Autism/Mercury Report

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone

This is a long article, but if you are interested in Autism and vaccinations,

it is DEFINATELY worth reading! And, if you have a baby and have no idea about

the risks of Autism/Mercury, I think you should read this too.

According to an older study, 10% of the Down syndrome community has Autism. I

am sure this number has grown since the US average in Autism cases has grown.

It is great that Dr. has continued to pursue this. According to her

research there is a link to the shots and this is going to send the US

government into an uproar I imagine.

Kristy

Southeast Missourian, MO

December 13, 2004

LATEST NEWS

Gene Flaw May Link Autism, Vaccine Additive.

(This article also explains why boys are affected more than girls -

Jagannath)

http://www.semissourian.com

http://www.marytocco.com/news.htm

By Bob ~ Southeast Missourian

A study released today by an environmental organization offers support

to the theory that a vaccine preservative called thimerosal may

contribute to the cause of autism.

The study has found a genetic flaw that sheds further light on how

autistic children are metabolically different from healthy children. This

may explain why autistic children may not be able to excrete mercury

and other heavy metals.

Because of this finding, some doctors also believe that a relatively

simple mixture of nutritional supplements may provide a dramatic

treatment for autistic children.

The new 18-month autism investigation was conducted by Dr. Jill ,

a former Food and Drug Administration research scientist who now works

at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Her report claims that autistic children have a severe deficiency in

glutathione, which said is the body's most important detoxifier.

The Environmental Working Group, a not-for-profit organization that

investigates toxicity in the environment, is using ' study as a way

to petition for further thimerosal research.

Many parents and several researchers have speculated that thimerosal,

which is 50 percent mercury by weight, is the culprit behind the

exponential increase in autism cases over the last decade. Ten years ago, the

American Academy of Pediatrics estimated an autism rate of one in 2,500

in the United States. Today, the rate is estimated as high as one in

166. As many as one in six children have neurological disorders. Many

believe the rise in autism and the corresponding increase in the nation's

vaccine schedule are not coincidental.

Pharmaceutical companies removed thimerosal from required vaccines in

2002, but it still exists in most of the recommended influenza shots.

Autism theorists have for several years hypothesized that certain

children are susceptible to heavy-metal toxicity, which poisons the brain.

The reports shows that autistic children have 133 percent more

" inactive " glutathione in their bodies than healthy children and 68 percent

less " active " glutathione.

The report also gives parents hope. Preliminary results have shown

that certain supplements -- folinic acid and methyl B12 -- can bring

glutathione back to normal levels.

Dr. Mumper, the CEO for Advocates for Children and associate

professor of clinical pediatrics at the University of Virginia Medical

School, said she has seen dramatic improvements in some autistic

children who have been taking the supplements.

" I don't mean to imply that we can cure autism, " she said. " But in

this subset, some have moved out of the [autism] spectrum and gone to

kindergarten without aid. "

She said the metabolic makeup of autistic adults will have to be

studied, but she sees no reason why the nutritional aids won't help autistic

adults as well.

'Closer and closer'

News of such a breakthrough is exciting for Dena Petzoldt of

Fruitland, whose son, Ben, is autistic. Tests have shown that Ben has high

levels of heavy metals, including mercury, in his blood. The family has

traveled to many states to try various remedies.

" We're just getting closer and closer, " she said. " There have to be

answers out there because there are so many autistic kids out there. I'll

definitely check into this. "

studied the metabolism of 20 autistic children. In a conference

call with reporters, she explained she started with 10 plasma samples

from autistic children.

The results were " very, very striking, " she said. They were so

consistently abnormal that she added 10 more samples to her study, just

to make sure they were accurate. They came back the same.

Autism is generally regarded as a genetic and environmental mixed bag.

said the genetic causes are complex. There could be 10 genes that

contribute to autism.

The new finding makes sense for a number of reasons, she said.

Glutathione levels are naturally lower in males, which could help

explain why 70 percent of autistic children are boys. Estrogen, found more

predominantly in females, is an antioxidant like glutathione, so girls

have more chemical weapons to fight against metal toxins.

The glutathione discovery may also explain why so many autistic

children have intestinal disorders.

