Re: A Twisted Tale of Virus and Thimerosal

[Guest guest]

Mdautie, thank you for the very intelligent and well thought out and

documented message. It would be difficult at best for me to quickly

research each aspect of your message, but I'd like to comment on a

few points to start and would be interested in getting your feedback

on them.

I had a few intriguing conversations with Mark R Geier, MD., PhD and

Geier whom you may know

http://www.cherab.org/information/geiermd.html about the points

about the possible reasons why not everyone who receives a vaccine

will regress in some way. You state for example:

" I believe that there are certain predisposing factors that cause a

particular child to be susceptible to autism following vaccination

with the MMR vaccine. These predisposing factors include high

glutamate levels, liver dysfunction, certain blood types, a family

history of alcoholism, liver problems or neurological inflammation,

heavy metal levels of the mother, and underlying chronic viral or

bacterial infections of the mother, among others.1 I believe a key

factor is an underlying streptococcal infection. Virtually all of

the children that I work with have had incidents of ear infections

or streptococcal infections early in childhood. "

You put environmental triggers in under 'heavy metals of the mother'

I'm guessing, but that point appears to be downplayed to the rest and

also not elaborated enough. Not sure if you are a new member but it

does appear, at least in the case of apraxia, to happen in cluster

areas that tend always to be in highly industrialized areas of the

world where we have higher incidences of multi faceted

neurologically based communication impairments MFNBCI no matter what you

call them. For example NJ, Texas, Ohio, California, parts of the

Carolinas are all states where not only are our numbers of apraxic/MFNBCI

children are off the charts, but...the chance of the EFAs " working "

(even when used alone without any other biomedical approach) is

remarkably almost 100%. Yet we have other states that are just as

populated where we have no membership, and then the chance of the

EFAs " working " is probably hovering around 70% or lower. Nobody can

explain that as of yet but I'd love to hear your explanation being

it appears you've spent much time researching and practicing and

reaching out to help others as a professional.

(for 'low' states -check where we don't have any support at Speechville)

http://www.speechville.com/communication-station/regional-support-groups.html

In the archives I wrote something a few years ago in which I

go into my theory of phenol which is a compound most don't even

mention...yet...phenol blocks are used to block signals/strip

myelin. I know the EPA was interested in this point when I brought

up that apraxia (which used to be virtually unheard of in children) is

now common in NJ. Why?

one archive on my theory of phenol

/message/41199

There is much thought about how compounds may change in our body,

has anyone thought about how phenol may mutate when mixed with more

dangerous toxins? What is being manufactured in the past decade or

so that wasn't prior because that's also when we've seen the

greatest increase according to the Geiers studies. Phenol and the

other toxins can cross the placenta -but they can also be in the

soil, water...foods?

Also perhaps it's just my warped view of childhood diseases, so

please excuse my ignorance, but doesn't just about all children

have " ear infections or streptococcal infections " in childhood. I

must have grown up living on the edge but I would have even thought

most children had not one or the other...but both. " Virtually all

of the children that I work with have had incidents of ear

infections or streptococcal infections early in childhood "

About the toxic metals you address, I've spoken in length with

Sallie Bernard http://www.evidenceofharm.com/resources.htm about the

effects of mercury and have seen her comprehensive presentation

about the dangers and mercury and I do agree. However I'll tell you

what I've always told Sallie. If mercury is in the fish, then who

is checking the plants along the water, the animals who eat those

plants...etc. It was more recently that Sallie passed me an

article " http://briloon.org/mercury/ -Scientific paper' Article on

this subject of why we need to look at soil, birds, insects etc. "

about the wildlife in the New England states which have high levels

of mercury. It's apparently once again due to environmental

factors...in this case -not vaccines. Here's just a few archives from this

group

on this subject

/message/41901

/message/41200

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that vaccines are not a possible

cause for what we are seeing. I see vaccines as the straw that

breaks the camel's back once that child has already been exposed to

countless amounts of toxic metals and materials in utero and in

early childhood. My own son Tanner, his fevers and then regression

was exactly at 11 months old. It wasn't until I moved to Florida

that I realized that was the exact month that he went for his 3rd

Hepatitis shot. Way back when just 8 or 9 years ago -I never

thought one had anything to do with the other. I know now. But I

also know that I was pregnant with Tanner and he grew up in a very

toxic area of NJ pretty close to a superfund site where in addition

to mercury they were (and are still I believe) trying to extract a

combination of toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and phenol lead

rising as black ooze out of the ground/water in a park.

Article on that park (worth the time to cut and paste)

http://www.eohsi.rutgers.edu/pdf/Tony%20Sclafani%20-%20Park's%20soil%20is%20high\

ly%20toxic.pdf

But didn't know about this till right before we moved to Florida.

(it's one of the reasons that secured the move)

" The ooze was " Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs,

phenol, cadmium, chromium and lead " " They're (the substances) all

bad. I wouldn't choose to live there. I wouldn't choose to interact

there if I had a choice, " said Buckley, executive director of

the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, part

of Rutgers University and the University of Medicine and Dentistry

in Newark.

" This is not a healthy place for kids to play. There's no doubt

about it, " said Buckley, who recommended examining and monitoring

some children for any effects. "

http://www.thnt.com/thnt/story/0,21282,596491,00.html

" Examining and monitoring our kids " ?!! Try they basically told us

to not put away the kites and balls and " come on down " to play some

more! (read below) They downplayed (and in spite of their lame

attempt to do so -this was never picked up by any large media who

won't be bullied -like Time) by saying the park was " only " closed

due to " high levels of asbestos " ...actually in the new article the

correct phrase is " Chunks of exposed asbestos " 10-12 feet high. The

first article I read -which was pretty much right before we moved -

was about dead birds found in the black ooze and how town officials

said " they didn't believe it (the ooze) was harmful " and I wrote

here " oh yeah it's every day that when a bird is ready to die they

fly around looking for some black ooze to drop dead in "

/message/41199

I can easily find the other links about the " toxic ooze " if anyone

in NJ is interested. The only reason anyone even noticed the black

ooze was because birds started dropping dead in it and some

environmentalists noticed. (they notice the birds...what about the

children?)

