Evidence that thimerosal has caused the autism epidemic

I am the father of a 3 year old, recovering autistic son. We got the diagnosis at 18 months and in the time since I have dedicated myself to understanding this disorder and recovering my son from it.

I have learned that autism is really mercury poisoning. The epidemic we are seeing now is the result of the mercury preservative in vaccines. This is not to say that autism cannot occur in other ways. It can. But the explosion we are seeing today is directly linked to the increase in mercury given to our children in the early 90's. Genes do play a part but it would be impossible for it to be the only cause. There is no such thing as a "genetic epidemic." Genes don't change that fast. Some people have genes that make them susceptible to autism - they don't do as a good a job detoxing heavy metals like mercury.

The drug companies are aware of it. The FDA & CDC are too. They chose to cover it up. All of these statements can be proven. Thankfully there are some politician's that are not willing to let this coverup go on. Congressmen Dan Burton & Dave Weldon are heroically fighting for our cause. There is an excellent book coming out that will describe all of this in detail. It is called Evidence of Harm (www.evidenceofharm) by David Kirby. I had the priviledge of seeing a presentation by David Kirby last week and the evidence is staggering. I am posting my notes from David Kirby's presentation below. Then I will post a compilation of evidence compiled by another dad of an autistic son. My goal in doing all of this is to spread awareness. The drug companies responsible for this and the government agencies that let it happen are trying desperately to cover this up. This is a non-partisan issue that should not be covered up. Mercury is still in flu shots for children and rhogam shots for pregnant women. Adult vaccines contain it as well. The worst part is that because the drug companies cannot admit that mercury is causing this, they cannot use this knowledge in developing a cure.

I know this is tough to believe. I urge you to read all of the information I am presenting before you comment. Here is a post I made on a Yahoo group (ChelatingKids2) for parents of autistic children:

I strongly encourage everyone to hear this presentation. It was truly UNBELIEVABLE. If you, or someone you know, is on the fence regarding whether or not thimerisol has caused an autism epidemic I strongly advise you to see this presentation & read David's book when it becomes available. I know most of us on these lists already know that mercury in vaccines caused an autism epidemic. We've all seen individual posts highlighting a particular issue showing evidence to support this claim. But when you see a 60 page presentation that really covers the entire history it is quite different than anything we've ever seen before. The fact that David Kirby is an eloquent speaker who has spent years researching the issues and truly does present both sides makes this even more appealing - and shocking.

As I was listening to the presentation I couldn't help but view the key players at some of the drug companies, the FDA & CDC as criminals. These people either KNEW that they were poisoning our kids or they SHOULD HAVE KNOWN.

Lilly knew in the 1930's that thimerosal was toxic. Their employees that handled the product received tremendous warning of its toxicity and danger. We did not.

Mercury was known to cause the "Mad Hatter" & Pink Disease and was subsequently removed from these products. But it was not removed from vaccines. It's interesting to note that not everyone exposed to mercury filled teething rings developed Pink Disease. It was about 1 in 500 indicating that some had a genetic susceptibility to it. Sound familiar?

In the late 80's & early 90's MORE thimerosal was given to our kids. The amount of mercury our children were receiving was WAY ABOVE the safe limit as set forth by our government. But the FDA failed to do simple arithmatic and come to this conclusion. Merck did come to this conclusion in 1991 but FAILED TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. Just imagine what life would be like for us if Merck was only willing to spend a little more to produce non toxic vaccines.

The FDA was asked to determine if our children were receiving too much mercury in vaccines. So they looked at the 162.5 mcg of mercury received in the first 6 months of life and divided by 180 for the # of days in 6 months. This gave them an average of .9 mcg/day which is just above EPA limits but below FDA & CDC limits. So basically they summed it up as no big deal. But their logic is EXTREMELY flawed and they obviously knew this. Our kids received their mercury on 4 occasions, not spread over 180 days. The example David Kirby uses is great. It's safe to take 2 Tylenol's a day but it's NOT SAFE to take a whole container of Tylenol in one sitting.

