Autism, Thimerosal and vaccines !!!
Autismo, Thimerosal y vacunas !!!

Data-Medicos
Dermagic/Express No. 4-(114)
15 Mayo 2.002 / 15 May 2.002


EDITORIAL ESPANOL
=================
Hola amigos de la red, DERMAGIC de nuevo con ustedes con este EXPRESS
NO
DERMATOLOGICO titulado: AUTISMO, THIMEROSAL Y VACUNAS, tema bien
caliente
hoy en dia, por el hecho de que recientemente MUY PROBABLEMENTE LA
INCIDENCIA DE
AUTISMO EN EL PLANETA, este aumentando a causa de las MISMAS VACUNAS
que NOS
PREVIENEN DE OTRAS ENFERMEDADES.

EL AUTISMO es un desorden neurologico caracterizado por el deterioro
del lenguaje y
comportamiento social y cognositivo. Los sintomas usualmente aparecen
en los dos primeros años
de edad.

Inicalmente el AUTISMO fue atribuido al trato de la madre hacia el
niño: madres "FRIAS" y de
poco amor a sus hijos, posteriores estudios evidencian que tambien
esta asociado a trastornos del
sistema inmune, gastrointestinal y neurologico. Y ultimamente LA
TOXICIDAD CON MERCURIO
a tomado mucho auge, sobre todo el contenido en LAS VACUNAS.

EL MERCURIO es el segundo elemento SOBRE EL PLANTETA MAS TOXICO,
despues del
PLUTONIO. La toxicidad por mercurio a sido asociada a numerosas
enfermedades incluyendo el
AUTISMO, dificultad del aprendizaje, enfermedad de alzheimer,
esclerosis multiple, fibromialgia,
sindrome de la fatiga cronica, artritis, depresion, y desordenes
bipolares. La cantidad de mercurio
contenida en un termometro ES SUFICIENTE PARA CONTAMINAR UN PEQUEÑO
LAGO.

En el año de 1946 tres enfermeras murieron de LUPUS ERITEMATOSO
SISTEMICO como una
manifestacion de MULTIPLES vacunas a que fueron sometidas, durante un
trabajo de investigacion,
hecho que marco una clara evidencia que UNA VACUNA a parte de
prevenir una
ENFERMEDAD, PUEDE DESENCADENAR OTRA.

Recientemente EN 1.995 se ha descrito la APARICION DE LIQUEN PLANO
(desorden
dermatologico) despues de vacunacion CONTRA LA HEPATITIS B. y muchos
otros efectos
secundarios han sido descritos despues de la colocacion de vacunas,
entre ellos desmielinizacion (en
animales de experimentacion.)

En el año de 1.943 el Dr Leo Kanner, psiquiatra del Hospital Jhon
Hopkins diagnostico por
primera vez el AUTISMO, y posteriormente el pediatria Austriaco Hans
Asperger. Ambos
Doctores sugirieron que la enfermedad podia estar relacionada con los
genes, pues se habia
encontrado miembros de una misma familia con AUTISMO y transmision
directa de padres a
Hijos.

Previamente FREUD habia dicho que los PROBLEMAS PSICOLOGICOS de los
niños NO
ERAN GENETICOS, inculpando al entorno familiar, sobre todo la falta
de amor materno el
origen de las enfermedades del comportamiento humano.

En 1.981 la Dra Lorna Wing, una psiquiatra britanica publico un
estudio muy interesante donde se
reavivo el interes por las teorias de Kanner y Asperger, sobre el
ORIGEN GENETICO DE la
enfermedad.

Lo que NUNCA sospecharon estos eminentes investigadores era que EL
SIMPLE
THIMEROSAL, compuesto que contiene MERCURIO y que es utilizado en las
VACUNAS que
utilizamos en nuestros hijos, podia SER el desencadenante de AUTISMO.


LOS HECHOS:
----------------

1.) El thimerosal fue introducido por primera vez en las vacunas como
preservativo en l.930. Los
estudios estadisticos antes de 1.970 revelan una prevalencia de
autismo de 1 en 2000. En estudios
desde 1.970 a 1990 el promedio fue de 1 en 1.000. Este fue el periodo
en que se incremento la
vacunacion con la VACUNA TRIPLE (DPT) que contenia THIMEROSAL.

2.) Para comienzos de los años 1.990 se encontro una prevalencia de
Autismo de 1 en 500, y en el
2.000 de 1 en 150. En los años 80 y 90 se agregaron 2 nuevas vacunas
con contenido de
THIMEROSAL a los esquemas tradicionales, la HIB (multidosis) y la
vacuna contra la hepatitis B.

3.) La vacuna TRIPLE MMR (sarampion, paperas y rubeola) ha sido una
de las mas cuestionadas
en la inducion del AUTISMO.

4.) Para los comienzos de el año 1.982 la FDA propuso la remocion del
thimerosal de los
PRODUCTOS OTC (Venta libre), pero dicha regulacion no finalizaria
hasta 1.998. 16 años
despues expertos de la FDA concluyeron que el THIMEROSAL es inseguro,
inefectivo como
bacteriostattico y causa daño celular. Durante estos 16 años y aun
hoy dia el thimerosal a
continuado usandose aun sabiendose que es una NEUROTOXINA. La
exposicion al MERCURIO
puede causar desordenes neurologicos en 60.000 niños cada año.

5.) En Julio de 1.999 la FDA pidio a los fabricantes de vacunas
remover el thimerosal de sus
productos porque los esquemas de inmunizacion resultaron en algunos
niños en una ALTA
EXPOSICION de cantidad de mercurio, mas que la establecida como
segura.

6.) En Julio 11 del 2000 se reporta la alta toxicidad del mercurio y
su posible relacion con la
afectacion de 60.000 niños al año.

7.) En Julio 4 -26 del 2.001 se revela que los efectos de la
exposicion al Ethilmercurio en niños
NUNCA FUE ESTUDIADA.

8.) LA FDA en el año de 1.999 reconocio que las cantidades de ETHYL
MERCURIO
(THIMEROSAL) contenidas en las vacunas pediatricas ESTABAN
INVOLUCRADAS EN EL
ALARMANTE aumento de la INCIDENCIA DEL AUTISMO en toda la nacion,
sobre todo New
Jersey y California, y recomendo a los LABORATORIOS FABRICANTES DE
VACUNAS
disminuir al maximo el contenido de Thimerosal.

9.) PARA Marzo del 2.000 LA FDA informa que la mayoria de las VACUNAS
QUE
ACTUALMENTE se estan utilizando tienen solo TRAZAS de mercurio y en
algunas de ellas el
MERCURIO FUE ELIMINADO TOTALMENTE, lograndose disminuir en un 98 % la
cantidad
de THIMEROSAL DE LAS MISMAS.

10.) En Enero 3 del 2.002 un reporte secreto del CDC de ATLANTA
encontro un aumento del
riesgo en 2.48 veces mas para que un niño adquiera autismo expuestos
a MAS DE 62.5
microgramos de MERCURIO ANTES DE LOS 3 PRIMEROS MESES DE VIDA, a
traves de
vacunas pediatricas, lo cual confirma LA TEORIA DE QUE VERDADERAMENTE
la
VACUNACION provoco un aumento de los casos de AUTISMO.

..." En el caso de las vacunas un riesgo relativo mayor de 2.0
establece que hay una probabilidad de
mas del 50% que los daños sean causados por la vacuna"

CONCLUSIONES:
--------------------

1.) El primer caso de Autismo inducido por THIMEROSAL fue roportado
en TEXAS, Austin,,
conocido bajo el nombre de Joseph Counter. A este le siguieron muchos
otros mas.
Todos ellos lograron DESTAPAR LA OLLA de que realmente EL THIMEROSAL
contenido en
las vacunas habia sido el causante.

2.) DEBE ELIMINARSE TOTALMENTE EL THIMEROSAL de las vacunas. Si LA
FDA ha
concluido que es INEFECTIVO COMO BACTERIOSTATICO y preservativo,
PORQUE hay
actualmente TRAZAS de mercurio en ALGUNAS VACUNAS. ???

3.) LOS ADJUVANTES que son colocados en CASI TODAS LAS VACUNAS
desencadenan
respuestas inmunologicas en los niños, podria ser que estas TRAZAS de
mercurio, AUN SIENDO
BAJAS, y algunos otros componentes provoquen en niños geneticamente
susceptibles EL
AUTISMO.

4.) Pasaron 16 años desde que en 1.982 la FDA reconocio el problema
del THIMEROSAL EN
LAS vacunas HASTA hoy dia, UNA GENERACION de niños AUTISTAS QUE ME
HACE
RECORDAR a aquella TRISTE generacion provocada por LA THALIDOMIDA.
Donde estuvo el
ERROR ??? SIMPLEMENTE FUE HUMANO, nunca se penso ni se estudio LOS
EFECTOS
dañinos DEL THIMEROSAL en nuestros niños.

5.) Geneticamente se ha demostrado una asociacion de LOS ANTIGENOS DE
HISTOCOMPATIBILIDAD HLA DbR1 con AUTISMO. Esto ratifica que Asperger
y Kanner
tenian razon en cuanto a la predisposisicion genetica. En este caso
particular muy probablemente EL
CONTENIDO DE MERCURIO u OTROS ADJUVANTES DE LAS VACUNAS FUERON EL
DETONANTE para que los niños geneticamente predispuestos
DESARROLLARAN AUTISMO.

6.) FREUD TAMBIEN en parte TENIA LA RAZON, muchos niños no nacen
AUTISTAS, pero
no eran LAS MADRES FRIAS las desencadenantes, EL Thimerosal los
convirtio en AUTISTAS y
AISLO a estos niños DE nuestro MUNDO metiendolos en una DIMENSION que
apenas estamos
comenzando a conocer.

7.) En toda familia donde existan niños Autistas o con problemas de
aprendizaje, si va a nacer
nuevos niños hay QUE VIGILAR muy de cerca los esquemas de VACUNACION,
y tratar de
determinar SI las VACUNAS fueron las causantes de estas condiciones.

8.) Esta revision es un TRIBUTO A Joseph Counter Y TODOS aquellos
NIÑOS SANOS que por
causa de una SIMPLE VACUNACION se CONVIRTIERON EN AUTISTAS, y una
REFLEXION a nuestros GRANDES EXPERTOS en la ciencia medica para que
cosas como esta
no vuelvan a ocurrir.

En VENEZUELA EL THIMEROSAL O TIOMERSAL es VENDIDO como PRODUCTO DE
VENTA LIBRE BAJO EL POPULAR NOMBRE DE MERTHIOLATE....!!!!

Si tiene algun amigo o familiar con niños AUTISTAS envieles este
correo, quiza le sea UTIL !!

En las referencias los hechos

Saludos a todos

Dr Jose Lapenta R.

EDITORIAL ENGLISH
=================
Hello friends of the net, DERMAGIC again with you with this NON
DERMATOLOGIC
EXPRESS Titled: AUTISM, THIMEROSAL AND VACCINES, topic very hot today
in day, for
the fact that recently VERY PROBABLY THE INCIDENCE OF AUTISM IN THE
PLANET, is
increasing because of the SAME VACCINES that PREVENT US OF OTHER
ILLNESSES.

The AUTISM is a neurological disorder that is characterized by
impairments in language, cognitive
and social development. Symptoms usually manifest in the first two
years of life.

Initially the AUTISM was attributed to the mother's behavior toward
the boy: "COLD" mothers and
of "little" love to their children, later studies evidence that also
is associated to dysfunctions of the
immune, gastrointestinal and neurological system. And lately THE
TOXICITY WITH MERCURY
had taken a lot of popularity, mainly the THIMEROSAL content in THE
VACCINES.


MERCURY is the SECOND most toxic element on earth to plutonium.
Toxicity of mercury has
been linked to many different diseases, including autism,learning
disabilities, Alzheimer's, multiple
sclerosis, fibromyalgia, lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis,
depression, and bipolar disorder.
The amount of mercury found in one mercury thermometer is ENOUGH TO
POLLUTE A SMALL
LAKE.

In the year of 1946 three nurses died from SYSTEMIC LUPUS
ERYTHEMATOSUS as a
manifestation of MULTIPLE vaccines to that were subjected, during an
investigation work, fact that
I mark a clear evidences that A VACCINE to part of preventing a
ILLNESS, it can UNCHAIN
OR CAUSE ANOTHER.

Recently IN 1.995 the APPEARANCE OF LICHEN PLANUS (dermatologic
disorder) has been
described after vaccination AGAINST THE HEPATITIS B. and many other
secondary effects have
been described after the placement of vaccines, among them
demyelination (in experimentation
animals.)

In the year of 1.943 the Dr Leo Kanner, psychiatrist of the Hospital
Jhon Hopkins diagnoses the
AUTISM for the first time, and later on the Austrian pediatrics Hans
Asperger. Both Doctors
suggested that the illness could be related with the genes, because
it had met members of oneself
family with AUTISM and parents'direct transmission to Children.

Previously FREUD had said that the PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS of the
children NOT
They were GENETIC, inculpating to the family environment, mainly the
lack of maternal love the one
origin of the illnesses of the human behavior.

In 1.981 the Dra Lorna Wing, a British psychiatrist publishes a very
interesting study where she
revives the interest for the theories of Kanner and Asperger, on the
GENETIC ORIGIN OF the
illness.

What these eminent investigators NEVER suspected was that THE SIMPLE
THIMEROSAL,
compound that it contains MERCURY and that it is used in the VACCINES
that we use in our
children, it could BE the CAUSE of AUTISM.

THE FACTS:
-------------

1.) The thimerosal was introduced for the first time in the vaccines
like preservative in l.930. The
statistical studies before 1.970 reveal a prevalence of autism of 1
in 2000 In studies from 1.970 at
1990 the average was of 1 in 1.000. This was the period in that
increment the vaccination with the
TRIPLE VACCINE (DPT) that THIMEROSAL contained.