Scientists from Rutgers and UMDNJ have looked into it and one quote

was that the children around that area should be studied. I know

one of the children who lived right next to that park from this

group. R.'s son who's story is in The Late Talker

book. Her son not only is apraxic with hypotonia and sensory

integration dysfunction -but like many went through constipation.

Since back then parents of apraxic children on one particular

apraxia grouplist were not allowed to bring up " off topic " posts,

none of us knew that 's constipation was probably also due to

whatever caused the apraxia. (just as an aside of this: or what the

listowner personally viewed as [OFF TOPIC] which is the way it

is/was written in by the moderators of that group when you posted

something about EFAs or whatever. Or they won't post it at all)

Danger of this? developed the most severe issue of constipation

I've ever heard of. After years of harsh medications- he flatlined

in the gut. Poor little guy has not a cecostomy - a hole

in his stomach that has to pour water into to help him move

his bowels. I always write this with tears in my eyes for poor .

Perhaps if we knew then what we know today things would be different.

message from

/message/26771

Message from me about

/message/26398

Nothing here is off topic in my opinion, we need to stay open.

My belief is that until all areas are explored and researched, how

can we best prevent/treat and hopefully one day cure? And even

before knowing -why does fish oil (again even when used alone -or

maybe together with a Flintstones Complete and Pomwonderful juice)

appear to help almost all in the areas that need it most?

http://www.cherab.org/information/dietaryeffects/Englemed.html

This is something I wrote a few years ago that may interest you:

http://www.cherab.org/news/Save.html

I didn't mean to open so many cans of worms,

but they may have hurt those close to my heart.

So yes some, or even all, of what you wrote may be right,

but is what you wrote the whole picture? No.

=====

[Guest guest]

-A short quick answer on the phenol issue, there are people that do

have difficulty processing phenols(certain genetic profiles), and

does explain why not everyone has this problem. Phenols are an

additive in vaccines too, as is aluminum.

Yes you are correct about pockets of higher incidence of toxicities

in different parts of the country. Coal fired power plants are the

number one source of environmental mercury, and yes, there are big

dumpers of environmental mercury by state. Here is a page to give you

an idea on how big a problem this really is,(at the end of my post)

look at the states and compare them to your numbers. Take into

account weather patterns going from west to east and how it can even

affect neighboring states, even if they do not have large pollutors.

Example Pennsylvania is one of the biggest offenders, but New Jersey

is a neighboring state to the east.

Yes " most " children have had strep/ottits media, but there are

children that are carriers of strep in their nasal passages.Those are

the children I am speaking of. Bacteria do not necessarily make one

sick, bacteria can coexist within and do damage as do virus.We have

had strep cultured out of stool samples in large quatities so we know

it is documented.

Lead exposure we are lead to believe is just from old paint. It is

ubiquitous in the water supply, albeit in most communities in low

levels, but remember, a random blood lead level test most definitely

does not give you the actual lead that is stored in the organs and

bones. The ph of your water will even contribute to the leaching of

metals from old water lines, low ph will pull copper/lead into your

bathing/drinking/cooking water. Lead blocks heme in the cell.

Aluminum that we all use in aluminum foil/pots, take out foods is

stored in fat cells, it blocks methionine synthase which is b12

metabolic pathway.It is known that aluminum is an inhibitor of

dihydropteridine reductase (DHPR), which is the enzyme responsible

for the regeneration of tetrahydrobiopterin. In the brain,

tetrahydrobiopterin is required for the synthesis of tyrosine, dopa,

norepinephrine and 5--hydroxytryptophan.

Lead inhibits the conversion from homocysteine to cystathione which

is the glutathione pathway.It also blocks Glutamic Acid

Decarboxylase, which is GABA pathway, GABA is critical for speech

development. High glutamate can not be balanced when lead is present.

When the methylation pathways are blocked by metals/virus you do not

have proper response in the immune system, sets the stage for

autoimmunity. Not to mention polymorphisms that are part of who we

are, you can take any points in the methylation cylce and 100% of the

population has one if not several polymorphisms. We have 100% of our

children with delays having at least 1 of MTHFR, MS/MTRR, CBS.The

more severe the child the more polymorphisms they have. Certain ones

are more prevalent in the speech affected.

On the viral/bacterial contribution:

They have even tied some forms of obesity to an adenovirus:

http://archives.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/07/28/fat.virus.ap/index.html

This is not new, CHMP and heart attacks:

http://www.researchmatters.harvard.edu/story.php?article_id=566

Chlamydia pneumoniae may contribute to heart attacks, strokes

Bug that causes " walking pneumonia " may contribute to hardening of

arteries and its complications

Murat Kalayoglu of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary,

Libby of Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Gerald

Byrne of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center searched

MEDLINE and considered online resources, texts, meeting abstracts,

and expert opinion for the association between Chlamydia pneumoniae

and atherosclerosis. They included five types of studies and

extracted diagnostic, pathophysiologic, and therapeutic information

from the selected literature. " Atherosclerosis causes approximately

half of all adult deaths in the Western hemisphere and continues to

be a major health problem worldwide, " Kalayoglu, the lead author,

said. " Traditional risk factors such as elevated cholesterol clearly

contribute to these cardiovascular diseases, but leave some 40

percent of cases unexplained. Recent appreciation of atherosclerosis

as a chronic, inflammatory disease has rekindled efforts to examine

the role that infectious agents may play in atherogenesis. " Their

analysis of the data suggests that Chlamydia pneumoniae, which

causes " walking pneumonia, " may contribute to atherosclerosis, also

known as hardening of the arteries, and its complications, such as

heart attack and stroke.

Made in the U.S.A.: Power Plants and Mercury Pollution Across the

Country

September 2005

Executive Summary | News Release

Download the full report. (PDF, 712 KB)

[Guest guest]

WOW, my head hurts after reading that one. Haven't done that kind of heavy

thinking in a long time!

Mdautie writes about all kinds of problems seen in autistic children - from

hormones to heavy metals to chronic infections...interesting. The question is

where to begin? Where do you take a child to have these things investigated? A

DAN doctor? Who is doing the " working " with these kids/adults?

