Lead Babies and Autism: Does Lead Plus Mercury Equal Autism?

Grandview Corners in Surrey BC is the location of a launch for the book Lead Babies by Joanna Cerazy, who has a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership a and Sandra Cottingham M.Sc. and Ph.D. and twenty plus years of classroom experience with regular students and students with special needs.

I have not yet read Lead Babies. The book is reviewed in an article by Alex Browne in the PeaceArchnews.com. Both educators noticed a rise in developmental problems including attention deficit disorder, learning disabilities, autism, delinquency and violence. They conducted research across a variety of research disciplines and concluded that lead was the culprit behind the increases of these developmental problems and disorders:

“We wanted to know what’s going on,” she said. “We started researching various toxins and realized that lead was causing it – that even a low level of lead exposure can cause very serious problems.”

While the toxic effects of lead have been known for years, Lead Babies gathers together the latest research concerning in utero transfer of lead from mother to baby, showing that lead – from a multitude of apparently harmless sources – can pass into the brain and other organs of unborn children.

The Alex Browne article indicates that there is also a section in the book dealing with mercury:

“But there’s a significant increase in the toxic effect of mercury when there is lead in people’s systems. There’s a synergistic effect. It’s a missing piece of the puzzle, one you might not see if you’re only looking at mercury. But lead is such a key piece.”

And lead is pervasive. It is all around us:

The lead industry is still flourishing, Cerazy and Cottingham report. Lead is an important component in many cosmetics, and is a key ingredient in plastics that are required to be bendable, including toys. It can even be found in some kinds of imported candy.

I do intend to read Lead Babies. I will be interested in seeing what the gathered research says about the harmful impact of lead on development. But I will pay particular attention to the section dealing with lead and mercury and their combined or synergistic effects.

Does lead and mercury equal autism? Lead Babies may not answer that question but it is not often that you see any mention of the possible synergistic effects of the many toxins with which we pollute ourselves ... and our children.

autism

Environmental Causes of Autism - It Is Time To Get The Research Done

The new UC Davis Mind Institute study indicating the likelihood of environmental factors in the dramatic increases in autism cases in California is a step forward in the still developing autism research paradigm shift that investigates autism disorders and their causes from the perspective that autism is caused by a combination of environmental influence and genetic vulnerabilities:

Autism research is poised for another paradigm shift, from an irreversible condition to a treatable disease. In the revolutionary paradigm, autism is not a rare disorder with a constant rate but frequent condition with a rising incidence. It is a combination of environmental influence and genetic vulnerabilities. It is both preventable and treatable, not by any one method but by a combination of behavioral and biomedical approaches. Autistic kids are not defective, they are sick but otherwise normal kids, and thus, recoverable. 

University of Minnesota, Press Release, July 2007

The move to a combined environmental-genetic research model seems to be long overdue. The vaccine-autism controversy may well have pushed public authorities away from possible environmental causes of autism generally but it is difficult to understand why anyone ever assumed that autism is entirely genetically determined. In a December 2007 interview piece published on TimesOnLine, Freedom of Expression, Professor Simon Baron-Cohen made the following salient observiation:

Studies of twins have established that it is not 100 per cent genetic, since even among identical twins, when one has autism, the likelihood of both twins having autism is only about 60 per cent. This means there must also be an environmental component, but what it is remains unknown. 

The vaccine-autism controversies have generated entrenched positions and ideologies on all sides of those controversies.  One of the unfortunate tendencies has been a tendency to berate and ridicule any mention of possible environmental causes of autism disorders. Another has been a focus on genetic research to the near exclusion of environmental factors.  That has begun to change, as called for in the University of Minnesota 2007 press release but the change is not as fast as it could be.  

The vaccines we give children still contain the mercury based preservative thimerosal, according to the FDA web site and children are exposed to a variety of toxic materials in toys and jewelry including mercury, lead, and arsenic.  If specific environmental factors are causing or contributing to autism, whether in isolation, or in concert, then preventative measures can be taken and research into curing autism can, and should,  incorporate those factors.

It is time to drop the rigid, ideological belief that autism is 100% genetic and get the environmental research done to help our children.

autism

Has Thimerosal Actually Been Removed From Vaccines? If Not, Of What Value Are the Epidemiological Studies?

Are the epidemiological studies relied upon by public authorities to refute assertions that the mercury based vaccine preservative thimerosal is responsible for some or all autism cases reliable?

These studies tend to show that autism rates did not decline after removal of thimerosal from vaccines. This past year the epidemiological defense of vaccines took a hit with the Poling case and with assertions by Dr. Bernardine Healy, a former director of the American Red Cross and the US National Institutes of Health, that the necessary clinical research to refute such a connection had not been done, particularly into subsets of children who might be genetically vulnerable or prediposed to develop when autism triggered by mercury or other toxins? Dr. Healy stated in Fighting the Autism-Vaccine War, US News & World Report, April 10, 2008, that:

“vaccine experts tend to look at the population as a whole, not at individual patients. And population studies are not granular enough to detect individual metabolic, genetic, or immunological variation that might make some children under certain circumstances susceptible to neurological complications after vaccination.

She also stated, amongst other points, that:

thimerosal crosses the placenta, and pregnant women are advised to get flu shots, which often contain it.

I find that last statement very troubling. If the epidemiological studies are based on the premise that thimerosal has been removed from vaccines and in fact they have not then what is the probative value, if any, of the epidemiological studies? Particularly given the pregnancy context cited by Dr. Healy.

I am only a humble small town lawyer in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada but my concern is prompted in significant part by the information provided by a prominent and accomplished member of the US medical establishment. Other credible sources also lead me to the same concern about whether thimerosal has, or has not, been removed from vaccines as claimed in the public health authorities' refutations of vaccine-autism connections.

As of this posting the web site of the US Food and Drug Administration states: Over the past several years, because of an increasing awareness of the theoretical potential for neurotoxicity of even low levels of organomercurials and because of the increased number of thimerosal containing vaccines that had been added to the infant immunization schedule, concerns about the use of thimerosal in vaccines and other products have been raised. Indeed, because of these concerns, the Food and Drug Administration has worked with, and continues to work with, vaccine manufacturers to reduce or eliminate thimerosal from vaccines.

