Toxicants

Aluminum / Autism Biomarkers / Glial Cells / Inflammation / Lipids / Mercury / Mitochondria / Neuroinflammation / Oxidative Stress / Thimerosal / Toxicants

Biomarkers in Autism

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are complex, heterogeneous disorders caused by an interaction between genetic vulnerability and environmental factors. In an effort to better target the underlying roots of ASD for diagnosis and treatment, efforts to identify reliable biomarkers in genetics, neuroimaging, gene expression, and measures of the body’s metabolism are growing. For this article, we review the published studies of potential biomarkers in autism and conclude that while there is increasing promise of finding biomarkers that can help us target treatment, there are none with enough evidence to support routine clinical use unless medical illness is suspected. Promising biomarkers include those for mitochondrial function, oxidative stress, and immune function. Genetic clusters are also suggesting the potential for useful biomarkers.

Excerpt: “A recent review assessed the research on physiological abnormalities associated with ASD (44). The authors identified four main mechanisms that have been increasingly studied during the past decade: immunologic/inflammation, oxidative stress, environmental toxicants, and mitochondrial abnormalities. In addition, there is accumulating research on the lipid, GI systems, microglial activation, and the microbiome, and how these can also contribute to generating biomarkers associated with ASD (45, 46).

Pathways are interconnected with a defect in one likely leading to dysfunction in others. Many metabolic disorders can lead to endpoints such as impaired methylation, sulfuration, and detoxification pathways and nutritional deficiencies. Mitochondrial dysfunction, environmental risk factors, metabolic imbalances, and genetic susceptibility can all lead to oxidative stress (47), which in turn leads to inflammation, damaged cell membranes, autoimmunity (48), impaired methylation (49), cell death (48), and neurological deficits (50). The brain is highly vulnerable to oxidative stress (51), particularly in children (52) during the early part of development (47). As environmental events and metabolic imbalances affect oxidative stress and methylation, they also can affect the expression of genes.”

More
  • August 12, 2014
20 Papers / Adjuvant / Aluminum / Autoimmunity / Genes / Immune / Review / Toxicants

Etiology of autism spectrum disorders: Genes, environment, or both?

Conclusion
There is now sufficient evidence from both human and animal studies showing that cumulative exposure to aluminium adjuvants is not as benign as previously assumed. Given that vaccines are the only medical intervention that we attempt to deliver to every living human on earth and that by far the largest target population for vaccination are healthy children, a better appreciation and understanding of vaccine adjuvant risks appears warranted.

More
  • June 10, 2014
Males / Mercury / Thimerosal / Toxicants

Transcriptomic analyses of neurotoxic effects in mouse brain after intermittent neonatal administration of thimerosal

Excerpt:
“Intriguingly, the elevation of anterior pituitary secreting hormones occurred exclusively in male but not in female thimerosal-treated mice, demonstrating for the first time the gender bias of thimerosal-mercury toxicity with regard to endocrine system. Our results indicate that higher dose of neonatal thimerosal-mercury (20× higher than that used in human) is capable of inducing long-lasting substantial dysregulation of neurodevelopment, synaptic function, and endocrine system, which could be the causal involvements of autistic-like behavior in mice.”

More
  • March 27, 2014
Aluminum / Arsenic / Cadmium / Genes / Mercury / Review / Toxicants / Zinc

Assessment of infantile mineral imbalances in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).

Excerpt:
“These findings suggest that infantile zinc- and magnesium-deficiency and/or toxic metal burdens may be critical and induce epigenetic alterations in the genes and genetic regulation mechanisms of neurodevelopment in the autistic children, and demonstrate that a time factor “infantile window” is also critical for neurodevelopment and probably for therapy. Thus, early metallomics analysis may lead to early screening/estimation and treatment/prevention for the autistic neurodevelopment disorders.”

More
  • November 11, 2013
Acetaminophen / CDC / Genes / Review / Toxicants / Vaccine Schedule

Can Awareness of Medical Pathophysiology in Autism Lead to Primary Care Autism Prevention Strategies

Abstract

Emerging research suggests that the timing of environmental factors in the presence of genetic predispositions has influenced the increase in autism spectrum disorders over the past several decades. A review of the medical literature suggests that autism may be impacted by environmental toxicants, breastfeeding duration, gut flora composition, nutritional status, acetaminophen use, vaccine practices and use of antibiotics and/or frequency of infections. The author reports her retrospective clinical research in a general pediatric practice (Advocates for Children), which shows a modest trend toward lower prevalence of autism than her previous pediatric practice or recent CDC data. Out of 294 general pediatrics patients followed since 2005 there were zero new cases of autism (p value 0.014). Given the prevalence of autism for that cohort of 1 in 50 children in the United States, it is important to consider implementing strategies in primary care practice that could potentially modify environmental factors or affect the timing of environmental triggers contributing to autism.

More
  • July 30, 2013
Adjuvant / Aluminum / Autoimmunity / Immune / Toxicants

Aluminum in the central nervous system (CNS): toxicity in humans and animals, vaccine adjuvants, and autoimmunity

Excerpt:
“In young children, a highly significant correlation exists between the number of pediatric aluminum-adjuvanted vaccines administered and the rate of autism spectrum disorders. Many of the features of aluminum-induced neurotoxicity may arise, in part, from autoimmune reactions, as part of the ASIA syndrome.”

More
  • April 23, 2013
Adjuvant / Aluminum / Autoimmunity / Blood brain barrier / Glial Cells / Immune / Toxicants

Slow CCL2-dependent translocation of biopersistent particles from muscle to brain

Excerpts:
“Intramuscular injection of alum-containing vaccine was associated with the appearance of aluminum deposits in distant organs, such as spleen and brain where they were still detected one year after injection.”

“Cerebral translocation was not observed after direct intravenous injection, but significantly increased in mice with chronically altered blood-brain-barrier.”

Conclusion
Nanomaterials can be transported by monocyte-lineage cells to DLNs, blood and spleen, and, similarly to HIV, may use CCL2-dependent mechanisms to penetrate the brain. This occurs at a very low rate in normal conditions explaining good overall tolerance of alum despite its strong neurotoxic potential. However, continuously escalating doses of this poorly biodegradable adjuvant in the population may become insidiously unsafe, especially in the case of overimmunization or immature/altered blood brain barrier or high constitutive CCL-2 production.

More
  • April 4, 2013
20 Papers / Acetaminophen / Adjuvant / Aluminum / CDC / Fever / Glutathione / Immune / Measles / Mercury / MMR / Review / Toxicants / Vaccine adverse events

Empirical Data Confirm Autism Symptoms Related to Aluminum and Acetaminophen Exposure

Excerpt:
“We propose that children with the autism diagnosis are especially vulnerable to toxic metals such as aluminum and mercury due to insufficient serum sulfate and glutathione. A strong correlation between autism and the MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) vaccine is also observed, which may be partially explained via an increased sensitivity to acetaminophen administered to control fever.”

More
  • November 7, 2012

Archives

Email:
Admin at How Do Vaccines Cause Autism dot org

How Do Vaccines Cause Autism