| |
Basic InformationMore InformationLatest NewsQuestions and AnswersBlog EntriesParents and Teenagers: Always Battling?Child Abuse PreventionBorrowing Babies: Great Practice or Exploitation of the Powerless?On Returning to School and Our NationEducation, Critical Thinking and Racial HatredSummer Vacation, Children and AdolescentsCheating vs. Values and Ethics: High School SportsTeenage Self InjuryHeath Ledger: Drugs Equal DeathAn Interview with Annie Fox, M.Ed. on Parenting 21st Century TeensUpdated Childhood Mental Disorders and IllnessesTopic CenterNew Child Development and Parenting Documents!Criminalizing Distrubed Young OffendersAn Interview with Tony Madrid Ph.D. on the Relationship between Broken Maternal-Infant Bonds and AsthmaAn Additional Comment About ADHD, It's Really RealAn Interview with Amy J. L. Baker, Ph.D. on Parental Alienation SyndromeADHD, It's Really RealChildhood Psychiatric Symptoms and AngerDrugs, Kids and Popular SongsA Combination of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy & Antidepressant Medication Works Best for Depressed AdolescentsTeenagers and Sleep, How to Help?What Made George Lose His Curiosity?An Interview with Joanie Gillispie Ph.D. on Cyber.Rules: What You Really Need to Know About the InternetOn the Importance of FathersSeparation Anxiety: A Normal Occurrence for Small ChildrenYoung Adolescence, Twelve to Fourteen Years OldAn Interview with John C. Fleming MD on Preventing AddictionsThe Empty Nest, Or Is It?Correlation: Siblings and Depression?Boys and Eating DisordersThe Politics of Divorce: When Children Become PawnsAn Interview with Anita Remig, Ed.D. on Child DevelopmentTeenagers, Their Brains are DifferentAn Interview with Jeff Bernstein, Ph.D. on Defiant ChildrenViolence and Trauma: Virginia Tech, April 16, 2007Helicopter ParentsThe Negative Consequences of Sexualization of GirlsThe Sexualization of Girls and the Development of Emotional ProblemsSeparation Anxiety DisorderRobert Kegan's Awesome Theory of Social MaturityGood News, Bad News: Drug Abuse NowNew Infant Safety/Enrichment Material Added To ParentingTeenagers and Suicide: What to Look forBeing Gay: A Life Style Choice?How We KnowNew Infant Development article posted todayThe brain's cortex matures faster in intelligent kidsWarning Signs VideosLinksBook Reviews100 Things Guys Need to Know3 NBS of Julian DrewA Guide to Asperger SyndromeA Tribe ApartA User Guide to the GF/CF Diet for Autism, Asperger Syndrome and AD/HDA Walk in the Rain With a BrainAdolescent DepressionAfterAggression and Antisocial Behavior in Children and AdolescentsAll Alone in the UniverseAmelia RulesAmericaAnother PlanetAntisocial Behavior in Children and AdolescentsArtemis FowlAssessment and Treatment of Childhood Problems, Second EditionAutistic Spectrum DisordersBad GirlBetween Two WorldsBeyond AppearanceBeyond Diversity DayBig Mouth & Ugly GirlBill HensonBipolar DisordersBody Image, Eating Disorders, and ObesityBody Image, Eating Disorders, and Obesity in YouthBoyBoysBrandedBreaking PointBreathing UnderwaterBringing Up ParentsBullying and TeasingCan't Eat, Won't EatCatalystChild and Adolescent Psychological DisordersChildren Changed by TraumaChildren with Emerald EyesChildren’s Dreaming and the Development of Consciousness City of OneConcise Guide to Child and Adolescent PsychiatryConquering the Beast WithinContentious IssuesCrackedCutDancing in My NuddypantsDemystifying the Autistic ExperienceDescartes' BabyDilemmas of DesireDirtyDoing ItDoing SchoolDying to Be ThinEating an ArtichokeEducating Children With AutismElijah's CupEllison the ElephantEmerald City BluesEmotional and Behavioral Problems of Young ChildrenEvery Girl Tells a StoryFast GirlsFeather BoyFiregirlForever YoungFreaks, Geeks and Asperger SyndromeFreewillGeography ClubGeorgia Under WaterGirl in the MirrorGirlfightingGirlsourceGirlWiseGLBTQGood GirlsGoodbye RuneGranny Torrelli Makes SoupGrowing Up GirlHandbook for BoysHealing ADDHeartbeatHelping Children Cope With Disasters and TerrorismHelping Parents, Youth, and Teachers Understand