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Science/Tech See other Science/Tech Articles Title: Can Vaccines Containing Thimerosal Cause Autism? Thimerosal has been used widely as a preservative in certain vaccines and has been thought to increase the risk of certain neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism, language and speech delay, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Despite the lack of evidence for a causal relationship, the biologic plausibility of a link remains. Hviid and colleagues performed a study to compare children receiving vaccines with and without thimerosal and followed them to note the incidence of autism and other autism-spectrum disorders in both groups. Using information from Denmark's registry system, the authors were able to link data on vaccinations, diagnoses of autism, diagnoses of other autistic-spectrum disorders, other diagnoses, and confounders to the children in a cohort receiving thimerosal-based pertussis vaccine (before June 1, 1992) and thimerosalfree pertussis vaccine (after June 1, 1992). During 2,986,654 person-years of follow-up, the authors identified 440 cases of autism and 787 cases of other autism-spectrum disorders. In the original cohort, 20,755 (4.4 percent) did not receive any whole-cell pertussis vaccine, 446,695 (95.6 percent) were vaccinated at least once, 416,081 (89.0 percent) were vaccinated twice, and 293,186 (62.7 percent) received all three doses. In those receiving at least one dose of vaccine, 407 cases of autism were identified, of whom 303 received thimerosal-free vaccine and 104 received thimerosal-containing vaccine; of the 751 cases of other autistic-spectrum disorders identified, 430 received thimerosalfree vaccine and 321 received thimerosal-containing vaccine. Comparing children who had received at least one dose of thimerosal-containing vaccine as opposed to thimerosal-free vaccine, a fully adjusted relative risk of 0.85 was found for autism and a relative risk of 1.12 for autistic-spectrum disorders. There was no evidence of a dose-response association between the dose of ethyl mercury received and the incidence of autism and autistic-spectrum disorders. The authors found a statistically significant increase in the incidence of autism and autistic-spectrum disorders over the study period. The authors conclude that there is no evidence of an association between thimerosalcontaining vaccine and autism in children. They also found no dose-response association between autism and the amount of ethyl mercury received via thimerosal. Hviid A, et al. Association between thimerosal-containing vaccine and autism. JAMA October 1, 2003;290:1763-6. EDITOR'S NOTE: This study adds to the mounting evidence that childhood vaccinations do not cause autism. Other studies have shown no association between the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine and autism. (1) The use of the mercury-containing vehicle thimerosal was discontinued in the United States because of possible implications in the development of autism. Given the high frequency of vaccination, which coincides temporally with the diagnosis of autism in the first years of life, it is understandable that vaccinations have been implicated by association. However, based on current evidence, this association is merely coincidental.--C.W. REFERENCE (1.) Makela A, Nuorti JP, Peltola H. Neurologic disorders after measles-mumps-rubella vaccination. Pediatrics 2002;110:957-63. COPYRIGHT 2004 American Academy of Family Physicians COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group
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And from here: http://www.autism- resources.com/autismfaq-theo.html Some specific theories as to the cause of autistic symptoms: Yeast infections. Intolerance to specific food substances. Gluten intolerance ("Leaky Gut Syndrome"/Casein intolerance causing intestinal permeability and allowing improperly digested peptides to enter the bloodstream and cross the blood-brain barrier which may mimic neurotransmitters and result in the scrambling of sensory input. I've also heard "Leaky Gut Syndrome" described as lack of the beneficial bacteria that aids digestion, and that the resulting matter in the bloodstream invokes an unnecessary immune reaction. Phenolsulphertransferase (PST) deficiency--theory that some with autism are low on sulphate or an enzyme that uses this, called phenol-sulphotransferase-P. This means that they will be unable to get rid of amines and phenolic compounds once they no longer have any use for them. These then stay in their body and may cause adverse effects, even in the brain. Treatment is dietary as well as epsom salts baths. Brain injury. Constitutional vulnerability. Developmental aphasia. Deficits in the reticular activating system. An unfortunate interplay between psychogenic and neurodevelopmental factors. Structural cerebellar changes. Genetic causes. Viral causes. Immunological ties. Vaccines. Seizures.
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