Autism - If not mercury, then what?

There have been a lot of heated comments to my recent posts regarding emails between Dr. Buttar, myself, and my son Patrick.  Also, a lot going in the blogosphere regarding the death of the boy with autism while being treated with a chelation treatment.  My son, Patrick, has also been embroiled in discussions on another blog which is anti everything regarding mercury being the cause of anything, including autism.

I thought it would be useful to step back and try to look at the big picture surrounding autism.

Obviously, with ANY epidemic there is a cause.  Major things, good or bad generally don't simply happen.  There are usually traceable things going on that at least give us hints as to what is going on.  My observation, stated here numerous times, is that MOST chronic conditions usually have a number of things going on AT THE SAME TIME.  There is usually NOT a single, simple factor in any chronic condition.  That was true for me as I have unraveled the web of things at work negatively effecting my health, mercury poisoning being one of them.

It is my suspicion that more than one thing is going on to cause the epidemics in Autism, Aspergers, ADD, ADHD, etc.  Since at their core, these are all neurological diseases on the same spectrum, logic dictates a high probability for similar roots.  Disease is typically NOT digital, not black and white, on or off.  It is almost always analog, a matter of degrees. 

Personally, I believe the evidence clearly points at mercury/thimerosal as being one of the factors at work.  It may well be the proverbial "spark" setting in motion a terrible cascade of tragic biological dominoes at exactly the wrong time in children with rapidly developing brains.  Sort of the "perfect storm" scenario.  This also makes it difficult to reproduce in a lab. 

In addition, I always say "follow the money."  Who has the most to gain or lose in this situation?  Clearly, if thimerosal-laden vaccines are a major cause, the pharmaceutical companies and the agencies approving and promoting them over the last 50 years have the most to lose.  Step back from the emotional element and just think about it.

It is NO SURPRISE to me that they are the ones protesting the most over ANY link to their products regardless of the scientific strength of that link.  (They are also the ones successfully lobbying for politicians to slide in 11th hour protection clauses.)  They don't want the inevitable lawsuits and further embarrassments to these already embarrassed group of organizations?

Accusations have been leveled at Dr. Buttar because he apparently does have a financial interest in TD-DMPS which he and others are using to chelate mercury and other heavy metals found in high levels in children with Autism.  He is labeled a "snake oil salesman" plundering the desperate parents of autistic children. 

Nonsense! 

The money he would make in any royalty deal is minuscule compared to what he makes as a doctor/surgeon.  It certainly is not worth the heat he is taking for his stand that autism is simply the effect of mercury poisoning. 

In addition, 75% of 23,000 parents surveyed say that chelation (of all varieties) has been the single most effective treatment for their children.   EVERYONE should sit up and take notice!!!  If 75% of people said they were against the war in Iraq, THAT would be noticed! 

Dr. Buttar has developed yet another method of chelation.  Is that so novel given the results of all forms of chelation?  Chelation is an FDA approved treatment for Lead poisoning.  It is NOT a controversial, unknown treatment!  Chelation is NOT quackery, no matter how many times you call it quackery.

If not thimerosal, then what?  I hate it when people say it CAN'T be mercury but offer NO ideas as to what it could be, other than reciting the same old (faulty) epidemiological studies over and over again. 

Why is it that we have found the cause of most diseases and yet for EVERY neurological disease, not a single cause has been found even after spending Billion$ looking?  None of those Billion$ have been spent looking under the ROCK named MERCURY/Heavy Metals. 

Mercury is a HUGE political hot potato!  All the companies and acronymed government agencies and quasi-government agencies that have been promoting the use of MERCURY in many forms, for many decades are at GREAT RISK if it is shown that their heavy use of mercury is at fault.  The RISK to them is ENORMOUS! 

If not mercury, then what?  It is not genetics, as genetic diseases just do not appear in epidemic form virtually overnight! 

Is it a virus?  A bacteria?  If so, it would be relatively easy to identify UNLESS that virus is actually determined to have come from a vaccine, as some researchers have suspected.  No, that would be politically unacceptable!  Gotta save the vaccine program at all costs!!  (Someone posted about how the CDC et al. have lost focus on the individual in their effort to protect the herd.  My apology for not sourcing that and giving credit where credit is due.  Please add to comments if you know.  Maybe it was Craig Westover?)  If it is a virus or bacteria, I believe it would have been found by now.