2.) For beginnings of the years 1.990 the prevalence of Autism was 1
in 500, and in the 2.000, 1 in
150. In the years 80 and 90 2 new vaccines were added with content
from THIMEROSAL to the
traditional outlines, the HIB (multidosis) and the vaccine against
the hepatitis B.

3.) The TRIPLE vaccine MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) it has been
one of those but
questioned in the inducion of the AUTISM.

4.) For the beginnings of the year 1982 the FDA issued to proposed
regulation calling for the
removal of thimerosal from over the counter products, but these
regulations were not finalized until
1998, 16 sixteen years after the FDA expert panel concluded
thimerosal was unsafe, ineffective like
to bacteriostatic agent, and caused cell damage. For the 16 years,
and even today, thimerosal was
continued in it uses regardless of the known fact that it is to
NEUROTOXIN. Mercury exposures
may causes neurological problems in 60,000 children every year.

5.) In July 1.999 the FDA urges to the makers of vaccines to remove
the thimerosal of its products
because the immunization outlines were in some children in a HIGH
EXHIBITION of quantity of
mercury, but that the established one as sure.

6.) In July 11, 2000 it is reported that Methyl-mercury exposure is
to "widespread and persistent
problem in the environment" and may causes neurological problems in
60,000 children born in the
U.S. each year.

7.) In July 4 - 26, 2.001 it is revealed that the effects of the
exposure to the Ethylmercury in
children WERE NEVER STUDIED. !!

8.) THE FDA in the year of 1.999 recognized that the quantities of
ETHYL-MERCURY
(THIMEROSAL) contained in the pediatric vaccines they were INVOLVED
IN THE
ALARMING increase of the INCIDENCE OF THE AUTISM in the whole nation,
mainly New
Jersey and California, and it recommended to the MANUFACTURING
LABORATORIES OF
VACCINES to diminish to the maximum the content of Thimerosal.

9.) FOR March of the 2.000 THE FDA informs that most of the VACCINES
THAT AT THE
MOMENT are using, they have single TRACES of mercury and in some of
them the MERCURY
was ELIMINATED TOTALLY, achieving to diminish in 98% the quantity of
THIMEROSAL OF
THE SAME ones.

10.) In January 3 of the 2.002 a secret report of the CDC of ATLANTA
found an increase of the
risk in 2.48 times but so that a boy acquires autism exposed MORE
THAN 62.5 micrograms of
MERCURY BEFORE OF THE FIRST 3 MONTHS OF LIFE, through pediatric
vaccines, that
which confirms THE THEORY THAT the VACCINATION TRULY causes an
increase of the
cases of AUTISM.

..."in a vaccine case, a relative risk greater than 2.0 establishes
that there is a greater than 50%
chance that the injury was caused by the vaccine."

CONCLUSIONS:
-------------------

1.) The first case of Autism induced by THIMEROSAL was reported in
TEXAS, Austin, a children
under the name of Joseph Counter. To this, they continued him many
other but.
All they were able to UNCOVER THE "POT" that really THE contained
THIMEROSAL in the
vaccines had been the causing one.

2.) It should BE ELIMINATED THE THIMEROSAL of the vaccines TOTALLY.
If THE FDA
had concluded that it is INEFFECTIVE LIKE BACTERIOSTATIC and
preservative, WHY there
are TRACES of mercury at the moment in SOME VACCINES. ???

3.) THE ADJUVANTS that are placed in ALMOST ALL THE VACCINES they
cause
immunologic events in the children, it could be that these TRACES of
mercury, be EVEN LOW,
and some other components cause in genetically susceptible children
THE AUTISM.

4.) 16 years passed since in 1.982 the FDA recognized the problem of
the THIMEROSAL IN THE
vaccines UNTIL nowadays, A GENERATION of AUTISTIC children THAT MAKES
ME
REMEMBER that SAD generation caused by THE THALIDOMIDE. Where the
ERROR was???
It was SIMPLY HUMAN, it was never thought neither study THE harmful
EFFECTS OF THE
THIMEROSAL in our children.

5.) Genetically an association of the major histocompatibility
complex (MHC) HLA DbR1 has been
linked with AUTISM. This ratifies that Asperger and Kanner had reason
as for the genetic
predisposisicion. In this particular case THE MERCURY or OTHER
ADJUVANTS OF THE
VACCINES were very probably THE TRIGGER so that the children
genetically predisposed they
DEVELOPED AUTISM.

6.) FREUD ALSO partly HAD THE REASON, many children are not born
AUTISTIC, but they
were not THE "COLD" MOTHERS, the cause was THE Thimerosal that
converted them in
AUTISTIC and I ISOLATE these children OF our WORLD putting them in a
DIMENSION that
we are beginning to know.

7.) In all family where Autistic children exist or with learning
problems, if he will be born new
children it is necessary to WATCH OVER the outlines of VACCINATION
very closely, and to try
to determine IF the VACCINES were the causing of these conditions.

8.) This revision is a TRIBUTE TO Joseph Counter AND ALL those
HEALTHY CHILDREN that
BECAME IN AUTISTIC by reason of a SIMPLE VACCINATION, and a
REFLECTION to our
BIG EXPERTS in the medic science so that this doesn't happen again.

In VENEZUELA THE THIMEROSAL OR TIOMERSAL are SOLD as PRODUCT OF FREE
SALE (OTC) UNDER THE POPULAR NAME OF MERTHIOLATE....!!!!

If you has some friend or family with AUTISTIC children sends them
this mail, be maybe he
USEFUL!!

In the references the facts

Greetings to all

Dr José Lapenta R.
==================================================================
REFERENCIAS BIBLIOGRAFICAS / BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES
==================================================================
1.) Autism and Mercury, Coincidence or Cause and Effect?
2.) AUTISM CAUSED BY CHILDHOOD VACCINATIONS CONTAINING THIMEROSAL
OR MERCURY
3.) Link Between Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Thimerosal Remains
Unclear
4.) Have be you been injured by a thimerosal vaccine ?
5.) Unraveling autism
6.) Dangers Of Mercury
7.) Secret CDC vaccine study Thimerosal an autism risk
8.) The FDA REPORT ABOUT VACCINES AND AUTISM
9.) Vaccines, Mercury Toxicity and Skyrocketing Autism: 2002 Update
Report
10.) Vaccine Induced Autism
11.) Major CDC Study on Thimerosal Flawed
12.) Effects of Ethylmercury Exposure in Infants Never Studied
13.) ER Exploits MMR Vaccine Myth
14.) Autism: a Novel Form of Mercury Poisoning
15.) Adverse Effects Of Adjuvants In Vaccines
16.) Thimerosal info
17.) Thimerosal litigation
19.) Vaccine Information
18.) Lawyers Claim CDC Cooked Books on Mercury: Secret Report Reveals
20.) The facts about vaccine and autism by date
21.) vaccines that contain thimerosal
22.) The national, Newspaper of Venezuela from 4/05/02
23.) [Lichen planus and vaccination against hepatitis B]
24.) ALERTAS SOBRE LA SEGURIDAD DE MEDICAMENTOS
NOTA INFORMATIVA DEL COMITÉ DE SEGURIDAD DE MEDICAMENTOS SOBRE
TIOMERSAL
25.) Strong Association of the Third Hypervariable Region of HLA-DRb1
with Autism
26.) Vaccine Induced Demyelination
==============================================================
==============================================================
1.) Autism and Mercury, Coincidence or Cause and Effect?
==============================================================
Source: autism-mercury.com

Autism is a neurological disorder that is characterized by
impairments in language, cognitive and
social development. Symptoms usually manifest in the first two years
of life. Once considered a rare
disorder with an incidence of only 1-3 per 10,000 births, autism is
now reaching epidemic
proportions with an incidence of 20-40 per 10,000 births
and "clusters" of 1 per 150 have been
reported in New Jersey and California. Autism now ranks third among
childhood developmental
disorders, making it more common than Down's syndrome, Multiple
Sclerosis and Cystic Fibrosis.

Initially thought to be psychiatric in nature, autism was attributed
to a child's exposure to an uncaring
or "refrigerator" mother. Currently, autism is undergoing more
scientific scrutiny and as a result,
abnormalities in the immune, gastrointestinal and neurological
systems have been documented.
Another abnormal finding is the presence of heavy metal toxicity,
notably mercury, in autistic
children. When considering a source for exposure to mercury in the
first two years of life, one
possible source is immunizations.

In June 1999, the Food and Drug Administration discovered
that "Infants who receive thimerosal
containing vaccine at several visits may be exposed to more mercury
than recommended by Federal
guidelines for total mercury exposure." Thimerosal, a preservative
used in some vaccines to prevent
contamination, is 49.6% mercury by weight. Infants who are being
vaccinated using multi-dose vials
with thimerosal can receive 62.5 micrograms of mercury per visit. For
an average sized child this
represents an exposure approximately 100 times the 0.1 micrograms per
kilogram of daily exposure
considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency. The
manufactures safety data sheet for
thimerosal states, "Highly toxic…Danger of cumulative effects…Avoid
prolonged or repeated
exposure… and the Chemical, physical, and toxicological properties
have not been thoroughly
investigated."

Next is the question of cause and effect, in other words, is a high
dose bolus exposure to mercury a
possible explanation for the myriad of abnormalities found in the
child suffering from autism? I believe
the answer to this question is yes. Mercury is known to cause
neurotoxicity, especially in small
infants whose brains are still developing. Mercury also disrupts cell
physiology through its covalent
binding to sulfur which results in widespread dysfunction of enzymes,
membranes, and structural
proteins. Symptoms of mercury toxicity in young children mirror those
of autism. The recent
increase in the numbers of children diagnosed with autism directly
correlates with the addition of
hepatitis B and HIB vaccine to infants in the early 1990s.

News Flash!!

The first known civil suit alleging that thimerosal causes mercury
poisoning and symptoms similar to
autism has been filed in Austin, Texas. The case is called Joseph
Counter, et al v. Abbott
Laboratories, Inc., et al (Cause No. GN100866 ) and is pending in the
200th District Court for
Travis County, Texas. The suit alleges that cumulative exposures to
the mercury-based thimerosal
preservative found in many pediatric vaccines contributed to cause a
body burden of mercury that,
in certain susceptible individuals, causes significant neurological
disabilities, developmental problems
and other symptoms. The case has been filed by Waters & Kraus, a
national law firm with its
headquarters in Dallas, Texas. The firm anticipates filing additional
cases. If you are interested in
having your potential case considered by a firm that specializes in
these types of cases, please click
here. If you prefer to speak to Waters & Kraus, the toll free phone
number is 1-866-NOHGVAX.

The issue of mercury in vaccines is the subject of further
investigations at this time. Please return to
this website for current updates as they become available.

To go to the website http://www.safeminds.org/, click here.

This site is being developed by a mother, Lyn Redwood, whose son,
Will, was exposed to mercury
in excess of federal guidelines via thimerosal in vaccines. After
developing normally, in his second
year of life he began to slip away...losing speech, eye contact and
becoming withdrawn and
despondent. Ultimately, he was diagnosed autistic. When the
announcement by the FDA that some
infants had been exposed to mercury in excess of federal guidelines,
Lyn began further investigations
into her son's level of exposure and indeed, he was one of those
infants. Analysis of his baby hair (at
the age of 20 months) revealed toxic levels of mercury. It is her
hypothesis that this may be the cause
of his autism. Her goal is to conduct and support efforts toward
research and treatment of Autism
spectrum disorders and to educate parents into this area. If you have
any questions or would like to
contact her, e-mail her at autism-mercury@....

==============================================================
2.) AUTISM CAUSED BY CHILDHOOD VACCINATIONS CONTAINING THIMEROSAL
OR MERCURY
==============================================================
Source: Ashcraftandgerel.com

A full generation of children in America was exposed to dangerous
doses of highly toxic ethyl
mercury from 1990 through 2000. Children were injected with the toxic
mercury that was a major
ingredient in a chemical product called thimerosal, an additive and
biological preservative packaged
into multi-dose vials of many childhood vaccines. With each dose of
vaccine that contained
thimerosal, a child would also get an injection of toxic mercury.
Each one of those mercury injections
exposed the child to levels of toxic mercury in excess of the federal
government's own safety
guidelines.
Mercury is widely known to cause neurological damage, often
permanent. Current clinical and
epidemiological research suggests that the mercury-laden thimerosal
so widely given to children by
the drug companies in the 1990's might cause a range of neurological
and neurodevelopmental
injuries, including autism. Compounding this public health disaster
is that the toxic exposure was
entirely avoidable. The thimerosal was added merely as product
packaging for the multi-dose vials,
and is not needed as a preservative when the vaccines are packaged in
single-dose vials or
single-use syringes. Thimerosal had nothing to do with vaccine
safety, and everything to do with the
profits and convenience of packaging for the pharmaceutical
companies.

Ashcraft & Gerel has participated in the early stages of legal
activities seeking to have Thimerosal
removed from childhood vaccinations but has not yet committed to
representing individual claimants
for injuries alleged to have been caused by by Thimerosal. This web
page will be updated at such
time as we decide to become involved in litigating individual claims

==============================================================
3.) Link Between Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Thimerosal Remains
Unclear
==============================================================
For Immediate Release
Source: nationalacademies.org

Date: Oct. 1, 2001
Contacts: Saira Moini, Media Relations Officer
Cory Arberg, Media Relations Assistant
(202) 334-2138; e-mail <news@...>


WASHINGTON -- Current scientific evidence neither proves nor
disproves a link between the
mercury-containing preservative thimerosal and neurodevelopmental
disorders in children, says a
new report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.
While very few vaccines given
to children in the United States today still contain thimerosal,
prudence dictates that precautionary
measures be taken to decrease thimerosal exposure even further.