Thimerosal has been removed from or reduced to trace amounts in all vaccines routinely recommended for children 6 years of age and younger, with the exception of inactivated influenza vaccine (see Table 1). A preservative-free version of the inactivated influenza vaccine (contains trace amounts of thimerosal) is available in limited supply at this time for use in infants, children and pregnant women. Some vaccines such as Td, which is indicated for older children (≥ 7 years of age) and adults, are also now available in formulations that are free of thimerosal or contain only trace amounts. Vaccines with trace amounts of thimerosal contain 1 microgram or less of mercury per dose.

The above, current statements from the US FDA, raise several concerns for me:

1) Theoretical potential for neurotoxicity of even low levels of organomercurials

The use of the term "theoretical potential for neurotoxicity" tells me that potential toxcity of organomercurials has NOT been definitively ruled out by the FDA. I appreciate that the expression is used in an historical context to explain the decision to remove mercury based preservatives from vaccines but surely the FDA web site would have immediately stated after that comment that there was no longer even a theoretical potential if such were the case.

2) continues to work with, vaccine manufacturers to reduce or eliminate thimerosal from vaccines.

Again, this information is taken from the web site of the US FDA as it exists today. Why are they continuing to reduce or eliminate thimerosal from vaccines if the epidemiological studies were based on the premise that thimerosal had already been removed? I appreciate that some of the studies are from other countries but have those countries all completely removed thimerosal from vaccines? If so, why were those other countries able to completely remove thimerosal when the US can not?

In the United States a study by the California Department of Health released in February 2008 found that autism rates remained steady after the removal of thimerosal from vaccines. That study conclusion was qualified though by Dr. Robert Schechter, a health officer with the California health department and lead author on the report of the study as reported in the Lexington-Herald, February 5, 2008:

As for Haley's argument that some children still might be getting some mercury from vaccines, Schechter said that could be true. But he said the general removal of thimerosal from vaccines still should have caused autism rates to fall -- if mercury were the culprit in the disease. "I would not claim that children are getting no mercury from vaccines," Schechter said. "But the average exposure for the population has been substantially decreased over the past decade. If mercury from vaccinations was a primary cause of autism, you would expect rates to be dropping substantially."

Substantial decrease is not the same as total removal of mercury from vaccines. The California epidemiological study, at least, is not based on removal of mercury from vaccines.

3) Trace amounts

The FDA site, as quoted above, states that vaccines with trace amounts of thimerosal contain 1 microgram or less of mercury per dose. That certainly sounds like a very small amount and the implication appears to be that the amount is too small to have any effect. But the FDA also referred to the theoretical potential for neurotoxicity of even low levels of organomercurials.

It seems dubious to claim that epidemiological studies show no autism increase after removal of mercury-thimerosal if all elements of the material have not in fact been removed when the potential for neurotoxicity is recognized even in small amounts. Partcularly since the FDA, as stated above, considers vaccines with trace amounts to be vaccines with the mercury removed:

A preservative-free version of the inactivated influenza vaccine (contains trace amounts of thimerosal) is available in limited supply at this time for use in infants, children and pregnant women.

Why leave trace amounts in the vaccines to begin with? If trace amounts of thimerosal can still have a preservative effect on bacteria in the vaccines then why can't they also have a neurotoxic effect on children receiving the vaccines? And some of the flu vaccines, the ones not considered thimerosal free, contain more than trace amounts of thimerosal.

I am not a medical authority and do not pretend to be. Nor do I claim that vaccines or thimerosal cause autism. As some one who does earn his living by some degree of critical thinking and analysis I find the statements of public health authorities about epidemiological studies refuting a vaccine-autism link open to question.

Their own statements appear to contradict their claims that the studies refuting a vaccine-autism link are based on periods when thimerosal was removed from vaccines.

autism

This Holiday Season Check Out HealthyToys.org

I commented yesterday on Autism and Lead Poisoning and the possibility that lead may be associated with the autism crisis, the startling increase in cases of autism for which most North American states and provinces remain woefully ill prepared.

While lead poisoning MAY be connected with autism development further research is required to confirm any such connection. There is no doubt, however, that lead is harmful, it is dangerously harmful, particularly to young children, and it is still contained in many children's toys and jewelry items. Parents this holiday season will find it very helpful to check out HealthyToys.org a project of the Ecology Center. I found these sites via One Special Place for Parents of Kids and Adults with special needs a blog site which I also recommend.

The EcologyCenter and HealthyToys.org issued a press release on December 3 which states in part:

The Ecology Center determined that one-third of the toys they tested had "high" or "medium" levels of chemicals of concern this year. Lead was found in 20 percent of the toys tested, including 54 products (3.5 percent) that exceeded the 600 parts per million (ppm) state legal limit set last year and 164 (10.7 percent) above the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended ceiling of 40 ppm. Children's jewelry remains the most contaminated product category.

... Researchers tested for chemicals that have been associated with reproductive problems, developmental and learning disabilities, hormone problems and cancer, and that have been identified by regulatory agencies as problematic. Babies and young children are the most vulnerable populations because their brains and bodies are still developing, and because they frequently put toys into their mouths. The testing was conducted with a screening technology — the portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer — that identifies the elemental composition of materials on or near the surface of products. Highlights from the HealthyToys.org 2008 findings: * Lead is Still in Toys — HealthyToys.org found lead in 20 percent of all the products tested this year. When children are exposed to lead, the developmental and nervous system consequences can be irreversible. The Healthy Michigan, Healthy Kids platform calls for implementing the American Academy of Pediatrics threshold level of 40 ppm for toys sold in Michigan. * It's Not Just Lead — HealthyToys.org found that 2.9 percent, or 45 products, had bromine at concentrations of 1,000 ppm or higher. This indicates the likely, unnecessary use of brominated flame retardants — chemicals that may pose hazards to children's health. HB 4465, pending in the state House, would severely restrict the use of one type of brominated flame retardant. Arsenic was detected at levels greater than 100 ppm in 22, or 1.4 percent, of products; 289 (18.9 percent) of products contained detectable levels of arsenic. Mercury was found above 100 ppm in 14 (1 percent) of products; 62 (4.2 percent) of products contained detectable levels of mercury. The Healthy Michigan, Healthy Kids platform calls for no more than 40 ppm of mercury or arsenic in children's products.

