New research adds evidence to link between Thimerosal (a common vaccine preservative) and autism:
In a study just published, a causal connection between Thimerosal, the preservative often used in vaccines, and the brain pathology found in patients diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), has been established. The study, A Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Impaired Oxidative-Reduction Activity, Degeneration, and Death in Human Neuronal and Fetal Cells Induced by Low-Level Exposure to Thimerosal and Other Metal Compounds was published in the June 2009 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Toxicology & Environmental Toxicology.1
In the study, it was found that the amounts of Thimerosal found in inoculations commonly given to infants in the 1990s and still in use today (though more limited) induced levels of cellular toxicity. This cellular damage was consistent with that found in studies of patients diagnosed with ASD.
Both studies found significant mitochondrial dysfunction, reduced cellular oxidative-reduction activity, cell degeneration, and cell death being tied to ASD. All of these contribute significantly to ASD diagnosis and are also often attributed to other childhood and early development maladies.
http://www.naturalnews.com/026953_thimerosal_autism_mercury.html
This is an unprecedented admission by the U.S. government, which, until now, has clung to their statement that vaccines do not cause autism. Though they are still saying this, they have now conceded that the vaccines “significantly aggravated” an underlying disorder and caused autistic symptoms in at least one child.
It will be interesting to see how the other 4,900 cases waiting to be heard will turn out. No doubt many of these cases will report similar stories to Hannah Poling’s, where a healthy infant receives vaccinations and then suddenly becomes withdrawn and unable to communicate as they did before.
There is little doubt that thimerosal, a preservative that is 49.6 percent ethylmercury, is a contributing factor in many cases of autism. It is a well-established fact that exposure to mercury can cause immune, sensory, neurological, motor, and behavioral dysfunctions — all similar to traits defining, or associated with, autism.
There may also be another component in vaccines that is causing damage. For instance, according to Donald W. Miller, Jr., MD:
“Another important factor with regard to mercury on the mind … is synergistic toxicity — mercury’s enhanced effect when other poisons are present. A small dose of mercury that kills 1 in 100 rats and a dose of aluminum that will kill 1 in 100 rats, when combined have a striking effect: all the rats die.
Doses of mercury that have a 1 percent mortality will have a 100 percent mortality rate if some aluminum is there. Vaccines contain aluminum.”
Have Autism Rates Declined Since Thimerosal Was Removed From Vaccines?
Thimerosal was taken out of most childhood vaccines at the beginning of the decade. In 2006, studies of two government databases indicated that autism rates went up as thimerosal dosages increased, then began to decline as thimerosal was removed.
Yet, if you look at this Time magazine article, it says that autism rates have continued to climb since thimerosal was removed from vaccines in 2001. Why the discrepancy?
It could be due to the fact that in 2002 the U.S. government began recommending flu shots to children under 2 (and now recommends them for kids until they’re 18). Well, most flu shots still contain thimerosal, so many infants are still being exposed to mercury.
There is also the issue of vaccine timing.
“Giving too many vaccines over too short a time to infants whose nervous system is not yet fully developed can also trigger autism and its spectrum of disorders,” Dr. Miller says.
And, according to Dr. Russell Blaylock, multiple vaccines given close together over-stimulate your brain’s immune system and, via the mechanism of “bystander injury,” destroy brain cells.
What Else is Fueling the Autism Epidemic?
Autism now affects about one in 150 U.S. children. A small portion of these cases, perhaps 1 percent, may be due to genetic defects, and the rest are likely caused by exposure to toxic chemicals, viruses or other environmental influences.
One environmental influence that you may not have heard about was suggested by a November 2007 study in the Journal of the Australasian College of Nutritional & Environmental Medicine. It found that electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from cell phones, cell towers, Wi-Fi devices and other similar wireless technologies may be an accelerating factor in autism.
After five years of research on children with autism and other membrane sensitivity disorders, the researchers found that EMR negatively affects cell membranes, and allows heavy metal toxins, which are associated with autism, to build up in your body.
Meanwhile, autism rates have increased concurrently along with the proliferation of cell phones and wireless use.
EMR, the researchers say, could impact autism by facilitating early onset of symptoms or by trapping heavy metals inside of nerve cells, which could accelerate the onset of symptoms of heavy metal toxicity and hinder therapeutic clearance of the toxins.
If Your Child Has Autism …
There are several things you can do to help:
1. Have your child eat a diet tailored to their nutritional type. In my experience, nearly ALL children seem to respond favorably to the dietary changes when properly implemented.
2. Avoid giving your child pasteurized milk. This is imperative to the treatment of autism, and includes all milk products, such as ice cream, yogurt and whey. Even natural flavorings in food must be avoided unless the processor can guarantee, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that caseinate is not included. Anyone managing this illness without restricting milk is deceiving themselves.
3. Eliminating sugar, juice, soda, French fries and wheat (pasta, bagels, cereal, pretzels, etc) from your child’s diet is also highly recommended.
4. Make sure your child is getting proper sun exposure, as there is a link between rampant vitamin D deficiency and the proportionate jump in autism. The vitamin D receptor appears in a wide variety of brain tissue early in the fetal development, and activated vitamin D receptors increase nerve growth in your brain.
5. Use an effective intervention to address any emotional stresses your child faces as soon as possible. (Tom: Dianetics is the best.)
6. Homeopathy may also help ameliorate symptoms.