Medications for Behavioral and Emotional ProblemsHollow KidsHow Children Learn the Meanings of WordsHow to Keep Your Teenager Out of Trouble and What to Do If You Can'tHug MeIntrusive ParentingIt's Me!It's Perfectly NormalJake RileyJoey Pigza Swallowed the KeyJuvenile-Onset SchizophreniaKeeping the MoonKilling MonstersKim: Empty InsideKnocked Out by My Nunga-NungasLaura Numeroff's 10-Step Guide to Living with Your MonsterLearning About School ViolenceLeo the Lightning BugLet Kids Be KidsLiberation's ChildrenLife As We Know ItLisa, Bright and DarkLittle ChicagoLord of the FliesLoserLove and SexLove That DogManicMastering Anger and AggressionMind FieldsMiss American PieMom, Dad, I'm Gay.MonsterMore Than a LabelMyths of ChildhoodNew Hope for Children and Teens with Bipolar DisorderNo Two AlikeNot Much Just Chillin'Odd Girl OutOdd Girl Speaks OutOf Mice and MetaphorsOn the Frontier of AdulthoodOne Hot SecondOne in ThirteenOphelia SpeaksOphelia's MomOur Journey Through High Functioning Autism and Asperger SyndromeOut of the DustOvercoming School AnxietyParenting and the Child's WorldParenting Your Out-Of-Control TeenagerPediatric PsychopharmacologyPeriod PiecesPhobic and Anxiety Disorders in Children and AdolescentsPINSPraising Boys WellPraising Girls WellPretty in PunkPrincess in the SpotlightProblem Child or Quirky Kid?Psychotherapy As PraxisPsychotherapy for Children and AdolescentsRaising a Self-StarterRaising BlazeRaising Resilient ChildrenReclaiming Our ChildrenRedressing the EmperorReducing Adolescent RiskRethinking ADHDReweaving the Autistic TapestryRineke DijkstraRitalin is Not the Answer Action GuideRunning on RitalinSay YesSexual Teens, Sexual MediaShooterShort PeopleShould I Medicate My Child?Skin GameSmackSmashedStaying Connected to Your TeenagerStick FigureStoner & SpazStop Arguing with Your KidsStraight Talk about Your Child's Mental HealthStrong, Smart, & BoldStudent DepressionSurvival Strategies for Parenting Children with Bipolar DisorderSurviving OpheliaTaking Charge of ADHD, Revised EditionTaming the Troublesome ChildTargeting AutismTeaching Problems and the Problems of TeachingTeen Angst? NaaahThat SummerThe American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook Of Child And Adolescent PsychiatryThe Arctic IncidentThe Bipolar ChildThe Buffalo TreeThe Bully, the Bullied, and the BystanderThe Carnivorous CarnivalThe Depressed ChildThe Developing MindThe Dragons of AutismThe Dream BearerThe Dulcimer Boy The Einstein SyndromeThe EpidemicThe Eternity CubeThe Explosive ChildThe Field of the DogsThe First IdeaThe Identity TrapThe Inside Story on Teen GirlsThe Little TernThe Mean Girl MotiveThe Men They Will BecomeThe Myth of LazinessThe New Gay TeenagerThe Notebook GirlsThe Nurture AssumptionThe Opposite of InvisibleThe Order of the Poison OakThe Other ParentThe Present Moment in Psychotherapy and Everyday LifeThe Real Truth About Teens and SexThe Rise and Fall of the American TeenagerThe Secret Lives of GirlsThe Sex Lives of TeenagersThe Shared HeartThe Spider and the BeeThe StepsThe Thought that CountsThe Unhappy ChildThe Vile VillageThe Whole ChildThen Again, Maybe I Won'tTherapy with ChildrenThings I Have to Tell YouTouching Spirit BearTrauma in the Lives of ChildrenTreacherous LoveTrue BelieverTwistedUnhappy TeenagersWay to Be!We're Not MonstersWhat about the KidsWhat Would Joey Do?What's Happening to My Body? Book for BoysWhat's Happening to My Body? Book for GirlsWhen Nothing Matters AnymoreWhen Sex Goes to SchoolWhen Your Child Has an Eating DisorderWhere The Kissing Never StopsWhose America?Why Are You So Sad?WinnicottWorried All the TimeYes, Your Teen Is Crazy!You Hear MeYoung People and Mental HealthYour Child, Bully or Victim? |
| | |
Mercury Levels Not Abnormal in Autistic Children(HealthDay News)
by By Amanda GardnerHealthDay Reporter
Updated: Oct 19th 2009
MONDAY, Oct. 19 (HealthDay News) -- A new study finds no differences in blood mercury levels between children who are developing normally and those diagnosed with autism or autism spectrum disorders.
