Thimerosal does not cause autism

Pediatrics. 2004 Sep;114(3):793-804. Related Articles, Links


Thimerosal-containing vaccines and autistic spectrum disorder: a
critical review of published original data.

Parker SK, Schwartz B, Todd J, Pickering LK.

Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital and University of
Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, Colorado 80262, USA.

OBJECTIVE: The issue of thimerosal-containing vaccines as a
possible cause of autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and
neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) has been a controversial topic since
1999. Although most practitioners are familiar with the controversy,
many are not familiar with the type or quality of evidence in published
articles that have addressed this issue. To assess the quality of
evidence assessing a potential association between thimerosal-containing
vaccines and autism and evaluate whether that evidence suggests
accepting or rejecting the hypothesis, we systematically reviewed
published articles that report original data pertinent to the potential
association between thimerosal-containing vaccines and ASD/NDDs.
METHODS: Articles for analysis were identified in the National Library
of Medicine's Medline database using a PubMed search of the
English-language literature for articles published between 1966 and
2004, using keywords thimerosal, thiomersal, mercury, methylmercury, or
ethylmercury alone and combined with keywords autistic disorder,
autistic spectrum disorder, and neurodevelopment. In addition, we used
the "related links" option in PubMed and reviewed the reference sections
in the identified articles. All original articles that evaluated an
association between thimerosal-containing vaccines and ASD/NDDs or
pharmacokinetics of ethylmercury in vaccines were included. RESULTS:
Twelve publications that met the selection criteria were identified by
the literature search: 10 epidemiologic studies and 2 pharmacokinetic
studies of ethylmercury. The design and quality of the studies showed
significant variation. The preponderance of epidemiologic evidence does
not support an association between thimerosal-containing vaccines and
ASD. Epidemiologic studies that support an association are of poor
quality and cannot be interpreted. Pharmacokinetic studies suggest that
the half-life of ethylmercury is significantly shorter when compared
with methylmercury. CONCLUSIONS: Studies do not demonstrate a link
between thimerosal-containing vaccines and ASD, and the pharmacokinetics
of ethylmercury make such an association less likely. Epidemiologic
studies that support a link demonstrated significant design flaws that
invalidate their conclusions. Evidence does not support a change in the
standard of practice with regard to administration of
thimerosal-containing vaccines in areas of the world where they are used.

Publication Types:

* Review


PMID: 15342856 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Yes it does! Yes it does! You're just a shill for Big Pharma! And a
meanyhead!

:-)

I thought you might be feeling neglected because none of the regulars
had responded, so I filled the gap.

Beth

wrote:
Yes it does! Yes it does! You're just a shill for Big Pharma! And a
meanyhead!

:-)

I thought you might be feeling neglected because none of the regulars
had responded, so I filled the gap.

I guess the regulars are irregular.