Look Them in the Eyes -- Is Color Change a Clue to Mercury in Autism?
By Teresa Conrick
Megan, my daughter born in 1993, came into the world with beautiful BLUE eyes. In the picture here, right before her 5th birthday, you can see just how blue they were. Megan had been diagnosed with autism in 1995 and LOSING EYE CONTACT was the first step into the darkness of this disease/disorder back then. That may have been a clue.
As the years have gone by, Megan's eye color has changed into a brownish green, as shown in the other photo, taken last year. It was not an abrupt change but more gradual. In my last post about mercury and the eye issues of autism HERE, I focused on the vision/ocular issues of autism, like strabismus and visual field constriction, that mercury could cause. Now I want to take a look at the research that might help illustrate what may have happened to cause my daughter's eye color to change.
I had these two photos on Facebook and many people commented and shared that their child with an autism diagnosis also has vision and ocular issues. I wanted to post them here with more detail to get a better sense of the extent of mercury and issues with the eye - including autism. The "symptom" of eye color change is maybe another key, a possible visual, so to speak, into the canaries of the epidemic. The eye issues of autism do seem to correlate with known damage to the eye by mercury:
A CLINICAL PATHOLOGIC STUDY OF MERCURIALENTIS MEDICAMENTOSUS
"MERCURIALENTIS WAS FIRST BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION BY DR WALTER ATKINSON in 1942. At the annual meeting of this Society, he reported the slit lamp observation of a "brownish colored reflex" on the anterior capsule of the lens in 36 of 70 persons who were working with mercury in the manufacture of thermometers.....In addition to thermometer workers, it has been found amongst direct-current meter repairers, in the felt hat industry, and in workers exposed to the mercury-zinc amalgams of batteries......We wish to report the deposition of a pigment on the anterior capsule of the lens in 31 patients who had used a number of topical medications, each containing a mercurial preservative....Since 1965, 31 patients have been noted to have pigmentation of varying color and intensity in the pupillary portion of the anterior capsule of the lens....The pigmentation of the lens was observed as early as three years after the commencement of the topical medication in two patients, and as late as 15 years in another......"
"......We have estimated that more than 500 patients under our care have used mercury-containing eye drops two to four times a day for periods of more than six years. Of these, only 31 patients were found to have lens pigmentation and only two of these had corneal deposits. This represents roughly, a 6% incidence of observed pigmentation. Why there is so much variation as to the time of appearance of pigmentation in patients and why the deposition occurs in some patients and apparently not at all in others, is difficult to explain."
Risk management for hazardous chemicals, Volume 7 "Mercury accumulates in the body with each exposure ....... Repeated exposure from inhalation, absorption, or both can cause central nervous system effects"... and in that lengthy list of effects ....... "visual disturbances and changes in eye lens color" ..... "Repeated exposures may also cause reduced peripheral vision and brown staining of the eye."
"Mercury - chronic exposure:
Eyes - grey or brown lens discolouration, band shaped corneal
opacities......."Chronic exposure usually occurs from inorganic mercury salt ingestion, inhalation of industrial or agricultural vapours or exposure to mercurial fungicides in paint. Mercury vapour exposure to the eyes can cause conjunctivitis and eyelid tremor.... "Chronic exposure may lead to grey or brown lens discolouration or band keratopathy."
Effects of mercury intoxication on the response of horizontal cells of the retina of thraira fish (Hoplias malabaricus)
"The visual system is an important target of mercury intoxication. Investigation of the neuro-ophthalmological aspects of the mercury intoxication that caused Minamata disease started with the measurement of the visual field performed by Iwata and Abe......The effects of mercury intoxication on the retinae of vertebrates are still little known. In studies on the squirrel monkey, mercury vapor inhaled by the mother accumulated in several tissues of the neonate's retina - the optic nerve, the inner plexiform layer and the ganglion cells, - and was also concentrated in the pigment epithelium and in blood vessel walls. It has also been observed that mercury accumulates in the rod photoreceptor cells of the monkey retina."