Martha

[Guest guest]

Hi. The link for the PDF isn't working. Do you have a url? Thanks.

>

> -A short quick answer on the phenol issue, there are people that do

> have difficulty processing phenols(certain genetic profiles), and

> does explain why not everyone has this problem. Phenols are an

> additive in vaccines too, as is aluminum.

>

> Yes you are correct about pockets of higher incidence of toxicities

> in different parts of the country. Coal fired power plants are the

> number one source of environmental mercury, and yes, there are big

> dumpers of environmental mercury by state. Here is a page to give

you

> an idea on how big a problem this really is,(at the end of my post)

> look at the states and compare them to your numbers. Take into

> account weather patterns going from west to east and how it can

even

> affect neighboring states, even if they do not have large

pollutors.

> Example Pennsylvania is one of the biggest offenders, but New

Jersey

> is a neighboring state to the east.

>

> Yes " most " children have had strep/ottits media, but there are

> children that are carriers of strep in their nasal passages.Those

are

> the children I am speaking of. Bacteria do not necessarily make one

> sick, bacteria can coexist within and do damage as do virus.We have

> had strep cultured out of stool samples in large quatities so we

know

> it is documented.

>

> Lead exposure we are lead to believe is just from old paint. It is

> ubiquitous in the water supply, albeit in most communities in low

> levels, but remember, a random blood lead level test most

definitely

> does not give you the actual lead that is stored in the organs and

> bones. The ph of your water will even contribute to the leaching of

> metals from old water lines, low ph will pull copper/lead into your

> bathing/drinking/cooking water. Lead blocks heme in the cell.

>

> Aluminum that we all use in aluminum foil/pots, take out foods is

> stored in fat cells, it blocks methionine synthase which is b12

> metabolic pathway.It is known that aluminum is an inhibitor of

> dihydropteridine reductase (DHPR), which is the enzyme responsible

> for the regeneration of tetrahydrobiopterin. In the brain,

> tetrahydrobiopterin is required for the synthesis of tyrosine,

dopa,

> norepinephrine and 5--hydroxytryptophan.

>

> Lead inhibits the conversion from homocysteine to cystathione which

> is the glutathione pathway.It also blocks Glutamic Acid

> Decarboxylase, which is GABA pathway, GABA is critical for speech

> development. High glutamate can not be balanced when lead is

present.

>

> When the methylation pathways are blocked by metals/virus you do

not

> have proper response in the immune system, sets the stage for

> autoimmunity. Not to mention polymorphisms that are part of who we

> are, you can take any points in the methylation cylce and 100% of

the

> population has one if not several polymorphisms. We have 100% of

our

> children with delays having at least 1 of MTHFR, MS/MTRR, CBS.The

> more severe the child the more polymorphisms they have. Certain

ones

> are more prevalent in the speech affected.

>

>

> On the viral/bacterial contribution:

> They have even tied some forms of obesity to an adenovirus:

>

> http://archives.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/07/28/fat.virus.ap/index.html

>

> This is not new, CHMP and heart attacks:

>

>

>

> http://www.researchmatters.harvard.edu/story.php?article_id=566

>

> Chlamydia pneumoniae may contribute to heart attacks, strokes

> Bug that causes " walking pneumonia " may contribute to hardening of

> arteries and its complications

> Murat Kalayoglu of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary,

> Libby of Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital, and

Gerald

> Byrne of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center searched

> MEDLINE and considered online resources, texts, meeting abstracts,

> and expert opinion for the association between Chlamydia pneumoniae

> and atherosclerosis. They included five types of studies and

> extracted diagnostic, pathophysiologic, and therapeutic information

> from the selected literature. " Atherosclerosis causes approximately

> half of all adult deaths in the Western hemisphere and continues to

> be a major health problem worldwide, " Kalayoglu, the lead author,

> said. " Traditional risk factors such as elevated cholesterol

clearly

> contribute to these cardiovascular diseases, but leave some 40

> percent of cases unexplained. Recent appreciation of

atherosclerosis

> as a chronic, inflammatory disease has rekindled efforts to examine

> the role that infectious agents may play in atherogenesis. " Their

> analysis of the data suggests that Chlamydia pneumoniae, which

> causes " walking pneumonia, " may contribute to atherosclerosis, also

> known as hardening of the arteries, and its complications, such as

> heart attack and stroke.

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Made in the U.S.A.: Power Plants and Mercury Pollution Across the

> Country

>

> September 2005

>

> Executive Summary | News Release

>

> Download the full report. (PDF, 712 KB)

>

[Guest guest]

What's most interesting about lead is the newer studies that link

even levels previously considered normal to lower IQ functioning in

children. I had spoken with the original doctor that lead (pardon

the pun) the research into low levels of lead and talked to him

about our group, how there are " late talkers " coming out of the

woodwork in certain areas and in families with no genetic

predisposition to speech impairments, and asked him about the

findings about how when lead is in the soil it is tested to be in

every aspect of the vegetation. (translate that to lead based

tomatoes, corn, potatoes, grain and pasture for cows, pigs etc.) I

asked " If someone took the time to test lead passing from the soil

to vegetation, did anyone test any of the other toxins that could be

in soil? " At that point, and possibly still today, that

answer: " no " So if you live in an area where there are tons of

other apraxic children around you, where it's normal to get old and

get cancer, you may want to as Kathy G from this group suggests buy

huge planters and fill them with potting soil and plant your

tomatoes in them. Just a suggestion until someone does figure out

if all the other toxins in the soil pass through the soil to the

vegetation like it does with lead.

Here's one article about how if the lead is in the soil it will be

in every aspect of the vegetation.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=pubmed & dopt=Abstra\

ct & list_uids=15016510 & query_hl=8

or to read the entire thing

http://www.bridges4kids.org/lead/binnspaper2003.pdf

And of course since some write articles so as not to create any mass

panic,we can be assured that the actual amount of lead in the part

of the plant we consume is probably low in some cases.

Leaden Gardens

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20031206/food.asp

And not to be the one to burst the bubble either, but again even very low

levels of lead are linked to lower cognitive functioning. Here's

just one resource on this.

