Autism, vaccination and mercury toxicity

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

 

Hugo wrote:

>  Whew. When will it all end?

 

The whole question of whether or not vaccination, mercury exposure

*in vaccine, or from industrial pollution, or from dental mercury-

amalgam fillings done in the mother in the first trimester is far

from over. Recent papers on Medline show that the controversy still

rages. See below.

 

Indeed, a further quirky aspect is in the most recent abstract by Dr

Schultz (US Navy doctor) et al, San Diego. They researched whether

administration of antiinflammatory drugs after MMR vaccination

triggers autism. They concluded YES for PARACETAMOL but NO for

IBUPROFEN:

 

Schultz ST, Klonoff-Cohen HS, Wingard DL, Akshoomoff NA, Macera CA,

Ming Ji . Acetaminophen (paracetamol) use, measles-mumps-rubella

vaccination, and autistic disorder: The results of a parent survey.

Autism. 2008 May;12(3):293-307. Univ of California San Diego, and San

Diego State Univ, USA. Stephen.schultz The present study

was performed to determine whether acetaminophen (paracetamol) use

after the measles-mumps-rubella vaccination could be associated with

autistic disorder. This case-control study used the results of an

online parental survey conducted from 16 July 2005 to 30 January

2006, consisting of 83 children with autistic disorder and 80 control

children. Acetaminophen use after measles-mumps-rubella vaccination

was significantly associated with autistic disorder when considering

children 5 years of age or less (OR 6.11, 95% CI 1.42-26.3), after

limiting cases to children with regression in development (OR 3.97,

95% CI 1.11-14.3), and when considering only children who had post-

vaccination sequelae (OR 8.23, 95% CI 1.56-43.3), adjusting for age,

gender, mother's ethnicity, and the presence of illness concurrent

with measles-mumps-rubella vaccination. IBUPROFEN use after measles-

mumps-rubella vaccination was NOT associated with autistic disorder.

This preliminary study found that ACETAMINOPHEN use after measles-

mumps-rubella vaccination WAS associated with autistic disorder.

PMID: 18445737 [PubMed - in process]

 

Baird G, Pickles A, Simonoff E, Charman T, Sullivan P, Chandler S,

Loucas T, Meldrum D, Afzal M, Thomas B, Jin L, Brown D. Measles

vaccination and antibody response in autism spectrum disorders. Arch

Dis Child. 2008 Feb 5 [Epub ahead of print] Newcomen Centre, Guy's &

St Thomas' NHS Trust, United Kingdom. OBJECTIVE: To test the

hypothesis that measles vaccination was involved in the pathogenesis

of ASD as evidenced by signs of a persistent measles infection or

abnormally persistent immune response shown by circulating measles

virus or raised antibody titres in MMR vaccinated children with ASD

compared with controls . DESIGN: Case-control study community based

METHODS: A community sample of vaccinated children aged 10-12 years

in the UK with ASD (N=98) and two control groups of similar age, one

with special educational needs but no ASD (N=52) and one typically

developing group (N=90), were tested for measles virus and antibody

response to measles in serum. RESULTS: No difference was found

between cases and controls for measles antibody response. There was

no dose response relationship between autism symptoms and antibody

levels. Measles virus nucleic acid was amplified by RT-PCR in PMBC

from one case with autism and two typically developing children.

There was no evidence of a differential response to measles virus or

the measles component of the MMR in children with ASD, with or

without regression, and controls who had either one or two doses of

MMR. Only one child from the control group had clinical symptoms of a

possible enterocolitis. PMID: 18252754 [PubMed - as supplied by

publisher]

 

Kawashti MI, Amin OR, Rowehy NG. Possible immunological disorders in

autism: concomitant autoimmunity and immune tolerance. Egypt J

Immunol. 2006;13(1):99-104. Microbiology Dept, Faculty of Medicine

(For Girls), Al Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt. Autism is a pervasive

developmental disorder that affect children early in their life.

Immunological disorders is one of several contributing factors that

have been suggested to cause autism. Thirty autistic children aged 3-

6 years and thirty non-autistic psychologically-free siblings were

studied. Circulating IgA and IgG autoantibodies to casein and gluten

dietary proteins were detected by enzyme-immunoassays (EIA).