If not mercury, is it because the medical community is reporting that they are getting better at diagnosing it?  Gee medical community, you're right!  You guys are doing a great job!  Give yourself a collective pat on the back and let's figure out how to integrate these kids into society better.

How stupid is that? 

If there are 1.5 million with autism today, then show me the millions of adults who have autistic traits who were simply missed and NOT labeled autistic!  Where are they?   Do you know any?  If you have ever been around a child or an adult with autism, it would be IMPOSSIBLE to miss.  The symptoms are NOT subtle!! 

No, this is a new epidemic and NOT something that has been with us for a long time.  What is the cause?  If not mercury, then what?

Is it simply a coincidence that the early 1990s beginning of this epidemic tracks exactly with the incredible increase (also beginning in early 1990s) in the number of mercury laced vaccines given to children at the time their brains and nervous system are developing? 

Is it a coincidence that California, the state with the best methods for tracking cases of autism, and which recently outlawed thimerosal in vaccines has, over the last two years, seen the first reversal in the trend of this epidemic.  It will be interesting to watch this over the next few years.  My guess is that the reversal in the trend will continue and accelerate to the horror of the ones with the most to lose...

Is it a coincidence that in 1991, a Merck scientist named Dr. Maurice Hilleman, warned his bosses that with the vaccine schedule of that day children were getting a total dose of mercury 87 times greater than the safe level established by the FDA?  Shortly after, even MORE vaccines were added to the schedule increasing the levels to over 150 times the FDA safe level!

Is it a coincidence that Rep. Dan Burton, in a congressional hearing asked the head of the CDC, Dr. Julie Gerberding. "how many studies confirmed the harmful effects of mercury?"  She answered that there were over 2,000 studies!  He then asked, "How many studies showed thimerosal to be safe?"  She hesitated and then sheepishly replied, "NONE."  ZERO!!!!   

Is it a coincidence that in 2000, researcher Dr. Thomas Verstraeten, then an employee of the CDC, conducted an extensive study of a CDC database called the Vaccine Safety Datalink.  He found that children receiving vaccines containing thimerosal had a 248% increased risk for developing neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.  Well duh!!!  Mercury is a neurotoxin! 

Is it a coincidence when Drs. Mark and David Geier examined an even more detailed CDC database on Vaccines called VAERS, they found that children receiving the thimerosal laced DtaP vaccine had a 600% increased incidence of autism, a 610% increased incidence of mental retardation and a 220% elevation of speech disorders versus children receiving thimerosal free DtaP vaccines. 

If not mercury then what?  WHAT!

Sources

RELATED STORIES ON PAT SULLIVAN BLOG:

Dr. Buttar on IV EDTA Chelation and the Autistic Boy's Death (8/29/05)

Dr. Buttar gets mugged by 6NEWS Investigators (9/1/05)

Dr. Buttar on the Empirical Evidence of Chelation (9/1/05)

Comments

[Susan Cuoccio]

Thank you for writing what I consider to be a clear and reader friendly argument. I also agree that this is too much of a coincidence.
After living thru Secretin and Landau-Kleffner it does make you leary and weary. Thanks for renewing my enthusiasm and hope for an answer to help my son.

Susan

[Kristi]

This is so well laid out, and the "coincidences" so obviously NOT coincidences that it just seems silly for anyone who weighs this issue logically to not at least CONSIDER mercury as the cause of autism. Thanks, Pat, for "stepping back" and presenting the truth of what we do know so thoughtfully. I hope we see justice and the resolution of this subversive and heartbreaking tragedy within our lifetime. May our government and corporations learn to conduct themselves with a level of integrity that is beyond reproach. May they not hide in darkness and deception out of pride, but be willing to admit the truth to those us and the world.

[Anne]

Pat wrote:

"If there are 1.5 million with autism today, then show me the millions of adults who have autistic traits who were simply missed and NOT labeled autistic! Where are they? Do you know any? If you have ever been around a child or an adult with autism, it would be IMPOSSIBLE to miss. The symptoms are NOT subtle!!?"

