Dr. Stoller Extra Presentation (Not Shown at the Conference)

The chemicals we ingest
may affect more than
our own health. They
affect the health and
vitality of future
generations. The
danger is that many of
these chemicals may
not harm us but will do
silent violence to our
children.
The chemicals we ingest may
affect more than our own health.
They affect the health and vitality
of future generations. The
danger is that many of these
chemicals may not harm us but
Senator Abraham S. Ribicoff
(l971)
will do silent violence to our
children.
Senator Abraham S. Ribicoff (l971)
Mercury timeline and the rise of
Autism
Kenneth Stoller, MD, FAAP
President, International Hyperbaric Medical Assoc.
Medical Director, Hyperbaric Medical Center, New Mexico
Medical Director, Hyperbaric Oxygen Clinic Sacramento
The US is in the midst of a
DEVASTATING EPIDEMIC
of neurodevelopmental disorders
Dr. Leo Kanner, the
psychiatrist at Johns
Hopkins University who
introduced the syndrome
to the world and named it
"autism."
Aspartame
1943
Kanner didn't
know why the 11
children, all born
in the 1930s, acted
the way they did
but he noticed theAspartame
parents were
college-educated
and careeroriented: lawyers,
psychiatrists,
scientists.
1943
One of the children was
the son of scientist
Fredrick Wellman, a
plant pathologist who
Aspartame
collected cabbage seeds
infected with a common
fungus and dunked some
of them in a solution of
mercury salts and hot
water.
On cabbage seeds, he
reported, "organic
mercury compounds
were found to be most
satisfactory disinfecting
agents." For tomatoes,
"proprietary organic Aspartame
mercury dusts also gave
good results." All three
of the fungicide sales
brochures in his archive
were for organic
mercury compounds-two of them containing
ethyl mercury.
Another child in
Kanner’s study grew up
in a town near sawmills
where ethyl mercury
fungicides were first
tested in the United Aspartame
States in 1929 to
preserve lumber, a
practice that quickly
became widespread; that
child was born in 1933.
Another case was the son of
"a professor of forestry in a
southern university," Kanner
wrote. That university has
been identified as North
Carolina State--the same
school where Frederick L.
Wellman ended his careerAspartame
as
a visiting professor. In 1936
the father of this child
assisted in the planting of pine
seedlings in the university's
newly acquired Hofmann
Forest. His son was born in
1937.
Organic mercury
fungicides, including an
ethyl mercury brand,
were often used to
Aspartame
prevent "damping off"
or fungal contamination
of pine seedlings during
that era.
Mercury-based
fungicides were
banned in the United
States and many
other countries as
understanding of
mercury's toxic
effects became more
sophisticated; they
have not been on the
market here since the
1970s.
In the 1920s, in part based on
expertise he developed in
chemical warfare research for
the United States during
World War I, Morris
S.Kharasch filed 11 patents
that paved the way for several
ethyl mercury products by
the end of that decade.
Those patents led directly to
Thimerosal--trademarked as
Methiolate by Eli Lilly and
first used in vaccines by 1931.
They also led to the ethyl
mercury fungicide Ceresan;
Ceresan
and Lignasan, used to treat
timber.
Thimerosal
Whether or not mercury
affected Wellman's child
is speculation, of course.
Yet there are possible
clues. Frederick W., for
example, was born three
weeks early by cesarean
section
because
his
mother had "kidney
trouble," Kanner wrote.
Minamata, Japan 1932-1968
Eating ethyl mercury-treated
grain led poisonings in Ghana
in 1967. Twenty people died.
Of those who survived, "toxic
effects appeared earlier and
were more severe in children
than in adults," according to a
report of the incident published
in 1974 in the journal Archives
of Environmental Health. "Four
children developed disturbances
of speech which led to
stammering and scanning. . . .
1967
In 1972 thousands of people in Iraq
ate bread made from grain treated
with methyl mercury fungicide that
was intended for planting, not
human consumption. Hundreds
died. A follow-up study on children
whose mothers ate contaminated
bread after giving birth and who
were exposed only through their
mothers' breast milk showed
problems including language delay
that led one parent to describe the
children as "needles blunted by the
poison." Language delay is one of
the hallmarks of autism as well.