Circulating IgG antibodies to measles, mumps and rubella vaccine

(M.M.R) and cytomeglovirus were investigated by EIA. Results revealed

high seropositivity for autoantibodies to casein and gluten: 83.3%

and 50% respectively in autistic children as compared to 10% and 6.7%

positivity in the control group. Surprisingly, circulating anti-

measles, anti-mumps and anti-rubella IgG were positive in only 50%,

73.3% and 53.3% respectively as compared to 100% positivity in the

control group. Anti-CMV IgG was positive in 43.3% of the autistic

children as compared to 7% in the control group. It is concluded

that, autoimmune response to dietary proteins and deficient immune

response to measles, mumps and rubella vaccine antigens might be

associated with autism, as a leading cause or a resulting event.

Further research is needed to confirm these findings. PMID: 17974154

[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE

 

Edlich RF, Olson DM, Olson BM, Greene JA, Gubler KD, Winters KL,

Kelley AR, Britt LD, Long WB 3rd. Update on the National Vaccine

Injury Compensation Program. J Emerg Med. 2007 Aug;33(2):199-211.

Epub 2007 Jun 18. Distinguished Professor of Plastic Surgery,

Biomedical Engineering and Emergency Medicine, University of Virginia

Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. The National Childhood

Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, as amended, established the Vaccine

Injury Compensation Program (VICP). The VICP went into effect on

October 1, 1988 and is a Federal " no-fault " system designed to

compensate individuals, or families of individuals, who have been

injured by covered vaccines. From 1988 until July 2006, a total of

2531 non-autism/thimerosal and 5030 autism/thimerosal claims were

made to the VICP. The compensation paid for the non-autism/thimerosal

claims from 1988 until 2006 was $902,519,103.37 for 2542 awards.

There was no compensation for any of the autism/thimerosal claims. On

the basis of the deaths and extensive suffering to patients and

families from the adverse reactions to vaccines, all physicians must

provide detailed information in the Vaccine Information Statement to

the patient or the parent or legal guardian of the child about the

potential dangers of vaccines as well as the VICP. PMID: 17692778

[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

A possible link between mercury and autism still controversial; some

say yes & some say no. See below.

 

Berman RF, Pessah IN, Mouton PR, Mav D, Harry J. Low-level neonatal

thimerosal exposure: further evaluation of altered neurotoxic

potential in SJL mice. Toxicol Sci. 2008 Feb;101(2):294-309. Epub

2007 Oct 31. ept of Neurological Surgery and the Center for

Children's Environmental Health, University of California Davis, CA

95616, USA. rfberman Ethylmercury in thimerosal-preserved

childhood vaccines has been suggested to be neurotoxic and to

contribute to the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders, including

autism. Immune system function may be an important factor influencing

vulnerability of the developing nervous system to thimerosal. This

possibility is based in part on a report by Hornig et al. (2004, Mol.

Psychiatry 9, 833-845) of neurodevelomental toxicity in SJL/J mice

that develop autoantibodies when exposed to organic mercury. The

present study reexamined this possibility by injecting neonatal SJL/J

mice with thimerosal, with and without combined HiB and DTP vaccines.

Injections modeled childhood vaccination schedules, with mice

injected on postnatal days 7, 9, 11, and 15 with 14.2, 10.8, 9.2, and

5.6 mug/kg mercury from thimerosal, respectively, or vehicle.

Additional groups received vaccine only or a 10 times higher

thimerosal + vaccine dose. Low levels of mercury were found in blood,

brain, and kidneys 24 h following the last thimerosal injection.

Survival, body weight, indices of early development (negative

geotaxis, righting) and hippocampal morphology were not affected.

Performance was unaffected in behavioral tests selected to assess

behavioral domains relevant to core deficits in neurodevelopmental

disorders such as autism (i.e., social interaction, sensory gating,

anxiety). In an open-field test the majority of behaviors were

unaffected by thimerosal injection, although thimerosal-injected

female mice showed increased time in the margin of an open field at 4

weeks of age. The present results do NOT indicate pervasive

developmental neurotoxicity after vaccine-level thimerosal injections

in SJL mice. The data provide little if any support for the

hypothesis that thimerosal exposure contributes to the etiology of

neurodevelopmental disorders. PMID: 17977901 [PubMed - indexed for

MEDLINE 

 

