An actual chemical link to autism?

[Pale Blue Dot]

I'm interested in everyone's take on this, especially turtlensue:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2898387

varkam has already weighed in, and I am now taking notice perhaps more than I would have before. Could we actually finally have a legitimate potential cause of autism?

Note to everyone: As Varkam pointed out, this seems to have NOTHING to do with mercury in vaccines.

I am not a scientist (I'm an english teacher), so I really want to the skeptical take on this.

[TZ]

1. Nothing of this strikes me as new

We have known for a long time that environmental contaminants (ESPECIALLY LEAD) have effects on neural development.
This poster is a true blue vaccines cause autism woo as well.
There are also many studies that link autism and other developmental disorders with genetics.
I wouldn't be surprised if there is some sort of ENVIRONMENTAL link with mercury as well. Remember, for a long time, its been advised for pregnant women not to eat certain fish which are known to have mercury contamination. Also the levels of mercury in fish are much higher than any thimerosol vaccine. There is also some debate on the fish and mercury connection being not as bad as first thought.
personally, I think someone IS laying a groundwork for an attack on vaccines. Plus the fact that the flu vaccine is not a good match for the flu strain this year..Yeah. Just wait. THis will be used as an attack on vaccines in the future I believe.

[cosmik debris]

2. If you follow a few links you end up with a lot of the same stuff

We've been hearing before.

Mercury
• Children and women of childbearing age should
avoid eating fish known to accumulate mercury,
such as tuna or swordfish. Follow local and state
fish advisories posted at www.egp.gov/ostwater/
fish. Safe fish and seafood guides are available in
many groceries and restaurants.
• Advocate with dentists to use alternatives to mercury-
based amalgam for filling cavities and to dispose
of amalgam properly if used.
• Ask your physician whether the vaccinations your
child is to receive contain the mercury preservative
thimerosal; there is a possible link between
thimerosal exposure and developmental disabilities
such as autism. Until this link is definitively proven
or disproven, the safest course is to request
thimerosal-free vaccines.
• Dispose of mercury thermometers, burned-out fluorescent
light bulbs, spent alkaline batteries, and
other mercury-contaminated waste at an appropriate
hazardous waste collections or disposal sites.
• Advocate for your local hospital or health department
to offer a trade-in program for mercury thermometers.
A national nonprofit organization,
Hospitals for a Healthy Environment, provides help
with this: www.h2e-onliine.org
• Urge policymakers and government officials to act to
reduce the amount of mercury being released into
the environment.

[TZ]

3. Hey Finnfan

I know your wife is a nurse, but I wrote a pamphlet about vaccines for nonscientists and maybe you might find it helpful..
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=222x32188

[Warpy]

4. The article didn't say much except that we're living in a miasma

of chemicals our ancestors never confronted, a petrochemical soup of stuff that nobody really knows the effects of on developing humans, in utero to adulthood. Too many were simply grandfathered in by the FDA under the GRAS* list because no link had ever been proven to disease, mostly because nobody had ever bothered to look for one.

I don't think we can live in a chemical bath like this one without experiencing some harmful effects from it, but we've also increased our lifespan due to the actions of many of them, especially in improving the food supply.

It would be nice if people did the research on that GRAS* list, but funds have never been forthcoming from either the government that doesn't want embarrassment or industry that doesn't want inconvenience.


*GRAS = Generally Regarded as Safe

[semillama]

5. Man, that trhead didn't take long to devolve into woobaggery

I for one was unaware the government was spraying barium on me.

[drm604]

6. Barium?

Hey, if they're spraying it on you then it'll protect you from radiation! :D

[cosmik debris]

7. Finally our government is doing something right

to protect us from that unshielded nuclear fusion reactor running out of control over our heads every day.

[chicagomd]

8. You mean the microwave in the sky

that gives us zombie bacteria?

[cosmik debris]

9. That's the one!

You know it is owned by big pharma. It's there to promote the sale of sun screen.