WSJ article on Vaccines & Autism

[Guest guest]

Here's the article from the 07 Sept Wall Street Journal:

topSeptember 7, 2004; Page D1

Just a few months after the nations' top medical adviser rejected a link

between vaccines and autism, a mouse study has reignited the debate and

raised new fears among parents considering vaccinations and flu shots for

their kids.

For years, a cadre of parents and physicians have contended that thimerosal,

an ethyl-mercury compound that has been one of the most widely used vaccine

preservatives, is partly responsible for an apparent rise in autism in

recent decades. But broad population studies haven't supported the claim. In

May, a major report from the Institute of Medicine's Immunization Safety

Review Committee, sought to put the debate to rest, rejecting a link between

autism and vaccines.

But tomorrow, a congressional committee will review a June study from

Columbia University, which found that a mercury preservative used in

vaccines can indeed cause autism-like symptoms in a specific strain of mice.

The research raises important questions about whether some people might be

genetically vulnerable to the effects of thimerosal.

THE AUTISM DEBATE

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Autism Debate]

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about the latest findings on autism.

The study also raises questions about a new push by the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention to add flu shots to the immunization schedule for

school-age kids. Thimerosal has been mostly phased out of childhood

vaccines, which include shots for whooping cough and other illnesses. But

the vast majority of flu shots given to both adults and children still

contain the preservative. In addition, it's widely believed that many

unexpired vials of thimerosal-containing childhood vaccines remain on the

shelves of pediatricians' offices.

None of this is to say that parents should stop having their children

vaccinated. Instead, critics of thimerosal say parents should insist on

thimerosal-free vaccines and ask to check the label themselves before a

child receives a shot.

Many researchers believe increased use of vaccines with thimerosal may help

explain the alarming rise in autism in the U.S, which was just 1 in 2,500

children 20 years ago. Now CDC studies show the rate for autistic disorders

in some areas to be as high as 1 in 150.

But the IOM report said an exhaustive review of the evidence doesn't support

the claim that vaccines are to blame. The finding has sparked the ire of

many autism researchers as well as parents who are convinced that

vaccinations triggered autism in their kids. Among them is Congressman Dan

Burton, an Indiana Republican, whose grandson developed autism five years

ago after receiving shots containing thimerosal. Rep. Burton is chairman of

the subcommittee that this week will hold hearings on the mouse study and

other research. " We just need to get the mercury out of vaccinations, " says

Rep. Burton.

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What is so frustrating to critics of the IOM report is that thimerosal is an

entirely unnecessary ingredient. The mercury preservative typically is found

in multi-dose vials to prevent contamination. But vaccines can be packaged

in single doses and other preservatives can be used to protect multi-dose

packs. Thimerosal remains in use in flu shots and adult vaccines mainly

because of the cost of changing ingredients or switching to single-dose

shots. " This should not be a battle, " says Ellen Silbergeld, professor of

environmental health sciences at s Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public

Health. " We have other ways to make vaccines safe. "

The new mouse study bolsters the theory that genes involved in the immune

system might make some people vulnerable to mercury -- explaining why the

vast majority of kids do fine after vaccines while a small number develop

problems.

In the Columbia study, researchers administered thimerosal to four strains

of young mice, injecting them with amounts comparable to those given to

kids. Three of the mice strains were unaffected by thimerosal, but the

fourth developed problems consistent with autism such as delayed growth,

social withdrawal and brain abnormalities. The vulnerable mice were known to

have a specific genetic susceptibility to mercury.

While a mouse study is far from conclusive, it's important to know that mice

have long been a useful proxy for understanding human health. The

researchers are close to developing a blood test to look for similar

patterns in autistic children to see if the research translates to humans.

Until more is known, says Mady Hornig, associate professor of epidemiology

at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health. " I think we should err on the

side of caution and more thimerosal-free vaccine should be available. "

Other experts say the mouse study offers little insight into the issue, but

is needlessly upsetting parents and could undermine the nation's childhood

vaccination program. Unproven worries about autism and vaccines are

" hypothetical " compared to " a very real risk of disease, " notes Marie

McCormick, professor of maternal and child health at Harvard School of

Public Health and chairwoman of the IOM committee.

Parents concerned that a pediatrician may have an old vial of

thimerosal-containing vaccine can politely ask to see the label. Most

doctors understand that parents can be nervous about vaccinations, says Ian

Lipkin, director of the Center for Immunopathogenesis and Infectious

Diseases at Columbia University and co-author of the mouse study. Typically,

single-dose vials won't contain thimerosal. In addition, you can check Food

and Drug Administration charts listing the names of vaccines, whether they

ever contained thimerosal and when they stopped using it at

www.fda.gov/cber/vaccine/thimerosal.htm

<http://www.fda.gov/cber/vaccine/thimerosal.htm> .

Many doctors and clinics may not have a supply of thimerosal-free flu shots.

Calling in advance may give a doctor enough time to obtain a single-dose

syringe. Another option is to ask for Flu-Mist, a nasal mist vaccine that

doesn't contain thimerosal.

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