SCHAFER AUTISM REPORT "Healing Autism:

No Finer a Cause on the Planet" ________________________________________________________________

January 8 & 9, 2004 Double Issue Vol. 8 Nos. 7 & 8

NOTE: New Updated-Saturday Calendar of Events:

RESEARCH

* The Mercury Debate

* Concerns Continue Over Mercury and Autism

* Reply to Mr. Blaxill’s "Concerns Continue Over Mercury and Autism"

AWARENESS

* Quality of Society's Life Gauged by Care of Disabled: Pope

EVENTS

* Mini-DAN! in New Orleans January 17 and 18

* The Power of 1.5 "Kick Off" Rally and Press Conference

The Dan Marino Foundation & Unlocking Autism invite you to join us

RESEARCH

The Mercury Debate

Thimerosal in Mandated Vaccinations is the Major Etiological Agent in the Recent Increase in Autism and Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder: Hypothesis Presented to Kentucky Assembly October 15, 2003

[By Boyd E. Haley, Professor and Chair, Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky.]

Since the early 1980s there has been a consistent elevation of the rate of autism that appears to coincide with the increased exposure of infants to vaccinations that have been mandated by the CDC and approved by the FDA. This has been done with good intentions as most agree that vaccinations can greatly reduce the level of many infectious diseases. However, underlying this protection against infectious diseases by vaccines was another apparent risk that has, in my opinion, lead to the tremendous increase in neurological diseases such as autism, ADHD and other medical problems. The 714% increase in autism has, in my opinion, occurred through the early exposure of infants and toddlers to the compound thimerosal used as a preservative in many vaccines.

Thimerosal is a compound that breaks down in the body to release ethyl-mercury, a very neurotoxic compound quite similar to methyl-mercury found in fish. However, ingestion of fish exposes any methyl-mercury to the intestines where about 65% of the heavy metal protective protein, metallothionine (MT), exists in the body. This MT has the ability to bind mercury and organic mercury rendering them much less toxic and leads to their removal in the feces before they enter the blood stream. In contrast, vaccinations containing mercury by-pass the major protection provided by the intestinal MT as the ethyl-mercury directly enters the blood stream from the site of injection. It has been documented that the amount of mercury these infants are exposed to at single visits to the doctors office are 30-70 times the minimum safe level as determined by the EPA. The recommendation to mandate vaccinations of infants, even as early as on the day they were born, was made without adequate studies to determine that this was a safe procedure. It was primarily through the action of several "parents of autistic children" organizations that this catastrophic occurrence was brought to the public’s attention. Today, using statistics from the US Dept. of Education, data on autistic children served through "Individual With Disabilities Act" it was observed that from 1991-92 through 2001-02 a 714% increase in autism has occurred throughout the USA. In Kentucky the increase was from 38 to 1,022; a 2,689% increase over this time period.

There is little doubt about the increase in autism and related disorders since 1985. There is severe contention as to whether or not vaccines in general, and specifically thimerosal in particular, are involved in this epidemic of autism, etc. A review by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Science (NAS) concluded that there was no direct epidemiological connection between vaccinations and autism, but that the hypothesis of thimerosal toxicity causing autism was "biologically plausible". At this time the "biological plausibility" was supported by research from my laboratory on thimerosal toxicity and the epidemiological studies were commissioned by the CDC. A parents group called Safe Minds obtained the original CDC studies as well as minutes from a meeting on thimerosal and autism. It seems as if there were strong indications from the original CDC epidemiological studies that thimerosal was involved, but these data were not presented at the IOM meeting nor have they ever been released except through the Freedom of Information Act extraction used by the Safe Minds organization.

Rather, a rather cleansed version of this CDC study was presented which has been challenged by many. Due to the political complexity and sensitive nature of the issue of the reliability of the CDC presentation I would encourage all of you to read up on this issue yourselves. In contrast to the CDC results, other researchers have gained access to the CDC’s vaccine adverse effects reporting system (VAERS) data and have completed epidemiological studies that strong imply that vaccinations are causal in autism (Geier & Geier, 2003). Epidemiological studies are a form of statistics and are prone to manipulation. However, scientific data collection is much more detailed and, when data is published with details of the experimental approach, it is easy to have the studies repeated, evaluated and critiqued.

