Mercury Levels In Children With Autism And Those Developing Typically Are The Same, Study Finds
ScienceDaily (Oct. 20, 2009) — In a large population-based study published online today, researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute report that after adjusting for a number of factors, typically developing children and children with autism have similar levels of mercury in their blood streams. Mercury is a heavy metal found in other studies to adversely affect the developing nervous system.
The study, appearing in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, is the most rigorous examination to date of blood-mercury levels in children with autism. The researchers cautioned, however, that the study is not an examination of whether mercury plays a role in causing the disorder.
"We looked at blood-mercury levels in children who had autism and children who did not have autism," said lead study author Irva Hertz-Picciotto, an internationally known MIND Institute researcher and professor of environmental and occupational health. "The bottom line is that blood-mercury levels in both populations were essentially the same. However, this analysis did not address a causal role, because we measured mercury after the diagnosis was made."
The research was conducted as part of the Northern California-based Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment (CHARGE) Study, of which Hertz-Picciotto is the principal investigator. The CHARGE Study is a large, comprehensive, epidemiologic investigation designed to identify factors associated with autism and discover clues to its origins. CHARGE study participants include children between 24 and 60 months who are diagnosed with autism, as well as children with other developmental disorders and typically developing controls.
The study looked at a wide variety of sources of mercury in the participants' environments, including fish consumption, personal-care products (such as nasal sprays or earwax removal products, which may contain mercury) and the types of vaccinations they received. The study also examined whether children who have dental fillings made of the silver-colored mercury-based amalgam and who grind their teeth or chew gum had higher blood-mercury levels. In fact, those children who both chew gum and have amalgams did have higher blood-mercury levels.
But the consumption of fish — such as tuna and other ocean fish and freshwater fish — was far and away the biggest and most significant predictor of blood-mercury levels. Data on most possible sources of mercury — fish consumption and dental amalgams –— were collected by interviews with the study subjects' parents. Information on vaccines was obtained from the child's vaccination and medical records. A few children had recently had a vaccine containing mercury, and their blood-mercury levels were not elevated.
Of the 452 participants included in the research, 249 were diagnosed with autism, 143 were developing typically and 60 had other developmental delays, such as Down syndrome. At the outset, the children with autism appeared to have significantly lower blood-mercury levels than the typically developing children. But children with autism tend to be picky eaters and, in this study, ate less fish. When adjusted for their lower levels of fish consumption, their blood-mercury concentrations were roughly the same as those of children with typical development and very similar to those found in a nationally representative sample of 1- to 5-year-old children.
Hertz-Picciotto said the CHARGE study is casting a wide net, addressing an array of exposures that originate in the home or the broader environment, as well as genes and gene expression. Because so little is known about the causes of autism, the researchers plan to look at everything from household products to medical treatments, diet and supplements, and even infections. Additionally, they will explore interactions among multiple factors.
"Just as autism is complex, with great variation in severity and presentation, it is highly likely that its causes will be found to be equally complex. It's time to abandon the idea that a single 'smoking gun' will emerge to explain why so many children are developing autism. The evidence to date suggests that, without taking account of both genetic susceptibility and environmental factors, the story will remain incomplete. Few studies, however, are taking this kind of multi-faceted approach," Hertz-Picciotto said.
Other study authors include Peter Green, Lora Delwiche, Robin Hansen, Cheryl Walker and Isaac Pessah, all of the University of California, Davis.
The study was funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program and the UC Davis MIND Institute.
MLA University of California - Davis - Health System (2009, October 20). Mercury Levels In Children With Autism And Those Developing Typically Are The Same, Study Finds. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 22, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/10/091019162914.htmAds by GoogleAdvertise here
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 作者: lsqsmz 时间: 2009-10-23 11:34 标题: re:某天曾声讨桥爸让我错过了桥桥检测血汞含量... 某天曾声讨桥爸让我错过了桥桥检测血汞含量的机会，桥爸可以解脱了！ 作者: jjw 时间: 2009-10-23 11:57 标题: re:对这种所谓的学术研究我表示强烈的质疑：... 对这种所谓的学术研究我表示强烈的质疑：
Groundbreaking Primate Study Links Mercury Vaccine Preservative To Brain Injury
A new study in the leading scientific journal NeuroToxicology lends further credence to parents and scientists concerned about an increasingly aggressive childhood vaccine schedule and toxic vaccine components. A team led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh found that infant macaque monkeys receiving a single Hepatitis B vaccine containing the mercury-based preservative thimerosal underwent significant delays in developing critical reflexes controlled by the brainstem. The infant macaques that did not receive vaccines developed normally.
Government vaccine guidelines were expanded in 1991 to include a Hepatitis B vaccine for infants within the first few days of life, even though the disease is primarily transmitted sexually or spread through the use of dirty needles. The introduction of the shot was part of a greatly accelerated vaccine schedule that coincides with the drastic increase in autism, which now affects one in 100 American children. Thimerosal was removed from U.S. Hepatitis B vaccines in 2000 but was not recalled from the market and was administered for approximately two more years. It still remains in other vaccines including all multi-dose shots for both the seasonal flu and H1N1.
Current government recommendations for seasonal flu and H1N1 call for pregnant women to receive both vaccines, and children as young as six months to receive as many as four separate flu shots. "This also doesn't take into account that nursing infants may be exposed to additional mercury through breastmilk should both mother and baby be vaccinated," says National Autism Association (NAA) board chair Lori McIlwain. "This study's outcome confirms that such an over-the-top toxic vaccine schedule is an assault on the developing brains of our children."
Specifically, the study found:
-- Thirteen newborn rhesus macaques were given a Hepatitis B vaccine containing a standardized dose of thimerosal adjusted for their weight, four received a saline placebo, and three were not given any shots.
-- Vaccinated animals experienced a significant delay in the acquisition of three survival reflexes compared to unvaccinated animals. Root, snout, and suck reflexes, critical to animal survival in the wild, were delayed in the vaccinated macaques.
-- These reflexes are controlled by the brainstem, a vital part of the brain that regulates automatic functions such as breathing, heart rate, and intestinal activity.v -- Neonatal responses in unvaccinated control animals were not delayed.
-- The delay in acquisition of three of the four survival reflexes was not contingent on birth weight or gestational age.
For years, parents of children with autism have lobbied government health agencies to conduct research comparing the health of vaccinated children to that of unvaccinated children, and to remove thimerosal from all vaccines. Neither request has been met.
"This study underscores the lack of appropriate government action to ensure the safety of vaccines. Had our government agencies conducted the most basic research on the implications to children's health from the vaccines they rigorously promote, they could have spared thousands of children the neurological injuries they endure today," said Ms. McIlwain. "It's shameful."
Source: National Autism Association 作者: 一点心 时间: 2010-2-2 15:12 标题: re:产生自闭症的原因是因为疫苗中都含有微量... 产生自闭症的原因是因为疫苗中都含有微量的汞，原先这些汞是想防止疫苗变质的作用，就是类似像防腐剂的功能，但是因为西医及各国卫生署滥用各种疫苗，于是造成汞在体内逐渐的累积起来，这就是自闭症发生的真正原因所在，读者知道后，请问你的感想是甚么?