As I was discussing in the other thread on this subject, the specific type of Mercury that is found in Thimerosal is called Ethylmercury (EtHg: Chemical name). This type of mercury cannot bioaccumulate in the human body due the actions of cellular membranes, which work to not allow this type of mercury to enter the cells. In contrast, Methylmercury which is primarily found in contaminated food products, is far more of a risk factor than its Ethyl counterpart for several reasons. For instance, when EtHg has been exposed to human cell cultures in laboratories it has been noted that Human Polymorphonuclear Leukocyte cells and Monocytes break down and degrade EtHg into inorganic mercury. Although inorganic mercury has been known to cause adverse side effects in large amounts, a few things become very clear. That is, inorganic mercury has a half life of only 40 days and is absorbed at such a slow rate that most current figures show only around 7 to 15% (many sources will quote around 10% average) of it is absorbed into human cells. One can take in lieu of the fact that on average the doses of Thimerosal in Vaccines is relatively low. In fact, the average Influenza vaccine only contains around 12.5 micrograms per dose and most other vaccines like MMR contain anywhere from 0.001 micrograms to 0.01 micrograms (which would be roughly anywhere from 1 in 100,000 to 1 in 10,000). Even with vaccine regimens consisting of several doses over a certain period of time these amounts do not equal enough to produce a toxicity effect that would cause mental disorders such as Autism.

Most MMR vaccines, no matter who they are manufactured by contain around 1,000 cell culture infective doses (CCID for short) of measles, 5,000 CCID's of mumps, and another 1,000 CCID's of rubella virus. Some other addatives are sorbitol, sucrose, sodium phosphate & chloride, hydrolyzed gelatin, and of course Thimerosal in some vaccines (MMRII contains no preservative of EtHg). As previously mentioned, Thimerosal is in relatively low doses in the MMR vaccine and is still being phased out. There have been no scienfic or peer reviewed studies that confirm abnormal levels of MMR produced EtHg in Autistic children, which leads me to believe that the body's own ability to detoxify these chemicals is sufficient enough to not cause adverse neurological reactions.

On top of this, new diagnostic criteria established with the advent of updated clinical definitions in 1990 directly coorelates with the surge in cases of Autism within the United States. This essentially means that under these new established criteria autistic behavior could be categorized under a broader spectrum. If one were to look at the statistical analysis of the aforementioned they will see a drastic rise in the number of Autism cases since the publication of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual" in 1990.

I am a parent of a child with autism and I am completely convinced that there is a link to autism and vaccine preservatives. In my opinion, and in some articles that I've read, children with autism have a genetic pre-disposition to an inability to breaking down heavy metals in the blood stream. Basically, what this means is that while som children can take the vaccine and be fine (Which BTW contains 2000% of the daily recommended allowance from the FDA). Other children that can't break the heavy metal(mercury) down as fast, keep it in there system longer. As a result, depending on the amount of vaccines your giving your child, combined with the amount of mercury in it, body weight, and finally the genetic markers, determine how badly your child is impacted by autism. I am lucky in that my wife and I were poor. Becuase of that, we couldn't afford to go to the doctors office and get them at regular scheduled times. We delayed them by 2 years. As a result, we saw a drastic change occur at 4, for my daughter, and as a result got her the help she needed immediately. Additionally, because of her increased weight, I believe she was able to absorb it better, then if we had gotten it as scheduled. As a result she is diagnosed as high functioning.

This being said however. We have absolutely refused to vaccinate my son until he was 5 and entering kindergarden. He is almost normal. Although He has been diagnosed as ADHD(which has links to Autism).

Realistically though, I don't see any really true evidence coming out about this. Could you imagine the lawsuits the drug companies would have if that link ever came out. Additionally, what about the FDA dropping the ball on it. There would be massive suits against the government as well for having to care for these children for life, pain and suffering, etc. I'm just one parent, but I would sue for 10 million. combine that with 1 out of 150 kids that have it, divide that by 280 million(population of U.S.) You'd have almost 2 million people with it, which would come out to almost 20 trillion dollars.

Additionally, if there was infact a legitamate link made, the government would pass legislation to prevent us(the people) from suing them(the government and the drug companies). I know if I had inside knowledge on this, and part of this, I would do everything possible to prevent that as well.

Regards,

Camain

Mercury is good for me I believe you cause your a doctor.

I want to shoot these people giving these shot they should be burned.

Originally posted by otherhalf
Just going to throw this out there (after all it is ATS):
What if it's not Thimerosal that's the problem? That's the main theory that everybody concentrates on. But what if it's actually an allergic reaction to one of the other substances? There's a lot of stuff put in there. Which would explain why some children react and others don't.

Very good post otherhalf! I do agree that other chemicals manufactured into Vaccines could be responsible, and might be why some show signs of Autism at a later age, due to a sort of allergic reaction. Of course as usual I would need to see some hard evidence to support this, but on a basic level it sounds justifiable. However, I would like to inquire into your particular case if I could be so obliged. Do you remember what vaccines your child was receiving at the time that caused the adverse effects? I'm pretty familiar with Immunology and the processes of Vaccinology, but would need to know the names of the vaccines your child received, so as to research the chemical composition therein.