...

Jewelry — Jewelry remains the most contaminated product category tested. Children's jewelry was five-times more likely to contain lead above 600 ppm than other products tested by HealthyToys.org.

HealthyToys.org has several pages of helpful information for people buying toys and jewelry this holiday season including several pages of toy rankings by brand, type, best toys and worst toys. Toys listed on the best toys page had no detectable traces of Lead, Cadmium, Chlorine, Arsenic, Mercury, Antimony, Tin, Bromine, or Chromium in any components tested. Toys listed on the worst toys page are those found to contain lead, brominde, cadmium, arsenic or mercury.

autism

Lopez-Duran Reviews Geirs' Biomarkers of Environmental Toxicity and Susceptibility in Autism

Nestor L. Lopez-Duran Ph.D., at Translating Autism, has posted a review of D Geier, J Kern, C Garver, J Adams, T Audhya, R Nataf, M Geier (2008). Biomarkers of environmental toxicity and susceptibility in autism☆ Journal of the Neurological Sciences DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2008.08.021. In Heavy metal toxicity and detoxification capacity in autism Lopez-Duran provides an objective, professional, assessment of a controversial study which avoids the rhetorical excesses of both sides of the autism-mercury war.

This recent (September 29, 2008) contribution by Lopez-Duran again confirms Translating Autism as one of the best autism blogs on the internet. In my humble opinion, Translating Autism is an excellent source of balanced, professional, autism information.

autism

Study Finds Mercury Autism Link

The rancorous debates about a possible mercury autism link usually focus on vaccines and the mercury component of some vaccine preservatives. Mercury originating elsewhere in the environment is rarely mentioned as a possible causal factor for autism even though mercury is a powerful neurotoxin especiallydangerous for fetuses, babies and toddlers. A recent study by a team of San Antonio scientists may change those dynamics substantially as reported on MySa.com. The San Antonio scientists have found a statistically significant correlation between autism rates in Texas school districts and their proximity to power plants or other large industrial sources of mercury.

The team looked at mercury released from 39 coal-fired power plants and 56 industrial plants around the state and examined the autism rates from 1,040 school districts in Texas.

Researchers found that for every 1,000 pounds of mercury released into the environment, there was an overall 2.6 percent increase in autism rates in Texas school districts.

That rate jumped to 3.7 percent when looking at emissions from power plants alone. But it fell by 1 to 2 percent for every 10 miles from the source.

The study is published in the journal Health & Place.

autism

Possible Environmental Causes of Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Autism rates have changed significantly since my son was diagnosed 10 years ago. At that time it was common to read estimates ranging from 1 in 500 to 1 in 1000. But the estimates started changing to 1 in 250, then 1 in 166 and now 1 in 150. In the UK the figure currently used is 1 in 100. There are many today who believe that changes in the definition of autism introduced in the DSM-IV combined with diagnostic substitution explain the dramatic increases in autism disorder diagnoses. But the advocates of this theory really have no solid studies providing precise measurements to substantiate the belief that the autism increases are all largely changes in how we view autism rather than actual increases in incidents of autism.

The definition change believers seem to be on solid ground to the extent that they argue that such change is a substantial contributing factor to the increases in autism diagnoses. They seem to stretch their belief beyond reason though when they assert dogmatically that the increases are due entirely to these social factors and rule out any environmental increases. The well known identical twins studies show that, in some cases, one identical twin will receive an autism diagnosis but the other will not, suggesting a role for environmental factors in autism causation.

In Neurodevelopmental Disorders in ChildrenAutism and ADHD Mona Sethi Gupta, Ph.D. examines environmental factors that may disrupt neurological development including lead, mercury, PCBs, dioxins, arsenic and toluene. Dr. Gupta discusses some studies suggesting environmental contributors to increasing neurodevelopment problems among children who are more sensitive to environmental toxins than adults and reminds us of the thalidomide tragedy. Dr. Gupta notes emphasizes the importance of taking action to protect children from environmental toxins:

"The impact of environmental toxins on children’s health has become a major focus in the federal government resulting in establishment of eight new research centers in children’s environmental health with joint funding from EPA and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). "The brains of our children are our most precious economic resource, and we haven't recognized how vulnerable they are," says Philippe Grandjean, adjunct professor at Harvard School of Public Health and the lead author of the study published in The Lancet . "We must make protection of the young brain a paramount goal of public health protection. You have only one chance to develop a brain.""

There are those who argue dogmatically that environmental factors are not involved in causing autism and that the startling autism increases are due entirely to definition change and diagnostic substitution. They may honestly believe their assertions or they may be tied to promotion of book royalties or blog site advertising but modern history, thalidomide, tobacco and cancer, suggest greater caution in ruling out all environmental contributors to autism and other developmental disorders. Our children deserve better than for society to rely on the faith and belief of dogmatists on such important issues.

Note:

TheFreeDictionary

dog·ma·tist

1. An arrogantly assertive person.

2. One who expresses or sets forth dogma.

Noun

1.

dogmatist - a stubborn person of arbitrary or arrogant opinions

doctrinaire

drumbeater, partisan, zealot - a fervent and even militant proponent of something

autism

Autism Rising in Oregon

More than 7,000 Oregon students have autism, triple the count 10 years ago and 11 percent higher than just a year ago, the state reported Wednesday."

The Oregonian, March 13, 2008

Neurodiversity believers will automatically state that increases in autism in Oregon are due to changes in the definition, diagnostic criteria , and increased public awareness of autism disorders. They are partly correct in that such factors have occurred. And it is very reasonable to assume that such factors account for some of the increases in Oregon and elsewhere. But it is not reasonable to assume that the startling increases in autism disorder diagnoses is attributable entirely to definition change and social factors.

The belief that these increases are due entirely to changes in how we view autism is a faith based belief unsupported by credible studies or data. It amounts, without evidence, to a rejection of the possibility that environmental factors, not just thimerosal, but any environmental factors, are causing or contributing to the rise, across Canada, the US, and Europe to the startling increases in autism diagnoses. The presence of mercury, lead, aluminum, and a long list of chemicals and plastic components in our drinking water, and our environment generally, are ruled out as possible causes or contributing factors to the rise of autism.

