increase.

fergus51 · Jul 18, 2005

There has been no study showing a definative link, and multiple studies of thousands of children showing no link at all. These have been done in Japan & Europe, as well as the US, and have been government funded (not at behest of drug companies).

This is why I was asking if there were any new studies out showing a link. We often discuss immunization with the parents on our unit and I don't want to be giving them outdated information. Immunization is a particularly important issue for our premies.

rpggyr · Jul 18, 2005

That is a very interesting question. Why is it that every study that the CDC, and NIH have done has been hopelessly flawed. There is another interesting thought. The fact that 1 in out of 166 have autism is another question. The argument is why don't all children who have received vaccines with thimerisol become autistic. Some say its genetic. I don't buy that. They have all forgotten the fact that 1 out of every 6 kids have some form of neurological disability if you add in the ADD/ADHDs, all the milder learning disbilitys the numbers are staggering. My feeling is if they kept adding vaccines to the schedule that contained thimerisol more and more would have been effected. To me its a question of where each individuals toxic tipping point is. If you add enough poison at some point everyone would have been effected. The reason why they have not done the studies is because they already know its the thimerisol. They are not about to admit that their sacred cow damaged a generation of children. If you ask me the minute they added up the mercury and found the amounts these infants where getting they should have pulled all the vaccines with thimerisol off the shelf. The fact that they did not do is is criminal. Who said Mengala was dead. They should be in jail. I have reached the point were I don't believe a thing the CDC, FDA, IOM, NIH, WHO, ETC, ETC says. They are corrupt as hell.

Peggy

As far as I knew there still hasn't been a large scale study to show a link. The only studies there had done were all retrospetive ones. A lot of things have changed in the last 30 years other than vaccines.

LydiaNN · Jul 18, 2005

Finally, the amount of thermisol was cut to 1/100th of its then current amount in 1998, and yet there is no decrease in the diagnosis of autism (usually diagnosed between 2-3).
.

The California Department of Developmental Services isn't a credible source? They say that there has been a decrease in autism. Might you be able to post credible information that disputes the data from the L.A. Times article referenced above? I thought not.

LydiaNN · Jul 18, 2005

That is a very interesting question. Why is it that every study that the CDC, and NIH have done has been hopelessly flawed. There is another interesting thought. The fact that 1 in out of 166 have autism is another question. The argument is why don't all children who have received vaccines with thimerisol become autistic. Some say its genetic. I don't buy that. They have all forgotten the fact that 1 out of every 6 kids have some form of neurological disability if you add in the ADD/ADHDs, all the milder learning disbilitys the numbers are staggering. My feeling is if they kept adding vaccines to the schedule that contained thimerisol more and more would have been effected. To me its a question of where each individuals toxic tipping point is. If you add enough poison at some point everyone would have been effected. The reason why they have not done the studies is because they already know its the thimerisol. They are not about to admit that their sacred cow damaged a generation of children. If you ask me the minute they added up the mercury and found the amounts these infants where getting they should have pulled all the vaccines with thimerisol off the shelf. The fact that they did not do is is criminal. Who said Mengala was dead. They should be in jail. I have reached the point were I don't believe a thing the CDC, FDA, IOM, NIH, WHO, ETC, ETC says. They are corrupt as hell.
Peggy

Well, rpg, as I'm sure you know, the CDC, et al concern themselves with public health, not the health of individuals. They are looking at the potential dangers of parents deciding not to vaccinate their children en masse, and the epidemics that would likely result. In reality, there is middle ground. Taking titers before vaccinating. Breaking up the vaccine schedule. Withholding vaccinations from children who seem to have a genetic vulnerability ("genetics are the gun and vaccines are the trigger"). The problem, of course, is that all these measures are expensive, and anything that adds to the cost lowers vaccination rates. I have been reading about and listening to the so-called "experts" telling us for years: "Well, if mercury is the cause, then you should see autism rates dropping off after we eliminate thimerosal from vaccines". Well, now we're seeing it. And not hearing too much from those mouthpieces, That makes sense, what are they going to say, "oops, turns out you all had a point after all"? The government hasn't wanted to consider the possibility that vaccines have done this to children because they're afraid of the claims that will be filed under the Vaccine Injury Program (despite the best efforts of Bill Frist to get rid of that possibility). Pediatricians haven't wanted to face the possibility, because they've spent years telling parents, in good faith, that their children should be vaccinated. The upcoming months and years are going to be an interesting time in autism research and advocacy.

