http://heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,6619959%255E1702,00.html

Mercury clue to autism: study

From correspondents in Paris

MERCURY has been fingered in a study as a possible cause of autism, the British weekly New Scientist reports in its upcoming issue.

A US team compared mercury levels in hair that had been kept from 139 babies when they had their first haircuts, when they were around 18 months old.

Mercury levels among 94 children who were later diagnosed as autistic was 0.47 parts per million (ppm), while among the 45 other children who developed normally, the levels were eight times higher, at 3.63 ppm.

The lower the level of mercury, the worse the degree of autism, the scientists found.

The results are remarkable but until more work is carried out, the conclusions are open to dispute, New Scientist says.

The clear implication is that autistic children have a genetic flaw that makes them vulnerable in their exposure to essential or toxic metals.

It could be that these children cannot get rid of mercury via their faeces and urine, which means that the toxic metal may accumulate in their brain cells and affect their neurological development.

Alternatively, mercury may not be to blame. The difference in mercury levels in the hair could be an indicator of a general problem these children may have in dealing with metals.

The research, led by Louisiana doctor Amy Holmes, will be published in September in the International Journal of Toxicology, New Scientist said.

Parents of autistic children have filed lawsuits in North America, blaming vaccines containing a mercury-based preservative called thimerosal for their child's plight.

© Herald and Weekly Times