It’s an "I" team story full of extreme emotion, controversy and mystery.

Some experts and local parents believe that some vaccines gave their kids autism.

It's a controversial theory still being debated, but most experts agree autism has become an "epidemic."

"I" team reporter Jason Knowles investigated the claims of vaccines causing autism for months. The C.D.C. says in 2001, doctors diagnosed almost one hundred thousand American children as autistic. Some parents and experts blame vaccines. We do want to stress, this is not an anti- vaccine story. Vaccines save kids lives. This is a story of people searching for answers to a mysterious disease.

Karen Merrit has an autistic son and says she saw differences in him after he got his vaccines. "I noticed his speech started to decrease, he used to use 2 to 3 word sentences. They went to one word." His doctor's call it Autism, a disease that attacks social and communication skills. His mother and other parents, think it came from mercury contained in thimerosal which was a preservative used in most required vaccines.

Merrit says, "I took him for his last 3 shots to get him caught up and he wasn't the same since." Another parent expressed, "I mean why wouldn't you cry, your children's life is never going to be the same." One little boy says his brother’s autism changed his life.

"I see kids teaching their little brothers and sisters like basketball, baseball, and I wish I could have that type of thing."

In 19-99 government agencies and the American Academy of Pediatrics agreed that Thimerosal should be reduced or eliminated in vaccines. As a "precautionary measure."

The New England Journal of Medicine published a study in November. It says there is no link between autism and common vaccines. Researchers studied half a million children in Denmark between 1991 and 1998. The results show the risk of autism was similar in vaccinated and unvaccinated children. Secondly, it says signs of autism showing up after children were given vaccines is coincidence because autism is usually diagnosed between the ages of two and four. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Organization of Immunization also back those studies.

But doctor Boyd Haley is not ready to rule out a link between thimerosal vaccines and autism for certain children. He says, "Thimerosal releases ethal mercury, its a very toxic form of mercury." Haley heads up the department of chemistry at the University of Kentucky and he has been studying neurological diseases since 19-87. He showed us a video that he says shows how low levels of mercury in thimerosal vaccines disintegrate parts of the brain.

In one study, He demonstrated how thimerosal is toxic to neurons at extremely low levels. Haley also says that testosterone raised the toxicity of thimerosal. He says this explains the 4 to 1 ratio of boys to girls that become autistic. Haley also says some children are born with systems that react badly to mercury in thimerosal vaccines, "It builds up in their system and causes problems…our data that we did with autistic children shows that there's a subset of the population that's extremely susceptible to mercury."

The Genetics Centers of America in Maryland backs Haley’s studies. It's study published in a recent edition of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons says there are increasing risks of neurological disorders with higher doses of mercury. Still other experts say all vaccines are safe and causes of autism are unknown.

Doctor James Lustig heads up the Toledo children's hospital and he is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He reminds us, "Remember that thirmerosal has been in the vaccines since the 30's we didn't see a lot of autism then." He’s skeptical that thimerosal vaccines are to blame, "the research is going on it will continue to go on, there is maybe a possible relationship and we shouldn't be looking as this as the cause."

We called and wrote 6 of the leading companies who produce vaccines that contained thimerosal. Only one company got back to us, sending us a stack of research. In it, one report from the committee on safety of medicines says that children excrete mercury from thimerosal vaccines and that there was no evidence of harmful effects.

So if it's not mercury what else could cause autism? "We don't know what caused autism right now," says Doctor Catherine Lord. She runs the University of Michigan's Autism and Communication Disorders center. Her center and others across the world are collaborating on research into the idea that autism is a complex genetic disorder.

They believe that genetics may be the cause because there is a very high rate of twins with autism. They also say that genetics have already been proven to be the culprit in other similar disorders.

But some parents like Karen Merrit say more research should be focused on thimerosal vaccines, " I used to cry all the time because I could feel his frustration of I want to communicate with you. "One family member says he just wants his autistic brother to be like he was years ago. "I always think I just lost out of fun games watching my little brother and having him look up to me."

You may be wondering about vaccines out there now. Since new government "precautionary" measures went into effect in 1999, the F.D.A. and leading doctors say most vaccines are either thimerosal free or contain extremely small traces of it.

You can ask to see information about ingredients in vaccines by asking your doctor.

For more information go to  www.asno.org

5-13-03