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Parents' worries about thimerosal in vaccines are well founded! 

12 March 2004

Mark R. Geier, MD, Ph.D., geneticist and vaccinologist
The Genetic Centers of America, 
David A. Geier of Medcon, Inc.

Letter to the Editor: 

The recent article by Offit and Jew [1] is misleading and contains many
inaccurate statements. The authors obviously did not take the proper time
to search and review the literature that is a requisite for writing a
review article. The following comments will be directed to their specific
section on thimerosal. 

First, the authors stated, “Although no published studies to date have
compared the incidence of neurodevelopmental delay in children who received
thimerosal-free or thimerosal-containing vaccines, several factors are
reassuring that the level of mercury contained in the vaccines was not
likely to be harmful.” In fact, there are three studies [2-4] in the
peer-reviewed literature that have examined children receiving
thimerosal-containing childhood vaccines in comparison to thimerosal-free
(i.e. contained 2-phenoxyethanol as a preservative since their
introduction) childhood vaccines administered to children as part of the
routine childhood immunization schedule. These studies have shown 2- to 6-
fold statistically significant increased risks for neurodevelopmental
disorders and increasing dose-response effects for additional doses of
mercury from thimerosal-containing childhood vaccines in comparison to
thimerosal-free childhood vaccines. 

Second, the authors stated, “However, no data exist on the capacity of
low-dose, chronic exposure to ethylmercury to harm the developing nervous
system.” In addition to the three previously referenced articles showing a
direct relationship between increasing mercury from thimerosal and
neurodevelopmental disorders from two different databases [2-4], Blaxill
[5] has in an ecological analysis shown that the prevalence of autism in
the state of California was directly correlated with the doses of mercury
children received from thimerosal-containing childhood vaccines. Hornig [6]
has found that early postnatal administration of thimerosal to mice using
doses and timing that mimic the childhood immunization schedule induced
mouse strain-specific effects mirroring those of human neurodevelopmental
disorders. It has also been shown by other authors evaluating the effects
of ethylmercury in animal systems that ethylmercury causes
distinct-specific damage to the nervous system [7,8]. Bernard et al. [9,10]
have evaluated mercury and autism, and determined that exposure to mercury
can cause immune, sensory, neurological, motor, and behavioral dysfunctions
similar to traits defining or associated with autism, and the similarities
extend to neuroanatomy, neurotransmitters, and biochemistry. Authors from
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) [11] concluded that
they had serious reservations about administering higher doses of mercury
from thimerosal-containing childhood vaccines than the 25 micrograms of
mercury from a single DTP vaccine at one time because of, “the need to
assure safety of the preservative.” Evaluation of children with autistic
spectrum disorders in comparison to normal-matched control children has
shown that autistic children retain abnormally high concentrations
(thimerosal has been shown [12] and conceded by authors from the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) [13] to cross the blood-brain barrier and
placental barrier resulting in considerable concentrations of mercury in
the brain) of mercury from such sources as thimerosal-containing childhood
vaccines, whereas normal vaccinated children retain similar concentrations
of mercury as normal unvaccinated children [14,15]. It has been reported
that children who go onto to develop autism have a genetic polymorphism
(i.e. lower numbers of sulfhydryl groups) that causes them to have a
decreased ability to excrete mercury, and as a result they buildup
concentrations of mercury in their brains resulting in neurotoxicity [14].
Furthermore, evaluation of micromolar concentrations of thimerosal on
neurons in tissue culture has shown that thimerosal can interfere with the
conduction of neurons [16], cause neurodegeneration [17], and induce DNA
breaks, caspase -3 activation, membrane damage, and cell death [18]. Most
recently, Waly et al. [19], from the Johns Hopkins University, Northeastern
University, Tufts University, and the University of Nebraska have
published, “A recent analysis of data from the Vaccine Adverse Event
Reporting System, maintained by the Centers for Disease Control, found a
significant correlation between the use of the thimerosal-containing
formulation (vs the thimerosal-free formulation) of the Diphtheria,
Tetanus, acellular Pertussis (DTaP) vaccine and autism. The discovery of
the PI3-kinase/MAP- kinase/MS pathway, and its potent inhibition by
developmental neurotoxins, including vaccine components thimerosal and
aluminum, provides a potential molecular explanation for how increased use
of vaccines could promote and increase in the incidence of autism.” 