Then Congress ordered the CDC to study the effect of thimerisol containing vaccines on autism in 1999. The first study, which of course was NEVER PUBLISHED, showed a relative risk of 7.6. A relative risk of 2 is considered proof of correlation in court. THIS WAS CLEAR EVIDENCE. But they repeated the study FOUR MORE TIMES until they were able to report that there was no risk. Thank god for the Freedom of Information Act. These people are on record indicating that there is a clear correlation and that they are having a hard time presenting the data in a way that produces the outcome they are looking for. One person even comments that he won't let HIS grandson get vaccinated after looking at this data. But after 5 data manipulations they had finally succeeded. They carefully selected the data they would study. They watered down the data by looking at kids in the first year of life which is way too early to ever receive a diagnosis. And they published this trash and said they would no longer look at thimerisol as a cause of autism.

They were hoping we would just go away. But that will never happen. There is so much more evidence that I haven't included in my rant (which is quickly becoming a novel in itself - sorry about that!). I can't wait for this book to come out and you'll be happy to know that David Kirby announced that it will be made into a movie.

Myth #15 The scientific standard for proof is a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. If you are so sure mercury causes autism, where is this study to prove it?

First, there is no double-blind, placebo-controlled study to show Thimerosal is safe. In order to do an effective double-blind, placebo-controlled study, you would need to vaccinate a group of children with Thimerosal-containing vaccines and vaccinate another group of children with Thimerosal-free vaccines using the current vaccine schedule, then follow their development over a 2-3 year period, and see which ones develop neurological issues and which do not. Obviously, this would be a challenging study to recruit children for, "Your child will be part of a study where they may receive a vaccine with a substance in it that many believe causes autism. Would you like to participate?" Given the impracticality of such a study, here are some alternative studies that could be done:

1. You could analyze the data the government maintains through its "Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System" and compare the data they already have on children who received Thimerosal-containing vaccines against children who did not receive Thimerosal in their vaccines. This study has already been done by Mark & David Geier and showed a high correlation between Thimerosal dosing and neurological disorders:

Thimerosal in Childhood Vaccines, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, and Heart Disease in the United States Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons Mark Geier, M.D., Ph.D., David A. Geier Spring 2003

2. You could compare the symptoms of mercury poisoning and the symptoms of autism and see how similar they are. This study has already been done and demonstrated that the symptoms of autism and the symptoms of mercury poisoning are exactly the same:

Autism: a Novel Form of Mercury Poisoning Medical Hypothesis 2001 Sally Bernard, et. al December 2000

3. You could administer a chelating agent to remove heavy metals, including mercury, to a group of autistic children and to a group of neurotypical children and measure the amount of mercury coming out of the children to see if there are any differences. This study has already been done by Jeff Bradstreet et.al. and showed that autistic children excrete significantly more mercury than neurotypical children:

A Case-Control Study of Mercury Burden in Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, Volume 8, Number 3 Jeff Bradstreet, M.D., David Geier, B.A., Jerold Kartzinel, M.D., James Adams, Ph.D., Mark Geier, M.D., Ph.D. Summer 2003

4. You could inject a group of mice with Thimerosal in doses that proportionally mimic the timing and amount received according to the recommended vaccination schedule and compare these mice to a control group for neurological development. This study has already been done by Mady Hornig et al. and showed that a subset of mice with genetic detoxification impairments who received Thimerosal injections developed "autistic symptoms":

Neurotoxic Effects of Postnatal Thimerosal are Mouse Strain Dependent Molecular Psychiatry Dr. Mady Hornig, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons May 2004

5. You could compare the first baby haircuts of autistic children versus neurotypical children to see if there are any differences in the patterns of heavy metal excretion (hair is one of the ways the body excretes metals). This study has already been done and showed that autistic children demonstrated an impaired ability to excrete metals from birth:

Reduced Levels of Mercury in First Baby Haircuts of Autistic Children International Journal of Toxicology Dr. Amy S. Holmes, Mark F. Blaxill, Boyd E. Haley, Ph.D. March 14, 2003

6. You could run a trial of 31 autistic children where you chelated patients over the course of twelve months and had parents videotape their children and test urine and fecal samples for toxic metals every other month. You could then compare the children's progress and symptoms from the beginning to the end of treatment. This study was done by Dr. Rashid Buttar and he made the following statement before Congress:

Autism, the Misdiagnosis of our Future Generations Testimony, U.S. Congressional Sub-Committee Hearing Rashid A. Buttar, DO, Vice Chairman, American Board of Clinical Metal Toxicology May 6, 2004