Thimerosal is used in some vaccines and other pharmaceutical products
to prevent bacterial
contamination. Vaccines against measles, mumps, and rubella;
varicella; and polio have never
contained the preservative. However, until recently, several other
vaccines on the recommended
childhood immunization schedule in the United States did. They are
now manufactured without
thimerosal, but an unknown, probably small number of vaccine doses
for hepatitis B; diphtheria,
tetanus, and pertussis; and haemophilus influenzae type B, a form of
bacterial meningitis, are still on
clinic shelves. These supplies should not be used when alternatives
are available, said the committee
that wrote the report.

"Most children in the United States being immunized today and in the
future are unlikely to receive a
vaccine that contains thimerosal," said committee chair Marie
McCormick, professor of maternal
and child health at Harvard School of Public Health, Boston. "In
those few cases where only
supplies containing the preservative are available, the vaccines
should be administered rather than
foregoing immunization. While the health effects of thimerosal are
uncertain, we know for sure that
these vaccines protect against real, proven threats to unvaccinated
infants, children, and pregnant
women."

A connection between exposure to certain forms of mercury and nervous
system abnormalities has
long been recognized. People exposed to high mercury levels can
experience difficulties with
coordination, vision, and learning. Most studies of the effects of
low-level exposure have focused on
methylmercury from fish and seafood products. Thimerosal contains a
different chemical form called
ethylmercury.

The committee's comprehensive assessment of the scientific literature
on thimerosal included analyses
of published and unpublished studies proposing an association with
disorders such as autism, and it
found them to be inconclusive. No evidence currently exists that
proves a link between
thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism, attention deficit-
hyperactivity disorder, speech or
language delays, or other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Mercury can build up in the body with each additional exposure,
whether from vaccinations or other
sources, such as fish consumption. It is medically plausible that
some children's risk of a
neurodevelopmental disorder could rise in part through increased
mercury exposure from
thimerosal-containing vaccines. Because safety guidelines were
established specifically for
methylmercury, however, it is not clear whether additional exposure
from ethylmercury could result
in an unsafe cumulative level.

However, as another precaution, policy-makers in the United States
should consider changing
existing policies to reduce exposure to thimerosal as much as
possible. For example, professional
societies and government agencies should review their policies about
nasal sprays, eye drops, and
other products that contain thimerosal and are used for infants,
children, and pregnant women, the
report says.

For more than half a century, thimerosal was added to some vaccines
that protected children against
serious diseases. In 1999 the U.S. Public Health Service, the
American Academy of Pediatrics, and
the American Academy of Family Physicians issued precautionary
recommendations limiting mercury
exposure of infants and young children, a measure that prompted
development of thimerosal-free
versions of routine childhood vaccines. By mid-2000, thimerosal-free
vaccines against hepatitis B
and bacterial meningitis were widely available. A combination vaccine
for diphtheria, pertussis, and
tetanus also is available today without thimerosal.

The preservative is still used in a few vaccines, including influenza
vaccine, which is given annually
during the viral flu season to adults and some children. The Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention recommend that protecting pregnant women and high-risk
children during flu season take
precedence over any possible risk from thimerosal exposure.

Public trust in vaccine safety must be maintained, the committee
said. To this end, it is important to
understand more fully the possible effects of thimerosal. Future
research should include population
studies of the occurrence of neurodevelopmental disorders before and
after thimerosal was removed
from most vaccines. Levels of women's prenatal and postnatal mercury
exposure from medicinal
products and sources such as fish consumption should be examined as
well. Clinical research also
should examine how the bodies of children, including those diagnosed
with neurodevelopmental
disorders, absorb and process heavy metals like mercury and which
medical therapies are effective
in ridding the body of them. This second study in a series on vaccine
safety was sponsored by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute
of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases. The Institute of Medicine is a private, nonprofit
institution that provides health policy
advice under a congressional charter granted to the National Academy
of Sciences. A committee
roster follows.
Copies of Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines and Neurodevelopmental
Disorders are available from
the National Academy Press; tel. (202) 334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242 or
on the Internet at
http://www.nap.edu/. The cost of the report is $25.00 (prepaid) plus
shipping charges of $4.50 for
the first copy and $.95 for each additional copy. Reporters may
obtain a copy from the Office of
News and Public Information (contacts listed above).

==============================================================
4.) Have be you been injured by a thimerosal vaccine ?
==============================================================
Source: thimerosalautism.com
yourlawyer.com

Thimerosal is the most common preservative that is used in vaccines
and biologics that are marketed
in the United States. Thimerosal is used to help prevent a vaccine
from spoiling, for inactivating
bacteria used to formulate several vaccines, and in preventing
bacterial contamination of the final
product. Several of the vaccines recommended routinely for children
in the United States contain
thimerosal. However, reports have surfaced linking thimerosal to
mercury poisoning in infants often
causing autism.

On July 7, 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued with
the US Public Health
Service (USPHS) a joint statement alerting clinicians and the public
of concern about thimerosal, a
mercury-containing preservative used in some vaccines.The reason for
the warning is that himerosal
contains a related mercury compound called ethyl mercury. Mercury is
a toxic metal that can cause
immune, sensory, neurological, motor, and behavioral dysfunctions.

The Food and Drug Administration suggested that some infants,
depending on which vaccines they
receive and the timing of those vaccines, may be exposed to levels of
ethyl mercury that could build
up to exceed one of the federal guidelines established for the intake
of methyl mercury. Symptoms of
mercury toxicity in young children are extremely similar to those of
autism.

This can explain the recent increase in the numbers of children
diagnosed with autism since the early
1990's. The numerous amount of children diagnosed with autism seems
to directly correlate with the
recommendation of both the hepatitis B and HIB vaccine to infants in
the early 1990s. Autism is a
neurological disorder that is characterized by impairments in
language, cognitive and social
development.

Autism symptoms are usually encountered iin the first two years of
life. In the past autism was
considered a rare disorder with an incidence of occurance of
aprroximately 1-3 per 10,000 births.
More recently however, Autism is being diagnosed much more frequently
with an incidence of
occurance of 20-40 per 10,000 births and reports of of 1 per 150
births have been reported in
several states including New Jersey and California.


==============================================================
5.) Unraveling autism
==============================================================
Source: nurseweek.com



Health experts tackle escalating incidents of developmental disorders

By Nancy Devine
November 20, 2000
Photo: M.I.N.D. Institute, UC Davis


Developmental pediatrician Robin Hansen, MD, works with a young
patient at the M.I.N.D.
Institute at UC Davis. Scientists are trying to pinpoint a cause and
relieve symptoms for autistic
children who have become isolated and unable to respond to others.

After giving birth to her son, Lyn Redwood, MSN,FNP, of Tyrone, Ga.,
and her physician-husband
tracked his development up to 15 months. After a series of vaccines,
the boy started to regress, so
Redwood had him tested. The diagnosis: severe developmental delay.

Redwood began to investigate the vaccines that preceded the diagnosis
and found that all contained
thimerosal, a preservative containing 49.6 percent ethylmercury by
weight. By examining her son's
records, she found that he had received 237.5 micrograms of
ethylmercury in the first 18 months of
life.

"I sent a piece of my son's baby hair for mercury testing and it came
back with a report stating it
contained 4.8 parts of mercury per million," Redwood said. "That's
five times the allowable level for
mercury. Research studies of children in the Faroe Islands whose
mothers were eating
mercury-contaminated seafood during pregnancy reported blood levels
of 15 to 30 micrograms at
birth, resulting in developmental delay. So I started looking at all
the diagnostic markers for autism
and found all those diagnostic markers to mercury. Looking back at it
now, my son's symptoms for
mercury poisoning were classic. My husband's a physician and he
didn't see it, and I'm a nurse
practitioner, but I had never seen a child with mercury poisoning."

Thimerosal – scientifically associated with a number of neurological
disorders including autism,
attention deficit disorder, speech delays and tics – was originally
determined to be dangerous and
was recommended to be withdrawn from nonprescription products by FDA
experts in 1982,
Redwood said. Some manufacturers dropped it; others didn't. In 1998,
thimerosal was banned for
use in over-the-counter products by the FDA, yet it continues to be
used in some pediatric
vaccines.

Redwood and the Coalition for Safe Minds filed a petition Oct. 24 in
Washington's federal district
court to obtain an immediate recall of all pediatric vaccines
containing thimerosal or other toxic
mercury compounds. She has written several research papers on mercury
toxicity, and the
Washington Post published a column by Marguerite Kelly on Nov. 1 that
discussed the need for
mercury-free vaccines.


~ Nancy Devine


Imagine living in a world where fluorescent lights scream like
chainsaws, sunlight pierces like a laser
and visual images shatter into fragments. More than half a million
Americans live in some variation of
that red-alert, anxiety-filled world – those individuals diagnosed
with autism or some form of
pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) that usually appears during
the first three years of life.

Autism is a complex developmental disability that affects normal
brain development, according to the
Autism Society of America. Several related disorders are grouped
together under PDD, all
characterized by severe and pervasive impairment in social
interaction and communication skills.

The disability, which may be mild or severe, is four times more
prevalent in boys, and about 75
percent of affected individuals test in the range of mental
retardation. Those who test above normal
I.Q. are called "high functioning" and may hold jobs.

No cause, no cure
The prevalence rate for autism, estimated by the CDC to affect one in
500 individuals, has escalated
at an alarming rate in certain regions, where increases of up to one
in 150 individuals have been
reported.

Health experts have responded with more studies and treatments for a
disorder with no proven
cause or cure, even as existing services for developmentally disabled
patients are overwhelmed.
Scientists and parents are pursuing every possible connection or
treatment that could pinpoint a
cause or relieve painful symptoms for children who have become
profoundly isolated and unable to
respond to others.

"We have several medical intervention studies, one of which is a
double-blind placebo control study
of children within the PDD spectrum taking risperidone, which is
approved for adults for problems
such as inattention, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive behavior or
aggressive and self-injurious
behavior," said Kathy Koenig, MSN, an associate research scientist at
Yale Child Study Center in
New Haven, Conn.

"We also have social skills intervention studies because early
training can help these children, and
one new study is on explicit explanations of eye contact skills, turn-
taking in conversation and others.
Any improvement is progress."

Autism is treated with speech/language therapy, physical therapy,
sensory integration, occupational
therapy, applied behavior analysis, medications and dietary
interventions, but more research is
needed to determine the most effective treatments for each
disability. Early diagnosis and intervention
are crucial.

Researching a reason
Many experts are looking for possible biomarkers in blood or genes
that could indicate a child's
predisposition to autism, while others are examining levels of
medications or chemicals that may be
involved in triggering the disability to cause the increase in
prevalence.

"Very often, autism develops after a series of vaccines, or maternal
measles, or a series of antibiotics
for infections – these things tend to precede the diagnosis," said
Sharla Perel, MS, OT, who has
worked with autistic children at P.S. 77 in Borough Park, N.Y., for
10 years. "There's enough
evidence for correlation that one has to look at these things."

One team developed the Defeat Autism Now protocol, a guide for
parents and practitioners to
reduce food allergies, mineral deficiencies, yeast overgrowth and
medication toxicities that, when
eliminated, have helped autistic individuals progress, according to
Maureen McDonnell, RN, owner
and director of Health Education Services in Pennington, N.J.

Another group has identified a preservative in some pediatric
vaccines, thimerosal, as a trigger for
autism. Thimerosal contains 49.6 percent mercury by weight and has
been scientifically associated
with a number of neurological disorders including autism, attention
deficit disorder, speech delays
and tics, said Lyn Redwood, MSN, FNP, president of the Coalition for
Safe Minds in Tyrone, Ga.

"We feel strongly this epidemic has been the result of mercury
exposure," Redwood said.

In 1998, parents and physicians launched the Medical Investigation of
Neurodevelopmental
Disorders Institute in Davis because they believed a possible link
existed between environmental
contributions and neurodevelopmental disorders. The institute
received $34 million from the state of
California in June to pursue 19 studies, which now are under way.

"Estimates from the NIH show that 17 percent to 29 percent of all
American children have
neurodevelopmental disorders," said David Amaral, Ph.D., professor at
the UC Davis department of
psychiatry.

"I'm a neuroscientist, not an immunologist, and it might be
environmental exposure or some change in
pediatric care policy, but we're facing an incredible lack of
knowledge.

"It's a win-win to conduct the vaccine study in a neutral way. If
investigations show a clear link
between vaccines and autism, then we could prevent future cases,"
said Amaral, who is also the
institute's research director. "If, conversely, we can't demonstrate
a link, that would be reassuring to
parents."

Meanwhile, autistic children can greatly benefit from applied
behavior analysis at schools like the
ABC School in Sacramento.

"We use a set of principles to reinforce specific behaviors," said
Michelle Williams-Wenell, ABC
school public relations and development specialist. "Our data shows
that 40 percent of the kids who
come here before the age of 4 years and 1 month have gone on to full-
inclusion settings."

==============================================================
6.) Dangers Of Mercury
==============================================================
Source: Thimerosal-autism-Symptoms.com

Mercury is the second most toxic element on earth to plutonium.
Toxicity of mercury has been linked
to many different diseases, including autism, learning disabilities,
Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis,
fibromyalgia, lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, depression,
and bipolar disorder. The amount
of mercury found in one mercury thermometer is enough to pollute a
small lake.

Health effects of mercury toxicity have been a concern because of the
potential for it to act as a
poison. Toxic doses of mercury can cause developmental effects in the
fetus, as well as affecting the
kidney and the nervous system in children and adults. Mercury exists
in a number of different
chemical forms, each one consisting of different levels of toxicity.
The forms of mercury can also be
converted from one to another in the environment and in the body, so
symptoms caused by mercury
poisoning depends on the precise chemical forms involved.

Mercury can be toxic when inhaled, eaten, or when placed on the skin.
Low concentrations of
mercury may appear to have no effect but signs of toxicity can
develop later or become more
noticeable with continued exposure. When toxicity in humans takes
place loss of feeling or a burning
sensation in arms and legs, psychological effects, loss of memory,
loss of vision, loss of hearing,
paralysis, congenital malformations, kidney toxicity, and death may
occur. Prenatal toxicity can result
in a child with normal appearance at birth but who later exhibits a
developmental delay in the ability
to walk and/or talk. Because of the long latent period for observable
effects, the need for treatment
may be recognized too late.