Desoto MC, Hitlan RT.  Blood levels of mercury are related to

diagnosis of autism: a reanalysis of an important data set. J Child

Neurol. 2007 Nov;22(11):1308-11. Dept of Psychology, University of

Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614, USA. cathy.desoto The

question of what is leading to the apparent increase in autism is of

great importance. Like the link between aspirin and heart attack,

even a small effect can have major health implications. If there is

any link between autism and mercury, it is absolutely crucial that

the first reports of the question are not falsely stating that no

link occurs. We have reanalyzed the data set originally reported by

Ip et al. in 2004. We found that the original p value was in error

and that a significant relation DOES exist between the blood levels

of mercury and diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder. Moreover,

the hair sample analysis results offer some support for the idea that

persons with autism may be less efficient and more variable at

eliminating mercury from the blood. PMID: 18006963 [PubMed - indexed

for MEDLINE] 

 

DeStefano F. Vaccines and autism: evidence does not support a causal

association. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2007 Dec;82(6):756-9. Epub 2007 Oct

10. tatistics and Epidemiology Unit, RTI International, Atlanta,

Georgia, USA. fdestefano  A suggested association between

certain childhood vaccines and autism has been one of the most

contentious vaccine safety controversies in recent years. Despite

compelling scientific evidence against a causal association, many

parents and parent advocacy groups continue to suspect that vaccines,

particularly measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and thimerosal-

containing vaccines (TCVs), can cause autism. PMID: 17928818 [PubMed -

 indexed for MEDLINE] 

 

Geier DA, Geier MR. A case series of children with apparent mercury

toxic encephalopathies manifesting with clinical symptoms of

regressive autistic disorders. J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2007 May

15;70(10):837-51. Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc., Silver

Spring, Maryland, USA. Impairments in social relatedness and

communication, repetitive behaviors, and stereotypic abnormal

movement patterns characterize autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). It

is clear that while genetic factors are important to the pathogenesis

of ASDs, mercury exposure can induce immune, sensory, neurological,

motor, and behavioral dysfunctions similar to traits defining or

associated with ASDs. The Institutional Review Board of the Institute

for Chronic Illnesses (Office for Human Research Protections, U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services, IRB number IRB00005375)

approved the present study. A case series of nine patients who

presented to the Genetic Centers of America for a genetic /

developmental evaluation are discussed. Eight of nine patients (one

patient was found to have an ASD due to Rett's syndrome) (a) had

regressive ASDs; (b) had elevated levels of androgens; © excreted

significant amounts of mercury post chelation challenge; (d) had

biochemical evidence of decreased function in their glutathione

pathways; (e) had no known significant mercury exposure except from

Thimerosal-containing vaccines/Rho(D)-immune globulin preparations;

and (f) had alternate causes for their regressive ASDs ruled out.

There was a significant dose-response relationship between the

severity of the regressive ASDs observed and the total mercury dose

children received from Thimerosal-containing vaccines/Rho (D)-immune

globulin preparations. Based upon differential diagnoses, 8 of 9

patients examined were exposed to significant mercury from Thimerosal-

containing biologic/vaccine preparations during their fetal/infant

developmental periods, and subsequently, between 12 and 24 mo of age,

these previously normally developing children suffered mercury toxic

encephalopathies that manifested with clinical symptoms consistent

with regressive ASDs. Evidence for mercury intoxication should be

considered in the differential diagnosis as contributing to some

regressive ASDs. PMID: 17454560 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

Geier DA, Geier MR. A prospective study of mercury toxicity

biomarkers in autistic spectrum disorders. J Toxicol Environ Health

A. 2007 Oct;70(20):1723-30. Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Silver

Spring, Maryland, USA. Porphyrins are derivatives formed in the heme

synthesis pathway and porphyrins afford a measure of xenobiotic

exposure. The steps in the heme pathway most vulnerable to heavy

metal inhibition are uroporphyrin decarboxylase (UROD) and

coproporphyrinogen oxidase (CPOX) reactions. Mercury toxicity was

associated with elevations in urinary coproporphyrin (cP),

pentacarboxyporphyrin (5cxP), and precoproporphyrin (prcP) (also

known as keto-isocoproporphyrin) levels. Two cohorts of autistic

patients in the United States and France had urine porphyrin levels

associated with mercury toxicity. A prospective study of urinary

porphyrin testing at LabCorp (United States) and the Laboratoire

Philippe Auguste (France) involving 71 autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