--- Just a couple of days ago, a parent active in mercury=autism activities wrote this:

"Our doctor would rebuff all our concerns saying boys talked slower and siblings were talking for him. This is a group of doctors located
in *** county (one of the wealthier areas of ***) and they did not catch the obvious early warning signs of Autism."
---
I have heard similar stories many times from parents who describe how their child's autism was missed, and who had to push for a diagnosis. The people who diagnose autism are not the front line pediatricians. Many parents describe how they educated themselves and sought out a diagnosis even when their kids' doctors were clueless. Other parents describe how their kids went through a long list of misdiagnoses before somebody figured out that they were autistic. Autism is POSSIBLE to miss and it IS missed.
---
Do I know any autistic adults who were not diagnosed as children? YES! Some of them are parents of autistic kids who got a diagnosis after their kids did. Some of them are people who got a diagnosis in adulthood after a lifetime of trying to figure out why they were so different. Some had been misdiagnosed with childhood schizophrenia or a personality disorder, and others were just considered to have "what the hell is wrong with you, anyway?" disorder.
---
Some adults with autistic spectrum diagnoses reached adulthood before the DSM definition of Pervasive Developmental Disorders was changed to include PDD-NOS and Asperger's Disorder (which are included in the 1 in 166 prevalence figure). One such example is 78 year old Vernon Smith. Dr. Smith is unusual in that, unlike most autistic people (and most non-autistic people), he is a Nobel Laureate. You can read about Dr. Smith here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7030731/
Another example is Richard Borcherds, diagnosed in adulthood, and the winner of the Fields Medal, which is like the Nobel Prize of mathematics. Dr. Borcherds allowed Simon Baron-Cohen to write about his Asperger's diagnosis, but otherwise seems uninterested in writing or talking about autism, as he is wrapped up in doing some kind of weird algebra and explaining it to his students at U.C. Berkeley.
---
Most autistic adults (like most non-autistic adults) are not Nobel laureates or their equivalent. Some are not interested in talking about their diagnoses. Some prefer not to disclose their diagnoses publicly to avoid prejudice that might jeopardize their work, parental rights, or other areas of their lives. Some have found that, if they do publicly disclose and then express opinions, they are vilified by parents who say that they are lying about their diagnoses or that they are too disordered to be taken seriously. This discourages autistic adults from taking part in public discourse about autism.
---
If you want to see what a non-verbal autistic adult says about having her diagnosis questioned, you can read the post "You Have It So Good" here:
http://amanda.autistics.us/blog/index.php
However, this person was diagnosed with autism in childhood. Nevertheless, parents continue to dispute that she is "really" autistic.
---
If you want to see some autistic adults and read what they say about themselves, you can look at the Autistic Adults Picture Project:
http://www.isn.net/~jypsy/AuSpin/a2p2.htm
As you will see, many of these were undiagnosed as kids.
---
Pat, you probably grew up with autistic kids and didn't know it. Don't you remember the kids who didn't fit in, who forgot to wash their hair and change their clothes, who would go on and on about stuff that nobody was interested in, who were easy to get into trouble, and who were almost universally bullied and rejected? Don't you remember them?

[Pat Sullivan]

Anne,

Thank you for your well reasoned comment. I still don't agree with you however. I have been around quite a few autistic children recently and I would say absolutely, I remember NO ONE like these children while growing up. Yes, there are degrees of Autism, mild cases are called Asperger's. Clearly, mild cases could be missed. But even the CDC and NIH are scratching their heads regarding the "epidemic" we are seeing in REAL LIVE AUTISM! There has NEVER been anything like it. I absolutely do believe however that there are adult cases of MERCURY POISONING and they do have some similar symptoms of children with Autism. I know I did!

[Kanta Ochani]

My Son is 8 years old, I called today to get Oppoinment from DR: Rashid Buttar office, So i got
oppoinment NOV: 20, 2006. 11/20/2006???????????????

[Mark]

Autism being the most controvercial topic these days on blogs, is also currently under discussion at my blog. I am not going to show up it now. Let me get some information regarding it first.

[Kathleen Fasanella]

If not mercury, then what? It is not genetics, as genetic diseases just do not appear in epidemic form virtually overnight!

If there really were any kind of increase, I'd say it is due to changing social conditions that facilitate the aggregation of -need I say- really smart people. We can meet and -heaven forbid- breed more readily now.