Health effects vary according to the amount of mercury exposure is
taken into the body. The health
risks of mercury at low levels of exposure remain uncertain, but this
continues to be a highly
debatable topic with ongoing scientific investigation. Fetuses,
infants and small children appear to be
particularly sensitive to mercury because their brains are still
developing. Vaccines with mercury have
been considered to contribute to autism, learning disabilities,
Alzheimer's Disease, and other
neurological conditions, and an FDA review conducted in 1998
determined that, at the time, children
who received the full complement of childhood vaccines were
potentially exposed to levels of
mercury that were sometimes 30 to 50 times the acceptable levels
established by the EPA.

High-level exposures to mercury can cause serious effects or even be
lethal. Several historical
examples of epidemic mercury poisonings in other parts of the world
provide classic examples of
investigative epidemiology and toxicology and serve to highlight the
reasons why regulators are
concerned about mercury. Effects on the brain and nervous system are
frequently seen with
high-level exposures to mercury and can be quite severe.


==============================================================
7.) Secret CDC vaccine study Thimerosal an autism risk
==============================================================
Source: whale.to

AUTISM FIRST STEPS
AUTISM DAILY NEWSLETTER
Thursday January 3, 2002
SPECIAL EDITION


An unreleased confidential report by Center's for Disease Control
(CDC) scientists reveals that
exposure to significant amounts of mercury during the first months of
life significantly increases a
child's risk of developing autism, according to an attorney with the
law firm of Walters & Kraus. The
firm is a part of a coalition of law firms, representing families in
at least 25 states, that has filed
lawsuits in an attempt to force drug companies to investigate the
possible link between mercury and
developmental disorders.

Attorney Andy Walters says that the unreleased CDC report, obtained
by the SAFEMINDS
advocacy group, found a 2.48 times increased risk of autism in
children exposed to more then 62.5
micrograms of mercury before they were 3 months of age. In a press
release, Walters and Kraus
notes that "in the United States, courts of law have generally held
that a relative increased risk of 2.0
or higher is sufficient to substantiate that a given exposure causes
disease." Walters says that in many
of the cases that his firm has evaluated, autistic children have
received more than 62.5 micrograms of
mercury through pediatric vaccines.

A report made public by the CDC in the fall claimed that the
thimerosal, the mercury containing
preservative used in many vaccines, could not be linked to autism,
while calling on Physicians to
avoid thimerosal containing vaccines when possible. However,
according to Walters & Kraus, the
confidential CDC report states: "As for the exposure evaluated at 3
months of age, we found
increasing risks of "neurological developmental disorders" with
increasing cumulative exposure to
thimerosal... within the group of "developmental disorders"... for
the subgroup called "specific
delays," and within the this subgroup for the specific
disorder "developmental speech disorder," and
for "autism" "stuttering" and "attention deficit disorder".

Walters says the report's contents, and the fact that it was kept
secret, are "shocking, but
unfortunately not surprising, given the political influence of
pharmaceutical companies and the
tremendous liability they face if they are forced to compensate
thousands of families for the costs of
care that these children require".

Press Release, Walters & Kraus, 2001

******************************
PRESS RELEASE

An announcement was made today by the law firm of Waters & Kraus, the
firm that filed the first
known lawsuit alleging that a mercury preservative in children's
vaccines caused neurological damage
to an infant ultimately diagnosed with autism. Waters & Kraus is
leading a consortium of ten firms in
as many states that are actively prosecuting cases of this nature
(firms listed below). Andy Waters,
the lead attorney in the cases, announced that his firm is now in
possession of a previously
unreleased confidential report authored by Centers for Disease
Control scientists which studied
autism as a potential neurological injury caused by mercury in
children's vaccines. A different version
of the report was made public and has been cited by the recent
Institute of Medicine study as
inconclusive on the issue of whether the mercury-based vaccine
preservative known as Thimerosal
has contributed to cause a nationwide epidemic of regressive autism
and other neurological disorders
in small children. The confidential version of the study, however,
clearly demonstrated that an
exposure to more than 62.5 micrograms of mercury within the first
three months of life significantly
increased a child's risk of developing autism. Specifically, the
study found a 2.48 times increased
risk of autism _ that is to say, children with the exposure were more
than twice as likely to develop
autism as children not exposed. Click here to view the full report.
(27 pages formatted in TIFF) In
the United States, courts of law have generally held that a relative
increased risk of 2.0 or higher is
sufficient to substantiate that a given exposure causes disease. As
but one example, in the case of
Cook v. United States, 545 F.Supp. 306, at 308 (Northern District _
California 1982) the Court
stated that, "in a vaccine case, a relative risk greater than 2.0
establishes that there is a greater than
50% chance that the injury was caused by the vaccine." Waters
indicated that, in many of the cases
his firm has evaluated, including the case filed in a Texas state
court on behalf of the Counter family,
the affected child received more than 62.5 micrograms of mercury
through pediatric vaccines in the
first three months of life. The confidential report, which was
obtained by the SAFEMINDS support
and advocacy group, states: "As for the exposure evaluated at 3
months of age, we found increasing
risks of 'neurological developmental disorders' with increasing
cumulative exposure to thimerosal ...
within the group of 'developmental disorders'... for the sub_group
called 'specific delays,' and within
this sub_group for the specific disorder 'developmental speech
disorder,' and for 'autism,' 'stuttering'
and 'attention deficit disorder.'" The report also contained the
graph depicted below which illustrated
the report's findings of a child's increasing risk of developing the
neurological symptoms of autism
after receiving increasing amounts of thimerosal.Graph 3: Relative
risk 95 % CI of Autism after
different exposure levels of thimerosal at 3 months of age, NCK &
GHCWaters pointed out that the
confidential study's lead author, Thomas Verstraeten, has since left
the Centers for Disease Control
and is now employed by GlaxoSmithKline, a manufacturer of
thimerosal_containing vaccines for
many years that is a defendant in numerous suits pending
nationwide. "We have asked
GlaxoSmithKline to provide Mr. Verstraeten's deposition in order to
understand if conflict of interest
issues may have played a role in the CDC's decision to keep this
report confidential, and specifically,
their failure to reveal it to the Institute of Medicine."Waters
called the report's contents and the fact
that it was kept from the public as "shocking, but unfortunately not
surprising, given the political
influence of pharmaceutical companies and the tremendous liability
they face if they are forced to
compensate thousands of families for the costs of care that these
children require." Waters added
that "no amount of money can give these children back the potential
that they were born with, and no
amount of money will comfort the parents that watched helplessly as
their children literally just
slipped away." The purpose of the lawsuits his firm is currently
prosecuting, said Waters, is "to bring
to the surface the truth on this issue, a truth that government
agencies seem unwilling to admit,
perhaps for fear that parents will stop vaccinating their children,
and to force the companies that
profited from this disastrous mistake to shoulder the responsibility
that so many families now bear on
their own, often without even the aid of health insurance benefits."
Media inquiries should be
directed to Melissa Miles at 214-357-6244.Client inquiries should be
directed to Victoria Gibson,
toll-free at 1-866-829-7529, or to the firms listed below.Other firms
working with Waters & Kraus
to prosecute individual cases involving thimerosal exposure
are:ANDERSON & KRIGER,
APLC40925 County Center Drive, Suite 210Temecula, California
92591Telephone:
909.296.5090DOGAN & WILKINSON726 Delmas AvenuePascagoula, Mississippi
39567Telephone: 228.762.2272 DORAN & MURPHY, LLP1234 Delaware
AvenueBuffalo, New
York 14209Telephone: 716.884.2000EVERT & WEATHERSBY, L.L.C.3405
Piedmont Road,
Suite 225Atlanta, Georgia 30305-1764Telephone :
404.233.8718HENDRICKSON & LONG214
Capital StreetP.O. Box 11070Charleston, W. VA 25339Telephone:
304.346.5500JONES,
MARTIN, PARRIS, &TESSENER LAW OFFICES, PLLC410 Glenwood Ave., Suite
200Raleigh, North Carolina 27603Telephone: 919.821.0005LEACH, SCHWARZ
&STRASSBERG11 Bala Ave.Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania 19004Telephone:
610.668.7964MARTZELL & BICKFORD338 Lafayette StreetNew Orleans,
Louisianna
70130Telephone: 504.581.90653555 College AvenueWISE & JULIAN, PC3555
College
AvenueAlton, Illinois 62002Telephone: 618.462.2600

To View this CDC Unreleased reportit will be found in the 2nd
paragraph: click on the link that
states: Click here to view the full report (27 pages formatted in
TIFF) or click below
Mercury - Autism Links

This story and the link listed above is found here at:
http://www.autismfraud.com/00000121.tiff


Link to the Never Released CDC Report:

http://www.autismfraud.com/00000121.tiff

==============================================================
8.) The FDA REPORT ABOUT VACCINES AND AUTISM
==============================================================

STATEMENT BY
KAREN MIDTHUN, M.D., DIRECTOR
OFFICE OF VACCINES RESEARCH AND REVIEW
CENTER FOR BIOLOGICS EVALUATION AND RESEARCH
FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 26, 2001
INTRODUCTION


Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, I am Karen Midthun, M.D.,
Director, Office of
Vaccines Research and Review (OVRR), Center for Biologics Evaluation
and Research (CBER) at
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA or the Agency). OVRR regulates
the development and
licensure of vaccines. We appreciate the opportunity to participate
in this hearing on autism and to
respond to the Committee's concerns regarding a potential link
between vaccines and autism. It is
important to note that to date, the existing data do not demonstrate
a causal relationship between
vaccines and autism. Nevertheless, we want to assure this Committee,
the public, and, especially the
parents that are here today, that FDA takes these concerns very
seriously and we want to explain
FDA's ongoing efforts in response to the issue of vaccines and
autism.

Childhood vaccines have contributed to a significant reduction of
vaccine-preventable diseases,
(e.g., polio, measles, and whooping cough). In fact, vaccine
preventable infectious diseases are at an
all-time low and now it is rare for American children to experience
the devastating effects of these
illnesses. Before vaccines were routinely administered, there were
over 175,000 cases of diphtheria
annually (1920-22), over 147,000 cases of pertussis (1922-25), and
over 503,000 cases of
measles (1951-54) reported in the United States (U.S.). These
diseases have essentially
disappeared in countries with high vaccination coverage, such as the
U.S. Up until 1985 and the
introduction of an infant vaccine, an estimated 20,000 cases of
invasive Haemophilus type b disease,
primarily meningitis, occurred annually in the U.S. Now, because of
vaccination, the number of cases
of invasive Haemophilus b disease has been decreased by more than 98
percent. All of the diseases
mentioned above were associated with significant mortality and
morbidity.

BACKGROUND

Like all products regulated by FDA, vaccines undergo a rigorous
review of laboratory and clinical
data by highly trained scientists and clinicians to help ensure the
safety, purity, and potency of these
products. From an FDA regulatory perspective, there are four stages
in vaccine development: the
pre-investigational new drug (IND) stage (before the product is used
in people), the IND stage
(where human use occurs under limited study conditions), the license
application stage for vaccines
(where FDA reviews the results of the clinical studies and the
manufacturing process), and the
post-licensure stage (following approval of the product for
marketing).

A sponsor seeks licensure of a complete product as it is formulated
for use, not of individual
components. Evidence of any acute toxicity from the use of an
investigational drug, including
vaccines, is included in safety data from human clinical studies, as
required under Title 21, Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 312. If any ingredient or ingredients
causes acute toxicity, the
pre-market safety data would most likely indicate acute toxicity from
use of the vaccine product.
Such data, however, generally would not show whether any particular
ingredient or combination of
ingredients is the source of toxicity.

Like other approved drug and licensed biological products, vaccines
licensed for marketing may also
be required to undergo additional, Phase IV, studies to further
evaluate the vaccine or to address
specific questions about the vaccine. For example, the manufacturer
of Varicella Virus Vaccine
committed to perform a post-licensure study with fifteen years of
safety follow-up. These studies will
provide information about the effects of the vaccine in a population
larger than that exposed during
clinical trials. If additional side effects are identified during the
post-marketing phase, either pursuant
to adverse event reports filed by health care providers or consumers,
or pursuant to Phase IV
studies, FDA would take appropriate regulatory action to protect the
public health such as, among
other options, changing the product's labeling information to reflect
the possible side effects, or, in
cases of imminent or substantial hazard to the public health,
ordering a recall of the product.

Because of the complex manufacturing processes for most biological
products, each product
undergoes thorough laboratory testing for purity, potency, identity,
and sterility. Manufacturers may
release lots only after this testing is documented. FDA may require
lot samples and protocols
showing results of applicable tests to be submitted for review, and
where appropriate, further testing
by FDA. The lot release program is part of our multi-part strategy
that helps ensure product safety
by providing a quality control check on product specifications.

Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System

Licensure of all vaccines marketed in the U.S. is based on a benefit-
to-risk analysis of the safety and
efficacy data submitted by sponsors to FDA. During the pre-market
review process, manufacturers
and FDA focus on identifying and understanding risks before an
overall risk-benefit decision can be
made on the product's licensure. When using any drug or medical
product, a patient runs the risk of
experiencing reactions. For pharmaceuticals, including vaccines,
these reactions are commonly
termed "side effects." They usually are identified in clinical trials
conducted before licensure and are
described in a product's labeling. Known side effects, discovered in
the course of clinical trials, upon
which a product's licensure or approval is based, comprise the
majority of reported adverse events
after licensure.