Very Low Lead Levels Linked with IQ Deficits, According to NEJM Study

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/oc/news/leadiq.htm

And about phenol, I wasn't curious as much about that toxin alone as

I know that it's been around way longer than a decade, but what

happens to phenol when combined in nature with PCBs and lead, etc.?

What is the biproduct from manufacture now that wasn't one a decade ago?

What are the chances it's just mercury each time? Slim? (to none?)

The link you meant to post but that didn't show up is

http://www.uspirg.org/reports/madeintheusa.pdf Made in the U.S.A.:

Power Plants and Mercury Pollution Across the Country September 2005

Executive Summary | News Release

But again, why limit the search to mainly mercury when that may only

be only one ingredient of the toxic cocktail?

And from the archive " cluster areas "

/message/41199

Like I said before " I suspect that if your child is in the rare

percentage where the EFAs do not work -then your child is in the

rare percentage that would have had apraxia anyway before the

dramatic rise in these conditions ten years ago...I believe the EFAs

have either a moderate or dramatic effect depending upon the type of

insult neurologically -what the cause of the apraxia/PDD/ADHD etc.

is. You can check the zip codes for where you worked and lived at

the EPA site http://www.epa.gov They have incredible mapping

ability -or you can just do the easy route and put in your zip here

http://www.epa.gov/epahome/commsearch.htm "

Below is yet another recent article that shows this theory of the

toxin/communication impairment link. We know (or would hope) that

only a small amount, or more likely no members here, used

recreational drugs not approved by their MD while pregnant. This

would mean that most likely toxins in our babies must have come the

new fashioned way -through the soil, water, and air -or food.

Wonder why the heavy emphasis on drug users in the following, and

instead of wondering which drugs were used - just check where these

children are -or where the parents lived/worked when pregnant - what

could have been silent, lurking, and dangerous nearby? Like just

for example...did the researchers from Kalamazoo Michagan bother to

check their zip code at the EPA instead of wondering about drug use

of the parents? I did -and it's not a pretty report. (the zip for

Kalamazoo is 49001 and again -the website to do a quick search is

http://www.epa.gov/epahome/commsearch.htm )

Thu May 29 12:59:27 2003 Pacific Time

Dirty Diapers Help Researchers Pinpoint Fetal Health Risks

KALAMAZOO, Mich., May 29 (AScribe Newswire) -- A team of

researchers, up to their elbows in more than 800 sets of dirty

diapers, have turned the experience into what may be some of the

first conclusive evidence that environmental pollutants can impact

the health and future prospects of children, even before they're

born.

Western Michigan University researchers, working in

cooperation with Kalamazoo's two major hospitals and Michigan State

University's Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies, have determined

that a startling 50 percent of children born in the area during a

10-month period in 2002 were exposed to lead while still in the womb,

and about 5 percent of babies born had already suffered lead exposure

at levels typically associated with neurological problems.

Exposure in the womb to lead and other toxic chemicals was

analyzed by collecting blood from umbilical cords as well as meconium

samples from the first sets of diapers soiled by newborns. Meconium

is the bowel discharge from infants during their first 24 to 48 hours

of life and reflects the accumulation of bile secreted during the

last five months of gestation.

" What we've done is develop a way to look at the earliest

potential impact of substances on fetal development, " says Dr. Jay

Means, WMU's Gwen Frostic Professor of Environmental Chemistry and

Toxicology and the lead researcher. " We know that many of these

substances have their most profound effects on the developing child,

but so little is known about the exposure of a significant percentage

of the population to these substances. This gives us a snapshot of

that exposure. "

Means says the selection of meconium as a sample to be

analyzed along with the cord blood helps rule out the possibility

that the babies' exposure came in any way other than through the

placental blood barrier.

" It's unambiguous, " he says of the resulting data. " As soon as

the child starts to nurse or eat from other sources, you raise the

possibility of another outside source of contamination. "

Beginning in March 2002, Means along with Dr. Liepman,

director of psychiatry research at MSU/KCMS, and their team worked

with staff members at Borgess Medical Center and Bronson Methodist

Hospital to collect nearly 3,000 cord blood and meconium samples from

newborns. Of those samples, about 800 were complete paired samples

that included both cord blood and meconium. Samples were collected

after receiving anonymous informed consent agreements from mothers

and were then analyzed to ascertain levels of heavy metals,

pesticides, PCBs and herbicides as well as recreational and

psychoactive drugs. About 200 randomly selected samples were screened

to determine whether and how much of a toxic substance was

transferred across the placental blood barrier.

Researchers screened the samples using two sophisticated mass

spectrometer systems to determine fetal exposure to heavy metals such

as lead, mercury, chromium and cadmium; toxic organic compounds like

PCBs and dioxins; and such drugs as cannabis, cocaine,

methamphetamine and cotinine, which comes from nicotine. In addition

to the high levels of lead exposure, researchers found a wide range

of exposure to the other measured substances. For instance, PCBs and

DDT, which can lead to reduced IQ and other developmental problems,

were found in a about 15 percent of the samples. Mercury and cadmium

also showed up in 15 percent of the samples, while the

tobacco-related compound cotinine was found in more than 30 percent

of the samples.

But it was the high incidence of lead that stunned the team,

Means says. He notes that lead exposure has been linked to mental

retardation, seizures, delays in motor development, kidney disease,

and problems with bone and tooth development. Means says that their

measurement tool--the inductively coupled plasma-mass

spectrometer--allows researchers to measure lead in infinitesimal

amounts that are far below the levels at which exposure is considered

dangerous, according to federal guidelines. But unlike other tools,

this one identifies lead with complete certainty. Its presence in so

many of the samples is troubling, he says.

The team completed an initial round of sample collections at

the end of 2002 and, with the results of the analysis in hand, a new

round of research is about to begin. The first round was completed on

a small budget put together with funds from the WMU Office of

Research, the Kalamazoo County Healthy Babies, Healthy Start program,

the National Science Foundation and MSU/KCMS. The project owes its

initial success to what Means calls " excellent cooperation from the

hospitals and the tireless efforts of a dedicated group of

undergraduate student researchers. "

An anonymous $110,000 grant to WMU's Environmental Institute

will help Means launch a new round of research. Goals for the new

round include expanding the number of infants from whom complete

samples are collected; relating the patterns of exposure to

geographical, demographic and dietary data; and adding gene

expression analysis to the tests run on the samples to determine

which genes show signs of being activated or repressed by exposure to

the various toxic chemicals. He also plans to add other substances of

concern to the list of those being studied--like polybrominated

diphenyl ether, commonly known as PBDE, a synthetic fire retardant

chemical used in textiles.