What does published science have to say about thimerosal toxicity and the possibility that this mercury containing compound may be involved in autism and related disorders? First, all of basic research has shown that thimerosal at very low concentrations is extremely toxic to human cells, especially neurons. In essence, there are numerous research articles that clearly describe the toxicity of thimerosal, even enough to warrant the removal of this material from small animal vaccines in 1992. In the early 1980s Russian researchers did work that caused them to conclude that thimerosal has no place in vaccinations. Consider the actions that our own government has taken regarding thimerosal in across-the-counter medications. Among others, the FDA has taken from the market mercurochrome, merthiolate, and contact lens solutions which contained thimerosal. Research keeps coming out now that the thimerosal issue is common knowledge to scientists that shows that many biochemical pathways and many cell types are extremely sensitive to the toxic effects of thimerosal.

Research that I have been involved in has shown that the amount of thimerosal that is needed to cause neuronal damage is easily reached in infants given the normal vaccine procedures. In fact, it would be quite predictable that damage would be done when infants are given on at least 3 days of their life before 1 year of age vaccine exposures to mercury that are 30-70 times above the EPA recommended safe level. I, in collaboration with others, have measured the mercury levels in the birth-hair of normal and autistic children that was primarily contributed from the birth-mother’s dental amalgams.

What we observed was data that clearly showed that autistic children do not excrete mercury as do normal children. This results in a much lower blood levels of mercury and therefore lower levels of birth-hair mercury level in autistic children. The lower blood levels are due to the mercury rapidly being taken up by the cells and not effectively excreted in autistic infants. Further, the observation that the more severe the autism the less mercury in the birth hair was additional proof of retention of mercury in the autistic child. Therefore, autistic children represent a subset of the population that cannot effectively excrete mercury and, being unable to detoxify themselves are more susceptible to mercury’s toxic effects.

The other connection between thimerosal toxicity and autism comes from the observation that 4 of every 5 autistics are boys, a distinct gender bias. This ratio may be explained by the effects of estrogen versus testosterone on thimerosal toxicity. In our studies the female hormone was protective against toxicity whereas the testosterone dramatically increased the neuron killing capability of the thimerosal. This explanation was supported by the observations by a Dr. Baron-Cohen in England who reported that the amniotic fluid of mothers who gave birth to autistic children differed from the same fluid from mothers of normal children by only the elevated presence of testosterone. This can be evaluated that autistic children, on the day they are born, have higher testosterone levels and can be much more sensitive to the thimerosal exposure from the first Hepatitis B shot they receive that day.

However, there is a push for research showing thimerosal safety by certain groups who were positioned to be responsible for vaccine safety or who are directly involved in the manufacturing of vaccines. There are two papers regarding this issue (published in multiple sites) that have been released recently that I feel need discussing. One, called the Danish study, contends that removal of thimerosal from their vaccines was followed by an increase in autism thereby proving that thimerosal was not causal for this disease! An amazing claim when one considers the toxic potency of thimerosal. However, according to their own records, the rate of autism in Denmark before removal of thimerosal was about 0.2 per 10,000, an amazingly low rate!

Note that this is lower than the pre-epidemic rate in the USA which was about 3-5 per 10,000. The current elevated rate the Danish report after the removal of thimerosal went up to 2-5 per 10,000 compared to the current USA rate of 67 per 10,000. Comparing the Danish rate to the USA or British rate is like comparing apples to cows!

Therefore, a quick review of the Danish autism data system was done and it showed that they kept very poor records, loosing autistic children from their early records, which likely accounts for their initial exceptionally low rates. It appears as if the recent keeping of more accurate records and the inclusion of other changes (such as changing the description of other diseases as now being autism) was the reason for recent apparent increase in recorded autism cases, not the removal of thimerosal. Common sense requires that one question any argument where the removal of a potent neurotoxin like thimerosal increases neurological problems.

Looking at the broad picture, it should be noted that the Danish never vaccinated their children on the day of birth as we have done in the USA. Instead they waited several weeks to months before the first vaccination and never approached the number of vaccinations or mercury exposure levels that USA infants have been given before age one. Therefore, considering the autism rates in Denmark today (2-5 per 10,000) versus the USA rates (about 67 per 10,000) one could logically conclude that the lower rates in Denmark are due to exposing their infants to less vaccine derived mercury and exposing them only have a period of maturation.

The second study needing discussion was presented in Lancet by Pichichero et al. where they used about 36 children and measured the decrease in blood mercury levels and also monitored fecal excretion levels after vaccinations containing thimerosal. Their conclusions were that the mercury from thimerosal cleared the blood with a half-time of 5 days or less and therefore was not around long enough to cause toxic problems. They also found nanogram levels of mercury (ppb) in the feces and stated this as proof that the mercury was being removed by fecal excretion. I evaluated this paper with Mark Blaxill, a statistician, and we noted that, using the amounts excreted in the fecal material, that it would take much longer than 5 days to remove the mercury that was found decreased in the blood. We determined a minimum of about 74 days to greater than 1,339 days to excrete the amount of mercury in the feces that a USA child receives in their first six months (187.5 mcg).