Like all other medical products, vaccines are not entirely risk-free.
While serious complications are
rare, they can occur. Vaccines are unique medical products in that
they are generally administered to
a large number of healthy individuals, primarily children. Therefore,
it is very important to identify
even rare adverse reactions. CBER and the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC)
jointly manage the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), a
cooperative program for
vaccine safety. VAERS is a post-marketing safety surveillance program
that collects information
about adverse events that occur after the administration of U.S.
licensed vaccines. An "event" is
simply an outcome. However, any outcome that an individual, whether a
health care provider or a
consumer, believes may have resulted from the administration of a
vaccine may be reported to
VAERS. Such report will be included in the system, regardless of
whether there appears to be a
causal relation to the vaccine. Under FDA regulations, 21 CFR,
Subpart D - Reporting Adverse
Experiences, section 600.80, licensed vaccine manufacturers must
report to FDA adverse
experience information, and establish and maintain records.

It should be emphasized that adverse event reports can be made by
anyone, including health care
professionals, patients, and parents. If a patient's physician does
not file a VAERS report, the patient
can do so. FDA protects the confidentiality of patients for whom an
adverse event has been
reported. FDA encourages individuals to report to VAERS any
clinically significant adverse event
occurring after the administration of any vaccine licensed in the
U.S. Individuals who want to make a
report to VAERS can call VAERS at a toll-free number, 1-800-822-7967,
to obtain a reporting
form. Forms and reporting instructions also are available on the
Internet at
www.fda.gov/cber/vaers.html and at www.vaers.org.

Follow-up Study of VAERS Autism Reports

FDA has taken seriously VAERS reports of developmental delay
following vaccination and wants to
assure the public that the Agency is researching any possible
relationship between vaccines and
autism. CBER proposes to conduct a follow-up study of VAERS reports
of autism. As part of the
study, CBER, in conjunction with outside autism experts, will review
available medical records and
develop an interview questionnaire for parents and others who have
reported autism after
vaccinations. The goal of the interviews is to gather information
about demographics, clinical
features, potential risk factors, family history, vaccines
administered, time interval from vaccination to
autism onset, rapidity of symptom onset, and interval from diagnosis
to submission of reports.
Though this study cannot determine whether vaccines cause autism, it
might suggest hypotheses that
could be further evaluated in subsequent controlled, epidemiologic
studies.

Autism-related Laboratory Activities

FDA is actively pursuing research involving the characterization and
development of the first
virus-induced animal model for autism - Borna disease virus (BDV)
infection of the neonatal rat.
There is no direct evidence for any relationship between BDV
infection and human autism. However,
BDV is used as the environmental damaging agent because it infects
the brain of newborn rats. It is
important to note that BDV is not a cause of autism. The damage it
does and the disease syndrome it
produces in rats are used only as a "model" to study general
biological principles of autism. The
features of this model, which FDA scientists have developed over the
past ten years, have excellent
correlation with what is known about human autism including
neuroanatomical, behavioral, and
neurochemical correlations. This model is being used in laboratories
throughout the U.S. and
internationally.

Thimerosal

FDA, together with other U.S. public health agencies, recognizes and
supports the goal of reducing
exposure to mercury from all sources. Consistent with this goal, FDA
has encouraged manufacturers
for several years to develop new vaccines without thimerosal as a
preservative and to remove or
reduce the thimerosal content of existing, licensed vaccines. This
joint effort by manufacturers and
FDA is reflected by the licensure of thimerosal-free products such as
Comvax [Haemophilus b
Conjugate Vaccine and Hepatitis B Vaccine (Recombinant) manufactured
by Merck & Company,
Inc.], licensed October 2, 1996, Infanrix [Diphtheria and Tetanus
Toxoids and Acellular Pertussis
(DTaP) manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline], licensed January 29, 1997,
and Prevnar
(Pneumococcal 7-valent Conjugate Vaccine manufactured by Wyeth-
Lederle Vaccines and
Pediatrics), licensed on February 17, 2000, and the removal or
reduction of thimerosal from
previously licensed products.

In response to section 413 of the Food and Drug Administration
Modernization Act (FDAMA) of
1997, FDA conducted a review of the use of thimerosal in childhood
vaccines. Our review revealed
no evidence of harm caused by thimerosal used as a preservative in
vaccines, except for local
hypersensitivity reactions. Under the U.S. recommended childhood
immunization schedule, the
maximum cumulative exposure to mercury from thimerosal, at the time
of this review in 1999, was
within acceptable limits for the methyl mercury exposure set by FDA,
the Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry, and the World Health Organization.
Of note, such guidelines
contain safety margins and are meant as starting points for
evaluation of mercury exposure, not
absolute levels above which toxicity can be expected to occur.
However, the maximum cumulative
exposure level exceeded the more conservative limits of the
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA). The clinical significance of exceeding EPA's limits is not
currently known.

Nevertheless, reducing exposure to mercury from vaccines is
warranted. This is achievable, in part,
because it is possible in the U.S. to replace multi-dose vials with
single dose vials, which do not
require a preservative.

We are pleased to be able to report substantial progress in the
effort to reduce thimerosal exposure
from vaccines. At this time, all routinely recommended licensed
pediatric vaccines that are currently
being manufactured for the U.S. market, contain no thimerosal or
contain only trace amounts of
thimerosal. The vaccines with trace amount of thimerosal licensed to
date contain less than 0.5
micrograms of mercury per dose, that is, a given dose of vaccine
contains less than 1 part per
million.

Our efforts over approximately the past year and a half to accomplish
this goal include the licensure
of a thimerosal free Hepatitis B Vaccine (Recombinant) manufactured
by Merck and Company in
August 1999. FDA licensed another hepatitis B vaccine with trace
amounts of thimerosal,
manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline in March 2000. A supplement for a new
formulation of Aventis
Pasteur's DTaP Vaccine with only a trace amount of thimerosal was
approved in March 2001.
Additionally, Wyeth-Lederle Vaccines and Pediatrics now only markets
a single-dose,
thimerosal-free formulation of its Haemophilus b Conjugate Vaccine in
the U.S.

Therefore, all routinely recommended U.S. licensed pediatric vaccines
are now available in either
thimerosal-free formulations or in formulations that contain only
trace amounts of thimerosal. The
routinely recommended vaccines include hepatitis B Vaccine,
Haemophilus b Conjugate Vaccine,
Measles Mumps and Rubella Vaccine, Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine,
DTaP Vaccine,
Inactivated Polio Vaccine, and Varicella Vaccine. Prior to the recent
initiative to reduce or eliminate
thimerosal from childhood vaccines, the maximum cumulative exposure
to mercury via routine
childhood vaccinations during the first six months of life was 187.5
micrograms. With the newly
formulated vaccines, the maximum cumulative exposure during the first
six months of life will now be
less than three micrograms of mercury; this represents a greater than
98 percent reduction in the
amount of mercury a child would receive from vaccines in the first
six months of life.

Thimerosal and the National Toxicology Program

The National Toxicology Program (NTP) was established in 1978 by the
Secretary of the
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS or the Department) to
coordinate toxicology
research and testing activities within the Department, to provide
information about potentially toxic
chemicals to regulatory and research agencies and the public, and to
strengthen the science base in
toxicology. The NTP has become a world leader in designing,
conducting, and interpreting animal
assays for toxicity and/or carcinogenicity.

NTP uses a chemical nomination and selection process as a means to
best use its resources with
respect to the testing of chemicals of greatest health concern.
Member agencies of the NTP,
including FDA, are the primary sources of nominations to the NTP.
Because of the continued
interest on the part of the public, as well as public health
agencies, to better characterize the potential
toxicity that could have accompanied an exposure to thimerosal from
vaccines, FDA is in the
process of nominating thimerosal to the NTP for further study to
adequately assess gaps in
knowledge regarding, among other things, neurodevelopmental toxicity.

CONCLUSION

Vaccines provide a great public health benefit in reducing or
eliminating vaccine preventable
diseases. Like all medical products, there are risks with vaccines
and FDA is committed to
continuing its efforts to ensure the safety of vaccines. We have
worked diligently with manufacturers
to eliminate or reduce exposure to mercury from thimerosal in
vaccines. As stated previously, all
licensed vaccines currently being manufactured for the U.S. market
that are on the routine childhood
immunization schedule have formulations that are thimerosal-free or
contain only trace amounts of
thimerosal. Although no causal relationship between vaccines and
autism has been established, FDA,
along with other DHHS agencies, continues to pursue research
activities to increase our
understanding of any relationship between vaccines and
neurodevelopmental disorders.

We thank you for your leadership in this area. I would be happy to
answer any questions you might
have.

==============================================================
9.) Vaccines, Mercury Toxicity and Skyrocketing Autism: 2002 Update
Report
==============================================================
Source: tetrahedron.org

by Ingri Cassel-Harkins

Dear Friends:

Please read the following three articles that should make it very
clear why the concept of "safer"
vaccines is an oxymoron (i.e., the 2 words that basically are recited
together are oppositional and
"make no sense.") We need to be clear when we communicate to others
that:

1. all "vaccine preventable" diseases are not scary; most well fed
and cared-for children and adults
recover from them with natural immunity (immunity that lasts a
lifetime) provided they are not already
"immune compromised" by nutritional and hygienic neglect and abuse.

2. Most vaccines use thimerosal in the manufacturing process and this
is not always mentioned in the
package insert of ingredients. In fact, if the vaccine is thimerosal-
free, they often double the amount
of other adjuvants such as aluminum phosphate (or other "activating"
ingredients which are often
heavy metals.)

3. Vaccines are toxic and we are experiencing skyrocketing epidemics
of disabled and neurologically
impaired children because of them. Now more than ever before. ~The
damage to the entire human
genome of this grand and coerced medical experimentation is
unparalleled in history and catastrophic
to our survival as a species.

Source: http://www.autismsocietyofberks.org/pages/news.html
California has just experienced the
largest quarterly increase in the number of new cases of level one
autism in it's history. According to
DDS, between July 6, 2001, and October 4, 2001, a record number 705
new cases of DSM IV
autism entered California's developmental services system. As with
all of DDS's autism case growth
reporting, the 705 new cases do NOT include other autism spectrum
disorders such as PDD, NOS,
Asperger's, etc. The 2001 Third Quarter report represents a 54%
increase over year prior, and
shows that autism accounts for 8 new children entering the system PER
DAY. In October 2000
level one autism accounted for 28% of the total number of all new
intakes (autism, cerebral palsy,
mental retardation, epilepsy, and conditions similar to mental
retardation). Now in October 2001
level one autism accounted for 36% of all new intakes. California's
numbers are significant because
they are one of the few states to actually track, record and report.
Source: California Department of
Developmental Services (DDS). read the full text at
http://www.feat.org

--------------------------------------------------------------

LAWYERS CLAIM CDC COOKED BOOKS ON MERCURY; SECRET REPORT
REVEALED A leading vaccine injury law group announced today that
their firm is now in
possession of an unreleased confidential report authored by Centers
for Disease Control scientists
which studied autism as a potential neurological injury caused by
mercury in children's vaccines. An
announcement was made by the law firm of Waters & Kraus, the firm
that filed the first known
lawsuit alleging that a mercury preservative in children's vaccines
caused neurological damage to an
infant ultimately diagnosed with autism. Andy Waters, the lead
attorney in the firm, warned that a
different version of the report was eventually made public and has
been cited by the recent Institute
of Medicine study as inconclusive on the issue of whether the mercury-
based vaccine preservative
known as thimerosal has contributed to cause a nationwide epidemic of
regressive autism and other
neurological disorders in small children. The confidential version of
the study, however, clearly
demonstrated that an exposure to more than 62.5 micrograms of mercury
within the first three
months of life significantly increased a child's risk of developing
autism. Specifically, the study found
a 2.48 times increased risk of autism - that is to say, children with
the exposure were more than
twice as likely to develop autism as children not exposed. For your
own copy of the new report,
please email Claire@.... (at Waters & Kraus.)

----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------
another site----- source:
http://forums.parenthood.com/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=55&Topic=617
(Email forum)

We should be past the point of wasting time with claims that the
amount of mercury in shots is
"miniscule."

Study Finds Excessive Mercury in Hair of Infants: 'Cause for Concern'
1: Neurotoxicology 2001
Oct;22(5):691-7

Mercury (Hg) is considered one of the world's most toxic metals.
Current thinking suggests that
exposure to mercury occurs primarily from seafood contamination and
rare catastrophic events.
Recently, another common source of exposure has been identified.
Thimerosal (TMS), a
preservative found in many infant vaccines, contains 49.6% ethyl
mercury (EtHg) by weight and
typically contributes 25 microg of EtHg per dose of infant vaccine.
As part of an ongoing review, the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in 1999 that infants who
received multiple
TMS-preserved vaccines may have been exposed to cumulative Hg in
excess of Federal safety
guidelines. According to the centers for disease control (CDC)
recommended immunization
schedule, infants may have been exposed to 12.5 microg Hg at birth,
62.5 microg EtHg at 2 months,
50 microg EtHg at 4 months, 62.5 microg EtHg at 6 months, and 50
microg EtHg at approximately
18 months, for a total of 237.5 microg EtHg during the first 18
months of life, if all TMS-containing
vaccines were administered.

