RFK Jr. on Mercury, Autism, and vaccines

[midnight armadillo]

http://salon.com/news/feature/2005/06/16/thimerosal/index.html

Deadly immunity
When a study revealed that mercury in childhood vaccines may have caused autism in thousands of kids, the government rushed to conceal the data -- and to prevent parents from suing drug companies for their role in the epidemic.

- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

June 16, 2005 | In June 2000, a group of top government scientists and health officials gathered for a meeting at the isolated Simpsonwood conference center in Norcross, Ga. Convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the meeting was held at this Methodist retreat center, nestled in wooded farmland next to the Chattahoochee River, to ensure complete secrecy. The agency had issued no public announcement of the session -- only private invitations to 52 attendees. There were high-level officials from the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration, the top vaccine specialist from the World Health Organization in Geneva, and representatives of every major vaccine manufacturer, including GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Wyeth and Aventis Pasteur. All of the scientific data under discussion, CDC officials repeatedly reminded the participants, was strictly "embargoed." There would be no making photocopies of documents, no taking papers with them when they left.
...
Since 1991, when the CDC and the FDA had recommended that three additional vaccines laced with the preservative be given to extremely young infants -- in one case, within hours of birth -- the estimated number of cases of autism had increased fifteenfold, from one in every 2,500 children to one in 166 children.
...
But instead of taking immediate steps to alert the public and rid the vaccine supply of thimerosal, the officials and executives at Simpsonwood spent most of the next two days discussing how to cover up the damaging data. According to transcripts obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, many at the meeting were concerned about how the damaging revelations about thimerosal would affect the vaccine industry's bottom line.
...
"We are in a bad position from the standpoint of defending any lawsuits," said Dr. Robert Brent, a pediatrician at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Delaware. "This will be a resource to our very busy plaintiff attorneys in this country." Dr. Bob Chen, head of vaccine safety for the CDC, expressed relief that "given the sensitivity of the information, we have been able to keep it out of the hands of, let's say, less responsible hands." Dr. John Clements, vaccines advisor at the World Health Organization, declared flatly that the study "should not have been done at all" and warned that the results "will be taken by others and will be used in ways beyond the control of this group. The research results have to be handled."

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

You'll need to get their free day pass to read the rest of the article. My son was born in Sept 2003, right when thimerosal was being phased out of vaccines - I'm not sure what his exposure to this (a mercury containing preservative) has been.

I am almost shaking with anger. I want to see the people responsible for this crime indicted for criminal conspiracy. Buckwheats is too good for 'em. Holy fuck - they knew for 12 years that they were causing autism and the CHOSE TO PROTECT THEIR PROFITS INSTEAD.

Tonight I will write some letters and contact the NRDC to see if they are making public the transcripts of this secret meeting. Tomorrow I'm writing my state attorney general and federal and state reps. And Gov Romney, just for kicks.

[sendero]

1. My wife has been...

... researching this for years. We have an "autism-spectrum" child who was adopted.

She has spent half of her life trying to help him, and she's made a lot of progress.

She's read paper after paper, both sides of the story for years and she insists that vaccines are linked to these exploding cases of autism and related disorders and that there has been a cover up.

To think I ever doubted her. :(

[sendero]

3. Anyone reading..

.... please note my careful wording. I did not say "themerisol", I said "vaccines".

It is an important difference.

[trotsky]

2. Before you get started on your crusade,

please read the following links:

http://oracknows.blogspot.com/2005/06/saloncom-flushes-its-credibility-down.html

http://skeptico.blogs.com/skeptico/2005/06/robert_f_kenned.html

[NoHg]

6. Believe what you want but the only treatment for my "autistic" son

that shows great results is treatment for mercury poisoning and I
have spent thousands on lab tests that show he is mercury poisoned and his immune system is totally whacked by the vaccinations.

www.generationrescue.org

[trotsky]

7. It's not a matter of "believing" what I want.

It's a matter of knowing the facts versus buying into fearmonger's tactics.