Therefore, the mercury that Pichichero et al. reported decreasing in the blood of infants given thimerosal within the first 5 days is primarily being removed from the blood by being taken up by the infant’s central nervous system cells and other tissues. It is not being excreted in the feces or urine! In summary, there is sound scientific data available to indicate that thimerosal in vaccines would be the most likely suspect in the recent epidemic of autism.

Epidemiological studies using the VAERS data-base from the CDC presents strong evidence to conclude that the hypothesis that thimerosal exposures are the etiology of autism is correct. Studies comparing autistic to normal infants show that there is a major difference in the way these two groups excrete mercury. Even normal children show great differences in their ability to excrete mercury.

It appears as if autistic children do not effectively excrete mercury and are therefore more sensitive to its toxic effects. There are many individuals, organizations and agencies that will be embarrassed by this observation as they did not consider the safety testing of early vaccinations before they encouraged the mandated vaccine policies that lead to the toxic mercury exposures in infants that greatly surpassed EPA recommended levels. This has lead to the publication, supported by accompanying news releases, of articles that seem designed to come to conclusions that hold thimerosal as a harmless agent when given to infants.

These articles never suggest any other hypothesis for the epidemic of autism. In the end, thimerosal will be removed from all infant vaccines and the truth will come out. Until then, our legislators have to recognize that the great increase in autism and related disorders will impose a huge cost on our medical welfare system. It will also cost immensely in the loss of healthy, happy lives and a corresponding increase in the misery of the autistic children and their parents and family.

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Concerns Continue Over Mercury and Autism

Letters to the Editor of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine

To the Editors: Stehr-Green et al.1 have misrepresented my work and confused the debate over autism and mercury exposure with ecologic data from Sweden and Denmark. Their report has many flaws. Four stand out.

Their description of the California data promotes complacency regarding autism rates. For an Institute of Medicine (IOM) review,2 I presented an ecologic analysis of autism rates and mercury exposure demonstrating an association between rising autism rates in California and mercury exposure in childhood vaccines. In their re-use of my charts, the authors claimed incorrectly that the California data represented the larger class of "autism-like disorders." California prevalence rates were reported based solely on autism cases.3,4 The authors’ suggestion minimized the severity of the California situation. These high and rising autism rates point to a public health emergency, and require accurate measurement and precise classification.

Their autism cases account for a fraction of the autism population. The large majority of autism cases are found in outpatient populations. Yet, the analyses in Sweden (exclusively) and Denmark (for two thirds of the study period) rely on inpatient populations. One recent Danish study5 revealed that 93% of autistic records were for outpatients. Clearly, the small remaining group of inpatient registrations has little value in trend assessment.

Their rate and exposure assessments contain multiple errors.

Their interpretation of the autism mercury hypothesis is incorrect. Based on these flawed trend assumptions, the authors use the shift in Sweden and Denmark to Thimerosal®-free vaccines in an attempt to falsify the autism–mercury hypothesis. Absent a clear increase in autism rates in Denmark and Sweden, this attempt fails.

The autism-mercury hypothesis I tested was that increases in mercury exposure are associated with increases in autism rates. Reductions in comparatively low Thimerosal® exposures need not produce decreasing autism rates in stable, low-prevalence populations for the autism–mercury hypothesis to hold.

Having performed the ecologic analysis with which the authors started, I fully recognize its failings. I do not wish to stand in defense of ecologic analysis. The Am J Prev Med 2004;26(1) authors’ attempts at trend analysis demonstrate the dangers of misusing ecologic analysis, especially when relying on shifting data sources and incomplete time series. Resources should flow instead to primary research.

Credible evidence points to rapidly rising U.S. autism rates.3 Mercury exposure is temporally,1 epidemiologi- cally,6 and clinically7 associable with U.S. autism cases and may help explain these increases. The IOM has called for an active research program2 that did not include ecologic speculations. Independent scientists should heed their recommendations, remain concerned over the autism-mercury connection and investigate further using proper methods.

Mark F. Blaxill Director Safe Minds Cambridge E-mail: Blaxill.Mark@BCG.com.

References

1. Stehr-Green P, Tull P, Stellfeld M, Mortenson PB, Simpson D. Autism and Thimerosal-containing vaccines: lack of consistent evidence for an association.

Am J Prev Med 2003;25:101–6.

2. Institute of Medicine, Stratton K, Gable A, McCormick M, eds. Immunization safety review: Thimerosal containing vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders. Washington DC: National Academy Press, 2001.

