- The
Debate
I have been curious about this issue for a long while and
every time I come across an autistic child the issue comes back to my mind and
so I thought it is high time I dig deeper into it.
There has been an ongoing debate for a number of years now
as to whether or not vaccinations play a role in children developing autism and
the jury is still out on this issue. The case for a link of autism to
vaccination has definitely not been helped by a report that was published in a
leading medical journal in the UK
(The Lancet) in 1998 by one Dr Andrew Wakefield,
who contended that his study provided evidence that Autism does have a link to
the MMR vaccinations. His study was later proved to be fraudulent and so the
paper was fully withdrawn in 2010 and he was struck off the Medical Register so
he could no longer practice as a doctor. This has been an unfortunate
development. I will however provide you with some statistics and some
quotations from other persons in the medical profession and you can be the
judge.
The below are excerpts taken from an article in
NaturalNews.com done in September 2005 by Dawn Prate:
The Growth of Autism
To take the USA
alone, Autism grew by over 273% between 1987 and 1998 in the state of California, while for Maryland it grew by over 513% between 1993
and 1998. Several other states all over the United States has similar findings.
In an eerie way this increase parallels the growth of vaccinations (number and
frequency) containing a substance called Thimerosal (a type of mercury) that
has been administered to infants. Since 1991 the numbers of vaccinations
administered to infants have increased to 22 in the first 15 months of their
lives. Before 1991 the stats was 1 in 2500 child diagnosed with autism, after
1991 the ratio dropped to 1 in 166!
What is Thimerosal?
Thimerosal
is the preservative of choice for vaccine manufacturers. First introduced by Eli
Lilly and Company in the late 1920s and early 1930s, the company
began selling it as a preservative in vaccines
in the 1940s. Thimerosal contains 49.6 percent mercury
by weight and is metabolized or degraded into ethylmercury and thiosalicylate.
Mercury, or more precisely, ethylmercury, is the principle agent that kills
contaminants. Unfortunately, mercury also kills much more than that.
The
Department of Defense classifies mercury as a hazardous material that could
cause death if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Studies indicate that mercury
tends to accumulate in the brains of primates and other animals after they are
injected with vaccines. Mercury poisoning
has been linked to cardiovascular disease, autism, seizures,
mental retardation, hyperactivity, dyslexia and many other nervous
system conditions. That's why the
FDA rigorously limits exposure
to mercury in foods and drugs. Some common sources of mercury include dental amalgam
fillings, various vaccines and certain fish contaminated by polluted ocean
waters.
The toxicity
of mercury has never been in question. The real question is precisely how much
mercury-laced thimerosal is toxic, and what are the
possible consequences for our children at low doses?
Eli Lilly and Co. supposedly
answered this question for us back in 1930. Concluding thimerosal to be of
"a very low order of toxicity . . . for man," the company hired its
own doctors to perform thimerosal experiments in Indianapolis City
Hospital on meningitis
patients during a severe outbreak in 1929. This 60-year-old evidence was still
quoted on the company's brochures as recently as 1990. Andrew Waters, who is
involved in a lawsuit against Eli Lilly, claims that most critical studies on
the toxicity of thimerosal were suppressed by the company until now.
Banned around the world, but not in the United States
That might explain why thimerosal was eliminated in many countries 20
years ago. In 1977, a Russian study found that adults exposed to ethylmercury,
the form of mercury in thimerosal, suffered brain damage years later. Studies
on thimerosal poisoning also describe tubular necrosis and nervous system
injury, including obtundation, coma and death. As a result of these findings, Russia banned
thimerosal from children's vaccines in 1980. Denmark,
Austria, Japan, Great Britain and all the
Scandinavian countries have also banned the preservative.
Eli Lilly stuck to its
"scientific" facts, but the truth began slipping between the cracks
in 1999. After the number of immunizations rose to 12 to 15 per child, the public finally
became privy to the possible dangers of thimerosal. One 1999 study revealed
that some infants, due to a genetic or developmental factor, lack the ability
to eliminate mercury. Trace amounts of mercury in these infants, when
accumulated over several vaccines, could pose a severe health risk. Some
vaccines, such as vaccines for hepatitis B, contained as much as 12.5
micrograms of mercury per dose. That's more than 100 times the EPA's upper
limit standard when administered to infants.