1972
Thomas Felicetti published a study in
1981 that found children with autism
were far more likely to have parents
whose jobs brought them in contact
with chemicals.
Felicetti's study was a follow-up to one
in 1974 by Dr. Mary Coleman, a
leading autism expert at Georgetown
University who has since retired. Her
study of 78 autistic children found "an
unusual amount of exposure [of
parents] to chemicals in the
preconception period." Twenty of the
78 children were from families with
chemical exposure; in four of those
families, both parents had chemical
exposures. Seven out of eight of those
parents were chemists.
1974
In a 1976 book she edited,
The Autistic Syndromes,
Coleman wrote that "since
the incidence of
individuals exposed to
chemicals in all related
occupations in the United
States is 1.1 percent of the
population to find that 25
percent of any sample has
had chemical exposure is
quite startling.
1982
Thimerosal
FDA expert panel reported that THIMEROSAL was:
“toxic, caused cell damage, was not effective in
killing bacteria or halting their replication”
& It’s
“not generally recognized as being safe or
effective”
(1982 Vol 47, No. 2 Federal Register)
1991
Merck Memo
Los Angeles Times
“6-month old children
who received shots on
schedule would get a
mercury dose 87 times
higher than maximum
daily consumption
guideline of mercury
from fish.”
1991
Merck Memo
“the mercury
load appears
rather large”
Maurice R. Hilleman, Internationally
renowned vaccinologist (now
deceased)
1999 Joint Statement
Public Health Service / American Academy of Pediatrics
“thimerosal-containing
vaccines should be
removed as soon as
possible”
Thimerosal in Vaccines: A Joint Statement of
the American Academy of Pediatrics and the
Public Health Service, July 09, 1999
Simpsonwood 2000
Scientific Review of Vaccine Safety Datalink Information
This top secret meeting was
held to discuss a study done by
Dr. Thomas Verstraeten and
his co-workers using Vaccine
Safety Datalink data as a
project collaboration between
the CDC's National
Immunization Program (NIP)
and four HMOs. The study
examined the records of
110,000 children
Simpsonwood
2000
“There are just a host of
neurodevelopmental data
that would suggest that
we’ve got a serious
problem.”
“To think there isn’t some
possible problem here is
unreal.”
Bill Weil, M.D.,
pediatrician/nephrologist,representing
American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP)
The potential systemic and
neurotoxic effects of thimerosal
can easily be found in the
Manufacturer’s Safety Data
Sheets (MSDS). For example,
the Eli Lilly MSDS states:
• exposure in-utero can cause
mild to severe mental
retardation and motor
coordination impairment.
• is known to cause birth defects
and other reproductive harm.
Simpsonwood 2000
“…we have found
statistically significant
relationships between the
(mercury) exposure and
(neurodevelopmental)
outcomes
for speech delays (alone)
…overall test for trend is
highly statistically
significant”
Tom Verstraeten, M.D., CDC’s National
Immunization Program presently employed by
Glaxo-Welcome, vaccine company
Simpsonwood 2000
“Personally …
It's true, it's
THIMEROSAL.”
Tom Verstraeten, M.D., CDC’s National Immunization Program
presently employed by Glaxo-Welcome, vaccine company
Simpsonwood
2000
“I do not want my grandson to get a
Thimerosal containing vaccine until we
know better what is going on.”
Dick Johnston, M.D., University of Colorado School of
Medicine and National Jewish Center & meeting Chair
Simpsonwood 2000
“The number of dose related
relationships are linear and
statistically significant. You can
play with this all you want. They
are linear. They are statistically
significant.”
Bill Weil, M.D., pediatrician/nephrologist, representing American Academy of
Pediatrics’ (AAP)
Simpsonwood 2000
“How on earth you are going to
handle it from here”
John Clements, World Health Organization (WHO)
“Just consider this
EMBARGOED
INFORMATION,
if I can use that term, and
very highly protected
information”
Roger Bernier, Ph.D., CDC’s associate director for science
Simpsonwood Summary
1) Thimerosal-containing vaccines were associated significantly with
the neurobehavioral disorder (dose related)
2) Increased risk of ADD with 12.5ug exposure
3) With exposure at 3 months,
they found statistically
significant increasing risk of
neurodevelopmental disorders
(including speech disorders)
Simpsonwood Summary
4) The control group were
not children without
thimerosal exposure, but
rather those at 12.5ug
exposure level. Therefore,
there is reason to believe
that even more
neurodevelopmental
problems would have been
seen had they used a real
control population. No one
disagreed that these
findings were significant
and troubling
What was the Public told?