The collection of data about demographics and diet will help

pinpoint the source of exposure, says Means, and the zip code data

will allow his team to cross reference their data with known

pollution " hot spots " being documented by WMU's Great Lakes Center

for Environmental and Molecular Sciences.

One last change to the research protocol would ease the

scientists' concern, but to accomplish it, the team may have to avoid

analyzing samples for illegal substances. Because of the possibility

of finding traces of illegal substances, the blood cord and meconium

samples were collected anonymously.

" Without anonymity, state requirements to report children who

have been exposed to drugs of abuse during pregnancy would make it

impossible to get cooperation from mothers who abuse drugs, " notes

Mean's research colleague Liepman. But because the samples are

collected anonymously, researchers now have no way to provide

feedback to parents whose children may be at risk from high exposure

levels.

" That's disturbing, " Means says. " Ideally we'd like to inform

them of the problem so they can seek help. And, we'd like to follow

up with additional testing of the children down the road and the

involvement of other professionals who can help, like speech

pathologists and those with neurological expertise. " Liepman agrees

and sees a world of potential benefit from the project.

" It is possible we have stumbled upon the cause for a lot of

learning problems, such as dyslexia and attention deficit disorder

and other behavior problems of children in our schools, " Liepman

speculates.

new link http://www.wmich.edu/wmu/news/2003/0306/0203-369.html

originally posted link http://www.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/spew4th.pl?

ascribeid=20030529.113118 & time=12%2059%20PDT & year=2003 & public=1

=====

[Guest guest]

http://tinyurl.com/l5u9g

try that see if it works

New Report: Power Plants Responsible for 90% of Mercury Pollution

Senators And ez Urged To Vote To Strengthen Mercury

Protections Next Week

TALLAHASSEE— As Senators and ez prepare to vote on

whether to overturn a weak EPA rule on power plant mercury emissions,

Florida PIRG, Florida Wildlife Federation, the Florida Medical

Association and Vance Tice, co-owner of Tightlines Tackle in Tampa,

teamed up to release a new report today that finds power plants are

overwhelmingly the biggest mercury polluters in Florida.

The report, " Made in the U.S.A., " uses 2003 data from the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Toxics Release Inventory, the

most recent available, to identify states and counties nationwide

with the highest levels of mercury pollution from power plants, and

which power plants emit the most mercury. " In 2003, power plants in

the Florida accounted for 91% of all mercury air pollution.

Nationally, power plants emitted more than 90,000 pounds of mercury

into the air, " said Holly Binns, Field Director for Florida PIRG.

" Scientists have found that just a gram of mercury, or about a drop,

deposited over the course of a year was enough to contaminate the

fish in a Wisconsin lake, " noted Ann Vanek Dasovich, a new mother,

board member of the Florida Wildlife Federation and representative of

the Florida Mercury Sportsmen, a group of over 200,000 sportsmen and

women concerned about mercury pollution.

" Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can affect the brain, heart, and

immune system. Developing fetuses and children are especially at

risk; even low-level exposure to mercury can cause learning

disabilities, developmental delays, lowered IQ, and problems with

attention and memory. EPA scientists estimate that one in six women

has enough mercury in her body to put her child at risk should she

become pregnant. Studies also indicate that mercury exposure is

associated with an increased risk of heart attacks in adults, " said

Dr. Todd Sack, a ville physician who chairs the Florida

Medical Association's Environment and Health Section.

" Last week, the Florida Medical Association passed a resolution

urging state and local leaders to require coal-fired power plants to

install pollution control technology and to pursue a wide range of

clean energy options before investing in new coal-fired power plants,

based on the significant health concerns associated with coal-fired

power plant pollution, " said Sack.

Power plants are the largest industrial source of U.S. mercury

emissions. EPA data show that about one-third of the mercury

deposited in the U.S. comes from U.S. power plants alone, and

deposition rates near individual plants can be as high as 50-80

percent. Mercury pollution is so pervasive that 44 states have posted

mercury-related fish consumption advisories, half of the states for

every lake or river.

" In Florida, mercury-related fish consumption advisories cover every

lake and river in the state, as well as our entire coastline. These

advisories warn people to avoid or limit their consumption of certain

types of fish, " said Vance Tice, co-owner of Tightlines Tackle, a

retail fishing supply store and charter fishing service in Tampa

Bay. " It is such a shame that folks in Florida have to worry about

whether or not it is safe to eat the fish they catch because of

mercury pollution, especially since we can do something about it. "

Key findings of the report include:

* In Florida, power plants emitted 2,982 pounds of mercury in 2003.

Florida ranked 11th in the country for the highest levels of power

plant mercury emissions. 91% of all reported mercury air emissions in

Florida were from power plants.

* Duval County led the state in power plant mercury emissions, with

633 pounds, or 21% of the state's total power plant mercury

emissions, in 2003.

* The St. s River Power Park and Northside Generating Station,

owned by JEA, was the largest power plant mercury emitter in the

state, with 599 pounds, or 20% percent of the state's total power

plant mercury emissions, in 2003.

* Counties with the highest mercury emissions from power plants were

concentrated in states in the Gulf Coast, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic

regions, with 56% of the top 50 counties in just seven states: Texas,

Pennsylvania, Ohio, Alabama, West Virginia, Indiana, and Florida.

* The most polluting 15 companies in the U.S. emitted more than

48,000 pounds of mercury in 2003, accounting for 54% of power plant

mercury emissions nationwide. Southern Company, the parent of Gulf

Power, which operates the Crist, Lansing and Scholz power

plants in Florida's panhandle, ranked 2nd nationally among utilities

with the highest mercury emissions. Reliant Energy, Inc., which

operates the Indian River Power Plant in Brevard County, ranked 3rd,

and Progress Energy, which operates the Crystal River Energy Complex,

Anclote, and Bartow power plants, ranked 11th.

