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In 2004, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Institute of Health and Human Services stated that1 in 150 children have an autistic disorder and 1 in 6 children have a developmental or behavioral disorder. These are staggering statistics that should concern every parent, grandparent, doctor, clinician, and public or government official. This equates to a fourfold increase in just a decade.
Our country is in a crisis. We have ignored the red flags, the calls for concerns from parents and advocates, and we have created a generation of developmentally and behaviorally disabled children. The writing is on the wall, and yet not nearly enough is being done to research the cause and prevent this crisis from continuing or to treat our children who are suffering.
Mercury Overload ?
Still, the Institute of Medicine has ruled that no relationship exists between thimerosal and autism, and that no further studies are needed to look into the possibility of a relationship between thimerosal containing vaccines and autism. Many other studies have concluded there is a possible connection between the TCVs and autism. Why would such a strong statement be made in regards to doing no further research when we know mercury and other metals are toxic. We know mercury was in vaccines, and is still in some, so why would we risk the health of millions of children by not continuing to study the connection between all types of mercury exposure, including thimerosal, and developmental disorders in children.
A Study done by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), reported, "a signature metabolic impairment or biomarker in autistic children strongly suggests that these children would be susceptible to the harmful effects of mercury and other toxic chemical exposures. This impairment manifests as a severe imbalance in the ratio of active to inactive glutathione, the body's most important tool for detoxifying and excreting metals."
The EWG concluded “that these new findings significantly strengthen the possibility that mercury could cause or contribute to autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders, by identifying a metabolic imbalance common to nearly all autistic children that would make these children poorly equipped to mount a defense against a number of neurotoxic compounds, including mercury.” In addition, they concluded that these findings raise serious concerns about the studies that have allegedly proven the safety of mercury in vaccines.
Many other reports have also identified the need to research the connection further and show the strong possibility that mercury toxicity may, actually, be burdening many children to the point of causing or worsening a developmental, neurological, or behavioral disorder.
To date, it has been reported that thimerosal (mercury containing preservative) has been removed from childhood vaccines, but that is not entirely a true statement, as thimerosal is still used in some vaccines. What about the thimerosal that is added to some formulations of the influenza (Flu) vaccines that are given to pregnant women, infants and children? Or the women who receive the Rho immune globulin shot during pregnancy or soon after birth, who are Rh negative? Other vaccines, like tetanus, given to older children and adults, contain thimerosal.
And the fact that study after study shows a direct correlation between the number of amalgam fillings a person has and the level of mercury in his/her blood. Heavy metals can be passed onto infants through pregnant mothers and nursing mothers. This results in decreased birth weight, motor function, language, memory and neural transmission.
What studies have shown:
* EWG found 287 chemicals in the umbiblical cord blood, 217 of the chemicals found are neurotoxins.
* The CDC found 8-16% of newborns had high levels of mercury, above 5.87ug/L in their cord blood which is high enough to cause loss of IQ and neurological impairment.
* U.S. EPA found that 630,000 newborns had unsafe levels of mercury in their blood between 1999-2000.
* Study done by Holmes et al, tested hair for mercury levels from baby's first haircut and found the amount of mercury correlated with the number of amalgam fillings of the mother.
Recent studies have confirmed that children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have high heavy metal toxicity but are not excreting it. These findings raise serious concerns about children's overall exposure to environmental contaminants. Mercury is of particular concern, however, because of its proven toxicity to the developing brain and nervous system, and documented high exposures from