Third, the authors stated, “However, the pharmacokinetics of ethylmercury
and methylmercury are not the same. Methylmercury has a biological
half-life in blood of approximately 50 days compared with that of
approximately 7 days for ethylmercury.” We have found numerous articles
that have reported that ethylmercury and methylmercury are similar. Tan and
Parkin [20] have reported that ethylmercury ions and methylmercury ions
should display similar complexion and chemical characteristics. Fagan et
al. [21] have published that although thimerosal is an ethylmercury
compound, it has similar toxicological properties to methylmercury, and the
long-term neurological sequelae produced by the ingestion of either methyl-
or ethylmercury based fungicides are indistinguishable. Zhang [22] has
reported that ethylmercury compounds have toxicological properties similar
to those of methylmercury compounds, and there is evidence that both
methyl- and ethylmercury can persist in the body for a long time. Yonaha et
al. [8] have reported that the clinical signs and pathological findings
caused by methlmercury compounds in animal experiments are known to be
similar to Minamata disease manifested in humans. At the same time, the
symptoms in cats, calves, and mice poisoned by ethylmercury compounds are
similar to those in methylmercury compounds. Further, alkylmercury
compounds having short carbon chains (C1-C3) bring about specific
neurotoxicity and signs of poisoning in rats including weight loss, ataxia,
and closing of the hind legs. Ueha-Ishibashi et al. [23] have conducted
studies with thimerosal and methylmercury demonstrating that both had
similar in vitro toxic effects on cerebellar granule neurons dissociated
from 2-week-old rats. An international committee [24] has previously
evaluated the maximum allowable concentrations of mercury compounds. The
authors reported that the elimination of methyl- and ethylmercury is very
slow, especially in man and primates, and consequently there is a
considerable risk of mercury accumulation. It was determined that women of
childbearing age should not be exposed to an occupational risk from methyl-
and ethlmercury compounds. The authors concluded that for methyl- and
ethylmercury salts, the ceiling value for mercury in whole blood was the
same. Even authors from the FDA [25] have published, “Because higher-dose
exposure to ethylmercury from thimerosal results in toxicity comparable to
that observed after high-dose exposure to methylmercury, and because of the
chemical similarity of the 2 compounds, it appears reasonable to consider
toxicity of low doses of methylmercury and ethylmercury to be similar.” 

Miller et al. [26] have investigated the distribution and excretion of
methyl- and ethylmercury in animal systems. The authors intramuscularly
injected chicks with 3.0 mg of methyl- and ethylmercury per kilogram of
body weight. It was determined that higher concentrations of mercury were
observed in the liver, blood, and kidney of chicks following ethylmercury
injection than methylmercury injection. Similarly, decreasing blood mercury
concentrations were observed following injection of chicks with methyl- or
ethylmerucry, and significantly higher concentrations of mercury were
present in the kidney and liver of ethylmercury injected chicks in
comparison to methylmercury injected chicks 1-10 days following injection.
Brooks et al. [27] developed a precise and accurate method for the
determination of either methyl- or ethylmercury in the blood and tissue of
rats using capillary gas chromatography with electron-capture detection.
The authors applied their method to evaluate a pharmacokinetic study in
rats dosed orally with 8 mg mercury/kg as methylmercury chloride and
ethylmercury chloride. The authors found higher concentrations of mercury
present in the blood of ethylmercury (~100% of the dose entered the blood)
treated rats than methylmercury (~80% of the dose entered the blood)
treated rats. The authors also determined that the peak mercury blood
concentration occurred sooner in methylmercury treated rats (12 hours) in
comparison to ethylmercury (24 hours), and that greater amounts of mercury
were present in the blood for longer times in ethylmercury (at 5 days: ~75%
of maximum value) treated rats in comparison to methylmercury (at 5 days:
~60% of maximum value) treated rats. 

Fourth, the authors stated that thimerosal was removed from most childhood
vaccines by 2001 as a precautionary measure. In reality, as the CDC has
recently conceded in a recent communication with Dr. Weldon, a Florida
Congressman, some of the routinely recommended childhood vaccines contained
the full amounts of thimerosal even as late as 2003, and many vaccines
given to children even today contain 25 micrograms of thimerosal including:
pediatric Diphtheria-Tetanus (DT) vaccine, Tetanus-diphtheria (Td) vaccine,
tetanus toxoid vaccine, meningitis vaccine, and influenza vaccine. Many of
these vaccines have expiration dates towards the end of 2005, and there is
no reason to think that the manufacturers are planning to completely remove
thimerasol anytime soon. In fact several documents recently obtained from
WHO state that is their policy to lobby strongly for maintaining thimerasol
in childhood vaccines for the foreseeable future because they say it is
necessary for use in third world counties and if it is removed from US
vaccines these countries may refuse to use thimerasol containing vaccines. 