The true believers of the neurodiversity movement are free to cling to their beliefs. I prefer to keep an open mind and, until more study is done, and more information is available, work on the assumption that the very dangerous substances in our environment might be having harmful effects on our children. Increases in autism disorder diagnoses might be one of those harmful consequences of our increasingly toxic environment.

Autism and Mercury Debate - Is the Focus Too Narrow?

I do not get too deeply involved in the blogger-internet debates over whether thimerosal causes, or contributes to autism. As a father of a boy with Autism Disorder, and a humble small town lawyer, I rely on expert sources to interpret the data and report their conclusions, and the reasoning behind their conclusions, in a way that I can follow. I do not try to "argue" the positions of the scientific researchers into submission. To date, it is my understanding that the data does not support a vaccine/mercury/thimerosal connection to autism although further research and further data could modify that conclusion.

I do read blogger and mainstream media commentary on the debate although I rarely find that these sources offer much real information and seldom depart from the "does thimerosal cause autism or does it not" dynamic. A full discussion of the issues is lacking. I have previously commented on other environmental contaminants as possible environmental causes or triggers of autism. There seems to be little consideration of the long list of environmental contaminants as possible autism causes or triggers. With that perspective, I was very interested when I found this online article discussing media coverage of the autism-vaccine debate The Wrong Debate Over Autism Why focusing on thimerosal misses a larger story in the Columbia Journalism Review.

In The Wrong Debate Over Autism Russ Juskalian, a student in the M.A. Science journalism program at Columbia University and a freelance writer, reviews media treatment of the vaccine/autism debate and suggests that the discussion may be too narrowly focussed. While acknowledging the importance of full, and continuing, investigation of the mercury and autism issue, Juskalian asks whether the intense, narrow focus on mercury has distracted from other possible environmental causes or triggers of autism:

" the whole issue of whether vaccines containing thimerosal or mercury cause autism served as a distraction from the ongoing efforts to tease apart the causes of this enigmatic disorder. That’s not to say the vaccine issue shouldn’t be covered at all, but that there are many more important—if less emotionally driven—questions related to autism that deserve further investigation.

Is autism caused by environmental factors? Can it be triggered by these factors? How does epidemiology try to solve these riddles? Are some people genetically predisposed to respond to environmental factors (like mercury)? Can we find a way to screen for these predispositions (like Poling’s metabolic condition)? What else is in our environment that poses a risk?"

Juskalian references Silent Spring by Rachel Carson and the long list of environmental contaminants that have been identified. He also mentions the recent AP information concerning the numerous pharmaceuticals in American tap water. Another relevant news item which could be added to Mr Juskalian's sources is the very recent report by Canadian Press that thirty per cent of Canadian dentists missed a voluntary 2007 target to better control how they release mercury into the environment.

It might be helpful for active participants in the mercury autism debate, and media outlets covering the debate, to read Mr. Juskalian's article, pause and ..... reconsider their approach to these issues. Neither an entrenched belief that vaccine mercury causes autism nor the equally entrenched belief of the Neurodiversity camp that there are no environmental causes of autism provide a wide enough lens to see the whole autism picture.

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Autism and Mercury Revisited: DeSoto and Hitlan (2007) FAQ Site Updated

The FAQ site for the DeSoto and Hitlan (2007) reanalysis of the Ip et al (2004) data has been
updated. This FAQ site dispels some of the misinformation being circulated by bloggers about their 2007 reanalysis. Autism Street in particular has attempted to diminish the results and significance of the DeSoto and Hitlan reanalysis which:

"documents a research finding that has been said to show there is "no connection between mercury and autism" was wrong; thus, some may have written off any connection too hastily. Certainly, if persons concluded that mercury and autism could not be linked based on Ip 2004 stated results, they would want to reconsider."

If you have a non-faith based interest in this important autism issue, and your source of understanding of the DeSoto and Hitlan article is Autism Street, or other blog sites, you may want to visit the DeSoto and Hitlan updated FAQ site. The authors ask people to communicate with them directly if they have questions about their article and the conclusions they reached on this important subject.

autism

"I would not claim that children are getting no mercury from vaccines" - Schechter

If you read the media accounts of the recent California epidemiological study you would reasonably conclude that ALL mercury/thimerosal was removed from California vaccines after 2001. Boyd Haley, a University of Kentucky chemist and proponent of the vaccine causes autism theory, describes that assertion as a false premise which undermines the conclusions of the California report:

Boyd Haley, a mercury researcher and leading proponent of the mercury-autism connection, maintains that the California study proves nothing because it is based on a "false premise" that children in California haven't been getting any mercury from vaccines over the past several years.

"They say that mercury was totally out of vaccines in 2001 ... and that's absolutely false," Haley declared.

Haley contends that some child vaccines still contained mercury preservative well after 2001, and that many children might have continued to receive the vaccines because California didn't actually enact a law banning them until 2006. If children were still getting mercury in vaccines after 2001, that could explain why autism rates didn't fall, Haley contends.

- Kentucky.com, Lexington Herald Leader, February 4, 2008

Dr. Robert Schechter, lead author on the report, stands by its findings but appears to acknowledge that not ALL mercury contaminants would have been removed from California vaccines after 2001:

"Autism rates increased consistently ... throughout this period, despite the exclusion of mercury from nearly all childhood vaccines," Schechter said in an interview. "Our findings are inconsistent with the idea that mercury could be the explanation for increases in autism."

As for Haley's argument that some children still might be getting some mercury from vaccines, Schechter said that could be true. But he said the general removal of thimerosal from vaccines still should have caused autism rates to fall -- if mercury were the culprit in the disease.

"I would not claim that children are getting no mercury from vaccines," Schechter said. "But the average exposure for the population has been substantially decreased over the past decade. If mercury from vaccinations was a primary cause of autism, you would expect rates to be dropping substantially."