Not going to comment directly on otherhalf's story. I think I've made it pretty clear that I don't think thimerosol is the culprit. When I was little I had a bad reaction to my first tetanus shot. 104 degree fever for two days. this was in the 60's or 70's. But I didn't get autism.

The allergy reaction might have some points to it, it's worth looking at. But I still am of the opinion that it is a complex issue, not just one thing. Maybe environmental factors that are meshing up with something in the vaccines acting as a trigger.

They'll figure it out one of these days, that's the only thing I'm certain of right now.

To Jazzerman:
I'd be happy to give you the info. Just give me some time to remember where I stuck it. And keep in mind that this was 10-15 years ago, so the stuff that wasn't documented has to come from memory.

MajorMalfunction:
First of all, thank you for being respectful. This is obviously a personal (read emotional) issue for me.

I hope you are not misunderstanding me (I was very tired when I wrote that and, as a matter of fact, don't make myself clear on good days). As far as my own personal experience, I don't know what happened. The timing just made me wonder about the vaccinations. He could have had the signs from birth and they were mild enough that nobody noticed. He's had other medical issues that may or may not be related to Asperger's. So, actually, a genetic anomaly, stroke, or a hundred other things are more probable be the cause by themselves or in combination. I spent years researching different syndromes to try to find an answer. Because even Asperger's doesn't encompass everything we're dealing with, but it's the closest thing. So I realize that there are so many different syndromes and so many variables that go into it that we just can't blame it all on vaccines.

However, let me give you an example (and I know I'm comparing apples to oranges, but just to show you what I mean):
We've all heard stories like this. There is a large chemical company in town. Most people in town are employed there. After years of working there, people start getting gravely ill. The rate of this illness is hundreds of times higher in this town than in the general population. People put 2 and 2 together and decide that the chemicals are making people sick. They go to the company and get turned away. They start screaming that the chemical company is killing people and start to sue. The chemical company does studies to show that the chemicals are not the cause. The research they show might very well be legit, however they are trying to prove that the chemicals aren't bad and don't research the evidence to show otherwise. The townspeople have studies to prove that the chemicals are bad, but they are trying to prove their point. And even though their research is correct, it also might not be all-encompassing. In cases like this, most of us are outraged that the government doesn't step in and do objective research to find out for sure if this chemical is harming people.

If so many people are questioning vaccines, why hasn't the general population been screaming for years that thorough studies be done in order to be sure we aren't harming our children. Yes, a handful of studies have been done. But one study only looks at mercury, another doesn't take into account that the rise in autism might be due to better diagnosing, and on and on. I'm just surprised that people will accept a study that either doesn't take into account all the factors, or that was done by someone who has an agenda (from either side). After all, it's our children we are talking about.

Another example:
Vioxx was a miracle drug for people in chronic pain. It was FDA approved, studies had been done. But when it was used by the general population, a small number of people started dying. Even though hundreds or thousands of people were finally able to live more normal lives without terrible pain by taking Vioxx, it was unacceptable that there was a small risk of dying and they took it off the market.

Just like anything, vaccines pose a risk to a percentage of people. Setting aside a possible autism link, you have a certain number of kids who contract the disease even if they have been vaccinated (and I'm not sure but I think there are some who actually get the disease from the vaccine, but I'm not stating this as fact so don't jump on it). You also have a certain number who react to the vaccine and get very sick, have lasting effects, or even die. Is this acceptable? That's something we all have to decide for ourselves. And I'm not advocating that we pull vaccines off the market, just food for thought.

I hope there are studies being done to see why some kids react so that we can know beforehand and it's not just a gamble. Vaccines were an absolute miracle when they were invented. But maybe they can be improved upon. Or maybe we need to “reinvent the wheel” and find an alternative so that those who will be harmed have a different option, or something so much better that we can all benefit. I hope we have not decided that this is good enough, why bother going forward.

As to the autism link, maybe there is something in there that kids are reacting to. Maybe some kids have a genetic predisposition and the vaccine brings it out. Maybe this theory was all started because a parent needed a reason why or a place to put blame (I don't know the origin of this idea). For now I just have an open mind to all possibilities. There are still too many unanswered questions for me to believe either way. I'm just a big advocate for having those questions answered as quickly and honestly as possible.

Sorry for getting long-winded. I'll get down off my soapbox now and go terrorize someone else.

Myself, I have a hard time pointing a finger at just the mercury in the vaccine shots, on the other hand, I think at times, the vacicnations themselves can be hazardous, as well as I can easily see how some people can be especially sensitive to the chemicals in the immunos.

Now, they might or might not be a contributing factor, but what I want to know is, what is causing all these various diseases that make it seem like the younger generations are just about falling apart?

I'm a 32 year old single white male. Sometimes in my journeys of picking up women I hit someone in their early to mid 20's. sort of a generation behind me as far as socialization and happenings. Yo know what, I haven't met one person that doesn't have some sort of problem that needs to be maintained. Peanut allergies, wheat allergies, asthma, cancer, autism, panic attacks, ad(h)d, you name it, someone seems to have it. and if you find one of those rare ones that doesn't have something, they seem to have come from either some really small backwoods town, or another country and didn't arrive here until after high school.