Autism Open Thread
We need a new autism open thread. To get things started, I want to present two quotes from David Kirby’s book, Evidence of Harm, and then ask a question. The first quote:
She walked over to Will and scooped him up in her arms. He refused to meet her gaze. He neither giggled nor smiled. Today, he seemed to barely move at all, though some days he never stopped moving for a second. Tears welled in Lyn’s eyes as she spoke to her son, trying to see if the words were registering behind that faraway face.The second quote:The boy kept his gaze out the window, as if something were stirring in the garden. But in the late September afternoon, all was still. “We’re going to find out what happened, Will,” Lyn vowed. Her voice tripped with emotion. Will didn’t notice…..
Lyn ran to her files and pulled out the list of eleven vaccinations that Will had been given between two months and eighteen months of age…. All the shots, except MMR, contained thimerosal. Lyn cried as she read the numbers and wrote them down in a little column on her pad. She had difficulty controlling the pen.The question: How do people at the FDA, the CDC, and at Eli Lilly sleep at night?At his two month well-baby visit, Will had received a diphtheria-tetanus shot that had 25 micrograms of ethylmercury used as a preservative. On the same visit, Will had been given an Hib shot, with another 25 micrograms, and hepatitis-B, which had 12.5 micrograms. At four months, he got the same three shots, or another 62.5 micrograms….
Lynn added up her column and almost choked: Will had been injected with a total of 237 micrograms of mercury. And most of that -- 175 micrograms-- he received in the first six months, when he weighed very little...
But what did Will’s numbers mean in terms of EPA limits? To find out, Lyn looked took Will’s exposure at two months. At that age, he weighed a little over 10 pounds, or 5 kilograms. According to the EPA guideline of 0.1 microgram per kilogram per day, Will should not have been exposed to more than 0.5 micrograms of mercury on the day of his doctor visit. But he had received 62.5 micrograms. Lyn did the math. She was sure she had calculated wrong. The way she figured it, Will’s exposure that day exceeded the EPA limit by 125 times.
Anyone have any answers?
Comments
My experience was not dissimiliar, although it was regarding Sam's MMR. I did the same thing - suddenly, the lightbulb went off, and I bolted to the file cabinet for Sam's vaccination and medical records. As I type this, my reaction is as visceral as the day I first saw what I now view as the smoking gun which stripped years of "normalacy" from his, and our, lives. It makes me even the more angry, as Sam's injuries are not only neurological - he also now suffers from severe gastroenterological disorders in the form of celiac disease, which both effects his nutrition as well as his potential life expectancy, as CS is a high risk factor for cancer. And still parents who question are made to feel akin to loonies awaiting LGM arriving at any moment from Mars.
What ticks me off even more, however, is the Left's attitude towards all of this. According to SAR, Air America radio cancelled an interview with David Kirby. I wrote to them last week requesting clarification, and have received none. This in not dissimilar to MoveOn.orgs refusals to include the Eli Lilly waiver in their anti-midnight rider campaign 2.5 years ago (the reason Eric and I stopped supporting MoveOn, btw.)
Posted by: MB | April 24, 2005 08:42 PM
The question: How do people at the FDA, the CDC, and at Eli Lilly sleep at night?
The answer: hydrogen sulfide.
I do have a small question: since thimerosal use was stopped in 1999, which is already more than 5 years ago, is there any decrease in rate of autism incidence?
Posted by: Peatey | April 24, 2005 09:50 PM
Peatey: Merck, for one, continued to sell infant vaccines with thimerosal during 2001 or later. I think I linked to a Newsday article about that some time back but I can't seem to find it right now.
Also, since thimerosal is a preservative, and a good one (try growing a virus, bacteria, or a child's brain in a mercury solution), the vials of vaccine remained on the shleves in clinics and doctor's offices without spoiling. I do not know when the last of it was used.
Large epidemiological studies take time. The CDC study that came out in 2003 reported on the incidence of autism in Atlanta from 1986 through 1996.
It may be a while before we know whether or not the rate of increase has slowed or whether or not there is an actual decline in the incidence of autism.
Posted by: dwight Meredith | April 24, 2005 10:13 PM
Ah I see. Thanks for the info Dwight.
Posted by: Peatey | April 24, 2005 11:22 PM
How do people at the FDA, the CDC, and at Eli Lilly sleep at night?
They sleep safe in the knowledge that Bil Frist protects them.
"Justice Sunday" indeed.
Posted by: patrick | April 25, 2005 04:07 PM
Maybe this is old news, but has anyone else read the Science News article in the April 16 issue? Here is another article covering the same information -- low blood levels of glutathione in autistic children.
I know plenty of doctors pooh-pooh the thimerosol connection, but maybe this will give it a little more bite, and explain why only some children who receive thimerosol develop autism.
Posted by: Kaleefornian | April 27, 2005 03:31 PM
From what I hear, mercury in shots really has/had the potential of messing up chemical balances in people's minds.
Posted by: Steve Plonk | April 29, 2005 10:58 AM