Fifth, the authors stated that the developing CNS of the fetus is more
susceptible to environmental and toxic insults than that of the newborn.
This fact further accentuates the dangers from the high levels of
thimerosal, which is capable of crossing the placental and blood brain
barriers, [12,13] that were contained until recently in Rho-
immunoglobulin. Rho-immunoglobulin in some formulations contained more than
100 micrograms per dose and pregnant women often got more than one dose
during their pregnancy. A recent paper by Holmes et al. [15] showed that
autism occurred far more in children born to women receiving Rho-
immunoglobulin than in comparison to matched-controls. The fact that
fetuses are highly susceptible to mercury toxicity is a reason to question
the current recommendation to give thimerosal-containing (i.e. 25
micrograms of mercury per dose) influenza vaccines to pregnant women while
at the same time recommending that they not eat any fish. 

Sixth, with regard to the authors comments on the birth doses of hepatitis
B vaccine, since the hepatitis B status of most pregnant women who deliver
babies in the US is known, and is negative in the vast majority of cases,
it would seem that a more prudent recommendation would be to administer
thimerosal-free hepatitis B vaccine to infants at birth only when their
mothers are known to be carriers of the disease, or perhaps, if the
hepatitis status is unknown. 

Seventh, the authors imply that there is little or no peer-reviewed
literature on the dangers of thimerosal. Nothing could be further from the
truth. By simply doing a literature search anyone can confirm that there
are literally many hundreds of articles in the peer-reviewed literature on
the dangers of thimerasol (merthiolate) including case-reports, animal
studies, tissues culture studies, genetic studies, toxicology studies, and
biochemical studies. These papers were published over many decades by
authors from a wide variety of fields in science and medicine. 

Finally, the only way to restore confidence in our much needed vaccine
program is to admit our past mistakes, correct them as soon as is possible
and to conduct accurate, honest and open discussion of the problems
associated with vaccines. In light of the recent “Autism Alarm” from the
CDC, HHS and AAP which warns that now 1/166 children have autistic spectrum
disorders, and even far worse 1/6 children have developmental and/or
behavioral disorders, we must demand the immediate removal of thimerasol
from all vaccines and other medical products. 

Dr. Mark R. Geier has been a consultant and expert witness in cases
involving vaccine adverse reactions before the National Vaccine Injury
Compensation Program and in civil litigation. 

David A. Geier has been a consultant in cases involving vaccine adverse
reactions before the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and in
civil litigation. 

References 

1. Offit PA, Jew RK. Addressing parents’ concerns: Do vaccines contain
harmful preservatives, adjuvant, additives, or residuals? Pediatrics.
2003;112:1394-1401. 

2. Geier MR, Geier DA. Neurodevelopmental disorders following
thimerosal-containing vaccines: a brief communication. Exp Biol Med.
2003;228:660-664. 

3. Geier MR, Geier DA. Thimerosal in childhood vaccines, neurodevelopment
disorders, and heart disease in the United States. J Am Phys Surg.
2003;8(1):6-11. 4. Geier DA, Geier MR. An assessment of the impact of
thimerosal on childhood neurodevelopmental disorders. Pediatr Rehabil.
2003;6:97-102. 

5. Stehr-Green P, Tull P, Stellfeld M, Mortenson PB, Simpson D. Autism and
thimerosal-containing vaccines: lack of consistent evidence for an
association. Am J Prev Med. 2003;25:101-106. 

6. Hornig M. Etiologic factors and pathogenesis of autism: evidence from
clinical studies and animal models. Presentation to the Institute of
Medicine of the U.S. National Academy of Science, 9 February 2004. 

7. Mukai N. An experimental study of alkylmercurial encephalopathy. Acta
neuropath. 1972;22:102-109. 

8. Yonaha M, Ishikura S, Uchiyama M. Toxicity of organic mercury compounds.
III. Uptake and retention of mercury in several organs of mice by long term
exposure to alkoxyethylmercury compounds. Chem Pharm Bull. 1975;23:1718-1725. 

9. Bernard S, Enayati A, Redwood L. Autism: a novel form of mercury
poisoning. Med Hypothesis. 2001;56:462-471. 

10. Bernard S, Enayati A, Roger H, et al. The role of mercury in the
pathogenesis of autism. Mol Psychiatry 2002;7:S42-S43. 

11. Stetler HC, Garbe PL, Dwyer DM, et al. Outbreaks of Group A
Streptococcal abscesses following Diphtheria-Tetanus-Toxoid-Pertussis
vaccination. Pediatrics. 1985;75:299-303. 

12. Gasset AR, Itoi M, Ishii Y, et al. Teratogenicities of opthalmic drugs.
Arch Ophthalmol. 1975;93:52-55. 

13. Slikker W. Developmental neurotoxicology of therapeutics: survey of
novel recent findings. Neurotoxicology. 2000;21:250. 

14. Bradstreet J, Geier DA, Kartzinel JJ, Adams JB, Geier MR. A case-
control study of mercury burden in children with autistic spectrum
disorders. J Am Phys Surg. 2003;8:76-79. 