Under the Clean Air Act, sources of hazardous air pollutants,

including mercury, are required to install pollution control

technology to reduce these toxic emissions by the maximum achievable

amount. EPA acknowledged in 2001 that compliance with the law would

require reducing power plant mercury emissions by about 90 percent.

In March 2005, however, the EPA issued regulations that allow power

plants to avoid the Clean Air Act's maximum achievable control

technology (MACT) requirement. One of these rules, the " delisting

rule, " removed power plants from the list of sources subject to MACT

standards. This paved the way for a second, industry-favored " cap-and-

trade rule " that allows power plants to buy and trade the right to

pollute and delays even modest mercury reductions until at least 2018.

" EPA is essentially saying that mercury from power plants isn't

toxic, " Binns said. " That defies both law and logic. " At least 16

states have challenged one or both of the rules in court or have

petitioned EPA for reconsideration of the delisting rule,

unfortunately, Florida is not among them. In June, Senators

Leahy (D-VT) and (R-ME) introduced a bipartisan joint

resolution against the delisting rule under the Congressional Review

Act, a law that enables Congress to disapprove of federal agency

rules using special, expedited procedures. Disapproval of a rule

voids it, meaning it has no effect. A vote is expected in early

September, after the Senate returns from its August recess.

" We urge Senators and ez to take action to protect

public health by supporting the Leahy- resolution, " Binns

said. " It is long past time for power plants to comply with the law

and join other industries in reducing their mercury pollution by 90

percent. "

# # #

> >

> > -A short quick answer on the phenol issue, there are people that

do

> > have difficulty processing phenols(certain genetic profiles), and

> > does explain why not everyone has this problem. Phenols are an

> > additive in vaccines too, as is aluminum.

> >

> > Yes you are correct about pockets of higher incidence of

toxicities

> > in different parts of the country. Coal fired power plants are the

> > number one source of environmental mercury, and yes, there are big

> > dumpers of environmental mercury by state. Here is a page to give

> you

> > an idea on how big a problem this really is,(at the end of my

post)

> > look at the states and compare them to your numbers. Take into

> > account weather patterns going from west to east and how it can

> even

> > affect neighboring states, even if they do not have large

> pollutors.

> > Example Pennsylvania is one of the biggest offenders, but New

> Jersey

> > is a neighboring state to the east.

> >

> > Yes " most " children have had strep/ottits media, but there are

> > children that are carriers of strep in their nasal passages.Those

> are

> > the children I am speaking of. Bacteria do not necessarily make

one

> > sick, bacteria can coexist within and do damage as do virus.We

have

> > had strep cultured out of stool samples in large quatities so we

> know

> > it is documented.

> >

> > Lead exposure we are lead to believe is just from old paint. It is

> > ubiquitous in the water supply, albeit in most communities in low

> > levels, but remember, a random blood lead level test most

> definitely

> > does not give you the actual lead that is stored in the organs and

> > bones. The ph of your water will even contribute to the leaching

of

> > metals from old water lines, low ph will pull copper/lead into

your

> > bathing/drinking/cooking water. Lead blocks heme in the cell.

> >

> > Aluminum that we all use in aluminum foil/pots, take out foods is

> > stored in fat cells, it blocks methionine synthase which is b12

> > metabolic pathway.It is known that aluminum is an inhibitor of

> > dihydropteridine reductase (DHPR), which is the enzyme responsible

> > for the regeneration of tetrahydrobiopterin. In the brain,

> > tetrahydrobiopterin is required for the synthesis of tyrosine,

> dopa,

> > norepinephrine and 5--hydroxytryptophan.

> >

> > Lead inhibits the conversion from homocysteine to cystathione

which

> > is the glutathione pathway.It also blocks Glutamic Acid

> > Decarboxylase, which is GABA pathway, GABA is critical for speech

> > development. High glutamate can not be balanced when lead is

> present.

> >

> > When the methylation pathways are blocked by metals/virus you do

> not

> > have proper response in the immune system, sets the stage for

> > autoimmunity. Not to mention polymorphisms that are part of who we

> > are, you can take any points in the methylation cylce and 100% of

> the

> > population has one if not several polymorphisms. We have 100% of

> our

> > children with delays having at least 1 of MTHFR, MS/MTRR, CBS.The

> > more severe the child the more polymorphisms they have. Certain

> ones

> > are more prevalent in the speech affected.

> >

> >

> > On the viral/bacterial contribution:

> > They have even tied some forms of obesity to an adenovirus:

> >

> > http://archives.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/07/28/fat.virus.ap/index.html

> >

> > This is not new, CHMP and heart attacks:

> >

> >

> >

> > http://www.researchmatters.harvard.edu/story.php?article_id=566

> >

> > Chlamydia pneumoniae may contribute to heart attacks, strokes

> > Bug that causes " walking pneumonia " may contribute to hardening of

> > arteries and its complications

> > Murat Kalayoglu of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary,

> > Libby of Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital, and

> Gerald

> > Byrne of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center

searched

> > MEDLINE and considered online resources, texts, meeting abstracts,

> > and expert opinion for the association between Chlamydia

pneumoniae

> > and atherosclerosis. They included five types of studies and

> > extracted diagnostic, pathophysiologic, and therapeutic

information

> > from the selected literature. " Atherosclerosis causes

approximately

> > half of all adult deaths in the Western hemisphere and continues

to

> > be a major health problem worldwide, " Kalayoglu, the lead author,

> > said. " Traditional risk factors such as elevated cholesterol

> clearly

> > contribute to these cardiovascular diseases, but leave some 40

> > percent of cases unexplained. Recent appreciation of

> atherosclerosis

> > as a chronic, inflammatory disease has rekindled efforts to

examine

> > the role that infectious agents may play in atherogenesis. " Their

> > analysis of the data suggests that Chlamydia pneumoniae, which

> > causes " walking pneumonia, " may contribute to atherosclerosis,

also

> > known as hardening of the arteries, and its complications, such as

> > heart attack and stroke.