[NoHg]

8. And I gave you the facts about undisputable lab tests.

[trotsky]

10. You didn't give me any facts.

You gave anecdotal evidence. Big difference.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bunny planet]

11. Why is it that you assume that any parent who believes there might be a

connection to vaccines/thimerasol regarding autism spectrum disorder in their child is not familiar with the same 'facts' you seem to be so well versed in, and further, make the presumption that we've been 'buying into fearmonger's tactics.'

Many parents who have had this happen to their children read every bit of medical information they can find and consult with experts in the medical field in order to find treatments and answers. I know lots of parents whose children have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and none of them have consulted quacks or astrological charts, some have perhaps investigated some alternative nutritional treatments, but not exclusively. Some have had a margin of improvement seen in their children with such alternative therapies. They approach them with a healthy dose of scepticism but are willing to try them because in most cases like chicken soup, 'it couldn't hurt.' They also try lots of educational and behavior modification therapy and in cases of mild autism, these too have had positive results.

While I'm sure there are parents who have tryed outlandish treatments out of desperation, these are not the prevelant practice for families coping with their children's difficulties. Perhaps we do have the 'facts' and still believe what we've seen and heard with our own eyes and ears. I've consulted pediatricians (not quacks) who specialize in developmental delays and have all the same facts you refer to, and many of them do see a causal connection to mercury and neurotoxin poisoning of some sort. You apparently are privy to the conclusive 'facts' on this topic, I envy you that luxury. Those of us dealing with autism have to be a bit more flexible and sceptical when it comes to mainstream medicine and their 'facts.' After all, they told us it was a 'fact' that vaccines were only good for our children (and no I don't advocate parents don't get vaccines, just check out all information about them first, and get one at a time, and no thimerasol versions and acellular versions of the vaccines that offer those alternatives).

BTW, do you have an autistic child, just asking.

[trotsky]

21. By the way,

the "causal connection to mercury and neurotoxin poisoning of some sort" your pediatricians refer to is certainly not the same as a thimerosal-autism link. Mercury IS a well known neurotoxin, in the form of methyl mercury. But that's not the form used in thimerosal.

I recall reading elsewhere that you were not aware the MMR vaccine does not, and never did, contain thimerosal, so I'm inclined to take the facts you present with a large grain of salt.

And finally, whether or not I have an autistic child is completely irrelevant.

[bunny planet]

30. I couldn't repost on that thread because it was archived.

It was the Diptheria/Pertussis vaccine that my son had the reaction to. I mistakenly wrote MMR yesterday, he got lots of vaccines at once because that is what they did back in 1992. But of course you've already grasped on to my mistake yesterday to use as an example of how what I say should be taken 'with a large grain of salt.'

If you've ever have the experience of bringing a healthy child in for a vaccination, have the child go limp and run a high fever for days, and wake up unable to speak anymore when he had been speaking in sentences and developing normally up until that vaccine. Unless and until you have had that happen to your child, you cannot say it is irrelevant. To discount people's emotional pain when discussing a topic of such sensitivity with them is just insulting.

I haven't had a problem with anyone else on any of the threads who have presented facts in a respectful manner, (I welcome their links and help ) just with those who have been condescending and dismissive when relating those facts to people who have experienced this illness up close and personal.

[Chalco]

46. I'm not well read on this topic, so I have a question for you.

Has there been a link proven or suggested between the Diptheria/Pertussis vaccine?

I ask because of my experience with my daughter. After she had the first dose--whenever that is, I think around 6 or 8 months, and as I recall it was a DPT shot--it was in 1993--I brought her home and I had her strapped into her "chair" and on the kitchen counter top as I prepared dinner. I turned and thought I saw her seizing. It lasted about 5 seconds. I called the doc immediately. She said that more than likely I had been seeing things, but I said that I knew too many people with autistic spectrum children and that the possible connection between the vaccine and the disorder scared me to death. She said that we should respond cautiosly and not give her any more of the doses. She respected my feelings on it.