rpggyr · Jul 18, 2005

They have gone way to far with these vaccines. If you read on the CDC's website the reason they recommended the chickenpox vaccine was for monitary reasons. Keeping parents at work. 6 mos before they made the recommendation for infants to receive the Hep B they were bragging about how low the rate was in the US. Their reason for recommending it for infants was because they could not get the high risk population to take it. So lets vaccinate all the newborns. I am 53 years old. I don't recall ever having an ear infection in my life. Everyone smoked non filter cigarettes but kids didn't have asthma, or upper respiratory infections like they do now. We are slowly being chemically poisoned. Its in our air, our food, our clothes. its everywhere. Most of our medical research is being funded by pharmaceuticals. They gained control of our media through advertisement dollars, they control our government with campaign dollars, now they are after the vitamins and alternative therapies because it is cutting into their profits. We have been brainwashed into thinking there is a pill for everything. I am sick of going to my doctor and getting 10 minutes of his time and walking out with a pill to treat my symtom. We all need to smarten up.

Peggy

Well, rpg, as I'm sure you know, the CDC, et al concern themselves with public health, not the health of individuals. They are looking at the potential dangers of parents deciding not to vaccinate their children en masse, and the epidemics that would likely result. In reality, there is middle ground. Taking titers before vaccinating. Breaking up the vaccine schedule. Withholding vaccinations from children who seem to have a genetic vulnerability ("genetics are the gun and vaccines are the trigger"). The problem, of course, is that all these measures are expensive, and anything that adds to the cost lowers vaccination rates. I have been reading about and listening to the so-called "experts" telling us for years: "Well, if mercury is the cause, then you should see autism rates dropping off after we eliminate thimerosal from vaccines". Well, now we're seeing it. And not hearing too much from those mouthpieces, That makes sense, what are they going to say, "oops, turns out you all had a point after all"? The government hasn't wanted to consider the possibility that vaccines have done this to children because they're afraid of the claims that will be filed under the Vaccine Injury Program (despite the best efforts of Bill Frist to get rid of that possibility). Pediatricians haven't wanted to face the possibility, because they've spent years telling parents, in good faith, that their children should be vaccinated. The upcoming months and years are going to be an interesting time in autism research and advocacy.

rpggyr · Jul 18, 2005

There are studies, and they are clinical, not epidemiological studies. The reason you have not heard about them is they are being done by independent researchers that have not been funded by the CDC, or NIH, or any other Government run agency. I think you will find the testimonies of some of the scientists that testified at the Feb 2004 IOM heatring very interesting.

Peggy

http://www.iom.edu/subpage.asp?id=18065

This is why I was asking if there were any new studies out showing a link. We often discuss immunization with the parents on our unit and I don't want to be giving them outdated information. Immunization is a particularly important issue for our premies.

LydiaNN · Jul 18, 2005

there are studies, and they are clinical, not epidemiological studies. the reason you have not heard about them is they are being done by independent researchers that have not been funded by the cdc, or nih, or any other government run agency. i think you will find the testimonies of some of the scientists that testified at the feb 2004 iom heatring very interesting.
peggy
http://www.iom.edu/subpage.asp?id=18065

right. and even the cdc has only said that the government's studies "favor rejection of mercury as a causal agent of autism"- not that it has been proven that mercury doesn't cause autism.

the age of autism: mercury ascending

by dan olmsted

http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=science&article=upi-1-20050517-13562100-bc-us-ageofautism-iom.xml

washington, may 17 (upi) -- a year ago, the prestigious institute of

medicine slammed the door on the idea that mercury in vaccines bore

any relation to autism.