-emphasis added, Kentucky.com

autism

DeSoto and Hitlan Rebut (Crush?) Autism Street Critique of Autism-Mercury Data Reanalysis Article

Catherine DeSoto and Robert Hitlan have published an FAQ site Frequently Asked Questions about DeSoto and Hitlan (2007) to answer questions and refute some inaccurate, misleading and even erroneous critiques of their important article published in the November 2007 article of the Journal of Child Neurology Blood levels of mercury are related to diagnosis of autism: A reanalysis of an important data set. Most of the FAQ deals with questions raised on Autism Street in A Tale of Two Tails by bloggers Interverbal and Do'C. The two bloggers published a critical review of he DeSoto and Hitlan paper on Autism Street. The Desoto-Hitlan FAQ site exposes many information gaps in the Interval-Do'C critique.

DeSoto and Hitlan responded very politely to the critique and the FAQ site is important reading for anyone with a serious interest in autism, although it will undoubtedly be difficult for many of the 87 Autism Street cheerleaders who published their gloating sarcastic commentaries to read with an open mind. Interverbal posted an interesting comment:

Comment by Interverbal — 18 November, 2007 @ 4:06 pm At this time I don’t think we have any plans to write a letter to the editor. Speaking only for myself, I am anxious to see how Ip et al respond to DeSoto & Hitlan.

As one who does not share Interval's and Do'C's knowledge of statistical methodologies I might have been confused in saying that I too look forward to any reply by Ip et al. As I read DeSoto and Hitlan's FAQ it appears to me that they are saying that Ip et al already acknowledged their errors by the time the DeSoto article was published in November:


Q. Why did you take the time to write about a mistake that had already been corrected by the authors?

A. We didn’t. The mistake had not been found until we found it. We are the correctors. Again, some blog sites have unfortunately served to confuse this issue.

Q. What was really so wrong with the Ip 2004 article?


A. Based on their retraction which appeared in the same issue issue as our article, the mean for the autistic group was wrong, the standard deviations were wrong for both groups, the stated statistical significance in 2004 was way off. The means as they reported them in 2004 result in a significant t test by any standard…meaning that the autistic group had significantly more mercury in their blood than the control group. This is indisputable (or should be). It would not matter if a one tailed or a two tailed test was used. All interested parties should use their original data from the 2004 article and calculate the t value and p value (or put the numbers into an online t test calculator-- see "how can I check the original numbers myself?"). Their original stated level of statistical probability was off by almost 10 fold.


The data set they provided in 2007 misses conventional significance by a hair using their original statistical technique. Some blog sites such as Age of Autism have also pointed out that Ip et al overstated their findings in 2004. This means that the conclusions they made reached way beyond their findings. This is less serious compared to flubbing your stats, but I will note it for completeness.


If I am right in my reading of the DeSoto and Hitlan FAQ site commentary then I assume that Interval and Do'C will publish a retraction of their analysis on Autism Street. I will hold my breath until then. No, no ... on second thought ... I better not. I don't know if Interval and Do'C have the integrity to admit error. My lungs could explode, or I could implode, waiting for the retraction.

Too bad Interval didn't write that letter to the editor.

autism

Autism and Mercury Data Reanalyzed - DeSoto and Hitlan

The issue of whether autism is caused in whole or in part by mercury or mercury based preservatives (Thimerosal) in vaccines has been one of the most intense of the many divisive issues associated with autism disorders. I personally have never accepted that the available evidence, as interpreted by professional authority, demonstrated such a connection but I try to keep an open mind in the event that new evidence emerges, or new studies are done which demonstrate a mercury-autism connection.

Failure to keep an open mind is essentially a failure to think, to reassess conclusions in light of new evidence. In some ways a closed mind is also a worship of the past when a person did think through the issues based on the evidence available at that time and a lack of confidence in one's current analytic abilities. It is important for children with autism, now and those yet to be born, that any new relevant data which might help us understand causal factors giving rise to autism be understood and if possible preventions, treatments and cures developed. If mercury is a factor then we would be grossly negligent to ignore evidence of that factor solely because we had examined the issue in the past and failed to find the connection.

In a new article published in the November 2007 issue of the Journal Of Child Neurology M. Catherine DeSoto Ph D and Robert T. Hitlan Ph D, both of the Department of Psychology at the University of Northern Iowa, have gone back and reanalyzed previous data from an important previous study and concluded that contrary to the original study the data it reported did in fact support a connection between mercury and autism.

In Blood Levels of Mercury Are Related to Diagnosis of Autism: A Reanalysis of an Important Data Set DeSoto and Hitlan conclude that a significant relation does exist between the blood levels of mercury and diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder:

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 and have 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.

Undoubtedly the DeSoto and Hitlan article will give rise to a response, hopefully from Patrick Ip and his colleagues who authored the 2004 study Mercury Exposure in Children With Autistic Spectrum Disorder: Case-Control Study. There is a good possibility of calm objective discussion of this article and its conclusions amongst scholars. Amongst internet bloggers and to some extent mainstream media commentators, emotional, ideologically based criticism will be the more likely result. As one who sits in neither camp in the great autism mercury war I agree with the statement in the DeSoto and Hitlan abstract that 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.

autism

Environmental Causes of Autism

One of the most succinct arguments in support of an environmental theory of autism can be found in a fact cited by autism expert Simon Baron-Cohen, Director of the Autism Research Centre, Cambridge University :

Autism and Asperger’s syndrome run in families. If there is one child who has a diagnosis on the autistic spectrum, the likelihood of another child also having a diagnosis is about 5-10 per cent, which is higher than the general population rate. Molecular genetic studies are focused on identifying the key genes that might play a role in increasing the risk of a diagnosis. Studies of twins have established that it is not 100 per cent genetic, since even among identical twins, when one has autism, the likelihood of both twins having autism is only about 60 per cent. This means there must also be an environmental component, but what it is remains unknown.