[bunny planet]

50. Yes, the DPT shot is the one that was most suspect around that time.

That is the one I think my son had the reaction to and it was also 1993 when he was 15 months. He got a couple of other shots at that time but that is the one that was withdrawn that year or early the next and replaced with a less 'controversial' vaccine. It could of course have been the combination of shots that made the situation worse. Did your daughter just get that shot that day or more than one? It contained thimerasol, not sure what else the original DPT shot contained. I don't think they took the thimerasol out at that time because I'm not sure they were suspicious of that ingredient yet. I've done research on it but it was quite awhile ago so I don't remember exactly. I had another mother in my building whose son was the same age as my older daughter, in 1992 he had his 15 month shot and then had a seizure too. I saw it because she ran downstairs with him in her arms and screamed for me to call the ambulance. He recovered but was very late in talking and walking, no way to tell if that was connected in anyway.

I tend to think that the theory that kids have a predisposition to autism (due to some innate deficiency) that can be triggered or catalyzed by the ingredients in some of these childhood vaccines makes the most sense. It would explain how some kids have no reaction to the vaccine, some have somewhat temporary setbacks and others have profound irreversible damage. Also there were and maybe still are batches of tainted vaccine, who the hell knows what's up with those. It's a crap shoot really which is the most scary thing about it. My other kids have never had a bad reaction to any of their vaccines, of course I'm more aware now and always request 'safer' vaccines, whatever that means.

Glad to hear your doctor respected your feelings about is, although it is strange to tell a mom that she 'imagined' she saw a seizure, they are pretty distinctive events, not easily imagined.

[Chalco]

51. Yes, she had other shots that day, but the doc said that

if she had a seizure it would have been the DPT that caused it. She actually said it would be the P portion of the shot. After that my daughter only had the DT portion minus the P. And, she never had another seizure. No language or social delays.

[bunny planet]

52. Yup, it's the whooping cough vaccine that was/ maybe still is the most

dangerous. It is really a dilemma, because especially in urban populations, whooping cough is a horrible illness for infants to get, they can die from it. It's a very difficult decision as to whether to get these shots or not.

[bunny planet]

9. Thank you, if you read the other threads on this topic in the past few

days you would be overwhelmed by the people contradicting what most of us with autistic children already suspect, there is a link to thimerasol and vaccines. Lots of experts and professionals, many of whom from what I read do not have children with this disorder, debunking the 'myth' of the mercury/autism/vaccine issue. I finally gave up, I was told I was being anecdotal, and that I wasn't well-read enough on the topic. Considering I've read everything I could get my hands on on the subject I found the condescension nauseating. Good luck convincing anybody.

I was just gratified to read that Robert Kennedy Jr. had been speaking out about this. At least someone of prominence is willing to explore it and publicize it. Never did get an answer to the most compelling question raised over on those threads. Why, if there is not connection between autism and thimerasol, or some other ingredient in childhood vaccines, did Bill Frist go out of his way to indemnify pharmaceutical companies from lawsuits raised by parents of autistic children who believed their children to have been harmed by such substances, as an addendum to the Homeland Security Bill? I'll check again, but since last time I read, no intellectual curiousity about that little tidbit of information.

[bunny planet]

12. Where is your smug condescension coming from? You are talking to some

people here who are hurting about this subject. Have some compassion when you speak, that would be refreshing. 'Before you get started on your crusade' WTF.

[trotsky]

14. It pains me

when people like yourself are seeking something easy to blame, and desire a "quick fix."

All sorts of charlatans prey upon people in that situation. They tell you what you want to hear, offer you a great scapegoat, make everything so easy.

Don't get mad at me - get mad at those who deceive on the anti-vaccination bandwagon. They're misdirecting resources that could otherwise be used to truly fight and treat autism.

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[trotsky]

16. Well, you can take what you wrote there

and apply it to yourself. You haven't exactly treated me with respect either, as evidenced upthread. You are exhibiting the very traits you are condemning in others.

[bunny planet]

18. you are the one who started off the thread writing 'before you get started

on your crusade'. You exhibited a lack of compassion and lots of condescension towards people who have been through one of the most painful experiences there is. Your attitude was infuriating. If you had started out respectfully towards others, I may not have felt the need to respond disrespectfully to you. My bad though of course.

[trotsky]

20. You may berate me as much as you want.

But in my initial post, to which the OP has not expressed any indignation yet (only you), I was merely presenting links detailing the many problems with Kennedy's article.

When it comes to the anti-vax lobby, the word "crusade" is definitely appropriate.