Neurobehavioral alterations, especially to the more susceptible fetus
and infant, are known to occur
after relatively low dose exposures to organic mercury compounds. In
effort, to further elucidate the
levels of ethyl mercury resulting from exposure to vaccinal TMS, we
estimated hair Hg
concentrations expected to result from the recommended CDC schedule
utilizing a one compartment
pharmacokinetic model. This model was developed to predict hair
concentrations from acute
exposure to methymercury (MeHg) in fish. Modeled hair Hg
concentrations in infants exposed to
vaccinal TMS are in excess of the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) safety guidelines of 1
ppm for up to 365 days, with several peak concentrations within this
period. More sensitive
individuals and those with additional sources of exposure would have
higher Hg concentrations.
Given that exposure to low levels of mercury during critical stages
of development has been
associated with neurological disorders in children, including ADD,
learning difficulties, and speech
delays, the predicted hair Hg concentration resulting from childhood
immunizations is cause for
concern. Based on these findings, the impact which vaccinal mercury
has had on the health of
American children warrants further investigation. PMID: 11770890
[PubMed - in process]

========
Ingri Cassel,
President Vaccination Liberation - Idaho Chapter
P.O. Box 1444 Coeur d'Alene, ID 83816
(208)255-2307/ 765-8421
vaclib@...
www.vaclib.org
"The Right to Know, The Freedom to Abstain"

Courtesy of Dr. Leonard G. Horowitz and Tetrahedron Publishing Group
206 North 4th Avenue, Suite 147 Sandpoint, Idaho 83864
http://www.tetrahedron.org
Toll free order line: 888-508-4787;
Office telephone: 208-265-2575;
FAX: 208-265-2775 E-mail: tetra@...
See also: http://www.healingcelebrations.com for vaccine injury
treatment recommendations.

==============================================================
10.) Vaccine Induced Autism
==============================================================
Source: mercola.com

Rick Rollens is a parent advocate who presented this testimony last
week in Washington D.C. to a
packed hearing room. The immediate reaction in the room at the end of
his speech was stunned
silence, reports Rick.

Mr. Chairman and Members:

My name is Rick Rollens. I currently reside in Granite Bay,
California which is located 30 miles east
of Sacramento with my wife of 23 years, Janna, and my two sons,
Matthew, 13 and Russell, 8.
Thank you for inviting me to testify today. For me, this is somewhat
of a homecoming. In 1973, I
had the privilege of serving on the Washington staff of former
Representative Jerome Waldie of
California. Following my service in the House, I embarked upon a 23-
year career of public service
with the California State Senate. Working through the ranks, I was
elected by the Members of the
Senate to serve as the Secretary of the Senate until I chose to
resign my position in 1996, in order to
dedicate myself to the pursuit of effective treatments and a cure for
my son, Russell.

I am here today to share with you the story of my son's case of
vaccine induced autism, and to
report on the growing autism epidemic in California, and the pandemic
of autism sweeping across
this country. Russell began his life as a normal, healthy, and robust
child, meeting all his age
appropriate milestones. At seven months old, within 72 hours after
receiving his third DPT and his
first HIB vaccinations, Russell developed a high fever and shrieked
with a high wailing scream for
days. After these vaccinations, he started losing eye contact,
smiling less, losing interest in people,
developed constant croup and was chronically sick. At seven months
old, Russell's life had begun to
change along with the lives of all who know and love him. Within days
after his first MMR
vaccination at 18 months old, Russell began his final journey into
the abyss of what my wife and I
now know as autism -- losing most of his remaining skills, developing
severe sleep irregularities,
chronic gastrointestinal problems, and expressing constant pain
exhibited by harrowing days of
endless crying.

Russell was officially diagnosed at two and a half years old with
autism. After many months of
medical investigation of Russell's condition, including state-of-the-
art brain scans, immunological,
neurological and genetic work-ups, we consulted a noted pediatric
neurologist who thoroughly
examined Russell and reviewed all of Russell's medical history. He
advised us that, in part, Russell's
brain dysfunction had very likely occurred as a result of some form
of encephalitis, resulting in
bilateral damage to the temporal lobes of his brain. Based on the
facts that we have absolutely no
family history of autism or any other type of brain disorders in our
family, that he was born a normal,
healthy child. That there exists the strong temporal relationship
between the timing of the DPT
vaccination he received at seven months and the onset of his autistic
condition, his classic DPT
vaccine reactions, coupled with the 18 month old hit from the MMR and
the subsequent
deterioration of his condition, as well as the scientific evidence
that one of the many serious adverse
effects of DPT vaccine is encephalitis and brain damage, I believe
that Russell is a victim of
vaccine-induced autism.

My story is far from unique. Mr. Chairman and members, next week when
you return home to your
districts, talk to your constituents, many of whom are among the
growing number of parents who
have children with autism. I can assure you that you will hear first-
hand accounts from those parents
about their normally developing children, about the introduction and
reaction to a vaccine or multiple
complications that accompany the acquired autistic condition. The
first rule of medicine is to listen to
the patient. A child born today in California will have received his
first vaccination between six to
eight hours old. By the time that child is 6 months old he will have
received 15 doses of vaccines
and by the age of five years old, 33 doses of vaccines.

Vaccine contains numerous active agents such as live viruses, killed
bacteria and toxic chemicals
including aluminum, mercury and formaldehyde. Where are the safety
studies on the short or long
term effects of the interaction of these numerous multiple vaccines
and their agents on the developing
brain and immune systems of our children? Where is the science? Many
safety studies of individual
vaccines only include a few days follow-up period for reactions, but
the CDC tells parents and the
news media that the onset of autism after vaccination could only be
an "unrelated chance
occurrence." Show me - CDC - the science. Show me the studies Dr.
Satchir.

Is it appropriate to continue to entrust the CDC and the indemnified
vaccine manufacturers with the
responsibility of guaranteeing parents of this country that these
vaccines do not cause autism or other
brain disorders when these same groups are the most aggressive
promoters of vaccine use? The
situation can easily be likened to charging the tobacco industry to
undertake independent scientific
studies to find out if there is any relationship between lung cancer
and smoking. This science on the
safety of vaccines and their relationship to the development of
autism is not there. Not there
because the pleas of parents have been ignored. I suffered the
ultimate betrayal of trust by blindly
allowing my child to be injected with a multitude of
vaccines . . .trusting my government had made
sure that my child would not become autistic after his vaccinations.

Responding to the outcry of parents, professionals, and educators
over the concern of the rapidly
increasing number of children with autism and autism spectrum
disorders, the California Legislature
and two Governors of different political parties responded within the
past 12 months by requiring a
study on whether autism was increasing in the State and, after
finding that there was a huge,
unexpected increase, appropriated several million dollars for
independent research as well as an
independent follow-up study into the real factors causing the
increase. Under the leadership of
former State Senator, now U.S. Representative Mike Thompson, last
year the Legislature required
the Department of Development Services to report on the increase of
autism in California from
1987-1998. The report was released earlier this year and documents a
very conservative 237%
increase in the number of new children with autism entering the
developmental services system; 1685
new children last year alone when incidence projection would have
predicted 105 - 263 new
children.

The report led the Los Angeles Times to declare that the state has an
epidemic of autistic children.
We all know there is no such thing as a genetic disease epidemic, so
clearly other factors are
involved. According to the Department, from January 6 to July 7 of
this year, 1,027 new children
were added to the system; which means that California alone added on
average six new autistic
children a day, seven days a week . . .or one new child every four
hours! Besides the immeasurable
human cost on child and family, the thousands of autistic children
already in our system along with
these 1,027 new children are, according to the Department, going to
cost the taxpayers of California
and the country a minimum of $2 million each for their lifetime of
care. Surely any intelligent,
thoughtful person cannot with a straight face suggest that the huge
increase in one of the most easily
recognizable of all childhood disorders is all due to genetics,
better recognition, or to minor changes
in the diagnostic criteria that occurred 10 years after the massive
increase in autism had already
begun over two decades ago.

Earlier this year, the national and local news media extensively
covered the story of the observations
by parents in Brick Township, New Jersey that there were a lot of
kids with autism in their
community. In fact, the CDC publicly announced that they had
discovered a cluster of autism in
Brick was 1 in 150 children. 1 in 150 children with autism represents
a prevalence rate 12 times
higher than the published prevalence rate. My family and I reside in
a community approximately
three thousand miles from Brick Township, a community that is almost
in every way as different from
Brick as two communities in America can be. Where we live, our
children are served by a single
public elementary school district. The prevalence of autism in our
elementary school district is 1 in
132 children. Mr. Chairman and Members, Brick Township, New Jersey
and Granite Bay
California are not "clusters" of autism, but snapshots of what is
occurring everywhere.

Numerous parent organizations around the world, including the Autism
Research Institute, the
National Vaccine Information Center, Families for Early Autism
Treatment (FEAT), Autoimmunity
Research Project, Cure Autism Now, and Allergy Induced Autism are all
constantly hearing from
scores of parents reporting vaccine-related autism. You will find
these children throughout the
neighborhoods of your own districts. Vaccine policy has always been a
cost-benefit proposition. I
am here to tell you today that the once numerically rare sacrificial
lambs that society has been willing
to tolerate for the good of the whole could now, very likely before
our eyes, be turning into herds of
casualties of the most precious resource we have - our children and
grandchildren. We must act
quickly, by investing in good, independent research and science to
pursue the truth about the link
between vaccines and autism. If we don't discover all the causes, we
will never find a cure. Thank
you.

==============================================================
11.) Major CDC Study on Thimerosal Flawed
==============================================================
Author Admits Findings Incorrect

Source: autism.about.com

Dateline: 07/25/01

The author of a major study of the link between Vaccinations and
Developmental Disorders which is
widely quoted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
has admitted that the study
is inaccurate in its findings. Dr. Thomas Verstraeten, of the CDC's
National Immunization Program,
is quoted as saying, "One thing is for sure, there is certainly under-
ascertainment of all these
[conditions] because some of the children are just not old enough to
be diagnosed." This was
confirmed by a professor who has reviewed the research. He stated
that there were too few children
in the study to pick up all cases of autism.

The study in question has been widely quoted as evidence that Autism
and other Pervasive
Developmental Disorders are in no way linked to the vaccines which
are routinely given to children
around the world. Now it seems this conclusion is invalid and the
true relationship has yet to be
discovered.

Additionally, it appears that the CDC is now reversing its stand.
According to the Sunday Times, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found a "statistically
significant" link between
mercury in vaccines and developmental disorders, including Attention
Deficit Disorder and speech
and language delays. The CDC, however, still recommends vaccinations
with thimerosal containing
vaccines, saying there are safety measures in place to prevent
overdoses of mercury.

Autism rates around the world are rising and the rise coincides with
the availability of more vaccines
containing mercury, a lowering of the age at which vaccines are given
to babies and the introduction
of the combined MMR vaccine, which does not contain mercury, but
which has been linked to
Autism by some researchers.

Now that the research quoted by the CDC and other governmental
agencies has been found
inadequate, and since there are research findings which suggest a
link between mercury and
developmental disorders, it is time to begin serious research into
these issues. In addition, the link
between the MMR vaccine and Autism should be explored further, since
it appears to be associated
in some way with the increased rates.

In spite of the dangers of mercury exposure in infants, the CDC
continues to recommend that, "State
and local immunization programs or private health care providers
should use the vaccines available in
their stock. All vaccines are safe and effective as stated by FDA."
Yet the American Academy of
Pediatrics and other medical groups has called for the removal of
mercury from all vaccines. Why
then does the CDC continue to state that they should be used? While
they say they are working
cooperatively with vaccine manufacturers to implement a plan to
reduce and eventually eliminate
future purchases of thimerosal containing vaccines for federal
programs, it appears that these moves
may be too little, too late. While the government is, "working
cooperatively," with the manufacturers,
more and more children are being exposed to potentially toxic levels
of mercury and more and more
families are having their lives destroyed by its effects. The time to
act is now.

Congressman Dan Burton (R-Indiana) and others have called for the
removal of all vaccines
containing thimerosal. So far their words have fallen on deaf ears.
Vaccines with excessive levels of
mercury are still being routinely used and there is no clear end in
sight. Until adequate research is
done either proving or disproving the relationship between these
vaccines and neurological damage,
their use should be discontinued. Vaccines which do not contain
thimerosal are available and their
use should be mandated by the federal government

==============================================================
12.) Effects of Ethylmercury Exposure in Infants Never Studied
==============================================================
Expert Tells IOM No Studies Done

Source:autism.about.com

On July 26, 2001, the Institute of Medicine will conduct hearings
into thimerosal-containing vaccines
and the neurodevelopmental outcomes of exposure to them. As a part of
their preliminary research,
the Immunization Safety Review Committee questioned Dr. László Magos,
author of "Physiology
and Toxicology of Mercury" and an internationally known expert in
field.

While many of the answers that Dr. Magos gave were so scientifically
complex that the lay person
could never hope to comprehend them, I found it interesting that two
of these answers, perhaps the
most important two, were perfectly plain, clear and understandable to
anyone reading his statement.


Have there been any studies, including animal studies, which have
looked specifically at infant
ethylmercury exposure and the effect on neurological
development? "No, it has not been studied."
What is thought to be currently the best hypothesis (if any)
regarding the mechanism of neurotoxic
mechanism of neurotoxicity of organic Hg (mercury)? "Unfortunately,
there is no answer. Chang
(1996) suggested four "major thoughts" on the mechanism of actions.
These "thoughts" have not
reached the level of a hypotheses, and even less the level of 'the
best hypothesis'."

Why are these questions so important? The answer is simple. They
provide a clue into the direction
that researchers and government agencies need to go, if we are to
ever learn the true relationship
between mercury based substances such as thimerosal and their effects
on the lives of our children
when they are ingredients in the vaccines we are routinely
administering.

How can we ever believe the reports that attempt to validate the use
of vaccines which contain
thimerosal, when there have been NO STUDIES done on this important
question, according to Dr.
Magos? And how can we believe the theories that have been proposed on
how mercury works to
damage the neurological system of the body, when there hasn't even
been a hypothesis made on this
question. As I remember my studies of the "scientific method," a
hypothesis must be made and tested
and the tests replicated, before a theory can be advanced. We are not
at the point of having a
hypothesis, let alone enough material to propose a theory.