"The Autism study consisted of 31 patients with the diagnoses of autism, autism like spectrum, and pervasive developmental delay. Inclusion criteria was simple, including an independent diagnosis of the above mentioned conditions from either a neurologist or pediatrician, and the desire of the parent to try the treatment protocol using TD-DMPS. All patients were enrolled sequentially as they presented to the clinic and only those who did not wish to participate in the TD-DMPS were not included. All 31 patients were tested for metal toxicity using four different tests: urine metal toxicity and essential minerals, hair metal toxicity and essential minerals, RBC metal toxicity, and fecal metal toxicity, all obtained from Doctor's Data Laboratory. These tests were performed at baseline, and repeated at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 8 months, 10 months, 12 months, and then every 4 months there after. All 31 patients showed little or no level of mercury on the initial baseline test results. Slide #37 shows an example of a baseline test result of one participant in the study showing very little mercury. Compared to the baseline results all 31 patients showed significantly higher levels of mercury as treatment continued. Slide #39 shows significantly higher mercury levels in this same study patient after two months of treatment with the TD-DMPS, with results showing approximately a 350% increase from previous baseline levels. The improvements in the patients in the study correlated with increased yield in measured mercury levels upon subsequent testing. Essentially, what was noted was that as more mercury was eliminated, the more noticeable the clinical improvements and the more dramatic the change in the patient. The manifestations of this evidence for clinical improvements included many observations but were specifically quantifiable with some patients who had no prior history of speech starting to speak at the age of 6 or 7, sometimes in full sentences. Patients also exhibited substantially improved behavior, reduction and eventual cessation of all stemming behavior, return of full eye contact, and rapid potty training, sometimes in children that were 5 or 6 but had never been successfully potty trained. Additional findings reported by parents included improvement and increase in rate of physical growth increased, as well as the child beginning to follow instructions, becoming affectionate and social with siblings or other children, seeking interaction with others, appropriate in response, and a rapid acceleration of verbal skills. The results in many of these children has been documented on video and other physicians involved with this protocol have been successfully able to reproduce the same results.

Mercury is the "spark" that causes the "fires" of Autism as well as Alzheimer's. Autism is the result of high mercury exposure early in life versus Alzheimer's is a chronic accumulation of mercury over a life time. A doctor can treat ALL the "fires" but until the "spark" is removed, there is minimal hope of complete recovery with most improvements being transient at best. However, once the process of mercury removal has been effectively started, the damage is curtailed and full recovery becomes possible..."

7. You could remove the mercury from some autistic children and not remove mercury from other autistic children and see if there was any difference in cognitive improvement over time. This is what hundreds of doctors and thousands of parents are doing every day throughout the country right now and seeing their children recover.

Myth #16 The scientific and medical communities have proven there is no correlation between Thimerosal in vaccines and autism

The argument that "there is no proof" or that "they proved there was no connection" is often made by the mainstream press and many spokespeople in the medical and regulatory community regarding the link between mercury and autism. It is important for any parent to view these statements critically and understand what is actually supporting these claims. The only science that claims to refute the connection is epidemiological science. What this means is that the science claiming to establish proof of no connection is based on statistical analysis of population data comparing vaccine data to data regarding neurological disorders. There have never been any medical studies done to establish "no proof" in the way many studies have been done in Myth #15. No analysis of Thimerosal toxicity, no safety testing of mercury, no placebo-controlled studies following children for five years after receiving mercury injections. Nothing.

Further, the actual epidemiological science that is held up of "proof" of no connection is both paltry and controversial. The totality of the "scientific evidence" demonstrating no connection is three clusters of recently released information from the medical and scientific community. Namely:

- A CDC study that appeared in Pediatrics in November of 2003 is the primary study held up as "proof" of no connection between Thimerosal and autism. This is astonishing in light of the fact that both the study itself and the author of the study said that their analysis was "inconclusive" and more research was required. The study that forms the basis for the assertion of "proof" admits it did not prove anything! Also, Pediatrics represented that the author of the study was an employee of the CDC when in fact he had become an employee of Glaxo SmithKline, a vaccine manufacturer. (See Myth #17)

- Four studies from Denmark appearing in four separate medical journals in 2002-2003 asserting that Denmark's data, where Thimerosal was removed from vaccines in 1992, demonstrates no link between Thimerosal and autism. Not only has the methodology of the "Denmark Studies" been refuted, but also it was later established that the authors of all 4 studies have an economic interest in and/or are employees of a Danish vaccine manufacturer who had recently received a big order from the United States for Thimerosal-containing vaccines. The journals did not mention this association in any of the reports. (See Myth #18)

- A study by the Institute of Medicine released in March 2004 that claimed there was no link between Thimerosal and autism. The IOM did not do any primary research, they simply reviewed the research that had already been done, focusing mostly on the aforementioned CDC and Danish studies as the basis for their conclusion. (See Myth #19)

Myth #17 The CDC did a study and proved there was no link between mercury in vaccines and autism.