[bunny planet]

27. No, the original poster was smart, he just ignored you.

The word 'crusade'was incendiary, provocative at best, as that word usually is. You take no responsibility at all for how your choice of words makes others react. There were a couple of people besides myself who had problems with how you expressed your opinion. They chose not to entangle themselves with you further after their first replies. I should have done the same.

I have no problems with your pointing out the many problems with Kennedy's article, just with your insensitivity when talking to parents of autistic children and your assumptions about the beliefs of people you've never even talked to. If we question the 'facts' at all about vaccines then we automatically believe in quick fixes and are taken in by charlatans. How absurd a conclusion to jump to. By the way, my 'quick -fix' solutions for my son's autism have moved on into their second decade now, some quick fix.

[trotsky]

29. You want to talk about how choice of words makes others react,

PLEASE, read the links I provided.

On edit: Please note, those peddling a "quick fix" never deliver with it. I am sorry for what you are dealing with concerning your son, but I fear the information you are using now is not helping.

[bunny planet]

34. Thank for the I'm sorry. Sometimes that is all that is needed.

I am sorry if I overreacted. It is obvious that underneath it all you are concerned about parents and their children and the possibility of their being misled or not exposed to all the facts. I am using the same information you have posted. I read EVERYTHING about the subject, not just what supports my suspicions, have an open mind and appreciate all the links and information that have been posted here and on the other threads on the topic.

I can appreciate people's frustration with an article that might be misleading for people or might have information that can be refuted and needs corrections. I absolutely do not believe that people should not vaccinate their children, only that they should be aware of the risks and possible side effects so that they can make an informed decision. Whooping cough in particular is a very deadly disease and I know parents who have lost their infants to it because they were afraid to get the DPP vaccine. That is very sad. The second guessing if something does go wrong after a vaccine is heartrending too though I can tell you. I hope we have some answers soon, and I hope politics can be kept out of it. I still want answers as to why Frist indemnified Eli Lilly in the Homeland Security bill. If it was military vaccines and smallpox vaccines alone that had to be indemnified against lawsuits, that would have been more understandable.

[Vladimir]

45. Thanks for that n/t

[Junkdrawer]

4. Me? I don't think poisons should be in infant medicines...

But I guess I'm funny that way.

[Dear Maggie]

5. Maybe this poison, pesticide, solvent

They blamed the 'gulf war syndrome' on the shots, too

I suspect the 2-butoxyethanol (diethylene glycol monobutyl ether) exposures they had. This is a concern for everyone, civilians and military alike since before WWII.

I suspect dioxin gets the wrap for what this chemical did to the Vietnam vets ... and you will note that autism is one of the birth defects.

Just as diabetes and brain tumors are increasing dramatically in younger and younger people ... I suspect you will see the same with autism.

http://www.valdezlink.com/pages/diabetesDiabetes.htm

Some thoughts along the lines of the 'stealth killer and maimer' that goes unnoticed: a pandemic, unrecognized health crisis!

[Dear Maggie]

24. an autoimmune metabolic problem goes with

Metabolic problems show up first as blood sugar abnormalities, &/or early on as gallstones (related to liver) and later kidney stones (related to thyroid metabolic issues)

Good info on gallstones:
http://www.medhelp.org/NIHlib/GF-284.html#whatare

And why thyroid should be looked into for the kidney stones (check for hyperparathyroidism), if they show up http://www.valdezlink.com/rbc_size_shape.htm

Autism is just one of the birth defects that this chemical can cause for the children of those harmed by 2-butoxyethanol. It is a teratogen and harms the developing fetus

Check these things to find this chemical's harm ... for those with their own direct, serious exposure: http://www.valdezlink.com/pages/thebasics.htm

999 times out of 1,000 ... something else gets the blame for what this chemical does.

[Dear Maggie]

44. Is autism AUTOIMMUNE?

It would most probably be so ... if my theory is right. 2-butoxyethanol causes many autoimmune disorders starting with autoimmune hemolytic anemia (that hides out for many, many years) for those who are chemically poisoned ... then the children of these could come down with singlular autoimmune disorders.