Uveal Melanocytes, Ocular Pigment Epithelium, and Müller Cells in Culture: In Vitro Toxicology
"Uveal melanocytes and the ocular pigment epithelium are located in the middle and inner layers of the eye. Müller cells (a type of glial cell) are located in the neural retina. Melanocytes, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), and Müller cells do not participate directly in the detection or transfer of visual information, but they have various functions that support the neural retina and are essential for the maintenance of vision.....Toxic effects on these cells may give rise to altered retinal function and result in impaired vision. Both melanocytes and pigment epithelium contain melanin, which has the ability to bind organic amines and metal ions. This results in the accumulation of these substances in the eye. Melanin may protect cells from chemical stress by binding toxic chemicals; but in chronic exposure, increased and lengthy binding may cause damage to these cells."
Another team of researchers who recently tackled the issue of both methyl and ethyl mercury compounds (thimerosal) and their effects on the eye, discovered new and disturbing information. Their study HERE, which I also discussed in my last post on autism and vision issues, started with this:
"Strikingly, the greatest accumulation of methyl and ethyl mercury compounds was highly localized in the rapidly dividing lens epithelium," and showed that both types of mercury could cause damage to the eye - "We observe highly preferential accumulation of Hg in the outer layer of the eye lens...a level more than four times higher than in other tissues examined .... the highest Hg at the periphery of the eye lens, were observed in tissues from larvae treated with another organomercury (C–Hg) thimerosal."
They then compare the zebrafish lens of the eye to the rings of a tree, where you can ascertain information over the years - and that information may reveal quite a bit:
"Thus, Hg is concentrated at the periphery of the eye lens, which consists of the mitotically active lens epithelial cells. Throughout lens growth the epithelial cells continually divide and subsequently move inwards... High S content in the eye lens originates from the proteins (crystallins) rich in −SH groups and glutathione molecules present mainly in the lens epithelium. The fiber cells in the zebrafish lens core are arranged in concentric shells and thus the lens cross-section reveals the oldest tissue in the centre and the youngest at the outer rim. Due to the unique morphology and stability of the lens over the life of an organism, it has been suggested that the lens could potentially offer a historical record of Hg exposures affecting a fish through its lifetime...... The mechanism responsible for the preferential uptake of organic Hg in the eye lens epithelium is not known at present. However, since the overall development and morphology of the adult zebrafish lens is similar to that of other vertebrates, it may be hypothesized that a similar mechanism is also responsible for the accumulation of organic Hg in the mammalian eye."
Well, that is very interesting. If so, could some of the children with an autism diagnosis have more visible eye issues including color change to the eye lens? Could environmental mercury and more specifically, thimerosal, cause ocular and visual disturbances? Many researchers, including these, seem to think so:
Human Retinal Pigment Epithelium
"It is likely that melanosomes may continue binding metal ions throughout the life of an individual, ultimately reaching a concentration that is demonstrable."
Are the fair and susceptible canaries to the epidemic of autism revealing something about the internal progression to autism -- is it "ultimately reaching a concentration that is demonstrable," to lose eye contact, peek out of the corner of the eyes, spin objects, stare at ceiling fans, lose peripheral vision, have visual field constriction, develop eye color change and strabismus? When will those government and private organizations like CDC, NIH, NIEHS, IACC and Autism Speaks, with millions upon millions of dollars, investigate why this could be a sign of something ominous? Why are their researchers NEVER EXAMINING the PHYSICAL and MEDICAL issues of the children who have an autism diagnosis but instead COUNT bodies affected or hunt for du jour GENES that pay well in huge grants? Neither is helping the children or parents in the trenches of autism.
If mechanisms to environmental injuries can be stopped and existing ones treated then these investigations could HELP my daughter and so many others already affected and PROTECT others from harm. The authors of the Localizing organomercury uptake and accumulation in zebrafish larvae at the tissue and cellular level,above, HERE had a goal for their research-- " to have broad applications in vertebrate molecular toxicology including testing of new chelation therapy drugs."
Mercury accumulation in the squirrel monkey eye after mercury vapour exposure
"Mapping of the mercury distribution in the eye revealed that the non-myelin-containing portion of the optic disc was densely loaded with mercury deposits, which are mostly confined to the capillary walls and the glial columns....This finding indicates that mercury is trapped within the melanocytes, which keeps potentially dangerous material from reaching the neural retina. In addition, the retinal capillary walls were densely loaded with mercury deposits, even 3 years after exposure. It was also found that the inner layers of the retina accumulated mercury during a 3-year period. It is known that the biological half-time of mercury in the brain may exceed years. This seems also to be the case for the ocular tissue."
Are the eyes of autism possibly revealing a very big truth about a mechanism of injury?