Simon Baron-Cohen, Freedom of Expression, TIMESONLINE, December 14, 2007

What are the unknown environmental components of autism? Mercury is the most often mentioned. Lead is another frequently mentioned environmental suspect. In Autism Can Be Treated Dr. Carolyn Dean lists these and several other possible environmental contributors to the development of autism in some persons and offers her explanation of how these substances can be contributing factors in the development of autism:

When you allow yourself to go beyond the behavioral model of autism you will find research showing that one pivotal metabolic insult to an infant who develops autism is damage to a specific kinase enzyme. In a vulnerable segment of the population, perhaps 10%, a particular gene sequence can be damaged by heavy metals (mercury in children’s vaccines or flu shots and dental amalgams in the elderly), antibiotics, alcohol, and acetaminophin. This vulnerable gene sequence is found in people who have autism and Alzheimer’s; it is the template for creating the kinase enzyme P13. Some researchers refer to this gene sequence as the Alzheimer’s gene, which is damaged early in these children by of overwhelming metabolic insults.

Why is kinase P13 so important? The body requires kinase P13 for many tasks, one of which is to help break down gluten (a wheat, rye, oats, and barley protein) and casein (a milk protein). This same enzyme allows the methylation (or biochemical modification) of certain B vitamins. Without proper methylation of B12 into methylcobalamin and folic acid into folinic acid, hundreds of functions are impaired. For example, if you don’t have methylcobolamine, your liver can’t make glutathione (a powerful antioxidant). Without glutathione the body is not able to detoxify heavy metals. The vicious cycle is complete. The heavy metal that causes the gene damage in the first place is not excreted as it should be and continues to accumulate and cause more damage. So intricate are these pathways that giving children the wrong kind of folic acid or B12 can make matters worse; consequently autism therapy must be overseen by knowledgeable parents and practitioners.

Dr. Dean is an advocate of the DAN protocol which includes behavioral treatment along with the more controversial GF-CF diet treatment. Research is genetic causes of autism has been exploding in recent years, and hopefully will continue to provide more information about autism and its causes. Hopefully too the potential environmental causes of autism, including mercury, will be fully researched and cures developed. Some parents today prefer to find joy in their child's autism but I believe that most would cure their children and give them the richer life to which most of us aspire ...... if a cure were to become available. Given the likelihood of both genetic and environmental causes of autism, working in combination, it seems likely that autism cures will involve treatment or prevention of environmental insults to children with susceptible genetic heritage. Hopefully the necessary research will be permitted to continue and will not be shut down by the next misguided, hysterical, "autism is beautiful", campaign.

Autistic Children - Canaries In The Coal Mine?

The classic example of animals serving as sentinels is the "canary in the coal mine". Well into the 20th century, coal miners in England and the US brought canaries into coal mines as an "early warning signal" for toxic gases including methane and carbon monoxide. The birds, being more sensitive, would become sick before the miners, who would then have a chance to escape or put on protective respirators.

- Wikipedia

Is the dramatic rise in the diagnoses of autism solely a result of changed diagnostic criteria and enhanced public awareness? Or are environmental factors also involved? Are children suffering increasingly from developmental disorders, including autism, because of degradation of the world environment? Like the canaries in the coal mines do the increasing numbers of autistic children also serve as a warning of serious environmental decay?

The thimerosal/vaccine theories have occupied much public attention over the past several years but have they also distracted from other potential environmental factors? Few would deny the very important role of genetics in autism. The Unified Theory of Autism and the concept of genetic mutation, however, suggest that genetic mutations associated with autism may arise from environmental triggers. Vaccines are not the only human source of mercury which can also be found in thermometers, dental fillings, fluorescent light bulbs, and other consumer products. Environment Canada has a web page called Mercury and the Environment which illustrates how mercury, particularly methylmercury, concentrates in in the environment, and in living organisms.

Some mercury compounds are more easily absorbed by living organisms than elemental mercury itself. When atmospheric mercury falls to earth, it may be altered by bacterial or chemical action into an organic form known as methylmercury. Methylmercury is much more toxic than the original metal molecules that drifted in the air, and has the ability to migrate through cell membranes and "bioaccumulate" in living tissue. Bioaccumulation is the process by which a substance builds up in a living organism from the surrounding air or water, or through the consumption of contaminated food. Bioaccumulation will vary for different species and will depend on emission sources as well as local factors like water chemistry and temperature.

In the following figure, the concept of accumulated methylmercury is illustrated by the red dots, however the dots are not to scale.

The bioaccumulation of methylmercury in natural ecosystems is an environmental concern because it inflicts increasing levels of harm on species higher up the food chain. This occurs through a process known as "biomagnification", whereby persistent substances like methylmercury will increase in concentration from microorganisms, to fish, to fish eating predators like otters and loons, and to humans. Elevated methylmercury levels may lead to the decline of affected wildlife populations and may affect human health when people consume significant quantities of fish or other contaminated foods.

The Environment Canada site states that the amount of mercury in the air arising from human activities has increased by a factor of 2 to 4 since industrialization. In addition to mercury there have been frequent recalls of toy products containing lead. A recent California study suggested a causal connection between some pesticides and autism rates.

With the significant environmental degradation taking place today it seems entirely possible that the increasing prevalence of autism amongst children may be due to more than changes in diagnostic criteria and public awareness. Increasing levels of toxic substances in our environment may be triggering genetic mutations and may be contributing significantly to the increasing diagnoses of autism. Autism research should pursue all possible factors, genetic and environmental. To help our autistic children - and to more thoroughly understand what we are doing to our environment and ourselves.

Autism Treatment Debate on NBC 29

NBC 29, WVIR-TV has a brief on line article on the autism treatment debate. It features some commentary on the effectiveness of ABA, Applied Behavior Analysis, and references kelation (chelation) as an alternative treatment which is NOT clinically approved. The article contain some comments about ABA as an effective autism treatment including observations fro Michael McKee of the Virginia Institute of Autism.

There is an excellent quote from Coy Barefoot. I do not share Mr. Barefoot's views on mercury as the cause of autism but the following quote resonates with me as an 'autism dad' more interested in effective ways to help my autistic son then in giving up and prattling about 'accepting' the 'joys of autism':

"If you told me today that standing on my head in the middle of the street would help my son, I will be there in seconds and I will stand on my head for as long as it takes"

- Coy Barefoot, of Dads against Mercury, father of an autistic son, author of "A Dad's Guide to Autism."

Autism & Mercury - Wagnitz Challenges Fombonne

The mercury autism debate continues. While not a subscriber to the mercury vaccine/autism link I do not think debate and discussion should be closed on this or any other subject related to autism. Toxicologist Michael Wagnitz seems somewhat more qualified to present information on the "mercury" side of the debate than David Kirby and presents some interesting points in rebuttal of Psychiatrist Dr. Eric Fombonne.