See if parent(s) has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or CFIDS
_________________________________
Found on internet: 6 of 72 ...

The Autism Autoimmunity Project
A non-profit charity dedicated to obtaining funding for independent research addressing immunological and immunogenetic abnormalities in autism. http://www.taap.info/research.asp

Bowel Finding Suggests Autism Is Autoimmune Disorder
UniSci is a newsletter of science stories from the major research labs. Headlines link to in-depth articles and editorials. UniSci keeps scientists and others up-to-date on current research... http://unisci.com/stories/20022/0430023.htm

Autism an Autoimmune Illness? http://autism.about.com/library/weekly/aa092602a.htm

Recently there has been a great deal of speculation and research into the possibility of autism being an autoimmune illness. Always viewed as a mental condition or a condition that affects the brain, viewing autism as an actual illness puts an entire new face on how Autism Spectrum Disorders are handled and treated. It would be a major shift in the thinking of the medical and educational systems worldwide.

What is an autoimmune illness? The immune system is one of the most vital systems in the human body. It serves to protect us from illness by sending out white blood cells to find and destroy viruses and bacteria that can harm the body by causing illness. It is even possible for these cells to command a lymphocyte to destroy a cell that has turned cancerous. Normally this system works efficiently and without our knowledge. It is like soldiers being on patrol; working constantly and quietly to be sure the job is being done.
However, sometimes the system can go awry and the very cells that are there to protect us turn on us and begin to attack the body's own cells, tissues and organs. The result? Autoimmune illness. Common autoimmune diseases are rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and thyroid disease along with many less common diseases such as Addison's, Mixed Connective Tissue Disease and many others. The cause is unknown. Why the body would turn on itself is a mystery that researchers are continually trying to solve.

The possibility that autism could be an autoimmune illness is a theory that is being researched by several centers. Recent research by Aristo Vojdani, assistant research professor in neurobiology at UCLA and director of Immunosciences Lab Inc. in Beverly Hills, California, has produced a study that brings together a theory on why it is possible that infection produces the symptoms that are seen in ASD children.

Professor Vojdani studied the blood of children, both with and without autism, and discovered that the autistic children had an antibody that reacted to milk proteins and streptococcus and Chlamydia pneumoniae, two common infections. The problem is that the antibodies that are reacting to these proteins and infections are possibly damaging the blood brain barrier. Combine this with the fact that toxins, such as mercury or thimerosal, can then cross into the brain through the damaged blood brain barrier, causing damage to the brain tissue.

The Autism Research Institute at Yale is taking a more conservative approach and is recommending parents not change diets of their children until the research can be replicated. However, Bradley Pearce, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta comments, ""I think there is substantial validity to the idea that autoimmunity is linked to autism."

The jury is out on the research. It will, as all research, take time to find out what role autoimmunity plays in the ASD puzzle but it appears that this is an area that will be delved into deeply.

Autism and Autoimmune Disorders On the Rise
http://autism.about.com/library/weekly/aa011501a.htm
Could Autism be a form of an autoimmune disorder? Researchers have found some results which may shed a new light on this question.

Classic infantile onset autism is an autoimmune disease
Transfer factor treatment for autism and neuroimmuno diseases ... inflicted optic injury). Twenty-two were cases of classic infantile autism with onset at 12-18 months, http://www.nitrf.org/inftautism.html

VKJIOM
This is also the case with autism, which means that several autoimmune factors have also been ... Some of the important autoimmune factors in autism are: ...
www.sarnet.org/lib/VKJIOM.htm

So, maybe it is an autoimmune reaction to the shots ...
Or maybe it is a birth defect from parents who have been poisoned by a chemical which causes autoimmune dysfunction. (This possibility should not be overlooked)

[Igel]

17. Always a useful link

http://www.fda.gov/cber/vaccine/thimerosal.htm#t1

Tables 2 and 3 are useful, too.

[trotsky]

22. It's worth noting, too,

that Denmark stopped using vaccines with thimerosal in 1995, yet their autism rate continues unabated.

There's loads of evidence AGAINST the thimerosal-autism link.

[Susang]

26. Canada too

Around the same time, I believe. ;-)

No change in their rate of autism diagnosis either.