No consistent
associations were found
between thimerosalcontaining vaccine
exposure and
neurodevelopmental
problems
Verstraeten, T, et al Vaccine Safety Datalink Team.: Safety of thimerosal containing
vaccines: a two phased study of computerized health maintenance organization databases.
Pediatrics 112, 1039-1048 (2003).
There are no available federal regulatory guidelines for ethyl
mercury exposure; however, regulatory agencies have traditionally
considered exposures based upon methylmercury guidelines to be
equivalent since both are similar forms of organic mercury. The
EPA’s daily allowable methylmercury exposure limit is 0.1 µg/
kg/day, meaning that a pregnant woman must weigh at least 550
pounds to remain below daily safe exposure limit
Iatrogenic exposure to mercury after hepatitis B vaccination
in preterm infants.
showed postvaccination
mercury levels
were
significantly
higher in
preterm infants
as compared with
term infants in
regard to the
Hepatitis B
injections at birth.
(Stajiich, G. et al. J Pediatr 2000;136;679-81)
Using national blood mercury prevalence data from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, we found that between 316,588 and
637,233 children each year have cord blood mercury levels > 5.8
microg/L, a level associated with loss of IQ. The resulting loss of
intelligence causes diminished economic productivity that persists
over the entire lifetime of these children .
TM Burbacher, et. al.,
Comparison of blood
and brain mercury
levels in infant
monkeys exposed to
methylmercury or
vaccines containing
thimerosal. Environ
Health Perspect. 2005
Aug;113(8):1015-21.
2001 Institute of Medicine Report
“(The CDC) wants us to declare, well, these
things are pretty safe on a population basis,”
announced Dr. Marie McCormick, Chairman of the
Immunization Safety Review .
2001 Institute of Medicine Report
“... the point of no
return, the line we
will not cross in
public policy is to
pull the vaccine,
change the
schedule.”
Stated Kathleen Stratton, Ph.D, IOM
staff and Study Director ISRC.
2001 Institute of Medicine Report
“The committee recommends
that full consideration be given
by appropriate professional
societies and governmental
agencies to
REMOVING THIMEROSAL
FROM VACCINES
administered to infants, children,
or pregnant women in the United
States.”
2003 Autistic Children Poor
Mercury Excretors
Autistic children
have an inability to
secrete mercury
through their hair as
proven by their first
haircut
2003, Holmes et al (Reduced Levels of Mercury in First
Baby Haircuts of Autistic Children, International Journal
of Toxicology,22:277–285, 2003)
2001- 2004 Institute of Medicine
Reports
Damage Control Was Required...
It was predetermined that
the IOM would not find
causality between vaccines
and autism or any other
neurological injury and so
state same in the most
unequivical manner.
Danish Study Buried Evidence
The four published articles that are collectively
known as the Danish Study compromise a
deliberate and coordinated attack to bury the
emerging evidence
connecting Thimerosal
to autism by a single
network of authors
almost all beholden to
a single employer.
Danish Study Conflicted
The authors all had ties
to a for-profit Danish
vaccine
manufacturer, the
Statens Serum Instit
(SSI).
This significant conflict
of interest was not
disclosed or reported
in any of the journals
that published the
Danish study.
Garbage In = Garbage Out
ƒ
??Rise in autism rates after
removal of thimerosal??
ƒ
???Concluded that Thimerosal
plays no role in the aetiology of
autism???
ƒ
Autism rates used after 1994
included children from the
entire population while
ƒ
Prior to 1994 only included
hospitalised autistic children
Hence, the reported increase in the
number of autistic children.
Madsen et al. Denmark Study(2003)
2004 Committee on Appropriations
US House of Representatives:
Mercury in the Influenza Vaccine
The news media didn’t run stories of the insanity of
putting mercury in the flu vaccine that was going to
be given to infants as young as 6 months old, no, they
ran a scamy story about a flu vaccine shortage which
resulted in a national panic.
WHO Strategic Group of Experts (SAGE)
“WHO was
extremely anxious
to preserve the
production of
vaccines.