In the November 2003 a study appeared in the medical journal Pediatrics titled, "Safety of Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines: A Two- Phased Study of Computerized Health Maintenance Organization Databases" written by Thomas Verstraeten who had been an employee of the Center For Disease Control. By the time the study was published, he was an employee of Glaxo SmithKline, a vaccine manufacturer. It is this study, more than any other, which has formed the basis for the mainstream medical community to claim that the link between vaccines and autism has been disproven. This study is also routinely cited in the mainstream press on the autism/mercury topic as the "proof" of no connection. Here are the facts:

1. The study itself was wholly inconclusive. It never states anywhere in the study that there is no link between Thimerosal and neurodevelopmental issues. In fact, the study specifically states:

"The biological plausibility of the small doses of ethylmercury present in vaccines leading to increased risks of neurodevlopmental disorders is uncertain...For elucidating further whether a causal association exists between thimerosal exposure and nuerodevelopmental conditions, additional studies with different designs will be needed."

2. The study's own author, Thomas Verstraeten, confirmed that the study was completely inconclusive. In a letter to Pediatrics five months after the publication of the study, he writes:

"I am the first author of a recent article on a study undertaken by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to screen for a potential link between thimerosal-containing vaccines and neurodevelopmental delays. The article has been subject to heavy criticism from antivaccine lobbyists...Because I was responsible for nearly all aspects of this study, including study design, data gathering, data analysis, and writing of the article, I wish to give my opinion on these claims... Surprisingly, however, the study is being

interpreted now as negative [where `negative' implies no association was shown between Thimerosal and autism] by many, including the antivaccine lobbyists. The article does not state that we found evidence against an association, as a negative study would. It does state, on the contrary, that additional study is recommended, which is the conclusion to which a neutral study must come. Does a neutral outcome reduce the value of a study? It may make it less attractive to publishers and certainly to the press, but it in no way diminishes its scientific and public health merit. A neutral study carries a very distinct message: the investigators could neither confirm nor exclude an association, and therefore more study is required."

3. There is compelling evidence that the initial analysis by the CDC provided for a pronounced, positive correlation between exposure to Thimerosal and a wide range of neurodevelopmental issues but that data was manipulated out of the study over time to produce a neutral, inconclusive result. Here is Dr. Mark Geier discussing the study:

"this very study was the topic of secret-closed meetings between members of the CDC and other government organizations, as well as members of the vaccine manufacturers held at Simpsonwood, Georgia from 7-8 June 2000. The transcript of this meeting has been obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. This transcript reveals that the study initially found statistically significant dose-response effects between increasing doses of mercury from thimerosal- containing childhood vaccines and various types of neurodevelopmental disorders. The transcript documents that the data was real and statistically significant for many types of neurodevelopmental disorders, but that the meeting participants expressed that the data had to be `handled.' Despite, discussion about how to `handle' the data, some participants expressed concern that the work that had already been done would be obtained by others through the Freedom of Information Act. In this event, even if professional bodies expressed the opinion that there was no association between thimerosal and neurodevelopmental disorders, it was already too late to do anything. In addition, other participants expressed that the vaccine manufacturers were in a horrible position to be able to defend any lawsuits alleging a relationship between thimerosal and neurodevelopmental disorders, since no one would say with the available data that there was no relationship between thimerosal and neurodevelopmental disorders."

The transcript of "Simpsonwood", if read in its entirety, is surprising in its clarity and in the explicit planning by the participants over how to "handle" the information to the outside world. One of the expert panelists, William Weild, MD, commented during Simpsonwood:

"The number of dose related relationships [thimerosal to neurological issues] are linear and statistically significant. You can play with this all you want. They are linear. They are statistically significant."

After the Simpsonwood meeting, the study's author, Thomas Vertraeten, stated to his superiors:

"I do not wish to be the advocate of the anti-vaccine lobby and sound like being convinced that thimerosal is or was harmful, but at least I feel we should use our sound scientific argumentation and not let out standards be dictated by our desire to disprove an unpleasant theory."

