Autism Street

What’s that you say Brah? The vaccines can cause autism? There’s a jam up, ya? You’re tripping, right?

Whoa Bradda, not so fast, there’s more, or maybe less to that science, ya?

It’s a pretty well-kept secret, but there’s a little side alley on autism street that leads right down to the beach. It’s great because it’s a quiet little piece of sand. There’s a little grass shack, with a couple of trees for shade, and it’s pretty out-of-the-way. Since it’s not overcrowded with tourists, anyone (kama`aina, or haole) is actually welcome to come just hang, and chit chat about the haps - even politics. Ho’olu komo la kaua.

Science in an online Busines and Government news source, and a quick change of opinion.

Dr. Richard Deth, a professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Bouve College of Health Sciences at Northeastern University, recently wrote an open letter to the Governor of Hawaii that was published online at the Hawaii Reporter website. The Deth letter is interesting to me for three reasons:

• It appears to contain a claim that there is strong evidence linking Thimerosal to autism.
• It’s an awfully quick change from his recent statement to Kathleen Seidel (just a little over 3 months ago) in which he apparently believed that available scientific evidence did not make a Thimerosal-autism link “near certain”, but would within 18-24 months. Now granted, a little over 90 days is within 18-24 months, but why the quick apparent change in confidence?
• It clearly encourages Governor Lingle to sign legislation that looks effectively like a ban on mercury in vaccines (except in trace amounts), apparently without disclosing his role in the Autism Omnibus proceedings in the United States Court of Federal Claims.

In Dr. Richard Deth’s open letter to Governor Lingle he writes:

Let me state unequivocally that there is strong scientific evidence linking Thimerosal to autism, so taking steps to remove it from vaccines is a true “no-brainer”.

That’s interesting, because just 3 short months ago, Dr. Deth stated the following:

However, I would like to make a virtual wager that within the next 18-24 months scientific evidence will make the Thimerosal-autism link a near certainty.

This quote is in an e-mail correspondence from Dr. Deth to Kathleen Seidel on March 22, 2006. You can read this correspondence at the Neurodiversity Weblog by clicking on this link.

It’s pretty clear that Dr. Deth acknowledged only 3 months ago, that available scientific evidence did not make the Thimerosal-autism link a “near certainty” at all, since he speculated that this would happen within 18-24 months into the future. His speculating that it would happen, clearly implies that this had not happened yet, in his opinion. So the question is, what groundbreaking, peer-reviewed, published research has become available in just 3 short months that now makes him confident in stating that there is strong evidence linking Thimerosal to autism to the Governor of Hawaii?

It certainly doesn’t appear to be his published research, or the research about oxidative stress and glutathione he likely refers to (from 2004 and 2005). In fact, research as current as published just this past Monday, continues to show that there is no convincing evidence linking Thimerosal or the MMR vaccine to autism or autism spectrum disorders (also referred to as pervasive developmental disorders).

The findings ruled out an association between pervasive developmental disorder and either high levels of ethylmercury exposure comparable with those experienced in the United States in the 1990s or 1- or 2-dose measles-mumps-rubella vaccinations.

Source: Pediatrics. 2006 Jul;118(1):e139-e150.

Deth’s appears to attempt to establish some sort of link through complex sounding science, but it seems transparent, and to me, really more along the lines of a hypothesis. After a description of some of his research and apparently some of Dr. Jill James (although he doesn’t cite the research, so I can’t be sure) he writes:

Thus the toxic metabolic actions of Thimerosal are paralleled in clinical studies of autistic children.

He was smart to write, “paralleled in”, because “paralleled in” is not the same as, “linked to”. Furthermore, the studies do not appear to provide scientific evidence of anything about causation of autism at all. He goes on to describe some more of his research as well as state the following:

Furthermore, metabolic therapies that help restore methylation have been able to improve the clinical symptoms of many autistic children, strongly indicating that this metabolic dysfunction plays a central role. 

I’m not sure which research he is referring to with this statement, but I would be inclined to doubt that it is the work of Jill James, whose 2004 research, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition had the following in its conclusion:

Although clinical improvements in speech and cognition were noted by the attending physician (PC), they were not measured in a quantifiable manner and are therefore not reported here.

Here’s my layman’s summary of Deth’s apparent hypothesis:

Thimerosal could theoretically cause oxidative stress*
Some studies of children with autism suggest a presence of oxidative stress**
Therefore, Thimerosal causes autism

*Thimerosal, at vaccine levels, has not been shown to induce oxidative stress in any animal studies that I am aware of. Furthermore, Deth’s work with methionine synthase inhibition with Thimerosal at vaccine levels is irrelevant if it isn’t proven that the enzyme is impaired in children with autism spectrum disorders, and that such impairment is not genetic in origin.

**1 small observational study that does not show anything about causation or mention mercury, and one in vitro study that shows nothing about causation, and apparently used very high concentrations (considerably above vaccine levels) of Thimerosal.

Using Deth’s apparent pattern of logic and similar levels of scientific support, one could also conclude the following:

Fruit juice can cause diarrhea
Some children with autism have chronic diarrhea
Therefore fruit juice causes autism

With the exception of some flu vaccines, routine childhood vaccinations are already Thimerosal-free or contain only trace (insignificant) amounts in the U.S. I certainly don’t oppose the conversion of the very few remaining Thimerosal-containing vaccines to a Thimerosal-free formula as part of a reasonable plan, and I don’t think anyone would.

What Dr. Deth did not disclose in his open letter to the Governor (as it appeared online) is that he is listed as a petitioners’ expert witness in major vaccine litigation. See: Autism Omnibus proceeding in the United States Court of Federal Claims. http://www.uscfc.uscourts.gov/OSM/OSMAutism.htm

Perhaps in light of an overwhelming lack of peer-reviewed, published, scientific research that shows any link or support for the Thimerosal-Autism hypothesis, state-level bans on Thimerosal might just be the only evidence supporters of this hypothesis could hope to bring to court.

For further reading:
Deth, RC
Mol Psychiatry. 2004 Apr;9(4):358-70.
Mol Psychiatry. 2004 Jul;9(7):644; author reply 645

Note: Make sure to read article comments and the author reply, where the Holmes baby haircut study is cited as evidence that autistic children have a significantly impaired capacity to clear mercury.

James, SJ
Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Dec;80(6):1611-7.
Neurotoxicology. 2005 Jan;26(1):1-8

Other analysis and comment:
Blogger Not Mercury on Deth’s research
Blogger Not Mercury and Blogger Autism Diva on the James research.
 

Update: 11 July 2006

SB 2133 was one of many bills receiving a VETO in Hawaii’s legislative session. You can read Governor Lingle’s statement of objection to SB2133 here. 

Notably it included the following:

This bill is objectionable because it restricts the use of FDA-approved vaccines for no scientifically sound reason.

and

This bill ignores the body of current scientific evidence on thimerosal-containing vaccines.