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > Made in the U.S.A.: Power Plants and Mercury Pollution Across the

> > Country

> >

> > September 2005

> >

> > Executive Summary | News Release

> >

> > Download the full report. (PDF, 712 KB)

> >

>

[Guest guest]

All metals are taken up by vegetation, growing your own does help you

somewhat control, but because of the vastness of the problem, arsenic

fed to chickens by Perdue, we can not escape it. One has to

play offense and defense in this game and not rely on the

establishment to fix this. Too much money is involved in doing such.

Yes oils help, but they do not correct it, for the majority, once

you stop them regressions occur. Yes I know why would one want to,

but if the eicosanoid pathway is inhibited, how many other pathways

are as well.

It is not an all mercury, it is pcbs, aluminum, arsenic etc.,. PCBs

interupt sexual development, they feminize wildlife, interupt

endocrine function.

>

> What's most interesting about lead is the newer studies that link

> even levels previously considered normal to lower IQ functioning in

> children. I had spoken with the original doctor that lead (pardon

> the pun) the research into low levels of lead and talked to him

> about our group, how there are " late talkers " coming out of the

> woodwork in certain areas and in families with no genetic

> predisposition to speech impairments, and asked him about the

> findings about how when lead is in the soil it is tested to be in

> every aspect of the vegetation. (translate that to lead based

> tomatoes, corn, potatoes, grain and pasture for cows, pigs etc.) I

> asked " If someone took the time to test lead passing from the soil

> to vegetation, did anyone test any of the other toxins that could be

> in soil? " At that point, and possibly still today, that

> answer: " no " So if you live in an area where there are tons of

> other apraxic children around you, where it's normal to get old and

> get cancer, you may want to as Kathy G from this group suggests buy

> huge planters and fill them with potting soil and plant your

> tomatoes in them. Just a suggestion until someone does figure out

> if all the other toxins in the soil pass through the soil to the

> vegetation like it does with lead.

>

> Here's one article about how if the lead is in the soil it will be

> in every aspect of the vegetation.

> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?

cmd=Retrieve & db=pubmed & dopt=Abstract & list_uids=15016510 & query_hl=8

> or to read the entire thing

> http://www.bridges4kids.org/lead/binnspaper2003.pdf

>

> And of course since some write articles so as not to create any mass

> panic,we can be assured that the actual amount of lead in the part

> of the plant we consume is probably low in some cases.

>

> Leaden Gardens

> http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20031206/food.asp

>

> And not to be the one to burst the bubble either, but again even

very low

> levels of lead are linked to lower cognitive functioning. Here's

> just one resource on this.

>

> Very Low Lead Levels Linked with IQ Deficits, According to NEJM

Study

> http://www.niehs.nih.gov/oc/news/leadiq.htm

>

> And about phenol, I wasn't curious as much about that toxin alone as

> I know that it's been around way longer than a decade, but what

> happens to phenol when combined in nature with PCBs and lead, etc.?

> What is the biproduct from manufacture now that wasn't one a decade

ago?

> What are the chances it's just mercury each time? Slim? (to none?)

>

> The link you meant to post but that didn't show up is

> http://www.uspirg.org/reports/madeintheusa.pdf Made in the U.S.A.:

> Power Plants and Mercury Pollution Across the Country September 2005

> Executive Summary | News Release

> But again, why limit the search to mainly mercury when that may only

> be only one ingredient of the toxic cocktail?

>

> And from the archive " cluster areas "

>

/message/41199

>

> Like I said before " I suspect that if your child is in the rare

> percentage where the EFAs do not work -then your child is in the

> rare percentage that would have had apraxia anyway before the

> dramatic rise in these conditions ten years ago...I believe the EFAs

> have either a moderate or dramatic effect depending upon the type of

> insult neurologically -what the cause of the apraxia/PDD/ADHD etc.

> is. You can check the zip codes for where you worked and lived at

> the EPA site http://www.epa.gov They have incredible mapping

> ability -or you can just do the easy route and put in your zip here

> http://www.epa.gov/epahome/commsearch.htm "

>

> Below is yet another recent article that shows this theory of the

> toxin/communication impairment link. We know (or would hope) that

> only a small amount, or more likely no members here, used

> recreational drugs not approved by their MD while pregnant. This

> would mean that most likely toxins in our babies must have come the

> new fashioned way -through the soil, water, and air -or food.

> Wonder why the heavy emphasis on drug users in the following, and

> instead of wondering which drugs were used - just check where these

> children are -or where the parents lived/worked when pregnant - what

> could have been silent, lurking, and dangerous nearby? Like just

> for example...did the researchers from Kalamazoo Michagan bother to

> check their zip code at the EPA instead of wondering about drug use

> of the parents? I did -and it's not a pretty report. (the zip for

> Kalamazoo is 49001 and again -the website to do a quick search is

> http://www.epa.gov/epahome/commsearch.htm )

>

> Thu May 29 12:59:27 2003 Pacific Time

>

> Dirty Diapers Help Researchers Pinpoint Fetal Health Risks

>

> KALAMAZOO, Mich., May 29 (AScribe Newswire) -- A team of

> researchers, up to their elbows in more than 800 sets of dirty

> diapers, have turned the experience into what may be some of the

> first conclusive evidence that environmental pollutants can impact

> the health and future prospects of children, even before they're

> born.

>

> Western Michigan University researchers, working in

> cooperation with Kalamazoo's two major hospitals and Michigan State

> University's Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies, have determined

> that a startling 50 percent of children born in the area during a

> 10-month period in 2002 were exposed to lead while still in the

womb,

> and about 5 percent of babies born had already suffered lead

exposure

> at levels typically associated with neurological problems.

>

> Exposure in the womb to lead and other toxic chemicals was

> analyzed by collecting blood from umbilical cords as well as

meconium

> samples from the first sets of diapers soiled by newborns. Meconium

> is the bowel discharge from infants during their first 24 to 48

hours

> of life and reflects the accumulation of bile secreted during the

> last five months of gestation.