"the overwhelming evidence from several well-designed studies

indicates that childhood vaccines are not associated with autism,"

the chairman of the iom panel, harvard scientist marie mccormick,

told reporters last may 18.

the panel went further: it took the unusual step of urging that

research money go instead to more "promising" areas. you can't slam a

door much harder than that.

but 12 months later, that door seems slightly ajar. one big doorstop

is the new 441-page book by david kirby called "evidence of harm," a

compelling portrayal of parents and scientists who have pushed the

vaccines-autism theory. they contend that a mercury-based

preservative called thimerosal, in an increasing number of

vaccinations, triggered an autism epidemic in the 1990s.

thimerosal was phased out of u.s. childhood vaccines beginning in

1999.

one memorable vignette in kirby's book is a meeting between several

of those advocates and dr. julie gerberding, who had been director of

the centers for disease control and prevention less than two years.

last may 12, a week before the iom report, gerberding flew in from

atlanta to meet them -- at her request -- in the rayburn house office

building on capitol hill. rep. dave weldon, r-fla., a medical doctor

who is a persistent critic of thimerosal and the cdc's handling of

the issue, also was present.

taking turns, the parents and scientists methodically laid out their

case.

mady hornig of columbia university described how mice with an

autoimmune genetic predisposition develop autistic-like behaviors

after being injected with thimerosal-containing vaccines.

"hornig played the videos for gerberding, who suddenly appeared

stunned," kirby recounts in his book. "she brought her hands to her

face in disbelief.

"dave weldon had a similar reaction. he stopped hornig in the middle

of her ghastly presentation. 'wait a minute,' he said. 'am i to

understand you correctly? you injected these mice with the same

amount of mercury, relatively speaking, that infants receive in

vaccines, and you saw these kinds of mutilatory behaviors? you saw

this mouse eat through the cranium of his cellmate?'

"'yes,' she replied calmly."

the institute of medicine saw the same presentation before issuing

its report but rejected it as unconvincing.

gerberding was polite but noncommital, kirby writes. as she left,

she said, "i am not afraid of controversy, and i am determined to

follow the science."

call it coincidence, but it's striking how much less dismissive of

thimerosal concerns the cdc is these days, compared with the

institute of medicine and others.

the national network for immunization information, for instance,

launched a pre-emptive broadside against "evidence of harm." that

group represents the mainstream medical establishment, including the

american academy of pediatrics, the american nurses association and

the american academy of family physicians. their members, it should

be noted, were among those who administered the vaccines in question

on the recommendation of the cdc.

"warning: controversial vaccine book," the nnii statement was

headlined. "reporter david kirby has recently written a book ...

purporting that there is a link between thimerosal and autism and

other developmental disorders."

that's a bit of an overstatement, considering the first two

sentences of kirby's book: "does mercury in vaccines cause autism in

children? anyone hoping to find proof that it does in the pages that

follow is advised to put this book down now."

the nnii asserted that "extensive evidence shows no link between

vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism. this

evidence is based on well-established scientific studies.

"continued attempts to link vaccines and autism run the risk of

diverting attention away from efforts to understand the cause or

causes of autism," the group said.

the cdc also issued a release on kirby's book. its thrust was

different -- that the book is a "look back" to a time when thimerosal

was in childhood vaccines.

"given the historical nature of the book, it is important to

emphasize that today, with the exception of some flu vaccines, none

of the vaccines used in the u.s. to protect preschool children

against 12 infectious diseases contain thimerosal as a preservative.

"as the iom concluded in a recent report, the vast majority of

studies, which have involved hundreds of thousands of children in a

number of countries, have failed to find any association between

exposure to thimerosal in vaccines and autism; that is, they have

failed to find any evidence of harm," the cdc said.

it's worth noting the contrasts in the statement. the doctors and

nurses group says "extensive evidence shows no link." dr. mccormick

at the institute of medicine says "overwhelming evidence" shows no

link.

but the cdc, which unlike such groups has ongoing access to the

actual data, merely states that studies so far "have failed to find

any association."

"cdc continues to support research related to autism," the statement

said, "including studies designed to examine the possible causal

association between autism and other possible environmental causes,

including thimerosal-containing vaccines. ... research in these areas

is ongoing."

ongoing research that includes thimerosal as a possible cause of

autism? supported by the cdc?

put simply, the cdc isn't ruling out anything -- contrary to the

institute of medicine's declaration that more research on thimerosal

is a waste of money, contrary to the medical establishment's

pronouncement that continuing to look could cause harm.

consider gerberding's comments april 28, 2004, at a house

subcommittee hearing: "we don't have the evidence to show that the

thimerosal preservative is a risk, but you know we have an open mind

about that."