Hepatitis B vaccines
aren't the only immunizations under suspicion. According to Burton Goldberg in Alternative
Medicine, scientists are finding stronger and stronger links between
thimerosal and neurological damage. One report by Dr. Vijendra Singh of the
Department of Pharmacology at the University
of Michigan found a
higher incidence of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) antibodies in
autistic children.
The National Vaccine
Information Center
in Vienna, Virginia, has noted a strong association
between the MMR vaccine and autistic features. Reporting similar findings, the
Encephalitis Support Group in England
claims that children who became autistic after the MMR vaccine started showing
autistic symptoms as early as 30 days after vaccination. The diphtheria,
pertussis and tetanus vaccine (DPT) given at two, four and six months has
triggered autistic symptoms, as well.
When the FDA finally
formally released this information in 1999, the news came too little too late
for some parents. The damage had already been done.
The thimerosal debate continues
Along with the enormous amount of controversy surrounding this issue,
the five-year-old plea for "more research" may have finally produced
some results. Burton Goldberg notes that a defect in the myelinization process
(insulation of nerve fibers) could explain mercury's propensity to cause autism
and neurological damage. This may also account for the frequent development of
epilepsy in older autistic children.
Scientists are also
working on biological links that support the strong correlations. Researchers
at Northeastern University, working with scientists from the University of
Nebraska, Tufts and Johns Hopkins University, may have recently found the
mechanism by which thimerosal interferes with brain activity. If these
researchers are right, vaccine manufacturers could do little to keep the
damaging effects of thimerosal hidden.
Pharmacy professor
Richard Deth and colleagues found that exposure to thimerosal potently
interrupts growth factor signaling, causing adverse effects on the transfer of
carbon atoms. These carbon atoms play a significant role in regulating normal
DNA function and gene expression and are critical to proper neurological
development. Additionally, the scientists recently obtained more insight into
the mechanism by which thimerosal interferes with folate-dependent methylation.
The mechanism inhibits the biosynthesis of the active form of vitamin B12
(methylcobalamin), a vitamin now being administered to autistic children.
The experts speak on mercury, vaccines and thimerosal
Now all childhood vaccines have at least
one mercury-free version, and I urge parents to ask for those versions if they
choose to vaccinate their children. Injecting mercury into children, especially
infants whose immune systems are still underdeveloped (hepatitis B shots are
typically given at birth, before the immune system has developed), can be an
assault to the immune system.
What
Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Autoimmune Disorders by Stephen B Edelson
MD, page 65
In 1999 studies
began to surface showing that multi-dose vial vaccines, such as the MMR and
hepatitis B vaccines, contained enough thimerosal to expose vaccinated children
to 62.5 ug of mercury per visit to the pediatrician. This is one hundred times
the dose considered safe by the Federal Environmental Protection Guidelines for
infants! Worse yet, some infants will receive doses even higher; because
thimerosal tends to settle in the vial. If it is not shaken up before being
drawn, the first dose will contain low concentrations of mercury and the last
dose will contain enormously high concentrations. If your baby is the unlucky
one that gets the last dose, serious brain injury can result…
Health And Nutrition Secrets by Russell L Blaylock MD, page 166
Vaccines may afflict 45,000 cases of autism per year
in America, which afflicts
15 victims in every 10.000 births: there are now 5 00,000 of these victims in
the U.S.
In Sweden not using the
pertussis vaccine, there is virtually no autism (and likewise in Holland).
Anti-Aging
Manual by Joseph B Marion, page 600
The Debate continues…you be the judge!
You’ve probably cut it or pulled it out of your lawn a hundred times without even thinking about it. It grows like crazy. But this “weed” is actually not a weed at all. It’s a flowering plant that’s both a healthy food and a potent medicine. It’s packed full of vitamins and minerals like iron, potassium, and zinc. And that’s not even the best part…