15. Holmes AS, Blaxill MF, Haley BE. Reduced levels of mercury in first
baby haircuts of autistic children. Int J Toxic. 2003;22:277-285. 

16. Song J, Jang YY, Shin YK, et al. Inhibitory action of thimerosal, a
sulfhydryl oxidant, on sodium channels in rat sensory neurons. Brain Res.
2000;864:105-113. 

17. Brunner M, Albertini S, Wurgler FE. Effects of 10 known or suspected
spindle poisons in the in vitro procine brain tubulin assembly assay.
Mutagenesis. 1991;6:65-70. 

18. Baskin DS, Ngo H, Didenko VV. Thimerosal induces DNA breaks, caspase-3
activation, membrane damage, and cell death in cultured human neurons and
fibroblasts. Toxicol Sci. 2003;74:361-368. 

19. Waly M, Olteanu H, Banerjee R, et al. Activation of methionine synthase
by insulin-like growth factor-1 and dopamine: a target for
neurodevelopmental toxins and thimerosal. Mol Psychiatry. 2004 Jan 27. 

20. Tan M, Parkin JE. Route of decomposition of thiomersal (thimerosal).
Int J Pharmaceutics. 2000;208:23-34. 

21. Fagan DG, Pritchard JS, Clarkson TW, et al. Organ mercury levels in
infants with omphaloceles treated with organic mercurial antispetic. Arch
Dis Child. 1977;52:962-964. 

22. Zhang J. Clinical observations in ethyl mercury chloride poisoning. Am
J Ind Med. 1984;5:251-258. 

23. Ueha-Ishibashi T, Oyama Y, Nakao H, et al. Effect of thimerosal, a
preservative in vaccines, on intracellular Ca2+ concentration of rat
cerebellar neurons. Toxicology 2004;195:77-84. 

24. Report of an International Committee. Maximum allowable concentrations
of mercury compounds. Arch Environ Health. 1969;19:891-905. 

25. Ball LK, Ball R, Pratt RD. An assessment of thimerosal use in childhood
vaccines. Pediatrics. 2001;107:1147-1154. 

26. Miller VL, Klavano PA, Jerstad AC, et al. Absorption, distribution, and
excretion of ehtylmercuric chloride. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 1961;3:459-468. 

27. Brooks AGF, Bailey E, Snowden RT. Determination of methyl- and
ethylmercury in rat blood and tissue samples by capillary gas
chromatography with electron-capture detection. J Chromatography.
1986;384:289-296. 

Scientists in race to disprove one another 

FRASER NELSON 

IN THE so-called "mercury wars" being waged in the United States,
scientific studies are used as ammunition by both sides to seek to prove or
disprove that its use in vaccines is linked to autism. 

Two researchers, Dr Mark Geier and David Geier, have devoted much of their
careers to proving the hypothesis - that mercury in vaccines is linked to
autism. They believe the assertion may turn out to be greater than the
thalidomide scandal which hit Britain in the 1960s. 

While their work is supported by an army of scientists who claim the
mercury in vaccines was a reckless error, this is met by an opposite army
from the vaccine manufacturers facing a potential £30 billion lawsuit. 

Dr Geier is an expert in clinical genetics - his funding comes from his
work as a doctor in Maryland in the US. His son has helped him to assemble
an exhaustive library of evidence pointing to the risk in mercury. 

Dr Geier has acted as an expert witness to the National Injury Compensation
Programme in the US - acting on behalf of hundreds of parents now pursuing
Eli Lilly, which makes thimersoal, the mercury-based preservative once used
in US vaccines. 

Apart from being paid for appearances, neither Dr Geier nor Mr Geier has
any financial interest. They have become a two-man cottage industry -
pointing to the evidence which has for years drawn attention to the risks
of mercury in medicine. 

The issue has inflamed public opinion in the United States since 1999, when
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first recommended withdrawing
mercury from vaccines as a "precaution". 

Surprisingly, the UK government promised to do the same. Neither US or UK
authorities have admitted any liability - and have had trouble explaining
why mercury is being withdrawn from vaccines. 

The Institute of Medicine (IoM) considered the mercury issue in a report in
2001 - and confirmed that it has a "biologically plausible" link to autism
when it is used in preservatives for baby vaccines. 

But the IoM stressed that the link could neither be proved nor disproved. 

In Britain, the health authorities will only admit that the link cannot be
proven. The Department of Health does not acknowledge that the use of
mercury in medicine is a grey area. 

But the US has successfully withdrawn mercury from vaccines - so it can
afford to be frank. The UK is still buying mercury vaccines every year; it
has much to be circumspect about.