Mercury and Autism

The expression "mad as a hatter" comes from the mercury poisoning prevalent in 17th century France among hatmakers who soaked animal hides in a solution of mercuric nitrate to soften the hair.

"Mad as a Hatter" "Physical symptoms include trembling (known at the time as hatter’s shakes), loosening of teeth, loss of co-ordination, and slurred speech; mental ones include irritability, loss of memory, depression, anxiety, and other personality changes. This was called mad hatter syndrome."

Mercury-free NIH The NIH is the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health...if it's so safe for us, why is the NIH trying to get it out of their offices? (dated Wednesday, December 31, 1969?! web site created 4/2/2001; the final entry seems to be 11/19/2001)

Mercury and the Autistic Spectrum

Autistic children have less mercury in their hair... Dr. Amy Holmes (Louisiana)
Prenatal exposure to mercury can impair child’s brain function
ShirleysWellnessCafe.com quite a few articles about mercury from the Internet
MoonDragon's Health & Wellness More about mercury
Toxic metal clue to autism
Scientists applaud move away from use of mercury
Activation of methionine synthase by insulin-like growth factor-1 and dopamine: a target for neurodevelopmental toxins and thimerosal abstract of technical paper (full text available for charge)

Mercury vs. Autism - comparative symptoms

Autism: A unique type of mercury poisoning
Symptoms of mercury toxicity
Mercury Toxicity Emedicine
There has to be something wrong a look at heavy metal intoxication

Mercury Amalgam

All dental fillings that are black or silver in color (i.e., not "white") are made of a compound material called "amalgam". Amalgam is a compound of several metals, but over 50% of its content is pure metallic mercury. It has been discovered that when you chew on amalgam fillings, they ooze mercury vapor, in quantities that are higher than those allowed by the EPA for public buildings. The American Dental Association has threatened to throw out any member who even tells a patient that amalgam is 50% mercury, even if they don't say that there is any harm in it.

Mercury from maternal "silver" tooth fillings in sheep and human breast milk
A Look at Mercury Amalgam Toxicity
Dental Group Defends Mercury Amalgams: No Autism an opposing view by the ADA
Are 'silver' dental fillings safe?
History of Amalgam Fillings
Mercury Dental Amalgams: Analyzing the Debate in 3 parts
Amalgam-Related Illness FAQ
International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology scientific rebuttal to ADA's statements

Thimerosal

Thimerosal is a preservative used in vaccines given from multi-use vials and is 49.6% mercury by weight. Infants who are being vaccinated using multi-dose vials with thimerosal can receive 62.5 micrograms of mercury per visit. For an average sized child this represents an exposure approximately 100 times the 0.1 micrograms per kilogram of daily exposure considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency. In 1985, four of the shots recommended for infants in their first 18 months contained thimerosal. By 1991, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added three Hepatitis B shots (each containing 12.5 micrograms of thimerosal) and four Hib shots (each with 25 micrograms of mercury). As a result, the number of vaccines containing thimerosal jumped to 11, and the amount of mercury exposure mushroomed to 237.5 micrograms, an amount that exceeded all federal limits.

Before 1980, autism was diagnosed in 1 in 10,000 children; in 2002, the National Institutes of Health raised that figure to 1 in 250 children. In some pockets, such as Silicon Valley in California, it has been estimated that the incidence of autism in infants currently runs as high as 1 in 150 children.

(Note: thimerosal is also an ingredient in some nasal sprays and mascaras.)

The oddest thing of all is that the Homeland Security Bill contains a clause that limits the ability to sue the drug companies for thimerosal claims, making it impossible after 3 years (most cases of autism are diagnosed long after that). Why? And why that particular bill, which has nothing whatsoever to do with health, but was absolutely certain to pass after 9-11?

NEW History of Mercury Poisoning from vaccine Dr Joseph Mercola

The Man Behind the Vaccine Mystery the man who put the thimerosal provision into the Homeland Security Bill
Bush administration moves to suppress documents on vaccines

Mercury and Autism Resources
Slack/Davis PDF file; see page 15 for information on thimerosal
Thimerosal FAQ includes a list of the vaccines that contain thimerosal
Autism in a Needle? By Annette Fuentes
Vaccines and Autism, Beyond the Fear Factors New York Times 25 March 2003
Mercury/Thimerosal Information
Briefing on mercury and autism The National Autistic Society
Thimerosal & Vaccines CDC

Mercury and Fish in the diet

Mercury a factor in seafood choice Houston Chronicle 12/28/2003
Autism 'linked to eating oily fish'

Mercury in the Houston, Texas Area

HEALTH CONSULTATION LAKE HOUSTON
HEALTH CONSULTATION HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL AND TABBS BAY

Mercury Chelation

Chelation is a chemical process that is supposed to remove chemicals from the body. Chelation is the only known treatment for acute mercury poisoning, as in the case of swallowed mercury. Mercury chelation is a controversial and unproven therapy. Anyone considering chelation should research it very carefully, particularly the things that can go wrong, as several people claim to have been permanently harmed by incautious attempts at chelation, even a single exposure to chelating chemicals.

DMPS Backfire is a must-read.

Chemicals commonly used in mercury chelation:
EDTA - ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (Endrate, Edetate, Versene)
DMPS - dimercaptopropanesulfonite (Dimaval, Unithiol)
DMSA - dimercaptosuccinic acid (Chemet)
BAL - British Anti-Lewisite (dimercaprol, dimercaptopropanol)
BAL is a very early drug. Rarely used any more. DMSA may be safer than DMPS, but this is still open to discussion. DMSA is usually given by mouth, DMPS amd EDTA intravenously. EDTA is normally used for "other" heavy metal toxicity. such as lead, as it is a poor chelator of mercury. BAL is known to be toxic on its own.

Chelation therapy can run into the thousands of dollars. Some people claim to be able to cure atherosclerosis by chelating calcium. The calcium chelators have banded together, formed their own university (American College of Advancement in Medicine; ACAM), and gotten legislation passed protecting their right to practice, despite the fact that the greater medical establishment insists that calcium chelation is ineffective or even harmful. The jury is still out.

Quackwatch Canadian site

The main danger of chelation therapy for mercury toxicity seems to be that it can cause mercury that exists inside living cells to "come out" into the bloodstream, where it can move around the body and be taken up again by other tissues, causing a second poisoning. Chelation chemicals can leech mercury directly from mercury amalgam fillings, and thus should NEVER be attempted in anyone who has any amalgam fillings in their teeth at all, as it may simply cause them to become acutely poisoned.

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January 21, 2005