>

> " What we've done is develop a way to look at the earliest

> potential impact of substances on fetal development, " says Dr. Jay

> Means, WMU's Gwen Frostic Professor of Environmental Chemistry and

> Toxicology and the lead researcher. " We know that many of these

> substances have their most profound effects on the developing child,

> but so little is known about the exposure of a significant

percentage

> of the population to these substances. This gives us a snapshot of

> that exposure. "

>

> Means says the selection of meconium as a sample to be

> analyzed along with the cord blood helps rule out the possibility

> that the babies' exposure came in any way other than through the

> placental blood barrier.

>

> " It's unambiguous, " he says of the resulting data. " As soon as

> the child starts to nurse or eat from other sources, you raise the

> possibility of another outside source of contamination. "

>

> Beginning in March 2002, Means along with Dr. Liepman,

> director of psychiatry research at MSU/KCMS, and their team worked

> with staff members at Borgess Medical Center and Bronson Methodist

> Hospital to collect nearly 3,000 cord blood and meconium samples

from

> newborns. Of those samples, about 800 were complete paired samples

> that included both cord blood and meconium. Samples were collected

> after receiving anonymous informed consent agreements from mothers

> and were then analyzed to ascertain levels of heavy metals,

> pesticides, PCBs and herbicides as well as recreational and

> psychoactive drugs. About 200 randomly selected samples were

screened

> to determine whether and how much of a toxic substance was

> transferred across the placental blood barrier.

>

> Researchers screened the samples using two sophisticated mass

> spectrometer systems to determine fetal exposure to heavy metals

such

> as lead, mercury, chromium and cadmium; toxic organic compounds like

> PCBs and dioxins; and such drugs as cannabis, cocaine,

> methamphetamine and cotinine, which comes from nicotine. In addition

> to the high levels of lead exposure, researchers found a wide range

> of exposure to the other measured substances. For instance, PCBs and

> DDT, which can lead to reduced IQ and other developmental problems,

> were found in a about 15 percent of the samples. Mercury and cadmium

> also showed up in 15 percent of the samples, while the

> tobacco-related compound cotinine was found in more than 30 percent

> of the samples.

>

> But it was the high incidence of lead that stunned the team,

> Means says. He notes that lead exposure has been linked to mental

> retardation, seizures, delays in motor development, kidney disease,

> and problems with bone and tooth development. Means says that their

> measurement tool--the inductively coupled plasma-mass

> spectrometer--allows researchers to measure lead in infinitesimal

> amounts that are far below the levels at which exposure is

considered

> dangerous, according to federal guidelines. But unlike other tools,

> this one identifies lead with complete certainty. Its presence in so

> many of the samples is troubling, he says.

>

> The team completed an initial round of sample collections at

> the end of 2002 and, with the results of the analysis in hand, a new

> round of research is about to begin. The first round was completed

on

> a small budget put together with funds from the WMU Office of

> Research, the Kalamazoo County Healthy Babies, Healthy Start

program,

> the National Science Foundation and MSU/KCMS. The project owes its

> initial success to what Means calls " excellent cooperation from the

> hospitals and the tireless efforts of a dedicated group of

> undergraduate student researchers. "

>

> An anonymous $110,000 grant to WMU's Environmental Institute

> will help Means launch a new round of research. Goals for the new

> round include expanding the number of infants from whom complete

> samples are collected; relating the patterns of exposure to

> geographical, demographic and dietary data; and adding gene

> expression analysis to the tests run on the samples to determine

> which genes show signs of being activated or repressed by exposure

to

> the various toxic chemicals. He also plans to add other substances

of

> concern to the list of those being studied--like polybrominated

> diphenyl ether, commonly known as PBDE, a synthetic fire retardant

> chemical used in textiles.

>

> The collection of data about demographics and diet will help

> pinpoint the source of exposure, says Means, and the zip code data

> will allow his team to cross reference their data with known

> pollution " hot spots " being documented by WMU's Great Lakes Center

> for Environmental and Molecular Sciences.

>

> One last change to the research protocol would ease the

> scientists' concern, but to accomplish it, the team may have to

avoid

> analyzing samples for illegal substances. Because of the possibility

> of finding traces of illegal substances, the blood cord and meconium

> samples were collected anonymously.

>

> " Without anonymity, state requirements to report children who

> have been exposed to drugs of abuse during pregnancy would make it

> impossible to get cooperation from mothers who abuse drugs, " notes

> Mean's research colleague Liepman. But because the samples are

> collected anonymously, researchers now have no way to provide

> feedback to parents whose children may be at risk from high exposure

> levels.

>

> " That's disturbing, " Means says. " Ideally we'd like to inform

> them of the problem so they can seek help. And, we'd like to follow

> up with additional testing of the children down the road and the

> involvement of other professionals who can help, like speech

> pathologists and those with neurological expertise. " Liepman agrees

> and sees a world of potential benefit from the project.

>

> " It is possible we have stumbled upon the cause for a lot of

> learning problems, such as dyslexia and attention deficit disorder

> and other behavior problems of children in our schools, " Liepman

> speculates.

>

> new link http://www.wmich.edu/wmu/news/2003/0306/0203-369.html

>

>

> originally posted link http://www.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/spew4th.pl?

> ascribeid=20030529.113118 & time=12%2059%20PDT & year=2003 & public=1

>

> =====

>

[Guest guest]

Wow! I said I was open to the research, and so I got some. That was a

very long, complicated, but quite illuminating read. Thanks for posting.

[Guest guest]

Martha,

A DAN nutritionist wrote the script that my pediatrician filled, but

once the blood tests came back I worked on leveling out his high

copper and low zinc, plus the internal yeast infection. There was a

comprehensive genetic history taken and I was referred to a

hemotologist for further testing. We found the genetic disorder

Hemochromatosis (iron overload) to be in his makeup. They find this

disorder in Irish and Hungarian families. My son will be watched, but

if it was a problem he would have to phlebotomize to keep his iron

numbers low.

Too much iron can lead to heart disease, diabetes, kidney and liver

problems.

If I were to answer your question as to where to start . . .

pediatrician or someone in the medical field you absolutely trust and

can speak about alternative ways of testing your child. There is no

exact formula since all of us have our own chemical makeup.

Good luck,,

Joanne