3. California Department of Developmental Services. Changes in the population of persons with autism and pervasive developmental disorders in California’s Developmental Services System: 1987 through 1998. A Report to the Legislature, Department of Developmental Services, California Health and Human Services Agency, State of California, Sacramento. 1999.

4. California Department of Developmental Services. Autistic spectrum

disorders: changes in the California caseload, an update: 1999 through 2002.

Department of Developmental Services, California Health and Human Services Agency, State of California, Sacramento. 2003.

5. Madsen KM, Hviid A, Vestergaard M, et al. A population-based study of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination and autism. N Engl J Med 2002;347:1477–82.

6. Geier MR, Geier DA. Neurodevelopmental disorders after thimerosalcontaining vaccines: a brief communication. Exp Biol Med 2003;228(6):660– 4.

7. Holmes AS, Blaxill MF, Haley BE. Reduced levels of mercury in first baby haircuts of autistic children. Int J Toxic 2004;111:277–85.

Authors’ Reply to Mr. Blaxill’s "Concerns Continue Over Mercury and Autism"

In reply: Our intent in undertaking the investigation to which Mr. Blaxill refers was to further examine the alleged 0749-3797/04/$–see front matter 91 © 2004 American Journal of Preventive Medicine Published by Elsevier Inc. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2003.10.019 •

associationbetweenchildhoodexposuretoThimerosal®- containing vaccines and the risk of autism, using ecologic data from Scandinavia that are similar to those from California and the United States originally analyzed by Mr. Blaxill. Our paper,1 published in this Journal, focused on an analysis of new data collected through a collaborative effort of colleagues in the United States, Denmark, and Sweden. Our results— which showed that the incidence and prevalence of autism apparently began to rise in the mid-/late-1980s and continued to climb throughout the 1990s in Denmark and Sweden, despite the fact that Thimerosal® exposures from vaccines disappeared in both countries in the early 1990s—stand in sharp contrast to the direct association alleged in California during the same time period, even though they are based on similar ecologic data that were apparently analyzed using similar methods.

In preparing our paper, we endeavored to provide a clear, complete description of the sources and contents of the data sets we used; the analytic methods we applied; and a discussion of the most important shortcomings in our data and results (most notably, those inherent in ecologic data2). In the course of presenting and discussing our findings, we commented on, and contrasted them with, those presented by Mr. Blaxill at a public meeting of the Institute of Medicine (IOM)’s Immunization Safety Review Committee in July 2001.3 In so doing, we attempted to summarize Mr. Blaxill’s data collection and analytic methods; however, we could find only limited information describing his data and methods—viz., a single PowerPoint™ slide contained in the aforementioned presentation to the IOM Committee that also appeared on the SafeMinds website to which Mr. Blaxill refers. If Mr. Blaxill feels we have ". . .misrepresented. . .[his]. . .work. . .", perhaps the best way to clarify any inaccuracies would be for him to publish a full and complete description of his materials and methods (which, to our knowledge, has never been done), in the spirit of an ongoing, open scientific discussion of this important public health topic.

Finally, no single study—including ours—is likely to provide definitive, irrefutable evidence with regard to this issue. Rather, as we concluded in our original paper, we believe that our results are consistent with the overall body of evidence currently available in the extant literature (i.e., not merely a few selected studies) in arguing against the hypothesis that increased exposure to Thimerosal®-containing vaccines is responsible for the apparent increases in the rates of autism in young children worldwide. We join with Mr. Blaxill in calling for careful, unbiased research to resolve any outstanding questions.

Sincerely, Paul Stehr-Green, DrPH, MPH (on behalf of all the authors of our original paper1) University of Washington Dept of Epidemiology

E-mail: pstehrgreen@worldnet.att.net.

References

1. Stehr-Green P, Tull P, Stellfeld M, Mortenson PB, Simpson D. Autism and thimerosal-containing vaccines: lack of consistent evidence for an association.

Am J Prev Med 2003;25:101–6.

2. Morgenstern H. Uses of ecologic analyses in epidemiologic research. Am J Public Health 1982;72:1336–44.

3. Blaxill M. Rising incidence of autism: association with Thimerosal®. In: Institute of Medicine. Thimerosal®-containing vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders. Washington DC: National Academy Press, 2001.

92 American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 26, Number 1

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AWARENESS

Quality of Society's Life Gauged by Care of Disabled, Says Pope "Rights Cannot Be Only the Prerogative of the Healthy"

[From The Arc of the United States.]

Vatican City, The quality of life of a community is measured by the care given to the weakest, especially the disabled, says John Paul II.

The Pope expressed this conviction in a message sent to the participants of the international Symposium on the Dignity of the Person with Mental Handicaps, being held in the Vatican through Friday.