The mercury, autism debacle: How stupid do they think we are?

Michael Wagnitz
May 7, 2007

Last weekend the Sixth International Meeting for Autism Research took place in Seattle. The meeting claimed to draw the top 900 autism researchers and scientists from around the world. One of the key participants was Dr. Eric Fombonne of Montreal Children's Hospital at McGill University. Dr. Fombonne, a psychiatrist, presented his research on mercury. His work involved testing the blood and hair of 147 children. Roughly half of his subjects were diagnosed with autism and half were considered neurologically typical controls. He found no difference in mercury levels in the patients hair or blood.

The first question one might ask is why a psychiatrist is considered qualified to do toxicological work. Most parents are concerned about the mercury exposure that their children received as newborns and infants from mandatory vaccines. The vaccine schedule in Canada, where Dr. Fombonnes study was done, and the United States were quite different in the 1990's. Dr. Fombonne,s patients were not tested after vaccination. If he had talked to any reputable toxicologist, they would have told him that the ethylmercury from vaccines clears the blood in about seven days. Ethylmercury, a short-chain alkyl mercury compound, is rapidly distributed to the brain, kidneys and other tissue. The hair tested would need to be from a first haircut to show this mercury exposure. Even if this was the case, research has shown that autistic kids do not excrete mercury efficiently. The hair would not contain any measurable amounts of mercury. It's to bad that McGill University does not have any toxicologists who could have explained to Dr. Fombonne that his work was a waste of time and money.

If one was really interested in determining the body burden of mercury they would perform the urinary porphyrin profile analysis (UPPA). Porphyrins are precursors to heme, the oxygen carrying component of blood. Mercury inhibits the conversion of specific porphyrins to heme. This test is backed by decades of published research. Recently it was shown in two published, peer-reviewed studies, that mercury inhibited porphyrins were significantly higher in autistic patients when compared to age matched controls (1)(2). The other way to test for mercury in the body is by using a provoking agent and measuring mercury in the urine.

The organizers of this meeting did not reveal that when Dr. Fombonne isn't conducting epidemiological studies or doing heavy metal analysis, he is appearing on behalf of vaccine manufacturers defending the safety of mercury. Dr. Fombonne refers to the amount of mercury in vaccines as "trace". Again, if he were a toxicologist or chemist, he would realize that the concentration of mercury in a multi-dose vaccine vial is 250 times higher than what the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies as hazardous waste.

References:

(1) Nataf R, Lam A, Lathe R, Skorupka, C. 2006. Porphyrinurea in Childhood Autistic Disorders: Implications for Environmental Toxicity. Toxicol. Appl. Pramacol. 214(2):99-108

(2) Geier M, Geier D, 2006. A prospective assessment of porphyrins in autistic disorders: a potential marker for heavy metal exposure. Neurotox Res. Aug;10(1):57-64

About the Author: Michael Wagnitz has over 20 years experience evaluating materials for toxic metals. He currently works as a chemist in the toxicology section of a public health lab evaluating biological samples for lead and mercury.

Michael Wagnitz


http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=26477

Autism & Thimerosal - Geier & Geier (2007) Study Suggests A Link?

One of the great debates in autism discussions has been between those who believe that mercury based vaccine preservatives cause or contribute to incidents of autism and those who do not subscribe to that theory. The overwhelming consensus from the scientific community has been that there is no evidence to support such a link. Notwithstanding that consensus there are still a large number of parents of autistic children ( I am not one of them ) and one journalist/author (David Kirby) who believe that there is indeed a link. A few of the parents have been very vocal. Some, if internet discussions can be believed, have gone as far as harassing and threatening those who oppose their views. At least those are the allegations advanced by some "neurodiversity" commentators some of whom are equally as hostile and rude to those who disagree with their views as the extremist few among the mercury-thimerosal advocacy groups. Now, another study by Geier & Geier (2007) apparently suggests that there is a causal connection between Thimerosal and autism. Hopefully, this study will be neither rejected nor accepted based solely on prior belief. Hopefully the scientific professionals capable of properly analyzing this study will do so and offer their commentary. Hopefully hostility and hatred between the few extremists in both the mercury-vaccine and the neurodiversity groups will stand aside in favor of reason and proper scientific assessment of this study and any further evidence relevant to this issue which might arise.

The following commentary, however, appears to indicate that the old pattern of jumping to conclusions about issues in the mercury-autism debate, based on ideological pre-disposition will, unfortunately, continue to prevail and that the world autism community will be inflicted with more needless hostility between the mercury and neurodiversity groups. The author's readiness to conclude that the study "leaves little doubt" does not suggest the kind of reasoned professional analysis that will be needed to properly interpret and assess the study.


The Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A: Current Issues, an authoritative journal featuring original toxicological research, has published, "A Case Series of Children with Apparent Mercury Toxic Encephalopathies Manifesting with Clinical Symptoms of Regressive Autistic Disorders," by Geier and Geier (2007).

This new study leaves little doubt there is a direct causal link between mercury exposure from Thimerosal-preserved biological products (vaccines and Rho(D) products) and mercury poisoning diagnosed as an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Thimerosal (49.55% mercury by weight) is a highly toxic mercury compound used as a preservative in some OTC and prescription drugs, including most flu shots given to pregnant women, infants, children, adults, and the elderly.

On April 19, 2007, Dr. Larry L. Needham, Chief, Organic Analytical Toxicology Branch, CDC, announced to the US National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine that Thimerosal was among the "Chemicals Linked to ASD."

Thus, Geier and Geier (2007) provide the first clinical case-series of ASD patients that confirmed this causal role for Thimerosal-preserved drugs in patients having a regressive ASD diagnosis.

The Geiers describe a case-series of eight patients who had:

-- a regressive ASD diagnosis,

-- elevated levels of androgens,

-- excreted significant amounts of mercury after a chelation challenge,

-- biochemical evidence of decreased function in their glutathione pathways,

-- no known significant mercury exposures except from Thimerosal-preserved vaccines and Rho(D)-immune globulin preparations, and

-- alternative causes for their regressive ASDs ruled out.