--
Teresa Conrick is a Contributing Editor of Age of Autism.
I really don't understand all of this but my eyes changed from Blue to Hazel Green overnight in kindergarten and I developed strabismus as a child. What's that mean?
Posted by: Jamie | October 12, 2018 at 11:17 AM
I wonder how else color can change in eyes!I know blue eyes are pretty sensitive to sunlight, so I've been looking at getting color-changing prescription sunglasses in Framingham, MA to protect my eyes.
Posted by: Aryastark | April 01, 2013 at 08:30 PM
can anyone tell me if the color of the iris can change from brown to blue with brain damage?
Posted by: jan mcelroy | March 20, 2011 at 05:22 PM
John;
I always like to know at least a theory on why a diet would work.
So, I had to think what would make Raw veggis and other undercooked food work?
Because of the same reason whole grains are good for you, the same reason low glycemic diet is good, the same reason the low carb diet it good, the same reason that the no glutein, no cassien diet works (other than not allergic to these proteins, because these foods also contain a lot of carbs) - The digestive system has to work hard to get the carbs broken down in raw food, thus carbs are slowly absorbs through the gut, and much passes out of the body before it is used -
----and (All) of us are having trouble breaking down and using long chain carbs with our mitochondrial cytopathy.
Lot's of ways to skin a cat, that was interesting!
Posted by: Benedetta | December 18, 2010 at 11:32 AM
Eye colour change due to healthier diet:
I have several RVAF-eating friends whose iris color has shifted significantly and noticeably toward blue after eating RVAF for a year. In one case, the irises of a female friend with brown eyes appeared to have shifted largely to green, with a bit of blue, in about three to five months while on an RVAF diet.
My own eyes shifted quite radically in a very short period of time, from all brown to partially blue/green, in the late 1980's, as a result of some esoteric energy healing techniques which I was practicing, as well as a rather clean (but not yet Paleo) cooked diet along with intake of very large quantities of raw seaweed and "prehistoric colloidal minerals from ancient lake bed deposits", which contain about 81 different elements.
The shift to blue color of my irises noted above was so noticeable that strangers noticed that my eyes seemed blue even across a crowded lecture room while I was in acupuncture school in the early 1990's.
My eye color shifts have been so severe that at one time (early 1990's) the motor vehicles department in my then-state of residence (Pennsylvania, while I was in graduate school), at renewal of my drive's license, changed my eye color from "brown" to "blue". The state in which I now live has stopped recording eye color on driver's licenses (probably because the space aliens are changing everyone's iris colo.... oops, never mind....).
My friends claim to have noticed that my own eyes have shifted even further -- albeit rather slowly and gradually -- towards blue since I started an RVAF diet in early 2000. Paradoxically, my friends have noticed that the shift to blue seems to have speeded up when I abandoned 100% raw RVAF about 9 months ago and went instead to about 85% RVAF with the remaining 15% being cooked Paleo foods (meats, fish, veggies, etc.)
Aajonus Vonderplanitz, founder of the Primal Diet (an RVAF diet) has stated many times that his friend and Primal Diet client Lori experienced a massive iris color shift from all-brown to all-blue in the three years while he worked with her, all due to her RVAF diet.
I have met a number of alternative health practitioners, mostly naturopaths, but also one MD/DO who ran an alternative cancer clinic in Mexico which employed radical methods of "bowel cleansing", who have claimed to have seen massive shifts in iris color from brown to blue in certain chronic disease patients as they "cleansed" or "detoxified" via natural healing methods....a number of practitioners/teachers of raw vegan diet systems claim to have seen massive shifts in iris color from brown to blue in themselves or in friends or family members after having ingested a raw vegan diet for at least a half-year. Vinny Pinto http://rawpaleodiet.vpinf.com/iris-color-change-1.html
Posted by: john | December 18, 2010 at 08:57 AM
CancerMom- I'm not familiar with your "name" - are you new here?
Not sure what you mean by "The coloration you are showing is not on the anterior capsule of the lens". - here is the definition/location-
anterior (A)
[antir′ē·ər]
Etymology: L, ante + prior, foremost
1 the front of a structure.
2 pertaining to a surface or part situated toward the front or facing forward.
Then your other sentence-
"It also required close inspection to see"...
The picture can be brought to a 240 magnification if you click 1x then again when you open a separate window.