[Igel]

39. Yes, but I've gotten tired of arguing the point.

Too many studies show correlation, but not causation. So, ok, Hg-autism seems (emphasis on 'seems') like a reasonable hypothesis. At least at some point in the research.

But too many studies show a complete inverse correlation. Revise hypothesis to "huh?"

Only reasonable conclusion: no causation, the correlations are spurious, look elsewhere for causation.

I agree with you.

[kerrygoddess]

19. There's also a good interview here...

Kennedy was on Scarborough (yes, Scarborough and it was a fair interview), quips and links here -
http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/default.asp?view=plink&id=1131

Read the entire article from Salon is posted here - http://kerrylibrary.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=304

[bloom]

23. Thanks for posting the link :)

..."The elementary grades are overwhelmed with children who have symptoms of neurological or immune-system damage," Patti White, a school nurse, told the House Government Reform Committee in 1999. "Vaccines are supposed to be making us healthier; however, in 25 years of nursing I have never seen so many damaged, sick kids. Something very, very wrong is happening to our children." More than 500,000 kids currently suffer from autism, and pediatricians diagnose more than 40,000 new cases every year..

...What is most striking is the lengths to which many of the leading detectives have gone to ignore -- and cover up -- the evidence against thimerosal. From the very beginning, the scientific case against the mercury additive has been overwhelming. The preservative, which is used to stem fungi and bacterial growth in vaccines, contains ethylmercury, a potent neurotoxin. Truckloads of studies have shown that mercury tends to accumulate in the brains of primates and other animals after they are injected with vaccines -- and that the developing brains of infants are particularly susceptible. In 1977, a Russian study found that adults exposed to much lower concentrations of ethylmercury than those given to American children still suffered brain damage years later. Russia banned thimerosal from children's vaccines 20 years ago, and Denmark, Austria, Japan, Great Britain and all the Scandinavian countries have since followed suit....

"You couldn't even construct a study that shows thimerosal is safe," says Haley, who heads the chemistry department at the University of Kentucky. "It's just too darn toxic. If you inject thimerosal into an animal, its brain will sicken. If you apply it to living tissue, the cells die. If you put it in a petri dish, the culture dies. Knowing these things, it would be shocking if one could inject it into an infant without causing damage."

Internal documents reveal that Eli Lilly, which first developed thimerosal, knew from the start that its product could cause damage -- and even death -- in both animals and humans. In 1930, the company tested thimerosal by administering it to 22 patients with terminal meningitis, all of whom died within weeks of being injected -- a fact Lilly didn't bother to report in its study declaring thimerosal safe. In 1935, researchers at another vaccine manufacturer, Pittman-Moore, warned Lilly that its claims about thimerosal's safety "did not check with ours." Half the dogs Pittman injected with thimerosal-based vaccines became sick, leading researchers there to declare the preservative "unsatisfactory as a serum intended for use on dogs."


What a sad thing for people to defend. :(

[Susang]

28. Not everyone thinks Haley is right

Or Bobby Kennedy Jr, for that matter.

http://www.neurodiversity.com/main.html
http://autismdiva.blogspot.com/
http://www.autism-watch.org/

[bloom]

31. I don't know how you or they can trust these people @ the CDC, IOM, etc.:

"If federal regulators and government scientists failed to grasp the potential risks of thimerosal over the years, no one could claim ignorance after the secret meeting at Simpsonwood. But rather than conduct more studies to test the link to autism and other forms of brain damage, the CDC placed politics over science. The agency turned its database on childhood vaccines -- which had been developed largely at taxpayer expense -- over to a private agency, America's Health Insurance Plans, ensuring that it could not be used for additional research. It also instructed the Institute of Medicine, an advisory organization that is part of the National Academy of Sciences, to produce a study debunking the link between thimerosal and brain disorders. The CDC "wants us to declare, well, that these things are pretty safe," Dr. Marie McCormick, who chaired the IOM's Immunization Safety Review Committee, told her fellow researchers when they first met in January 2001. "We are not ever going to come down that is a true side effect" of thimerosal exposure. According to transcripts of the meeting, the committee's chief staffer, Kathleen Stratton, predicted that the IOM would conclude that the evidence was "inadequate to accept or reject a causal relation" between thimerosal and autism. That, she added, was the result "Walt wants" -- a reference to Dr. Walter Orenstein, director of the National Immunization Program for the CDC.