patients, neurotypical sibling controls, and general population

controls was undertaken. ASD patients had significant elevations in

urinary levels of cP, 5cxP, and prcP relative to controls, and > 50%

of ASD patients had urinary cP levels more than 2 standard deviations

above the mean values for neurotypical sibling controls. Significant

reductions in urinary 5cxP and cP levels were observed in ASD

patients following chelation. A significant correlation was found

between urinary porphyrins measured at LabCorp and those measured at

the Laboratoire Philippe Auguste on individual ASD patients. The

established developmental neurotoxicity attributed to mercury and

biochemical/genomic evidence for mercury susceptibility/toxicity in

ASDs indicates a causal role for mercury. Urinary porphyrin testing

is clinically available, relatively inexpensive, and noninvasive.

Porphyrins need to be routinely measured in ASDs to establish if

mercury toxicity is a causative factor and to evaluate the

effectiveness of chelation therapy. PMID: 17885929 [PubMed - indexed

for MEDLINE] 

 

Geier DA, Mumper E, Gladfelter B, Coleman L, Geier MR.

Neurodevelopmental disorders, maternal rh-negativity, and rho(d)

immune globulins: a multi-center assessment.Neuro Endocrinol Lett.

2008 Apr;29(2):272-80.  Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc., Silver

Spring, MD 20905, USA. mgeier BACKGROUND: Many

formulations of Thimerosal (49.55% mercury by weight)-containing

Rho(D) immune globulins (TCRs) were routinely administered to Rh-

negative mothers in the US prior to 2002. OBJECTIVES: It was

hypothesized: (1) if prenatal Rho(D)-immune globulin preparation

exposure was a risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders (NDs)

then more children with NDs would have Rh-negative mothers compared

to controls; and (2) if Thimerosal in the Rho(D)-immune globulin

preparations was the ingredient associated with NDs, following the

removal of Thimerosal from all manufactured Rho(D)-immune globulin

preparations from 2002 in the US the frequency of maternal Rh-

negativity among children with NDs should be similar to control

populations. METHODS: Maternal Rh-negativity was assessed at two

sites (Clinic A-Lynchburg, VA; Clinic B-Rockville and Baltimore, MD)

among 298 Caucasian children with NDs and known Rh-status. As

controls, maternal Rh-negativity frequency was determined from 124

Caucasian children (born 1987-2001) without NDs at Clinic A, and the

Rh-negativity frequency was determined from 1,021 Caucasian pregnant

mothers that presented for prenatal genetic care at Clinic B (1980-

1989). Additionally, 22 Caucasian patients with NDs born from 2002

onwards (Clinics A and B) were assessed for maternal Rh-negativity.

RESULTS: There were significant and comparable increases in maternal

Rh-negativity among children with NDs (Clinic: A=24.2%), autism

spectrum disorders (Clinic: A=28.3%, B=25.3%), and attention-deficit-

disorder/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder (Clinic: A=26.3%)

observed at both clinics in comparison to both control groups

(Clinic: A=12.1%, B=13.9%) employed. Children with NDs born post-2001

had a maternal Rh-negativity frequency (13.6%) similar to controls.

CONCLUSION: This study showed that TCR exposure WAS ASSOCIATED with

some NDs in children. PMID: 18404135 [PubMed - in process]

 

Montgomery KS, Mackey J, Thuett K, Ginestra S, Bizon JL, Abbott LC.