If there are 1.5 million with autism today, then show me the millions of adults who have autistic traits who were simply missed and NOT labeled autistic! Where are they?

(raises hand) Here! Mr Pat, there's no way to count the adults, especially if you're higher functioning and not dependent on social services. When I renew my driver's license, there's no little box there that asks if I'm autistic. When I fill out any kind of form that asks personal information about ethnicity or whatever, those don't ask if I'm autistic. Funny, it's not on my voter's registration either. When I go to my doctor's appointment and tell him I'm autistic, what's he going to do? Alert the media? Report me to social or mental health services? No. What, is he supposed to call the capital and tell them he's got another one? Get real. There's no way to count adults!

Do you know any?
Tons. Let's see. My mom, my dad, my older brother, my youngest brother...my stepbrother (step mom has some traits). Then there's grandma, grandpa, my favorite uncle, one of two aunts, making for a total of about 10 cousins (not including my siblings) at last count. I haven't kept up lately. Among second cousins, we've got quite a few candidates, a whole crop! They're everywhere! In fact, in my immediate family, only one person doesn't have autism and believe me, it's only a matter of degree cause she's got plenty of traits (we think she's in denial).

If you have ever been around a child or an adult with autism, it would be IMPOSSIBLE to miss. The symptoms are NOT subtle!!
Boy, you got that right. It's not subtle. Still, until 1994, there was nothing that described me and my family as "autistic". The definition has expanded and the information disseminated. We're here Mr Pat. I know tons of people like me, all adults.

I know that most of you don't want to face the reality but your genes aren't perfect. Vaccines have nothing to do with it. Why do you people have to always have something or somebody else to blame for your problems? It's bizarre. The science isn't there.

Just how many famous and/or older autistic people have to be diagnosed and stuck in your count for you to figure it out? Start with the Nobel Laureates, I'd be very surprised if you found one who didn't have autism.

[Dick Wicks]

Right on Karen! This just fits with our "lets find somebody to blame for this" society. And usually, that somebody has lots of money that somebody wants a piece of. You are absolutely right that this has to do with gene pooling.

[Brian]

Here's another one for you, Pat. I was one of those kids described by Anne above. I just thought I was "different" and had a harder time than others growing up and learning, until my son was diagnosed PDD-NOS and I started reading up on autism. I recognized myself in all those descriptions, and then talked to my parents and found out that I banged my head on the floor and walked on my toes when I was a toddler, and my sister was even suspected of being autistic because of her extreme dislike of being touched, way back when autism was "rare" (1960's). Both pretty "non-subtle" behaviors back then, but I'd bet you'd never peg me or my sister as "autistic" if you ran into us now. People learn to adapt, even if they are still the same on the inside. The brains of autistic people are said to continue developing all their lives, and that's exactly how I feel - I'm still learning some of the finer social skills that appear to be basic instict among typical high-schoolers. I think that I mastered the appearance of "normalcy" around age 30 or so. So who knows, maybe by the time I am 70 I will actually be "normal".

I sure hope not.

[Joseph]

The whole post is based on the premise that an epidemic has occurred. The prevalence of Kanner autism was 4.5 in 10,000 in the 1960s. The criteria used to define autism back then was very narrow. Today, the prevalence of ASD is thought to be 60 in 10,000. As we're comparing apples and oranges, we can't say that an epidemic of 'autism' has occurred. I have also shown that the prevalence of autism in adults is easily more than 60 in 10,000.

[Renee Allard]

How do I contact Pat Sullivan? Thank you for your help.
Renee Allard

[Marie]

I just wanted to add some info regarding the amount of vaccines children are getting. I'm a Registered Nurse Care Coordinator and one of my duties is to update childrens Shots in my state online website and in our own computer charting system. What I'm seeing is that these kids are up to date w/everything that's recommended but the new twist is that now that the newer combinations of vaccines are available they end up getting more than their suppose to because they are being doubled up on some of them. I had one child that had 7 DTaP shots because he had 2 that were the DTap Hib combination. So they're ending up getting more doses of some of these vaccines then is recommended. What is this doing to their developing brain/body? Is anyone looking into this or are they figuring more is better??