As parents, we know what happened to our children. We know when their
development began to
regress, but our knowledge is not enough to base policy on, according
to the experts. They say we
must have hard facts and research studies before our "anecdotal
evidence" can be believed. Yet the
scientific community has failed to provide the same standard of
evidence in support of their opinions.
Hearings and inquiries are not enough. Neither are statements that
defend the status quo and tout the
safety of vaccines. Until that research is done, the public will have
every right to be skeptical about
the statements that come out of the medical community regarding the
safety of these vaccines

==============================================================
13.) ER Exploits MMR Vaccine Myth
==============================================================
Alternatives to the MMR Vaccine
Source|: autism.about.com

A recent episode of the NBC Television program, ER, featured a story
about a child who died of
measles after his parents refused to have him vaccinated. This
storyline exploited the myth that the
Measles, Mumps and Reubella (MMR) vaccine is perfectly safe and that
those who choose to not
use this combination vaccine are risking the lives of their children.
The program has caused people
across the country to think carefully about the benefits and risks of
mandatory childhood
vaccinations and wondering about their decisions to immunize or not.
If you've been keeping up with
the controversy about the effects of the Measles, Mumps and Reubella
(MMR) vaccine and its
potential for being a cause or trigger for Autism, pay close
attention to this article. While it is not
intended as medical advice, it does provide valuable information
which you and your physician need
to make an informed decision regarding this vaccine. Always consult
with your physician regarding
any medication or vaccination questions you might have.

For years a controversy has raged in the medical community about the
effects of the MMR vaccine.
Researchers, such as Dr. Andrew Wakefield, have found that the MMR
potentially is a trigger or
even the cause of Autism and other Pervasive Developmental Disorders.
Further research has found
that it may be the combination of ingredients in the MMR that is the
culprit, not the individual
vaccines themselves. Because of this, it has been recommended that
these multiple vaccines be
avoided and instead single dose vaccines be substituted.

I have heard from countless parents who have said they requested the
single measles, mumps or
reubella vaccine and been told, it isn't available. If you are one of
those parents, you were either lied
to or your medical provider is uninformed. The single dose vaccine is
available, from the same
manufacturer who makes the multi-dose version, however many
physicians and clinics hesitate to
purchase it because of the way the vaccine is marketed. It seems that
Merck Pharmaceuticals
requires that it be purchased in minimum lots of 10, which means that
to cover your child, the health
care provider must purchase 30 doses, instead of the 10 required for
the multi-dose vaccine.

It's a matter of basic economics. It costs less to get 10 doses than
it does 30, so why spend the
extra money. Their cost cutting measures could be the reason your
child can't get the single dose
vaccine, and could possibly, if the researchers are correct, be the
reason that Autism/PDD has
increased so dramatically in the past 20 years. Additionally, managed
health care plans have put in
place a system that only allows for a certain number of well-child
visits, falsely leading the parents to
believe they cannot make additional appointments for separated
vaccinations. A vaccination
appointment in nearly every medical office, is not an appointment
with the physician and should not
be billed as such. It is an appointment with the nurse and therefore
is not constricted by a managed
health care's well-child health care schedule.

What can you do about this? The answer is simple. When you go to your
doctor or clinic, arrive
armed with the correct information which will allow you to counteract
their claim that the vaccine is
not manufactured and can't be purchased. According to information
from the FEAT newsletter and
Elizabeth Bowers of ARMED (Autism Recovery through Medicine,
Education & Diet), the item
numbers below are from the current Physician's Desk Reference (PDN)
for the individual dosages of
the vaccines, manufactured by Merck. Demand that these be purchased
for use with your child, and
put it in writing. If the health care provider refuses, get it in
writing that you provided them with the
information and made a formal written request which was refused. In
this way, you have the
evidence that might help in a potential legal action, should the
vaccine injury compensation laws ever
be changed to cover this type of situation. Without it, it's your
word against theirs.


Measles: # NDC00064709-00, single dose
Mumps: #NDC00064753-00, single dose
Rubella (called Meruvac II): #NDC00064747-00, single dose

==============================================================14.)
Autism: a Novel Form of Mercury Poisoning
==============================================================
S. Bernard, B.A., A. Enayati, M.S.M.E., L. Redwood, M.S.N., H. Roger,
B.A., T. Binstock
Sallie Bernard, ARC Research, 14 Commerce Drive, Cranford, NJ 07901
USA, 908.276.6300,
fax 908.276.1301

Source: mercola.com

Summary

Autism is a syndrome characterized by impairments in social
relatedness and communication,
repetitive behaviors, abnormal movements, and sensory dysfunction.
Recent epidemiological studies
suggest that autism may affect 1 in 150 U. S. children.

Exposure to mercury can cause immune, sensory, neurological, motor,
and behavioral dysfunctions
similar to traits defining or associated with autism, and the
similarities extend to neuroanatomy,
neurotransmitters, and biochemistry.

Thimerosal, a preservative added to many vaccines, has become a major
source of mercury in
children who, within their first two years, may have received a
quantity of mercury that exceeds
safety guidelines.

A review of medical literature and U.S. government data suggests that


i) many cases of idiopathic autism are induced by early mercury
exposure from thimerosal;

(ii) this type of autism represents an unrecognized mercurial
syndrome; and

(iii) genetic and non-genetic factors establish a predisposition
whereby thimerosal's adverse effects
occur only in some children.

Introduction

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental syndrome
with onset prior to age 36
months. Diagnostic criteria consist of impairments in sociality and
communication plus repetitive and
stereotypic behaviors (1). Traits strongly associated with autism
include movement disorders and
sensory dysfunctions (2). Although autism may be apparent soon after
birth, most autistic children
experience at least several months, even a year or more of normal
development -- followed by
regression, defined as loss of function or failure to progress
(2,3,4).

The neurotoxicity of mercury (Hg) has long been recognized (5).

Primary data derive from victims of contaminated fish (Japan -
Minamata Disease) or grain (Iraq,
Guatemala, Russia); from acrodynia (Pink Disease) induced by Hg in
teething powders; and from
individual instances of mercury poisoning (HgP), many occurring in
occupational settings (e.g., Mad
Hatter's Disease).

Animal and in vitro studies also provide insights into the mechanisms
of Hg toxicity. More recently,
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP) have
determined that the typical amount of Hg injected into infants and
toddlers via childhood
immunizations has exceeded government safety guidelines on an
individual (6) and cumulative
vaccine basis (7).

The mercury in vaccines derives from thimerosal (TMS), a preservative
which is 49.6%
ethylmercury (eHg) (7).

Past cases of HgP have presented with much inter-individual
variation, depending on the dose, type
of mercury, method of administration, duration of exposure, and
individual sensitivity. Thus, while
commonalities exist across the various instances of HgP, each set of
variables has given rise to a
different disease manifestation (8,9,10,11).

It is hypothesized that the regressive form of autism represents
another form of mercury poisoning,
based on a thorough correspondence between autistic and HgP traits
and physiological
abnormalities, as well as on the known exposure to mercury through
vaccines.

Furthermore, other phenomena are consistent with a causal Hg-ASD
relationship. These include:


a) symptom onset shortly after immunization;

(b) ASD prevalence increases corresponding to vaccination increases;
(c) similar sex ratios of
affected individuals;

(d) a high heritability rate for autism paralleling a genetic
predisposition to Hg sensitivity at low doses;
and

(e) parental reports of autistic children with elevated Hg.

Trait Comparison

ASD manifests a constellation of symptoms with much inter-individual
variation (3,4). A comparison
of traits defining, nearly universal to, or commonly found in autism
with those known to arise from
mercury poisoning is given in Table I. The characteristics defining
or strongly associated with autism
are also more fully described.

Autism has been conceived primarily as a psychiatric condition; and
two of its three diagnostic
criteria are based upon the observable traits of


a) impairments in sociality, most commonly social withdrawal or
aloofness, and

b) a variety of perseverative or stereotypic behaviors and the need
for sameness, which strongly
resemble obsessive-compulsive tendencies.


Differential diagnosis may include childhood schizophrenia,
depression, obsessive-compulsive
disorder (OCD), anxiety disorder, and other neuroses.

Related behaviors commonly found in ASD individuals are irrational
fears, poor eye contact,
aggressive behaviors, temper tantrums, irritability, and inexplicable
changes in mood (1,2,12-17).
Mercury poisoning, when undetected, is often initially diagnosed as a
psychiatric disorder (18).

Commonly occurring symptoms include:


a) "extreme shyness," indifference to others, active avoidance of
others, or "a desire to be alone";(b)
depression, "lack of interest" and "mental confusion;"

(c) irritability, aggression, and tantrums in children and adults;

(d) anxiety and fearfulness; and

(e) emotional lability.


Neuroses, including schizoid and obsessive-compulsive traits,
problems in inhibition of perseveration,
and stereotyped behaviors, have been reported in a number of cases;
and lack of eye contact was
observed in one 12 year old girl with mercury vapor poisoning (18-
35).

The third diagnostic criterion for ASD is impairment in communication
(1). Historically, about half of
those with classic autism failed to develop meaningful speech (2),
and articulation difficulties are
common (3). Higher functioning individuals may have language fluency
but still show semantic and
pragmatic errors (3,36). In many cases of ASD, verbal IQ is lower
than performance IQ (3).
Similarly, mercury-exposed children and adults show a marked
difficulty with speech (9,19,37).

In milder cases scores on language tests may be lower than those of
unexposed controls (31,38).
Iraqi children who were postnatally poisoned developed articulation
problems, from slow, slurred
word production to an inability to generate meaningful speech; while
Iraqi babies exposed prenatally
either failed to develop language or presented with severe language
deficits in childhood (23,24,39).
Workers with Mad Hatter's disease had word retrieval and articulation
difficulties (21).

Nearly all cases of ASD and HgP involve disorders of physical
movement (2,30,40).

Clumsiness or lack of coordination has been described in many higher
functioning ASD individuals
(41). Infants and toddlers later diagnosed with autism may fail to
crawl properly or may fall over
while sitting or standing; and the movement disturbances typically
occur on the right side of the body
(42). Problems with intentional movement and imitation are common in
ASD, as are a variety of
unusual stereotypic behaviors such as toe walking, rocking, abnormal
postures, choreiform
movements, spinning; and hand flapping (2,3,43,44).

Noteworthy because of similarities to autism are reports in Hg
literature of:


a) children in Iraq and Japan who were unable to stand, sit, or crawl
(34,39);

(b) Minamata disease patients whose movement disturbances were
localized to one side of the
body, and a girl exposed to Hg vapor who tended to fall to the right
(18,34);

(c) flapping motions in an infant poisoned from contaminated pork
(37) and in a man injected with
thimerosal (27);

(d) choreiform movements in mercury vapor intoxication (19);

(e) toe walking in a moderately poisoned Minamata child (34);

(f) poor coordination and clumsiness among victims of acrodynia (45);

(g) rocking among infants with acrodynia (11); and

(h) unusual postures observed in both acrodynia and mercury vapor
poisoning (11,31). The
presence of flapping motions in both diseases is of interest because
it is such an unusual behavior that
it has been recommended as a diagnostic marker for autism (46).


Virtually all ASD subjects show a variety of sensory abnormalities
(2). Auditory deficits are present
in a minority of individuals and can range from mild to profound
hearing loss (2,47). Over- or
under-reaction to sound is nearly universal (2,48), and deficits in
language comprehension are often
present (3). Pain sensitivity or insensitivity is common, as is a
general aversion to touch; abnormal
sensation in the extremities and mouth may also be present and has
been detected even in toddlers
under 12 months old (2,49).

There may be a variety of visual disturbances, including sensitivity
to light (2,50,51,52). As in autism,
sensory issues are reported in virtually all instances of Hg toxicity
(40). HgP can lead to mild to
profound hearing loss (40); speech discrimination is especially
impaired (9,34,). Iraqi babies
exposed prenatally showed exaggerated reaction to noise (23), while
in acrodynia, patients reported
noise sensitivity (45). Abnormal sensation in the extremities and
mouth is the most common sensory
disturbance (25,28). Acrodynia sufferers and prenatally exposed Iraqi
babies exhibited excessive
pain when bumping limbs and an aversion to touch (23,24,45,53). A
range of visual problems has
been reported, including photophobia (18,23,34).


Comparison Of Biological Abnormalities

The biological abnormalities commonly found in autism are listed in
Table II, along with the
corresponding pathologies arising from mercury exposure. Especially
noteworthy similarities are
described.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder which has been characterized
as "a disorder of neuronal
organization, that is, the development of the dentritic tree,
synaptogenesis, and the development of
the complex connectivity within and between brain regions" (54).
Depressed expression of neural
cell adhesion molecules (NCAMs), which are critical during brain
development for proper synaptic
structuring, has been found in one study of autism (55). Organic
mercury, which readily crosses the
blood-brain barrier, preferentially targets nerve cells and nerve
fibers (56); primates accumulate the
highest Hg-levels in the brain relative to other organs (40).

Furthermore, although most cells respond to mercurial injury by
modulating levels of glutathione
(GSH), metallothionein, hemoxygenase, and other stress proteins,
neurons tend to be "markedly
deficient in these responses" and thus are less able to remove Hg and
more prone to Hg-induced
injury (56). In the developing brain, mercury interferes with
neuronal migration, depresses cell
division, disrupts microtubule function, and reduces NCAMs (28, 57-
59).

While damage has been observed in a number of brain areas in autism,
many nuclei and functions are
spared (36). HgP's damage is similarly selective (40). Numerous
studies link autism with neuronal
atypicalities within the amygdala, hippocampi, basal ganglia, the
Purkinje and granule cells of the
cerebellum, brainstem, basal ganglia, and cerebral cortex (36,60-69).
Each of these areas can be
affected by HgP (10,34,40,70-73). Migration of Hg, including eHg,
into the amygdala is particularly
noteworthy, because in primates this brain region has neurons
specific for eye contact (74) and it is
implicated in autism and in social behaviors (65,66,75).

Autistic brains show neurotransmitter irregularities which are
virtually identical to those arising from
Hg exposure:


both high or low serotonin and dopamine, depending on the subjects
studied;
elevated epinephrine and norepinephrine in plasma and brain; elevated
glutamate; and
acetylcholine deficiency in hippocampus (2,21,76-83).