Some of the many documents that support the view that the initial findings of the CDC showed a high correlation between exposure to Thimerosal and a wide range of neurodevelopmental issues that were later manipulated out of the study include:

1. Analysis and Critique of the CDC's Handling of the Thimerosal Exposure Assessment Based on the Vaccine Safety Datalink Information Safe Minds October 2003

This 46-page presentation provides a detailed analysis of the mainupalitive methodology involved in removing the correlation between thimerosal and autism that the CDC data originally showed.

2. Study Misses Link Between Thimerosal and Neurodevlopmental Disorders Letter to the Editor of Pediatrics Dr. Mark Geier February 23, 2004

Dr. Geier's letter to Pediatrics provides a helpful overview of the flaws in the CDC's methodology and approach.

3. The Truth Behind the Vaccine Cover-up www.russellblaylockmd.com Russell L. Blaylock, M.D. September 4, 2004

This extensive review of the Simpsonwood transcript is juxtaposed with Dr. Balylock's expertise in nuerology to explain the transcript's contents and put them in appropriate context.

4. Immunization Safety Review Letter to the Institute of Medicine written by Safe Minds

This letter to the Institute of Medicine written by SafeMinds highlights some of the more egregious quotes from Simpsonwood.

1. Internal Email From Thomas Verstraeten of the CDC Noting the Thimerosal/Autism Link in the Data "Won't Go Away" Internal Email Correspondence at the CDC December 17, 1999

Thomas Verstareten's email, prior to the Simpsonwood meeting, laments that in his analysis the relationship between Thimerosal and a wide range of neurodevelopmental issues just "won't go away."

2. Scientific Review Of Vaccine Safety Datalink Information Simpsonwood Retreat Center June 7-8 2000

This is the actual "Simpsonwood Transcript" that SafeMinds obtained with a Freedom Of Information Act lawsuit. At 286 pages, it takes some time to get through. Russell Blaylock's report (#3 above) is a great way to capture the highlights of this transcript.

Myth #18 Denmark, which removed Thimerosal from vaccines in the early 1990s, did a study and proved there was no link between mercury in vaccines and autism.

This myth often implies that the government of Denmark was responsible for a study of Thimerosal and autism, which is not accurate. In rapid succession, four studies from Denmark were released in four separate medical journals, all purporting to disprove the thimerosal-vaccine-autism connection in some way. Specifically, The New England Journal of Medicine published in 2002, "A Population-based study of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination and autism"; The American Journal of Preventative Medicine published in 2003, "Autism and thimerosal: lack of consistent evidence for an association"; Pediatrics published in 2003, "Thimerosal and the occurance of autism: negative ecological evidence from Danish population-based data"; and, The Journal of the American Medical Association published in 2003, "Association between thimerosal-containing vaccine and autism."

Soon after the studies were published, SafeMinds revealed that most of the Danish researchers behind all four of the studies were employees of a Danish manufacturer of vaccines, Statens Serum Institut. None of the reports noted this conflict of interest. Mothering magazine reported on SafeMind's response to one of the Danish studies (from the Journal of the American Medical Association):

"Safe Minds released an analysis of the autism registry data from Denmark that showed the rate of autism dropped sharply after removal of thimerosal from infant vaccines in that country in 1992. Their findings showed the rate of autism declined from an incidence of 1 in 500 prior to 1992 to 1 in 1,500 today. The analysis also uncovered a flaw in the methodology of Danish investigators publishing in the October issue of JAMA (Hviid et al), who utilized the same Danish registry data and concluded that autism rates in Denmark rose after thimerosal removal from vaccines. "In our review of the Danish data we identified a flaw which resulted in a substantial loss of autism case records from the registry which essentially renders the findings from the JAMA study by Hviid and colleagues invalid", said Sallie Bernard, executive director of Safe Minds. "The registry allows 10- 25% of diagnosed autism cases to be lost from its records each year. The effect of this loss is such that the records will disappear from older age groups to a much greater degree than from younger age groups in any given registry year." The Hviid findings are based on finding fewer older children in their 2000 registry cohort than younger ones. Since the older children received thimerosal vaccines and the younger ones did not, Hviid falsely concluded that thimerosal is not a factor in autism. The Safe Minds analysis shows instead that the decline is likely due to the loss of records of older children from the registry records, rather than a true decline in autism rates in the older group. Safe Minds reanalyzed the Denmark registry data and used an alternative method to avoid the record removal bias. The analysis looked at same-age children - 5-9 year olds - but from different registry years: 1992, when all of the children received thimerosal- containing vaccines, and 2002, when none of the children received vaccines with thimerosal. After adjusting for the lack of outpatient records in the 1992 registry, the analysis found a 2.3 higher number of autism cases among the 1992 thimerosal-exposed group relative to the 2002 non-exposed group. The analysis then determined an autism incidence rate for the non- thimerosal group of 1 in 1,500, while the thimerosal-exposed group had an incidence of 1 in 500, a 3-fold increase. The higher figure is comparable to the 1 in 500 incidence level for core autism recently found in England and the 1 in 250 incidence level recently calculated for the US. The thimerosal exposure level and timing in pre-1992 Denmark was comparable to that in England, while that for the US was somewhat more aggressive. "In the Hviid study in JAMA we can clearly see how the data was misinterpreted so a conclusion could be drawn to clear thimerosal from any role in autism," said Lyn Redwood, president of Safe Minds. "This misinterpretation is not surprising given the authors' employment with the manufacturer and promoter of vaccines in Denmark, Statens Serum Institut. This conflict of interest should have been stated by JAMA." Safe Minds is calling for a complete analysis of the Denmark autism registry data set by independent, unbiased epidemiologists who have no involvement in vaccine development, production, promotion, or administration." Some documents that refute the various Denmark studies include:

This overview traces the association between all the Danish researchers to a single Danish vaccine company, Statens Serum Institut.

2. MMR and Autism In Perspective: The Denmark Story Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, Volume 9, Number 3 Carol Stott, Ph.D., Mark Blaxill, Dr. Andrew Wakefield Fall 2004

These peer-reviewed analysis demonstrates that Denmark's autism rates rose after the introduction of the MMR vaccine.

3. Analysis of the Danish Autism Registry Data Base in Response to the Hviid et al Paper on Thimerosal in JAMA (October, 2003) SafeMinds Sallie Bernard October 2003

This paper specifically refutes the Danish study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

4. Danish Thimerosal-Autism study in Pediatrics: Misleading and Uninformative on Autism-Mercury Link SafeMinds Mark Blaxill September 2, 2003

Myth #19 The IOM did a study and proved there was no link between mercury in vaccines and autism.

In May 2004, the Institute of Medicine released a 216-page report titled Immunization Safety Review: Vaccines and Autism and concluded that there did not appear to be a causal link between Thimerosal and the autism epidemic. Much of their conclusion was based on the aforementioned CDC and Danish studies. There was no primary research done - this is a critical point. The IOM's conclusion was largely based on the studies discussed in Myth 18 & 19 above that are both subject The report opens with some statements that make a reader wonder if any bias is present in the minds of the authors of the study.

Soon after the report's release, Congressmen Burton and Weldon and Congresswoman Watson held a joint press conference. An excerpt from Mothering magazine on the press conference: "Unfortunately, I believe the findings announced in the May 18th IOM report are heavily biased, and unrepresentative of all the available scientific and medical research," stated Chairman Burton. "I think it is highly irresponsible for the IOM Immunization Safety Review Committee to purport definitive findings to the American public, which are based on selective scientific studies that are greatly flawed to begin with." Congresswoman Watson stated, "Just because there is not a preponderance of scientific proof, does not mean that we should discontinue investigations into the effects of mercury containing thimerosal. Unbiased researchers are continuing to produce results that challenge the IOM findings." The Congresswoman further noted that, "The IOM did not make the statement that mercury injected into the body is helpful. Mercury is mercury, and it is a neuro-toxic substance (among other bad things) - name one beneficial use in the human body." Said Congressman Weldon, "The IOM report is premature, perhaps perilously reliant on epidemiology, based on preliminary incomplete information, and may ultimately be repudiated. This report will not deter me from my commitment to seeing that this is fully investigated, nor will it put to rest the concerns of parents who believe their children were harmed by mercury-containing vaccines or the MMR vaccine." The recently released IOM report is the eighth and final in a series designed to examine the safety of vaccines that contain the mercury- based preservative, thimerosal. In their latest report, the IOM Committee concludes, "The body of epidemiological evidence favors the rejection of a causal relationship between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism." This statement represents a significant change from the Committee's finding in their 2001 report, which called such a causal relationship, "biologically plausible." The Committee based its final conclusions on their review of approximately 10 previously conducted epidemiological studies. Of those roughly 10 studies, 5 reported probable links between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism, yet those 5 were summarily dismissed because the Committee determined the manner in which they were conducted was flawed."