For those who had devoted their lives to promoting vaccination, the revelations about thimerosal threatened to undermine everything they had worked for. "We've got a dragon by the tail here," said Dr. Michael Kaback, another committee member. "The more negative that presentation is, the less likely people are to use vaccination, immunization -- and we know what the results of that will be. We are kind of caught in a trap. How we work our way out of the trap, I think is the charge."

Even in public, federal officials made it clear that their primary goal in studying thimerosal was to dispel doubts about vaccines. "Four current studies are taking place to rule out the proposed link between autism and thimerosal," Dr. Gordon Douglas, then-director of strategic planning for vaccine research at the National Institutes of Health, assured a Princeton University gathering in May 2001. "In order to undo the harmful effects of research claiming to link the vaccine to an elevated risk of autism, we need to conduct and publicize additional studies to assure parents of safety." Douglas formerly served as president of vaccinations for Merck, where he ignored warnings about thimerosal's risks.

In May of last year, the Institute of Medicine issued its final report. Its conclusion: There is no proven link between autism and thimerosal in vaccines. Rather than reviewing the large body of literature describing the toxicity of thimerosal, the report relied on four disastrously flawed epidemiological studies examining European countries, where children received much smaller doses of thimerosal than American kids. It also cited a new version of the Verstraeten study, published in the journal Pediatrics, that had been reworked to reduce the link between thimerosal and autism. The new study included children too young to have been diagnosed with autism and overlooked others who showed signs of the disease. The IOM declared the case closed and -- in a startling position for a scientific body -- recommended that no further research be conducted."


They have no credibility in this matter.

Edit: clarity

[Susang]

32. That's not what I posted

Haley has not credibility either. Not every child who has autism has mercury poisoning.

[bloom]

35. So are you saying

more infants should be injected with various amounts of Thimerosal to see what happens at what dose????

Of course they would need to track the effects of injecting MMR at the same time - track the glutathione levels to see how that makes a difference, etc.

Are you going to sign up your kids, grandkids and see how they make out?

What kids do you want to do this to?

[Susang]

41. It is not necessary to continually put words in my mouth

Last I checked, I believe I my words spoke for myself. Nowhere did I ever even remotely suggest (as you would have me) that we should have "more infants should be injected with various amounts of Thimerosal to see what happens at what dose".

What I have said is that I do not believe that the cause of autism is thimerosal, as this is an oversimplification of a very complex spectrum disorder that most likely involves genetics, environment and physiology. Until the someone can manage to prove otherwise with legitimate science, that will be my stance, no matter what outrageous statements you attribute to me.

[bloom]

42. You said,

"Not everyone thinks Haley is right"

Haley said,

"You couldn't even construct a study that shows thimerosal is safe"

---

So what am I supposed to think that you think. If you weren't so vague - I wouldn't have to guess. I'm sure Haley has said a lot of things - that just happens to be what I quoted.

[Susang]

25. Be sure to read the major corrections they link to at the end

Many people are quoting the incorrect statistics that were stated in the article without actually reading the corrections that were made to it.

There were some glaring factual errors in the article, many which still have yet to be corrected. The links Trotsky provided in his earlier posts have plenty of them. Autism Diva also provides quite a few as well as Neurodiversity.com

It's a written and researched article based on very bad science. I'm heartily disappointed in RFK Jr.

[Junkdrawer]

33. As for Salon's "correction"...

In the correction it states:

The article also misstated the level of ethylmercury received by infants injected with all their shots by the age of six months. It was 187 micrograms -- an amount 40 percent, not 187 times, greater than the EPA's limit for daily exposure to methylmercury.

http://www.salon.com/letters/corrections/2005/index.html#thimerosal

Sounds bad, huh? Well the problem comes in because of the word "limit". The EPA "limit" for one portion of fish is 120 micrograms. However, the EPA "recommendation" for one day's serving of fish, for a 22 lb. 6-month-old is 1 microgram. So if RFK Jr. had said "recommendation" instead of "limit", no correction would have been necessary.

