Volume 16, No. 2, Spring 2008
To the Editor:
I am dead certain sure I will not be the only one to take you to task for your article by Cleon Turner entitled, “Mercury Role in Autism Still Debated.”
No, it most certainly is not, at least not in the health care/research community. If the Joint Committee on Public Health has only “recently learned” about Thimerosal…then I would like to volunteer to update them on the medical research on this and likely other topics which have for years been published in that eminent medical journal, The Boston Globe. The jury is certainly NOT “out” on Thimerosal. The FDA and public health agencies no longer have conflicting views on its link to autism spectrum disorders.
Thimerosal hasn't been used in vaccines for years, a period in which the incidence of diagnosed autism spectrum disorders has increased, possibly due to wider criteria for making the diagnosis (still being studied). Huge studies, most recently in Scandinavia, published in the reputable refereed medical literature, have demonstrated that there is no link between Thimerosal-containing vaccines used for decades and the incidence of autism spectrum disorders in children who received them.
Therefore:
You are correct, however, in noting that many predator species of fish concentrate mercury in their tissues, and pregnant women and children (at least, and maybe all of us) should not consume much or perhaps any tuna, swordfish, and other predator fish species, since mercury is a neurotoxin in very small amounts.
As a nurse and mother I completely understand the agony that parents of autism spectrum disorder children go through, and it's only human nature to want to have an answer to the question, "Why my child?"
But you do your readers no service at all by perpetuating the myth that mercury-containing vaccines are related or to imply that there is any credible scientific debate on the matter any longer. There isn't.
The file http://www.quackwatch.com/03HealthPromotion/immu/autism.html gives an excellent summary, with references, of all related studies.
Cordially,
Wendie A. Howland RN MN CRRN CCM
Calling For Further PAVE PAWS Study
To the Editor:
The Winter, 2008 article by George Heufelder fails to mention that the incidence of Ewing’s sarcoma was observed at 3.84 times the expected level over a 10-year period, and that the result is statistically significant. In contrast, the Woburn leukemia cluster was 2.3 times the expected level.
Such a finding cries out for a more thorough investigation, yet three years after my late daughter’s diagnosis, there has not even been a request for her medical history. Public health officials have made no attempt to identify common factors among the cases which might lead to a cause. This is one reason why identification of clusters rarely leads to identifying a cause.
The Massachusetts Cancer Registry is one of the best at collecting data, but the Department of Public Health could not report on possible cases of Ewing’s beyond 2005. They also lack the expertise in interpreting the engineering data collected and missed significant results.
The MDPH report and the report of the National Research Council are hardly reassuring. The PAVE PAWS Radar Station’s peak exposure reported in 2004 was 46 times the level predicted by the specifications. Furthermore, 143 of 292 measurements made in 2004 are traceable to the maximum output of one amplifier. We really don’t know what the exposure was in 2004, but the reported values were from 40 to 500 times higher in 2004 than repeat measurements at the same sites in 2007.
The investigation of this childhood cancer cluster needs to be diligently investigated by persons with both engineering and medical expertise. There is an opportunity for the first known risk factor for Ewing’s sarcoma to be identified. It should not be missed.
Bernard J. Young, P.E.
Dennisport
To the Editor:
Thanks for an especially informative issue of To Your Good Health.
I appreciate Cape Care's being included and really liked your headline on the article.
Continued good health and good wishes!
Mary Zep