Update on Thimerosal and Autism

     My grandson’s pediatrician thinks his autism was caused by mercury poisoning, probably from the thimerosal preservative widely used in vaccines he received in infancy. To say the idea is controversial is a gross understatement. Defenders of the childhood vaccination program are horrified that parents might stop having their babies inoculated and for good reason. A critical element in the program’s success is something called herd immunity. If enough children are immune to a disease, the remaining group may not be sufficient to sustain it. That’s how epidemics are avoided. But of course we have an epidemic, in autism spectrum disorders.
     Thimerosal is mercury based, mercury is one of the most toxic substances on earth, autistic symptoms are remarkably similar to those of mercury poisoning, and in 1999 authorities belatedly realized that a dramatic increase in the number of vaccines administered to small children had also increased mercury exposure to unacceptable levels. At the same time we were seeing an equally dramatic increase in the number of children with autism. That was enough to order that thimerosal no longer be used in most vaccines beginning in 2001. Most of the existing stocks should have expired by early 2003. Folks like me who follow this have been waiting with some interest for news on whether there has been a corresponding decline in reported cases of autism. There is a bit of a delay because autism can’t really be diagnosed before age 18 months. The median is three years but there has been enough time for results to start coming in.
     They are. Dr. Mark R. Geier and David A. Geier analyzed the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System data base maintained by the CDC and the California Department of Educational Services data base. The father and son research team did indeed find evidence of the hoped for decline. They report “Significant increasing trends in newly diagnosed NDs <Neurological Disorders> were observed in both data bases 1994 through mid-2002. Significant decreasing trends in newly diagnosed NDs were observed in both data bases from mid-2002 to 2005. The results indicate that the trends in newly diagnosed NDs correspond directly with expansion and subsequent contraction of cumulative mercury to which children were exposed from TCVs <Thimerosal Containing Vaccines>…” They go on to cite a report from the US Department of Education on a recent decline after years of increases in the number of reported new autism diagnoses among children age 3-5. Their research is published in the peer reviewed Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. Critics say the data aren’t reliable The Geiers say it’s the best available.
     The Geiers are well known in Autism circles as early critics of another controversial study, one sponsored by the CDC and known as Verstaeten et al. Verstaeten first concluded there was a significant relationship between thimerosal and autism, then looked at different data and found none. The Geiers attempted to gain access to the data for their own analysis and were essentially blocked on privacy grounds. The CDC says on their web site there is a need for further research but so far as I can tell there has not been another US epidemiological study. In 2004 a panel from the Institute of Medicine concluded that the available evidence suggests no causal link between thimerosal and autism and recommended all further research into the subject be stopped. As a result most current projects are private. I hope the Geier analysis holds up. Something is causing all this autism. If mercury can be shown to be a major contributor we can deal with it.