Glutathione, according to the study, is vital to proper functioning of

the intestines.

The Environmental Working Group is waving ' study in the face of

the Institute of Medicine.

In May, the IOM -- an independent scientific group commissioned by the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to delve into the thimerosal

issue -- released a report which said there is no evidence suggesting a

link between the preservative and autism. It based its findings on five

epidemiology studies, including one from Denmark, which has a different

vaccine schedule and thus different thimerosal exposure than the United

States.

Epidemiology is a mathematical approach to science based on

complicated statistics derived from medical databases.

The IOM heard but did not accept the biological evidence, which was

only theoretical, the committee said. The IOM also suggested that

" further research to find the cause of autism should be directed toward other

lines of inquiry. "

Dr. Weldon, a congressman from Florida, has been the leading

government anti-thimerosal spokesman.

" The work of Dr. and other have continued with private support, "

Weldon said in a statement. " Unfortunately, the National Institutes of

Health has not yet dedicated funding to better understand and develop

interventions for the epidemic of children suffering from neurological

development disorders, particularly those that have resulted from

mercury exposures from childhood vaccines.

" Today's study, along with several other recently published scientific

studies, demonstrate clearly that the IOM overstated their

conclusions. "

'Didn't dismiss anything'

Dr. Steve Goodman of s Hopkins University School of Medicine in

Baltimore sat on the IOM committee that reviewed the evidence.

He told the Southeast Missourian he couldn't speak for the IOM because

the committee no longer exists, but he said there was a general feeling

that thimerosal would be unlikely to turn out to be the cause of

autism. However, he said some of the IOM's statements were misconstrued at

the time.

" First of all, we didn't dismiss anything, " he said. " We simply stated

the epidemiology evidence favored no relationship, which is true. At

this point there is no increased risk to the general population.

" What we did say is if you've got a fixed pot, don't spend huge

amounts more on epidemiology. What we said was that resources would be better

spent on understanding the biology. "

For several years a certain segment of the scientific community has

suspected that autistic children have a genetic susceptibility to mercury

and that thimerosal could be the environmental trigger to autism. So

why base a national report on five studies that don't address the theory?

" That's what we're saying, " Goodman said.

He said unless the genetic flaws can be identified and a test group

can be formed with the same flaws, there is no use for more epidemiology,

which suggests no danger to the healthy population.

The anti-thimerosal groups have been making that same argument since

May when the IOM report was released.

The IOM did admit in its report that " the committee cannot rule out,

based on the epidemiological evidence, the possibility that vaccines

contribute to autism in some small subset or very unusual circumstance. "

Regardless, major television networks only reported the news of no

link, followed by quotes from board members saying funding should be spent

elsewhere. Many physicians at the time considered the thimerosal issue

a closed book. And, according to a U.S. congressional source speaking

on the condition of anonymity, perhaps the National Institutes of Health

did too.

The National Institutes of Health has cited the IOM report when it has

denied funding for biological research, the source said.

Shortly after the IOM report came out, Columbia University researcher

Dr. Mady Hornig published a study showing that mice with genetically

susceptible immune systems displayed autistic-like behaviors when given

thimerosal.

While the Environmental Working Group acknowledges that '

research doesn't prove a link, the organization says the findings should force

the government to pick up the issue again. The epidemiology studies the

IOM based its report on assumed that the children had equal

toxin-fighting capabilities, the EWG says.

Goodman didn't want to comment specifically on the new study until he

reads it.

" This type of study could fit in a much bigger picture and enhance the

understanding of autism and the immune system, " he said. " It's a small

piece of fabric of a theory which may or may not turn out to be true.

But it doesn't mean that thimerosal causes autism. There are lots of

fragments, pieces of biological evidence and theories. But those theories

are still incomplete. "

" We have allowed (the drugs) industry to subvert the rules of science.

We have watched quietly as governments and academics have colluded with

industry to hide information critical to our patients. We have remained

silent as our medical schools have churned out graduates who have no

knowledge of the dilemmas and scandals of medicine. We have allowed many

of our medical journals to become corrupted and timid, " - Dr Aubrey

Blumsohn