 Chronic, low-dose prenatal exposure to methylmercury impairs motor

and mnemonic function in adult C57/B6 mice. Behav Brain Res. 2008 Mar

16 [Epub ahead of print] Dept of Psychology, Texas A & M Univ, College

Station, TX 77843-4235, USA. Methylmercury (MeHg) has cytotoxic

effects on animals and humans, and a major target organ for MeHg is

the central nervous system (CNS). It is known that the developing CNS

is extremely vulnerable to MeHg-induced changes in comparison to the

mature brain. Most studies have concentrated on the direct effects of

high levels of prenatal MeHg exposure. Surprisingly, behavioral

outcomes found in adult offspring exposed developmentally to the

neurotoxic effects of chronic, low-dose mercury more akin to

ingestion in humans are not well characterized. The objective of this

study was to determine whether such exposure produces deleterious

effects on behavior in adult mice, including motor/coordination

abilities, overall activity and mnemonic function. Developing mouse

fetuses were exposed in utero during gestational days 8-18 by giving

pregnant C57Bl/6J female mice food containing MeHg at a daily dose of

0.01mg/kg body weight. Adult mice prenatally exposed to MeHg

exhibited significant deficits in motor abilities, coordination, and

overall activity, as measured by rotarod, footprint analysis and open

field. In addition, MeHg-exposed mice were impaired with respect to

reference memory but not in a visible, cued version of the Morris

water maze task. These results indicate that PRENATAL exposure to the

lowest dose of MeHg examined to date CAN HAVE long-lasting motor and

cognitive consequences on adult offspring. These findings have far

reaching implications related to putative safe levels of MeHg

ingestion, particularly during pregnancy, and increasing rates of

cognitive and psychological disorders (e.g. attention hyperactivity

deficit disorder, autism) in our society.PMID: 18436314 [PubMed - as

supplied by publisher

 

Palmer RF, Blanchard S, Wood R.    Proximity to point sources of

environmental mercury release as a predictor of autism prevalence.

Health Place. 2008 Feb 12 [Epub ahead of print]  Univ of Texas Health

Science Center, San Antonio Department of Family and Community

Medicine, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio Texas, Mail Code 7794,

TX 78229-3900, USA. The objective of this study was to determine if

proximity to sources of mercury pollution in 1998 were related to

autism prevalence in 2002. Autism count data from the Texas

Educational Agency and environmental mercury release data from the

EPA were used. We found that for every 1000 pounds of industrial

release, there was a corresponding 2.6% increase in autism rates

(p<.05) and a 3.7% increase associated with power plant emissions

(P<.05). Distances to these sources were independent predictors after

adjustment for relevant covariates. There WAS an associated DECREASED

autism Incident Risk of 2.0% and 1.4%, respectively (p<.05), for

every 10 miles from industrial or power plant sources. While design

limitations preclude interpretation of individual risk, further

investigations of environmental risks to child development issues are

warranted. PMID: 18353703 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] 

 

Schechter R, Grether JK. Continuing increases in autism reported to

California's developmental services system: mercury in retrograde.

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2008 Jan;65(1):19-24. Comment in: Arch Gen

Psychiatry. 2008 Jan;65(1):15-6. Immunization Branch, California Dept

of Public Health, 850 Marina Bay Pkwy, Richmond, CA 94804, USA.

R.Schechter CONTEXT: Previous analyses of autism client

data reported to the California Department of Developmental Services

(DDS) have been interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that autism

is caused by exposure to the preservative thimerosal, which contains

ethylmercury. The exclusion of thimerosal from childhood vaccines in

the United States was accelerated from 1999 to 2001. The Immunization

Safety Review Committee of the Institute of Medicine has recommended

surveillance of trends in autism as exposure to thimerosal during

early childhood has decreased. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether trends

in DDS autism client data support the hypothesis that thimerosal

exposure is a primary cause of autism. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS:

Study of time trends in the prevalence by age and birth cohort of

children with autism who were active status clients of the DDS from

January 1, 1995, through March 31, 2007. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE:

Prevalence of autism among children with active status in the DDS.

RESULTS: The estimated prevalence of autism for children at each year

of age from 3 to 12 years increased throughout the study period. The

estimated prevalence of DDS clients aged 3 to 5 years with autism

increased for each quarter from January 1995 through March 2007.

Since 2004, the absolute increase and the rate of increase in DDS

clients aged 3 to 5 years with autism were higher than those in DDS

clients of the same ages with any eligible condition including

autism. CONCLUSIONS: The DDS data do not show any recent decrease in

autism in California despite the exclusion of more than trace levels

of thimerosal from nearly all childhood vaccines. The DDS data do NOT

support the hypothesis that exposure to thimerosal during childhood

is a primary cause of autism. PMID: 18180424 [PubMed - indexed for

MEDLINE]

 

Also see: Associated Press article: http://tinyurl.com/5r9yux

 

Best regards,