MERCURY, VACCINES, AND AUTISM, REVISITED/BAKER RESPONDS

[...] the intensity of the advocacy response, particularly by parents of children with autism, should be seen in the context of the lack of attention to preventable risk factors for autism, which is clearly not a genetically determined disease although genetic susceptibility may play an important ro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAmerican journal of public health (1971) Vol. 98; no. 8; p. 1350
Main Authors Silbergeld, Ellen K, Baker, Jeffrey P
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington American Public Health Association 01.08.2008
Subjects
Autism
Children & youth
Clinical trials
Environmental health
Environmental protection
Health sciences
Health services
History of medicine
Human exposure
Immunization
Mercury
Neurotoxicity
Pediatrics
Psychiatry
Public health
Risk factors
Toxicity
Vaccines
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Summary:[...] the intensity of the advocacy response, particularly by parents of children with autism, should be seen in the context of the lack of attention to preventable risk factors for autism, which is clearly not a genetically determined disease although genetic susceptibility may play an important role in modulating response to acquired risks In this sense, mercury may be seen as symbolic of the importance of environmental risk factors (defined broadly and not just chemically) as well as of the lack of a research agenda at the national level for autism despite its status as a major neurodevelopmental disorder of children. The US Food and Drug Administration cited these concerns in its proposed rules on preservatives in skin tests and over-thecounter topical products in 1978 and 1982, as did some European countries that restricted thimerosal in the 1990s.1,2 The clinical significance of this phenomenon, however, was related to contact dermatitis rather than neurotoxicity, the focus of my article and of the vaccine and autism debate.
ISSN:0090-0036