Industry is
expecting clear
signals from WHO
on the thimerosal
issue”
SAGE-Removal Costs Too Much
WHO objectives
concerning removal of
thimerosal from
vaccines:
1) complex activities that
are costly and time
consuming
2) upgrading the
infrastructure would
result in huge
increase in vaccine cost
WHO-Support Use of Thimerosal
Lastly, the memo stated,
“The actions required
from WHO in order to
ensure continued
availability of these
vaccines include the
following:
…Develop a
strong advocacy
campaign to
support ongoing
use of
thimerosal.”
The Biochemistry of the Autism Epidemic
Thimerosal inhibits Methylation
(the transfer of single-carbon groups)
Inhibition of Methylation alters
gene expression
(which leads to abnormal development)
Inhibition of Methylation can
impair Attention
(as well as attention-related learning,
cognition, language)
Genetic factors increase
thimersosal toxicity
2004 Biochemical Link Revealed
April 2004 issue of Molecular Psychiatry, neuropharmacologist
Richard Deth of Northeastern University in Boston and colleagues
described a biochemical pathway that may be the avenue by which
Thimerosal and
other Mercury
contaminants cause
neurodevelopmental
disorders such as
autism.
5-Methyltetrahydrofolic Acid
5-methylTHF
5-methylTHF
D4R
D4R
HCY
HCY
HCY
HCY
Methyl B12
Methionine
MethionineSynthase
Synthase
D4R
D4R
MET
MET
MET
MET
Thimerosal
Inhibits
Alcohol
also
Inhibits
When Methionine synthase is impaired by thimerosal, homocysyeine
flows backwards to form S-adenosylhomocysteine which inhibits
many different methylation reactions
Thimerosal blocks the synthesis of
active MethylB12
Hydoxycobalamin
Cyanocobalamin
GSH
GSH
(Glutahione)
Glutathionylcobalamin
Thimerosal blocks
methylB12 synthesis
SAM
Methylcobalamin (B12)
Thimerosal blocks
methylB12 synthesis
Methylation of DNA Regulates Gene
Expression
DNA
SAM
Methyl Donor
SAH
Methyl-DNA
(Gene is silenced)
Methionine synthase is essential for dopamine to stimulate
methylation of the phospholipid molecules that make up the cell
membrane of neurons increasing the risk of ADHD
Autistic children have metabolic abnormalities involving the
methionine cycle and the antioxidant glutathione
Control Children
n=33
Autistic Children
n=20
p value
Methionine (μmol/L)
30.6 + 6.5
19.3 + 9.7
0.001
SAM (nmol/L)
90.0 + 16.2
75.8 + 16.2
0.01
SAH (nmol/L
20.1 + 4.3
26.1 + 5.4
0.001
Homocysteine
(μmol/L)
6.3 +1.2
5.4 + 0.9
0.01
Adenosine (μmol/L)
0.28 + 0.16
0.39 + 0.19
0.05
Cysteine (μmol/L)
210 + 18.5
163 + 14.6
0.001
Total glutathione
(μmol/L)
7.9 + 1.8
4.1 + 0.5
0.001
Oxidized
Glutahione(nmol/L)
0.3 + 0.1
0.55 + 0.2
0.001
GSH/GSSG Ratio
25.5 + 8.9
8.6 + 3.5
0.001
Data from Dr. Jill James
“It's true, IT’S THIMEROSAL.” from the Simpsonwood meeting
(Tom Verstraeten, M.D., CDC’s National Immunization Program presently employed by Glaxo-Welcome, vaccine company)
Autism incidence
1/10,000 in 1970
Autism incidence
1/150 in 2006
Thimerosal
Autism
Autism
Thimerosal
Genetic
Risks
Genetic
Risks
It is very likely that the mercury from thimerosal has contributed to the
dramatic increase in both ADHD and autism as increases closely
parallel increases in the mercury content of mandated childhood
vaccines greatly exceeding Federal safety guidelines
Raymond Palmer and
colleagues at the
University of Texas
found the autism rate
was higher in Texas
counties with more
mercury exposure from
toxic industrial releases.
In the other study,
researchers found
children living in areas
with the highest level of
mercury pollution in the
San Francisco Bay area
were roughly twice as
likely to have autism.
2005-2006