PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
July 13, 2008
CONTACTS:
* CoMeD President [Rev. Lisa K. Sykes (Richmond, VA) 804-364-8426]
* CoMeD Sci. Advisor [Dr. King (Lake Hiawatha, NJ) 973-263-4843]
LINKS THIMEROSAL (MERCURY) EXPOSURE WITH AUTISM
WASHINGTON, DC – A new peer-reviewed study, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Maternal Rh-Negativity, and Rho(D) Immune Globulins: A Multi-Center Assessment, published in Neuroendocrinology Letters 2008; 29(2): 272-280, found significant links between mercury exposure from Thimerosal-containing Rho(D) immune globulin preparations and the neurodevelopmental disorder diagnoses found in the affected children studied.
Furthermore, the study found links to autism spectrum disorders and attention-deficit-/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorders.
This new study was based on two hypotheses:
1. IF prenatal exposure to Rho(D)-immune globulin was a risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders, THEN more children with a neurodevelopmental disorder (ND) would have Rh-negative mothers compared than a similar group of children born to Rh-positive mothers (a control group).
2. IF the Thimerosal in some Rho(D)-immune globulin preparations was the main risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders, THEN, following the removal of Thimerosal from all manufactured Rho(D)-immune globulin preparations distributed in the US (from 2002 onwards), the frequency of maternal Rh-negativity among children with an ND should be similar to that for the control groups.
To test these, maternal Rh-negativity was assessed at two clinics (Clinic A-Lynchburg, VA; Clinic B-Rockville and Baltimore, MD) among 298 Caucasian children with an ND and known Rh-status. As controls, maternal Rh-negativity frequency was determined at Clinic A from 124 Caucasian children (born 1987–2001) without an ND. This maternal Rh-negativity frequency was also determined from 1,021 Caucasian pregnant mothers that presented for prenatal genetic care at Clinic B (1980–1989). Additionally, 22 Caucasian patients with an ND, born from 2002 onwards (Clinics A and B), were assessed for maternal Rh-negativity.
This study found comparable, statistically significant increases in maternal Rh-negativity percentage among children with: a) an ND (Clinic: A=24.2%), b) an autism spectrum disorder (Clinic: A=28.3%, B=25.3%), or c) an attention-deficit-disorder/attention-deficithyperactivity-disorder (Clinic: A=26.3%) in comparison to both of the control groups (Clinic: A=12.1%, B=13.9%). Children with an ND, born after 2001, had a maternal Rh-negativity percentage (13.6%), which was similar to the percentages for the two control groups.
These results have clearly shown an association between: a) prenatal Thimerosal exposure and b) the risk of children being diagnosed with an ND.
In addition, these findings call into question the safety of the current recommendation that pregnant women be given an inactivated-influenza vaccine because most all of each year’s vaccine doses still contain Thimerosal (49.55-wt% mercury) and the majority are still Thimerosal-preserved.
Finally, this study was a multi-center collaborative effort lead by Mr. David A. Geier of the Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc., and Dr. Elizabeth Mumper of the Advocates for Children Pediatrics, Ltd.
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Information Provided:
* Neurodevelopmental disorders, maternal Rh-negativity, and Rho(D) immune globulins: a multi-center assessment
DA Geier et al, Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2008 Apr;29(2):272-80
Full Text In Press
* Thimerosal exposure in infants and neurodevelopmental disorders: An assessment of computerized medical records in the Vaccine Safety Datalink
Heather A Young et al, Journal of the Neurological Sciences
doi:10.1016/j.jns.2008.04.002271 (2008) 110–118
Full Text
* Thimerosal Content in Some US Licensed Vaccines
24 June 2008
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