This clinical study also found a significant dose-response relationship between the severity of the ASD symptoms and the total mercury dose these children received from Thimerosal-preserved drugs.

Based on differential diagnosis, these patients were exposed to significant mercury amounts from Thimerosal-preserved biologic drugs during their fetal and neonatal development as well as between 12 and 24 months of age. Thus, these initially normally developing children suffered mercury toxic encephalopathies that manifested with clinical symptoms consistent with their regressive ASD diagnosis.

Hence, mercury poisoning should be considered as a cause for those children exhibiting the symptoms of an ASD in any differential diagnosis designed to assess underlying causes.

Today, any parent or other healthcare provider can easily confirm whether, or not, a non-chelated autistic child is mercury poisoned by having urinary porphyrin profile analysis (UPPA) testing run at LabCorp (Test#120980) or Laboratoire Philippe Auguste (Urine Porphyrin Profile).

For additional information on UPPA testing for mercury poisoning, please visit the "UPPA" page on CoMeD's web site, www.Mercury-freeDrugs.org.

Dr. King
www.dr-king.com

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=69427

The Autism Knowledge Revolution

We are living in a revolutionary era. The hardware era is giving away to the software age, and as a result, the economic and social landscape of the world is undergoing seismic changes. The Knowledge Revolution, Noel M. Tichy, Ph.D., 2002

The world is awakening now to another knowledge based revolution - the revolutionary explosion in our knowledge of autism disorders. Like other revolutions the Autism Knowledge Revolution also promises to be seismic in its impact. Recent autism reports have brought news of the Autism Genome Project with studies providing new information about the genetic bases of autism disorders. Gene mutations are being identified as the cause of some instances of autism. A new study suggests that the amygdala, a part of the brain associated with emotional learning and fear, shrinks in people with autism, as a result of chronic stress caused by social fear in childhood.


Like other revolutions there are those who fear the onset of the Autism Knowledge Revolution and its impact. They stand on principle and cloak their fears in the mantle of human rights. Fear mongering is already spreading in relation to genetic research in autism with wild speculation about what the purveyors of such fear describe as a eugenics program similar to some of history's worst atrocities. Others express a more practical fear; that our rapidly increasing knowledge in the genetics of autism will be of no value to older autistic children and adults. As the father of a severely autistic 11 year old boy I understand that particular fear but I do not believe that genetic research will yield only clues to prevention of autism occurrence or education of the very young. It is quite possible that our knowledge of autism disorders will assist in understanding how autism works in all individuals with an autism disorder and that may lead to new ways of understanding autistic persons and how to enhance their lives.

Hopefully one result of the Autism Knowledge Revolution will be the end of some of the needless hostility surrounding the vaccine/mercury autism debate. The believers in the Mercury Theory have clung to their theory with almost no scientific support and have resorted in desperation to belief in a world wide conspiracy involving "big pharma", big government and a "bought and paid for" world science community doing the bidding of Big Pharma. Some opponents of the Mercury Theory have been just as virulent and would censor any reference to autism as a disorder, disease or medical condition by any term. More research, more knowledge, may well show some environmental factors in the onset of autism, mercury based or otherwise. Or it may disprove conclusively any such connections.

The future holds promise but never provides promises or guarantees. Some of the research currently under way may lead to dead ends; part of the scientific process of elimination. But the increase in knowledge of autism will undoubtedly increase our uderstanding of autism. Surely a good thing in and of itself.

The autism knowledge revolution does provide hope, hope of a cure for those who seek it for themselves or their loved ones. It is a hope based not on resignation or "acceptance of autism". It is a hope based on solid scientific research as most of our advances of the last 300 years have been. There are no limits at this time on where this knowledge might lead. While concern that it will not assist older autistic persons is understandable it does not automatically follow that such research will be of no benefit to them and all autistic persons, regardless of age.

Those of us who are not ourselves scientists, and do not imagine ourselves to be scientists, can still assist by involvement in organizations, such as Autism Speaks, and CAIRN (Canadian Association Intervention Research Network), which have been such powerful positive forces in the advancement of autism research.

We can all lobby, create public awareness and raise funds.

We can all join the Autism Knowledge Revolution.

Immunologist Responds to Wagnitz Mercury-Autism Link Argument

The Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin) carried an opinion piece recently by Michael Wagnitz, a chemist with years of experience in trace analysis, who argued that the brains of some deceased autistic persons showed evidence of neuroinflammation which he attributed to mercury poisoning from the vaccine preservative thimerosal. On that basis Mr. Wagnitz argued that thimerosal poisoning is a cause of autism. The Capital Times has now published a passionate response to the Wagnitz argument by Cheryl A. Robinson, R.N., M.S., immunization program manager, public health, Madison and Dane county.

http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/letters/index.php?ntid=121460&ntpid=2

Ms. Robinson takes particular aim at Wagnitz's dismissal of epidemiological evidence refuting a thimerosal-autism link:

"The real disservice to your readers was Michael Wagnitz's dismissal of a vast body of epidemiological evidence. These studies compared large groups of children who received thimerosal-containing vaccine to large numbers of children who did not get these vaccines. The occurrence of autism in each group was the same. While no one believes that mercury is healthy for children or adults, there is simply no evidence demonstrating that thimerosal in vaccine causes or is linked to autism.

Developmental problems are most often noticed when children reach the age of 1 or 2 years - a time when children also receive a large number of immunizations. I understand how easy it is for families to link the two events."

Ms. Robinson also notes that vaccines in the US are now thimerosal free, with the exception of influenza vaccine for which a thimerosal free version can be requested. She accuses Wagnitz of the kind of alarmism which drives some parents to avoid immunization an unwise decision which poses a genuine threat to public health.

Personally I have not been a subscriber to the mercury-autism link theory and do not think parents should avoid immunizing their children but I thought Mr. Wagnitz argument about neuro-inflammation interesting. Further scientific study and evidence may yet reveal some connection. We certainly should not stop looking at the best available evidence even if it contradicts our own views. I find discussions such as are taking place in the opinion pages of the Madison Capital Times helpful in understanding these issues and the developing state of scientific knowledge surrounding them.