Gillberg and Coleman (2) estimate that 35-45% of autistics eventually
develop epilepsy. A recent
MEG study reported epileptiform activity in 82% of 50 regressive
autistic children; in another study,
half the autistic children expressed abnormal EEG activity during
sleep (84). Autistic EEG
abnormalities tend to be non-specific and have a variety of patterns
(85). Unusual epileptiform
activity has been found in a number of mercury poisoning cases
(18,27,34,86-88).

Early Hg exposure enhances tendencies toward epileptiform activity
with a reduced level of
seizure-discharge amplitude (89), a finding consistent with the
subtlety of seizures in many autism
spectrum children (84,85). The fact that Hg increases extracellular
glutamate would also contribute
to epileptiform activity (90).

Some autistic children show a low capacity to oxidize sulfur
compounds and low levels of sulfate
(91,92). These findings may be linked with HgP because (a) Hg
preferentially binds to sulfhydryl
molecules (-SH) such as cysteine and GSH, thereby impairing various
cellular functions (40), and (b)
mercury can irreversibly block the sulfate transporter NaSi
cotransporter NaSi-1, present in kidneys
and intestines, thus reducing sulfate absorption (93).

Besides low sulfate, many autistics have low GSH levels, abnormal GSH-
peroxidase activity within
erythrocytes, and decreased hepatic ability to detoxify xenobiotics
(91,94,95). GSH participates in
cellular detoxification of heavy metals (96); hepatic GSH is a
primary substrate for organic-Hg
clearance from the human (40); and intraneuronal GSH participates in
various protective responses
against Hg in the CNS (56).

By preferentially binding with GSH, preventing absorption of sulfate,
or inhibiting the enzymes of
glutathione metabolism (97), Hg might diminish GSH bioavailability.
Low GSH can also derive from
chronic infection (98,99), which would be more likely in the presence
of immune impairments arising
from mercury (100).

Furthermore, mercury disrupts purine and pyrimidine metabolism
(97,10). Altered purine or
pyrimidine metabolism can induce autistic features and classical
autism (2,101,102), suggesting
another mechanism by which Hg can contribute to autistic traits.

Autistics are more likely to have:

allergies
asthma
selective IgA deficiency (sIgAd)
enhanced expression of HLA-DR antigen
and an absence of interleukin-2 receptors
as well as familial autoimmunity
and a variety of autoimmune phenomena
These include elevated serum IgG
and ANA titers,
IgM and
IgG brain antibodies,
and myelin basic protein (MBP) antibodies (103-110).

Similarly, atypical responses to Hg have been ascribed to allergic or
autoimmune reactions (8), and
genetic predisposition to such reactions may explain why Hg
sensitivity varies so widely by individual
(88,111).

Children who developed acrodynia were more likely to have asthma and
other allergies (11); IgG
brain autoantibodies, MBP, and ANA have been found in HgP subjects
(18,111,112); and mice
genetically prone to develop autoimmune diseases "are highly
susceptible to mercury-induced
immunopathological alterations" even at the lowest doses (113).

Additionally, many autistics have reduced natural killer cell (NK)
function, as well as immune-cell
subsets shifted in a Th2 direction and increased urine neopterin
levels, indicating immune system
activiation (103,114-116). Depending upon genetic predisposition, Hg
can induce immune
activation, an expansion of Th2 subsets, and decreased NK activity
(117-120).


Population Characteristics

In most affected children, autistic symptoms emerge gradually,
although there are cases of sudden
onset (3).

The earliest abnormalities have been detected in 4 month olds and
consist of subtle movement
disturbances; subtle motor-sensory disturbances have been observed in
9 month olds (49). More
overt speech and hearing difficulties become noticeable to parents
and pediatricians between 12 and
18 months (2). TMS vaccines have been given in repeated intervals
starting from infancy and
continuing until 12 to 18 months.

While HgP symptoms, may arise suddenly in especially sensitive
individuals (11), usually there is a
preclinical "silent stage" in which subtle neurological changes are
occuring (121) and then a gradual
emergence of symptoms.

The first symptoms are typically sensory- and motor-related, which
are followed by speech and
hearing deficits, and finally the full array of HgP characteristics
(40).

Thus, both the timing and nature of symptom emergence in ASD are
fully consistent with a vaccinal
Hg etiology.

This parallel is reinforced by parental reports of excessive amounts
of mercury in urine or hair from
younger autistic children, as well as some improvement in symptoms
with standard chelation therapy
(122).

The discovery and rise in prevalence of ASD mirrors the introduction
and spread of thimerosol in
vaccines.

Autism was first described in 1943 among children born in the 1930s
(123). Thimerosal was first
introduced into vaccines in the 1930s (7). In studies conducted prior
to 1970, autism prevalence
was estimated, at 1 in 2000; in studies from 1970 to 1990 it averaged
1 in 1000 (124). This was a
period of increased vaccination rates of the TMS-containing DPT
vaccines among children in the
developed world.

In the early 1990s, the prevalence of autism was found to be 1 in 500
(125), and in 2000 the CDC
found 1 in 150 children affected in one community, which was
consistent with reports from other
areas in the country (126). In the late 1980s and early 1990s, two
new TMS vaccines, the HIB and
Hepatitis B, were added to the recommended schedule (7).

Nearly all US children are immunized, yet only a small proportion
develop autism.

A pertinent characteristic of mercury is the great variability in its
effects by individual, so that at the
same exposure level, some will be affected severely while others will
be asymptomatic (9,11,28). An
example is acrodynia, which arose in the early 20th Century from
mercury in teething powders and
afflicted only 1 in 500-1000 children given the same low dose (28).

Studies in mice as well as humans indicate that susceptibility to Hg
effects arises from genetic status,
in some cases including a propensity to autoimmune disorders
(113,34,40). ASD exhibits a strong
genetic component, with high concordance in monozygotic twins and a
higher than expected
incidence among siblings (4); autism is also more prevalent in
families with autoimmune disorders
(106).

Additionally, autism is more prevalent among boys than girls, with
the ratio estimated at 4:1 (2).
Mercury studies in mice and humans consistently report greater
effects on males than females, except
for kidney damage (57). At high doses, both sexes are affected
equally; at low doses only males are
affected (38,40,127).


Discussion

We have shown that every major characteristic of autism has been
exhibited in at least several cases
of documented mercury poisoning.

Recently, the FDA and AAP have revealed that the amount of mercury
given to infants from
vaccinations has exceeded safety levels. The timing of mercury
administration via vaccines coincides
with the onset of autistic symptoms. Parental reports of autistic
children with measurable mercury
levels in hair and urine indicate a history of mercury exposure. Thus
the standard primary criteria for
a diagnosis of mercury poisoning - observable symptoms, known
exposure at the time of symptom
onset, and detectable levels in biologic samples (11,31) - have been
met in autism.

As such, mercury toxicity may be a significant etiological factor in
at least some cases of regressive
autism. Further, each known form of HgP in the past has resulted in a
unique variation of
mercurialism - e.g., Minamata disease, acrodynia, Mad Hatter's
disease - none of which has been
autism, suggesting that the Hg source which may be involved in ASD
has not yet been characterized;
given that most infants receive eHg via vaccines, and given that the
effect on infants of eHg in
vaccines has never been studied (129), vaccinal thimerosal should be
considered a probable source.
It is also possible that vaccinal eHg may be additive to a prenatal
mercury load derived from
maternal amalgams, immune globulin injections, or fish consumption,
and environmental sources.

Conclusion

The history of acrodynia illustrates that a severe disorder,
afflicting a small but significant percentage
of children, can arise from a seemingly benign application of low
doses of mercury. This review
establishes the likelihood that Hg may likewise be etiologically
significant in ASD, with the Hg
derived from thimerosal in vaccines rather than teething powders. Due
to the extensive parallels
between autism and HgP, the likelihood of a causal relationship is
great. Given this possibility, TMS
should be removed from all childhood vaccines, and the mechanisms of
Hg toxicity in autism should
be thoroughly investigated.

With perhaps 1 in 150 children now diagnosed with ASD, development of
HgP-related treatments,
such as chelation, would prove beneficial for this large and
seemingly growing population.


For References Click Here

Originally published in the FEAT (http://www.feat.org) online
newsletter.


--------------------------------------------------------------

DR. MERCOLA'S COMMENT:

This is an excellent review of the mercury-autism link and is well
referenced. It has been increasingly
obvious that mercury should be screened for in autism which is why I
have started to aggressively
screen and treat this problem in the autistic children that I care
for.

This week I post my pediatric mercury detoxification program which is
a modification of the program
that I have used for adults for many years. I will start chelating my
first patients in about one month
as many are in the process of preparing for the chelation process
with some homeopathic
preparations.

==============================================================
15.) Adverse Effects Of Adjuvants In Vaccines
==============================================================
by Viera Scheibner

Source: mercola.com

Systemic lupus erythematosus is one of the innumerable recognized
side effects of a number of
vaccinations. One of the best papers (if not the best on this) is by
Ayvazian and Badger (1948), and
it has not lost any of its punch and relevance since it was
published.

They describe three cases of nurses who were literally vaccinated to
death. The authors surveyed a
group of 750 nurses who trained at a large municipal hospital between
1932 and 1946, and detailed
the cases of three nurses who were vaccinated with a multitude of
vaccines over a period of time and
developed and succumbed to disseminated lupus erythematosus.

Typically, these nurses were given the following tests and vaccines
in short succession:

the Schick test;

three days later, the Dick test;

seven days later, typhoid-paratyphoid vaccine;

seven days later, another typhoid-paratyphoid vaccine (a double
dose);

seven days later, the third typhoid-paratyphoid vaccine;

and seven days later, the fourth typhoid-paratyphoid vaccine.
Every time, the recipient developed local erythema and/or fever and
malaise, but it did not deter the
doctor from administering yet another series of vaccines, starting
only 14 days after the first lot of
tests and typhoid-paratyphoid vaccines.

This time, after all these injections, one of the trainee nurses was
given her first injection of scarlet
fever streptococcus toxin with "no ill results".

One week later, she was given the second injection of streptococcus
toxin, after which she
developed joint pains and fever. She did not report these reactions
to the health office.

Nine days later, she returned and received the third injection of a
fourfold dose of streptococcus,
after which she developed severe joint pain in the fingers and knees
and a sore throat.

She was hospitalized for five days and discharged with the
diagnosis "Dick-toxin reaction". Only five
days later her inoculations were continued, first in lower and then
in gradually increasing doses so
that the series included a total of 10 instead of the usual seven
injections. Epinephrine was
administered with each of these injections of streptococcus toxin and
toxin-antitoxin.

Two months after the last lot, the trainee nurse was re-admitted to
the hospital with swelling and pain
of the ankles and toes and tenderness of the joints of both hands,
which had been constant since the
first Dick test five months earlier. The diagnosis was "rheumatic
arthritis".

She was given aspirin, but two weeks later the pain came back and she
developed chills and fever,
sore throat and cough. One month later, the trainee nurse was
readmitted to hospital for two weeks,
and during this admission a streptococcus vaccine was started in
small doses, but because of her
severe reaction "further vaccines were refused". The diagnosis after
this admission was "rheumatoid
arthritis and infectious mononucleosis".

Four months later, the trainee nurse noticed skin eruptions over her
nose and both cheeks, and her
saliva became foul. The skin and cheeks, upper lips and the bridge of
the nose were covered with
purplish red, mottled and indurated rash eruptions. Two months later,
the eruptions spread over
much of the body. A year later, the trainee nurse died, but not
before developing severe symptoms
of high fever, tachycardia, diarrhea and showing abnormal blood
tests.

It was not enough that this unfortunate trainee nurse died; there
were another two cases reported,
almost identical to the first case. We shall never know how many of
the remaining 747 trainee nurses
developed less lethal, but still health-incapacitating. reactions.

If someone said that this type of "medical treatment' had been given
to the inmates of the Nazi
concentration camps, I would not be surprised. However, this type
of "medical treatment" was and is
being given with impunity to millions of babies, children, teenagers
and adults in so-called free and
democratic countries as well as in the Third World. Meanwhile, the
health authorities refuse to
accept that vaccines cause such reactions and even deaths.

Vaccination: A Safety Warning

The conclusions which follow the study of relevant medical and
immunological literature dealing with
vaccines and the adjuvants used in vaccines is that the absolute
safety of these substances can never
be guaranteed.

According to Gupta et al. (1993), the toxicity of adjuvants can be
ascribed in part to the unintended
stimulation of various mechanisms of the immune response. That's why
the safety and adjuvancy
must be balanced to get the maximum immune stimulation with minimum
side effects.

My conclusion is that such balance is impossible to achieve, even if
we fully understood the immune
system and the full spectrum of deleterious effects of foreign
antigens and other toxic substances such
as vaccine and drug adjuvants and medications on the immune system of
humans, and particularly on
the immature immune system of babies and small children.

Injecting any foreign substance straight into the bloodstream will
only cause anaphylactic
(sensitization) reactions. Nature, over thousands and thousands of
years, has developed effective
immune responses; yet man, without respect for nature, demonstrably
causes more harm than good.

Vaccination procedures are a highly politically motivated non-
science, whose practitioners are only
interested in injecting multitudes of vaccines without much interest
or care as to their effects. Data
collection on reactions to vaccines is only paid lip service, and the
obvious ineffectiveness of
vaccines to prevent diseases is glossed over.

The fact that natural infectious diseases have beneficial effect on
the maturation and development of
the immune system is ignored or deliberately suppressed.

Consequently, parents of small children and any potential recipients
of vaccines and any orthodox
medications should be wary of any member of the medical establishment
(which is little more than a
highly politicized business system) extolling the nonexistent virtues
of vaccination.

http://www.whale.to/vaccine/adjuvants1.html

You can go on to the more technically oriented manuscript which
details many of the specifics of
vaccine adjuvants.

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DR. MERCOLA'S COMMENT:

This is an excellent resource th

(Mensaje cortado (tiene más de 64K).)