The findings, appearing online Oct. 19 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, may quell some of the debate surrounding mercury and autism.
The researchers did not, for instance, look at whether mercury might play a causal role in this group of developmental disorders.
"This is an excellent study that has addressed a very important question for many families about the role of mercury [in autism]," said Dr. Patricia Manning-Courtney, medical director of The Kelly O'Leary Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. "It's a very clear study [in] that no differences in mercury were seen. Is it going to put the questions to rest? I think no. It's another important contribution to the large body of knowledge on this topic, but I think it will still be an area of great controversy."
Previous studies have shown higher blood mercury levels in people with autism, but the results, along with the quality of the studies, have been inconsistent.
One of the biggest controversies claims that vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal, which contains mercury, might cause autism.
But thimerosal is no longer used routinely in children's vaccines and, earlier this year, a U.S. court ruled that there is no scientific evidence that childhood vaccines such as the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine caused autism in children of parents seeking compensation from a federal fund.
The authors of this study wanted to fill one gap in the research: a lack of good evidence comparing mercury levels in children with autism and children without autism.
The authors looked at 452 children aged 2 to 5, who either had autism/autism spectrum disorder, developmental delays other than autism (such as Down syndrome), or who were developing normally.
Blood samples were taken from the children while mothers answered questions about different possible exposures to mercury, such as diet, dental amalgams, thimerosal-containing vaccines and even personal-care products such as earwax removal systems and nasal sprays.
First results showed that children with autism actually had much lower levels of mercury in their blood, but this was explained by the fact that these children ate less fish.
When the results were adjusted for this and other variables, mercury levels came out about the same between the autism group and the control group.
"Not only do we not see differences, but the values are pretty close to national averages," said study author Irva Hertz-Picciotto, chief of environmental and occupational health and a faculty member at the MIND Institute at the University of California, Davis.
Overall, children with developmental delays other than autism had lower blood mercury concentrations.
Children who had mercury-based dental fillings who ground their teeth or chewed gum had blood concentrations of the metal. And those few children who had had a mercury-containing vaccine did not show elevations in their blood levels.
"The relationship between [mercury] intake to blood levels seems to follow the pattern that we expect and it's well known that most of the mercury in the body does come from fish consumption," Hertz-Picciotto said. "There really were very few children who had vaccines that would have or could have contained thimerosal."
Most of the children in the study had received vaccines after thimerosal was removed from vaccines, she said.
Mercury only has a half-life in the circulating blood of a few months, Hertz-Picciotto said, so "clearly this does not tell us anything causal because all of the mercury represents exposure that had happened post-diagnosis."
Sallie Bernard, executive director of SafeMinds (Sensible Action for Ending Mercury-Induced Neurological Disorders), expressed concern about confusing the findings with the interpretation of the findings.
"An interpretation says the study shows no link between mercury and autism, but that's not what the paper is saying," Bernard said. "It says they looked to see if [there] was higher exposure in kids with autism after they got their diagnosis. These are current exposures, not what might have happened at an earlier time point in pregnancy or in the first year of life, so you don't know what affect that might have had."
The study also does not go into whether certain children may be more susceptible to mercury's effects, she said.
More information
Learn more about autism spectrum disorders at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This article: Copyright © 2009 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved. |