The Holy Father begins his message by outlining the Christian view of the situation. The "disabled person, even when wounded in the mind or in his sensorial and intellective capacities, is a fully human individual, with the sacred and inalienable rights proper to every creature," he writes.

"The human being, in fact, regardless of the conditions in which he lives his life and the capacities that he might manifest, possesses a unique dignity and singular value starting from the beginning of his existence until the moment of natural death," the lengthy message says.

"The person of the disabled, with all his limitations and sufferings, compels us to question ourselves with respect and wisdom on the mystery of man," the Pope continues. "The more we penetrate the dark and unknown areas of human reality, the more we understand that precisely in the most difficult and disquieting situations the dignity and grandeur of the human being emerges."

"The wounded humanity of the handicapped challenges us to acknowledge, accept and promote in each one of these brothers of ours the incomparable value of the human being created by God," the papal text explains.

"The quality of life within a community is measured, to a large extent, by commitment in the care of the weakest and the neediest, and by respect for their dignity as men and women," the Pope adds.

"The world of rights cannot be only the prerogative of the healthy," he writes. "The participation must be facilitated of the disabled person, to the degree possible, in the life of society and he must be helped to develop all his potential in the physical, psychic and spiritual order."

"A society that would only make room for fully functional members, completely autonomous and independent, would not be a society worthy of the human being," he says categorically.

"Discrimination in virtue of efficiency is no less to be condemned than that in virtue of race or sex or religion," the Pontiff explains.

At the same time, John Paul II states that there is "a subtle form of discrimination in the policies and educational projects that try to hide or deny the deficiencies of the handicapped person, proposing styles of life and objectives that do not correspond to their reality and in the end are frustrating and unjust."

"The recognition of rights must be followed, therefore, by the sincere commitment of all to create concrete conditions of life, support structures and juridical guarantees capable of responding to the needs and the dynamics of growth of the handicapped person and those who share his situation, beginning with his relatives," the papal document exhorts.

"People with mental handicap perhaps have greater need of care, affection, understanding and love," John Paul II adds. "They cannot be left alone, defenseless or unprotected, in the difficult task of facing life."

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EVENTS

Mini-DAN! in New Orleans January 17 and 18

[From an Autism Research Institute announcement.]

The mini-DAN! (Defeat Autism Now!) conference is scheduled for January 17 and 18, 2004 in New Orleans. The January 17th conference is for parents, and the January 18th conference is a DAN! practitioner training session (limited to 25 people).

The next full 3-day DAN! conference will be held in Washington, D.C. on April 16 to 18, 2004. More information about the conference will be announced soon.

New ARI Books

Two new books are for sale from the Autism Research Institute (ARI). They are: (1) "Building Wellness with DMG," by Roger V. Kendall, Ph.D. Details the many benefits of this remarkable nutrient that has the power to fight disease and increase energy and stamina. In autism, DMG has been shown to enhance verbal skills and improve social interaction. A must read for anyone interested in nutritional treatments for autism and in general, healthier living, 254 pages ($15.00). (2) "A Patient’s Guide to Mercury-Amalgam Toxicity," by Ray B. Kupsinel, M.D. This book exposes the dangers of mercury in dental fillings. Includes 2004 amalgam directory. 2004, soft cover booklet, 40 pages ($3.00).

* * *

The Power of 1.5 "Kick Off" Rally and Press Conference

The Dan Marino Foundation and Unlocking Autism invite you to join us

Wednesday, April 21 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Our Nations Capitol, Washington, DC

[From an Unlocking Autism announcement.]

Please join us on April 21, 2004, when our Open Your Eyes picture boards, which will be approximately five football fields in length, will be on display.

These beautiful faces will represent only 1% of the people in our nation currently living with autism.

To demonstrate the magnitude of the autism epidemic, Dan Marino will be at this press conference and throw a football as far as he possibly can. It will be clear that he cannot even come close to throwing the length of five football fields, or the distance of 1% of the autism population. He will then make a plea to the media and public letting them know that its going to take more than a football star and a few parents to make a

difference, its going to take the nation! We invite each of you and your

friends and family to join us for this extraordinary event.

To make sure your picture is included visit our website and print out and mail in your picture and authorization form.

Please also share this form and link with others you know that would like to participate as well.

Immediately following the Rally and Press Conference, The Dan Marino Foundation will be hosting a "Kick Off" Reception. VIP seating at the Press Conference and Rally and admittance to the "Kick Off" Reception will be exclusive to Members of Congress, Conference Sponsors and Conference Attendees. For information on the Power of 1.5 Political Autism Conference visit our website at Unlocking Autism.

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