Again, not sure what you are attempting to say, though it sure seems you are trying to find some flaw in this research and if this is the best that you have ..... well.....if you are a cancer researcher or survivor, then one would think toxins would be something you would be wanting to eliminate and not debating anonymously ..
Posted by: Teresa Conrick | December 14, 2010 at 05:44 PM
"on the anterior capsule of the lens"
The coloration you are showing is not on the anterior capsule of the lens. It also required close inspection to see.
Posted by: CancerMom | December 14, 2010 at 03:36 PM
Eureka! Found the link to the MSNBC clip(s). Who can deny her eye and facial findings? This is mercury poisoning.
http://www.nbc.com/news-sports/msnbc-video/fda-reviews-safety-of-mercury-dental-fillings/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/40612570#40612570
Freya Koss is the patient with mercury poisoning...almost certainly related to her mercury amalgam dentistry. I wonder what her vaccination status was? How much did the mercury in her vaccines contribute? How much did the aluminum in her vaccines contribute? How much did the combination of aluminum and mercury in her vaccine schedule contribute?
http://www.mercurypoisoned.com/news/carol_and_freya_help_kiddie_kollege_kids.html
http://www.toxicteeth.org/ourTeam_People.cfm?n=Freya
http://mercurytalk.com/Stories/FreyaKoss/index.html
http://www.vaccinetruth.org/posion_in_your_mouth.htm
Posted by: patrons99 | December 13, 2010 at 11:09 AM
Teresa - for your next post in your elegant series on the eye findings supporting the autism vaccine linkage, please consider the following links to various articles of Moulden’s. I just saw a short news clip on NBC over the weekend which had a VERY dramatic before and after amalgam removal facial photos of a mercury poisoning victim. The FDA is evidentally going to be revisiting the subject of mercury amalgam dentistry. It’s hit the mainstream media. This is a window of opportunity. Btw - I tried to find a link to the NBC clip and I can’t find it. We’ve got to locate it. The before and after amalgam removal picture is literally worth a thousand words!
http://911thinktank.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/andrew-moulden-slide103.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeUeBomkM18&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmwia334aT4&NR=1
http://newsblaze.com/story/20080927170755tsop.nb/topstory.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_3_Nv-iSd4
“Vaccine in Children Causing Brain Damage” by Benjamin Zeller on June 18, 2009.
http://www.thenhf.com/article.php?id=1930
http://holyhormones.com/vaccinations/vaccine-used-in-children-causing-brain-damage/
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=111422386074
“Vaccines used on children causing brain damage proven.2"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sDUeCv4DiA
“Vaccine ued in children causing brain damage?”
http://www2.wptv.com/dpp/news/local_news/Vaccine-used-in-children-causing-brain-damage
Posted by: patrons99 | December 13, 2010 at 09:11 AM
Tereasa Conrick; Thanks for sharing this information about Kawasakis with me.
Jen in TX - yes one more thing that might be messing up the mitochondria. Acetaminophen is a known mitochondrial inhibitor. It too could play a role in a vaccine adverse reaction.
We have some good guesses, and it is time that some people that are drawing big bucks off the tax payer earns their salary and find out what is going on.
Posted by: Benedetta | December 12, 2010 at 01:56 PM
Hey guys, this is new:
"Acetaminophen Induces Apoptosis in Rat Cortical Neurons"
http://tinyurl.com/27f83tr
"Our experiments show that AAP, a drug that is widely used (more than 70% of the population in western countries has taken at least once AAP and a relevant percentage takes the drug chronically) as a mild pain reliever and antithermic [3], has direct neurotoxic effects on rat brain neurons both in vitro and in vivo."
Posted by: Jen in TX | December 12, 2010 at 11:21 AM
Thanks Benedetta for your timeline of adverse effects. I am so sorry your family has had to endure this for so long without appropriate answers and medical help.
I just wanted to point out that Kawasaki's Disease has had some significant overlap in the topic of my post - mercury:
Curr Med Chem. 2008;15(28):3000-10.
Kawasaki's disease, acrodynia, and mercury.
Mutter J, Yeter D.
Department of Environmental and Complementary Medicine, Salusmed Medical Center, Wieslistrasse 34, CH - 8267 Berlingen, Switzerland.
Abstract
A superantigen or autoimmunity has been hypothesized to be the main cause of the Kawasaki's Disease but the etiology is unknown. Medical literature, epidemiological findings, and some case reports have suggested that mercury may play a pathogenic role. