Re: Another development in autism

[Guest guest]

Thanks Rich for passing this on. The Generation Rescue site is full

of valuable info.

And again thanks for all your efforts in our behalf. I'm fascinated

by a potential link between autism and CFS - much of it matches for

me. As you say, mercury may not be causal for all PWCs, but in my

case it is as clear as can be. (Gradual onset started immediately

after a major dental change; subsequent mercury levels extremely high;

gradual removal of mercury corresponds to improved overall function.)

Take care. -Lynn

[Guest guest]

Rich, what do you suggest is the best way for getting mercury levels

tested? I had hair analysis done because I was concerned about

mercury exposure (I played with the stuff as a kid). I was told that

it should have all been processed out of my body by now, and tests

seemed to indicate that my mercury levels were normal. The only

metal problem I seemed to have was with Aluminum, which was high.

Are other heavy metals related to glutathione depletion as well?

Incidentally, even though my heavy metals looked okay (except the

Aluminum) I was extremely deficient in almost all minerals.

I then went on a 3 year crusade trying to replenish and balance my

minerals with nutrients, while avoiding and chelating the aluminum,

without much health effect, I'm afraid. :-(

The nutrients that did give me noticeable benefits were magnesium,

chromium and B vitamins.

penny

> Hi, all.

>

> Yesterday a couple from Lafayette, CA who have an autistic son

> announced (in Washington, D.C.) an organization with a website

> promoting chelation of mercury in autism using transdermal DMPS.

> This looks like a major development in promotion of the general

> public's understanding of the causes of autism and broader

treatment

> of autistic kids using chelation, and I think that much of it will

> turn out to be relevant to many cases of chronic fatigue syndrome

as

> well. I recommend reading this site:

>

> http://www.generationrescue.org

>

> Incidentally, they present the argument that mercury is also

> responsible for the rise in ADD and ADHD as well as other

disorders

> in children in recent years. This has vast ramifications.

>

> They've done a very good job of presenting the facts, as far as I

> can tell. They do mention the glutathione depletion work of Dr.

> , et al., and they do present all the major sources of

mercury,

> including the thimerosol in vaccines, amalgam fillings, fish

> consumption, and environmental releases from coal-fired power

> plants. They also talk about supporting methylation with

> supplements.

>

> This development was given good press coverage in the San

Francisco

> area this morning, with articles in both the San Francisco

Chronicle

> and the east bay Valley Times. It also appeared in the Washington

> Times, and UPI has picked it up as well. This is the first time

> I've seen mercury from amalgams mentioned as a cause of disease in

a

> regular newspaper article. This development may open that subject

> up for more press coverage. There have been lots of articles

about

> the fish source of mercury and the dispute over U.S. government

> limits for mercury release from power plants, but discussion of

> amalgams has been conspicuously absent, though it's a bigger

source

> of mercury for the average member of the U.S. population.

>

> I continue to be hopeful that there will be spin-offs from these

> developments in autism to CFS. As I've said before, I think that

> problems with glutathione production and use are at the root of

both

> these disorders (probably not all cases of CFS, but many of

them).

> In autism, this was exacerbated by elevated mercury intake from

the

> thimerosol in the vaccines and from other sources. In CFS,

elevated

> mercury may have been the cause of some cases, but in others I

think

> it is a contributor to the total load of glutathione depletors.

> Whether it is the root cause or merely a contributor in a

particular

> case of CFS, I think it is nevertheless true that the mercury

level

> rises when the person is exposed to it at levels higher than can

be

> taken out by the available glutathione, so that mercury often

rises

> to toxic levels in PWCs, whether or not it was the first cause of

> the glutathione depletion.

>

> Rich

[Guest guest]

Hi, Penny.

The best way to assess whether the amount of mercury in the body is

too high is to do a chelator-challenged 6-hour urine collection

test. I would suggest using DMSA as the chelator, and such a test

is available as the toxic metals panel offered by

http://www.doctorsdata.com

I think that the King laboratory in Ohio offers a similar test

for mercury.

Hair analysis is a good way to evaluate the history of mercury

exposure in people who are able to excrete it well. It doesn't

evaluate how much mercury is stored in the body, and it doesn't even

evaluate exposure well in people who can't excrete mercury well,

such as the kids who have autism.

Yes, glutathione is responsible for carrying a whole range of heavy

metals out of the body. Aluminum appears to be one of them. So

people who are low in glutathione typically have elevated levels of

more than one of the heavy metals. That's why I suggest running the

toxic metals panel.

Rich

> > Hi, all.

> >

> > Yesterday a couple from Lafayette, CA who have an autistic son

> > announced (in Washington, D.C.) an organization with a website

> > promoting chelation of mercury in autism using transdermal

DMPS.

> > This looks like a major development in promotion of the general

> > public's understanding of the causes of autism and broader

> treatment

> > of autistic kids using chelation, and I think that much of it

will

> > turn out to be relevant to many cases of chronic fatigue

syndrome

> as

> > well. I recommend reading this site:

> >

> > http://www.generationrescue.org

> >

> > Incidentally, they present the argument that mercury is also

> > responsible for the rise in ADD and ADHD as well as other

> disorders

> > in children in recent years. This has vast ramifications.

> >

> > They've done a very good job of presenting the facts, as far as

I

> > can tell. They do mention the glutathione depletion work of Dr.

> > , et al., and they do present all the major sources of

> mercury,

> > including the thimerosol in vaccines, amalgam fillings, fish

> > consumption, and environmental releases from coal-fired power

> > plants. They also talk about supporting methylation with

> > supplements.

> >

> > This development was given good press coverage in the San

> Francisco

> > area this morning, with articles in both the San Francisco

> Chronicle

> > and the east bay Valley Times. It also appeared in the

Washington

> > Times, and UPI has picked it up as well. This is the first time

> > I've seen mercury from amalgams mentioned as a cause of disease

in

> a

> > regular newspaper article. This development may open that

subject

> > up for more press coverage. There have been lots of articles

> about

> > the fish source of mercury and the dispute over U.S. government

> > limits for mercury release from power plants, but discussion of

> > amalgams has been conspicuously absent, though it's a bigger

> source

> > of mercury for the average member of the U.S. population.

> >

> > I continue to be hopeful that there will be spin-offs from these

> > developments in autism to CFS. As I've said before, I think

that

> > problems with glutathione production and use are at the root of

> both

> > these disorders (probably not all cases of CFS, but many of

> them).

> > In autism, this was exacerbated by elevated mercury intake from

> the

> > thimerosol in the vaccines and from other sources. In CFS,

> elevated

> > mercury may have been the cause of some cases, but in others I

> think

> > it is a contributor to the total load of glutathione depletors.

> > Whether it is the root cause or merely a contributor in a

> particular

> > case of CFS, I think it is nevertheless true that the mercury

> level

> > rises when the person is exposed to it at levels higher than can

> be

> > taken out by the available glutathione, so that mercury often

> rises

> > to toxic levels in PWCs, whether or not it was the first cause

of

> > the glutathione depletion.

> >

> > Rich

[Guest guest]

Rich , If we consider that not all kids develop autism because of vaccines..... then the kids that developed autism must have have a contributory factor ,because of the explosive growth of autism that factor must be environmental ...Yeast is a big ,big problem yet it's not recognised by the vast majority of doctors ... Therfor along with many reaseach projects your valuable work on glutathione depletion is devalued because of the denial of endemic yeast infections

The importance in general of the interaction ,relationship we have with our gut flora is simply ignored...the relationship has been called the black hole of medicine ...I see that good gut flora is the basis for good health , we develop 80% of our immune system directly from the interaction of our gut flora [via pyres patches] so it's no surprise to me that autistic kids have a vastly altered gut flora..Its not such a leap of faith to say that good flora [95% lactic acid bacteria] are involved in the metabism of metals .We excrete metals mainly through hair & nails ,analaysis of these in autism shows this process is not taking place .In short to turn the augment around ,it's not the metals causing autism its the autistic condition that is responsible for the accumulation of metals ...

-----Original Message-----From: infections [mailto:infections ]On Behalf Of rvankonynenSent: 25 May 2005 18:41infections Subject: [infections] Another development in autism

Hi, all.Yesterday a couple from Lafayette, CA who have an autistic son announced (in Washington, D.C.) an organization with a website promoting chelation of mercury in autism using transdermal DMPS. This looks like a major development in promotion of the general public's understanding of the causes of autism and broader treatment of autistic kids using chelation, and I think that much of it will turn out to be relevant to many cases of chronic fatigue syndrome as well. I recommend reading this site:http://www.generationrescue.orgIncidentally, they present the argument that mercury is also responsible for the rise in ADD and ADHD as well as other disorders in children in recent years. This has vast ramifications.They've done a very good job of presenting the facts, as far as I can tell. They do mention the glutathione depletion work of Dr. , et al., and they do present all the major sources of mercury, including the thimerosol in vaccines, amalgam fillings, fish consumption, and environmental releases from coal-fired power plants. They also talk about supporting methylation with supplements.This development was given good press coverage in the San Francisco area this morning, with articles in both the San Francisco Chronicle and the east bay Valley Times. It also appeared in the Washington Times, and UPI has picked it up as well. This is the first time I've seen mercury from amalgams mentioned as a cause of disease in a regular newspaper article. This development may open that subject up for more press coverage. There have been lots of articles about the fish source of mercury and the dispute over U.S. government limits for mercury release from power plants, but discussion of amalgams has been conspicuously absent, though it's a bigger source of mercury for the average member of the U.S. population.I continue to be hopeful that there will be spin-offs from these developments in autism to CFS. As I've said before, I think that problems with glutathione production and use are at the root of both these disorders (probably not all cases of CFS, but many of them). In autism, this was exacerbated by elevated mercury intake from the thimerosol in the vaccines and from other sources. In CFS, elevated mercury may have been the cause of some cases, but in others I think it is a contributor to the total load of glutathione depletors. Whether it is the root cause or merely a contributor in a particular case of CFS, I think it is nevertheless true that the mercury level rises when the person is exposed to it at levels higher than can be taken out by the available glutathione, so that mercury often rises to toxic levels in PWCs, whether or not it was the first cause of the glutathione depletion.Rich

[Guest guest]

Hi, .

I think I agree with most of what you said, though I'm not sure I

understand all of it.

The recent research in autism by Jill and her coworkers has

found that kids who develop autism have higher rates of certain

genetic polymorphisms (SNPs). So yes, they are born with those, and

they come first. These polymorphisms cause these kids to have

difficulty making glutathione and using it to take out heavy metals,

as it normally would do. So then, if they are subjected to large

exposures of heavy metals, which seems to have occurred in most

cases from the mercury-containing thimerosol that was used in the

vaccines, the heavy metals build up in their bodies. The most

common one is mercury, because of the vaccines, and the symptoms of

autism match well with the symptoms of mercury toxicity.

But there are other ways the kids can get mercury exposure than the

vaccines. These include their mothers, while they are in utero, and

also personal exposure to mercury in the environment or in fish that

they eat, or in amalgam fillings that they may receive themselves.

It's true that many autistic kids do have intestinal yeast

infections. The writers of the website I cited argue that mercury

damages the gut and causes the infectoions. I suspect that it is

actually the depletion of glutathione (and cysteine, the rate-

limiting amino acid for making glutathione) that allow the rise of

the yeast infections. We all have Candida in our guts, but we don't

all have candidiasis in our guts.

One point I have to disagree with. We actually excrete most of the

heavy metals in the stools. They are bound by glutathione, carried

out in the bile, and if they are not reabsorbed from the gut, they

pass into the stools.

It's true that the kids with autism do not excrete heavy metals well

into their hair. This appears to be due to glutathione depletion,

which makes it difficult for their bodies to bind and transport

heavy metals.

So I think I agree with your basic point, which I understand to be

that there is a genetic predisposition, and then the exposure to

heavy metals manifests it by depleting glutathione. After that, not

only do the heavy metals build up, producing their toxic effects,

but also the other jobs that glutathione normally does do not get

done, and this leads to a host of other problems, as I discussed in

my paper on glutathione and CFS.

Rich

> Rich , If we consider that not all kids develop autism because of

> vaccines..... then the kids that developed autism must have have

a

> contributory factor ,because of the explosive growth of autism

that factor

> must be environmental ...Yeast is a big ,big problem yet it's not

> recognised by the vast majority of doctors ... Therfor along with

many

> reaseach projects your valuable work on glutathione depletion is

devalued

> because of the denial of endemic yeast infections

>

> The importance in general of the interaction ,relationship we have

with our

> gut flora is simply ignored...the relationship has been called the

black

> hole of medicine ...I see that good gut flora is the basis for

good health ,

> we develop 80% of our immune system directly from the interaction

of our gut

> flora [via pyres patches] so it's no surprise to me that autistic

kids have

> a vastly altered gut flora..Its not such a leap of faith to say

that good

> flora [95% lactic acid bacteria] are involved in the metabism of

metals .We

> excrete metals mainly through hair & nails ,analaysis of these in

autism

> shows this process is not taking place .In short to turn the

augment around

> ,it's not the metals causing autism its the autistic condition

that is

> responsible for the accumulation of metals ...

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> [infections] Another development in autism

>

>

> Hi, all.

>

> Yesterday a couple from Lafayette, CA who have an autistic son

> announced (in Washington, D.C.) an organization with a website

> promoting chelation of mercury in autism using transdermal DMPS.

> This looks like a major development in promotion of the general

> public's understanding of the causes of autism and broader

treatment

> of autistic kids using chelation, and I think that much of it

will

> turn out to be relevant to many cases of chronic fatigue

syndrome as

> well. I recommend reading this site:

>

> http://www.generationrescue.org

>

> Incidentally, they present the argument that mercury is also

> responsible for the rise in ADD and ADHD as well as other

disorders

> in children in recent years. This has vast ramifications.

>

> They've done a very good job of presenting the facts, as far as I

> can tell. They do mention the glutathione depletion work of Dr.

> , et al., and they do present all the major sources of

mercury,

> including the thimerosol in vaccines, amalgam fillings, fish

> consumption, and environmental releases from coal-fired power

> plants. They also talk about supporting methylation with

> supplements.

>

> This development was given good press coverage in the San

Francisco

> area this morning, with articles in both the San Francisco

Chronicle

> and the east bay Valley Times. It also appeared in the

Washington

> Times, and UPI has picked it up as well. This is the first time

> I've seen mercury from amalgams mentioned as a cause of disease

in a

> regular newspaper article. This development may open that

subject

> up for more press coverage. There have been lots of articles

about

> the fish source of mercury and the dispute over U.S. government

> limits for mercury release from power plants, but discussion of

> amalgams has been conspicuously absent, though it's a bigger

source

> of mercury for the average member of the U.S. population.

>

> I continue to be hopeful that there will be spin-offs from these

> developments in autism to CFS. As I've said before, I think that

> problems with glutathione production and use are at the root of

both

> these disorders (probably not all cases of CFS, but many of

them).

> In autism, this was exacerbated by elevated mercury intake from

the

> thimerosol in the vaccines and from other sources. In CFS,

elevated

> mercury may have been the cause of some cases, but in others I

think

> it is a contributor to the total load of glutathione depletors.

> Whether it is the root cause or merely a contributor in a

particular

> case of CFS, I think it is nevertheless true that the mercury

level

> rises when the person is exposed to it at levels higher than can

be

> taken out by the available glutathione, so that mercury often

rises

> to toxic levels in PWCs, whether or not it was the first cause of

> the glutathione depletion.

>

> Rich

>

>

>

>

> -------------------------------------------------------------------

---------

> --

>

[Guest guest]

Hi, .

I agree with some of what you've said. I think that there's no

doubt that overgrowth of Candida does occur, and that it causes a

host of symptoms, as described by Dr. Crook and others. I agree

that yeast infections can be brought on by overuse of antibiotics

and poor diets.

I'm not so sure I agree about the cause and effect relationship

between yeast infection and glutathione depletion. I think it's

conceivable that it could go either way. I know for sure that

glutathione is needed for cell-mediated immunity, and that cell-

mediated immunity is needed to control yeast infections. So a prior

depletion of glutathione by some other cause or causes will likely

encourage yeast infections.

Now as to whether a yeast infection caused by overuse of antibiotics

and poor diet can deplete glutathione, maybe it will. I just don't

know that for sure. I'm not sure that it has been studied. If

glutathione is used to take out toxins produced by yeasts, I think

that would be a potential mechanism to deplete glutathione. I'll

try to find out more about this.

Rich

> Hi Rich , actually no my basic point was that the environmental

factor in

> autism is the diminishing quality of our gut flora , due to over

use of

> broad spectrum abx'x & a high sugar diet ...Candida overgrowth is

the key

> ....toxins generated by the overgrowth lead to the cascade of

events, the

> end result is autism..that is if your 18 months or so when you

contract

> yeast overgrowth ...As an adult you experience appalling symptoms

that

> collectively could be described as reducing your existence to that

of a

> zombie ...Many debate the existence of yeast overgrowth as a

defined illness

> ...I don't need to, ive experienced it ..for decades [now

cured]...The point

> is the medical profession do not recognise the problem , so a

vitally

> important factor in the health of millions is being

ignored ...You either

> accept that as a fact or you don't ..I put the augment that the

facts are

> overwhelming Yeast is a major factor in the declining health of

millions ,

> talking chicken & egg ...its Candida first then the rest,

including the very

> important glutathione depletion ...Yes?.... do you see yeast as

per dr's

> Crook ,Truss, Cranton & testimonies from people like me ...or do

you think

> they/we are mistaken ...

[Guest guest]

Hi, .

Thanks to you, I did some studying on Candida and glutathione, and I

learned some very interesting things.

First, Candida makes glutathione for its own use and it is important

for protecting the yeast against reactive oxygen species.

Second, the way lactoferrin (as in ImmunoPro Rx or RenewPro, for

example) acts to kill yeast is that it decreases the amount of

glutathione in the mitochondria and raises the levels of reactive

oxygen species. This brings about apoptosis, or programed cell

death.

Making use of this information, I suggest that when there is Candida

overgrowth in the gut, the Candida may be intercepting the cysteine

that comes in with the diet to make its own glutathione, depriving

the liver of cysteine and thus making it difficult for the liver to

produce glutathione. This could be a mechanism for Candida lowering

the glutathione levels in the body, in accordance with your argument

that the Candida overgrowth could precede the glutathione

depletion. I had already inferred from the literature that

infections can bring about glutathione depletion, as I reported in

my AACFS poster paper, but I had been focussing on viral and

intracellular bacterial infections, and had not considered yeast

infections as a potential cause of glutathione depletion. But now I

think this could provide a mechanism for that.

Another interesting thing is that I read that giving NAC to kids

with autism can cause their yeast infections to flare up. I think

this can be explained by the need for glutathione by Candida.

Perhaps the availability of glutathione precursors is what limits

the growth of the Candida in candidiasis.

So thanks again, , and your points are well taken.

Rich

> > Hi Rich , actually no my basic point was that the environmental

> factor in

> > autism is the diminishing quality of our gut flora , due to over

> use of

> > broad spectrum abx'x & a high sugar diet ...Candida overgrowth

is

> the key

> > ....toxins generated by the overgrowth lead to the cascade of

> events, the

> > end result is autism..that is if your 18 months or so when you

> contract

> > yeast overgrowth ...As an adult you experience appalling

symptoms

> that

> > collectively could be described as reducing your existence to

that

> of a

> > zombie ...Many debate the existence of yeast overgrowth as a

> defined illness

> > ...I don't need to, ive experienced it ..for decades [now

> cured]...The point

> > is the medical profession do not recognise the problem , so a

> vitally

> > important factor in the health of millions is being

> ignored ...You either

> > accept that as a fact or you don't ..I put the augment that the

> facts are

> > overwhelming Yeast is a major factor in the declining health

of

> millions ,

> > talking chicken & egg ...its Candida first then the rest,

> including the very

> > important glutathione depletion ...Yes?.... do you see yeast

as

> per dr's

> > Crook ,Truss, Cranton & testimonies from people like me ...or do

> you think

> > they/we are mistaken ...

[Guest guest]

Hi Rich,

I followed the recent news links on that site and they were

fascinating--particularly the how-to-do-it part of the Congressional

testimony.

I'm especially interested in mercury right now because I've just made

an appointment with a dentist who is a member of the International

Academy of Oral Medicine & Toxicology (IAOMT). Thanks to Donna and

and others on this list who gave me the leads.

In the past I've been to dentists who removed old fillings in a very

careless manner, leaving me to gag and choke on big hunks of mercury.

I've been to dentists who've denied my request for composite fillings

instead of mercury. And these dentists were irritated when I tried to

discuss my concerns.

When I met with the intake person of the IAOMT dentist, I was relieved

to find that they have a completely different way of working. They

actually take all of the precautions that the IAOMT website recommends

when they remove old mercury--e.g., when possible they cut the mercury

out instead of drilling it out. And they have anti-mercury literature

scattered around the waiting room.

Sue ,

Upstate New York

> Yesterday a couple from Lafayette, CA who have an autistic son

> announced (in Washington, D.C.) an organization with a website

> promoting chelation of mercury in autism using transdermal DMPS.

> This looks like a major development in promotion of the general

> public's understanding of the causes of autism and broader treatment

> of autistic kids using chelation, and I think that much of it will

> turn out to be relevant to many cases of chronic fatigue syndrome as

> well. I recommend reading this site:

>

> http://www.generationrescue.org