Group calls for removal of mercury from all vaccines

In a press release Thursday, the Coalition for Mercury-Free Drugs (http://mercury-freedrugs.org/) points to new research that illustrates more reasons to avoid adding Thimerosal (THIM) to vaccines. Thimerosal is a mercury-based compound that is widely used as a preservative in flu vaccines.

Although some previous research on the relationship between mercury and autism has been widely discredited, a new paper, by Helen V. Ratajczak, "Theoretical aspects of autism: Causes—A review," published in the Journal of Immunotoxicology, provides fresh clues. While not "proving" a relationship, the paper points to some damning evidence:

1. "Not only is every major symptom of autism documented
in cases of mercury poisoning but also biological
abnormalities in autism are very similar to the side effects of
mercury poisoning itself (Bernard et al., 2001)."

2. Mercury poisoning & Autism symptoms (in parallel): "...include psychiatric disturbances (e.g., impairments in sociality, stereotypic behaviors, depression, anxiety disorder, and neuroses), increased incidences of allergies and asthma, increases in the presence of IgG autoantibodies against brain and myelin basic proteins, reductions in natural killer cell function, and increases in neopterin levels (indicative of immune activation). Autistic brains show neurotransmitter irregularities that are virtually identical to those arising from mercury exposure, i.e., changes in serotonin and dopamine concentrations, elevated epinephrine and norepinephrine levels in the plasma and brain, elevated serum glutamate levels, and an acetylcholine deficiency in the hippocampus (Bernard
et al., 2001)."

3. "More evidence linking autism with mercury poisoning is the timing of inclusion of Thimerosal in vaccines in the 1930s closely preceding the discovery of autism in 1943."

4. Toxicity of Thimerosal: "There are dangerous effects of Thimerosal on the immune
system, particularly on T-lymphocytes. Mercury induces glutathione depletion, increased oxidative stress, and apoptosis in these cells (Makani et al., 2002). In addition, Thimerosal causes toxic effects on brain cells (Baskin et al., 2003), inhibits glutamate transport (Mutkus et al., 2005), affects nerve differentiation (Parran et al., 2005), induces immunoproliferation and formation of autoantibodies to fibrillin proteins (Havarinasab and Hultman, 2005), and depletes glutathione (James et al., 2005)."


The full press release is here:
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/researchers-urge-the-removal-of-mercury-from-flu-shots-117737828.html