BTW: That 120 microgram limit is the result of an awful legal ruling (United States v. Anderson Seafoods, Inc., 622F.2d157, 1980) that is documented here:

http://uspirg.org/reports/brainfoodreport.pdf

And yes, who sits on the Federal circuit court makes a big difference.

[trotsky]

36. But he didn't say "recommendation," he said "limit."

Whether intentionally or accidentally, it's sloppy journalism. And besides, it's an apples vs. oranges comparison. (Ethylmercury vs. methylmercury) The two are expelled from the body differently.

[Junkdrawer]

37. RFK Jr. was very clear on the difference...

But by that time, the damage was done. Infants who received all their vaccines, plus boosters, by the age of 6 months were being injected with levels of ethylmercury 187 times greater than the EPA's limit recommendation (my correction) for daily exposure to methylmercury, a related neurotoxin. Although the vaccine industry insists that ethylmercury poses little danger because it breaks down rapidly and is removed by the body, several studies - including one published in April by the National Institutes of Health - suggest that ethylmercury is actually more toxic to developing brains and stays in the brain longer than methylmercury.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/061605HA.shtml

[trotsky]

38. Which is the opposite of other studies, of course.

Considering all the errors, distortions, and omissions in Kennedy's article, it's going to be tough to accept anything in it.

[Susang]

40. "Related" does not equal "same"

Bad science and even worse journalism.

Here's a link to the abstract of that April NIH study you're throwing around: http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/press/042105.html

It's very important to keep in mind that the study's findings are preliminary and pretty much support BOTH sides of the argument. And RFK Jr was downright wrong in stating that the study proved that ethylmercury stayed in the brain longer than methylmercury. It actually cleared the body faster, according to the data published.

So using as proof of thimerasol's danger is highly misleading. All the study proved is that ethylmercury does not act as methylmercury in the body.

[Junkdrawer]

43. Perhaps, just perhaps, autistic children process mercury differently...

In a recent study, autistic children were found to have significantly lower levels of an antioxidant called glutathione and its metabolic precursors.

"Glutathione is the major antioxidant in cells important for detoxification and elimination of environmental toxins, and its active form is reduced in about 80 percent of the kids with autism," said the study's lead author, S. Jill James. She is director of the biochemical genetics laboratory at Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute and a professor of pediatrics at the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.

Reduced levels of antioxidants, such as glutathione, would increase the level of oxidative stress. Oxidative stress occurs when antioxidants aren't able to clear the body of free radicals, which can damage cells in the brain, gastrointestinal tract and immune system.

" suggest that these kids would be more sensitive to an environmental exposure and would be less likely to detox from heavy metals," said James.

http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/2005/04/03/hscout524907.html

[Dear Maggie]

47. OR an autoimmune response to too much chemical

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3926805&mesg_id=3935864

Maybe autism is an autoimmune reaction to the shots ...

Or maybe it is a birth defect from parents who have been poisoned by a chemical which causes autoimmune dysfunction. (This possibility should not be overlooked: common poisoning by 2-butoxyethanol)

Or maybe the child has had all the chemical load he/she can handle ... and the shots (chemicals also) ... push them over the edge to their own autoimmune dysfunction ... of which there are many. The list seems to be growing at an alarming rate

http://www.valdezlink.com/pages/autism-mercury.htm

[Junkdrawer]

48. Your guess and mine may not be mutually exclusive...

Professor Vojdani studied the blood of children, both with and without autism, and discovered that the autistic children had an antibody that reacted to milk proteins and streptococcus and Chlamydia pneumoniae, two common infections. The problem is that the antibodies that are reacting to these proteins and infections are possibly damaging the blood brain barrier. Combine this with the fact that toxins, such as mercury or thimerosal, can then cross into the brain through the damaged blood brain barrier, causing damage to the brain tissue.

[Dear Maggie]

49. Very well

I just believe that it is part of a much bigger problem ... not a singular cause/effect

Or if the exact prognosis of what is occurring is accurately defined, it doesn't cover the original source of the problem (if 2-butoxyethanol is involved)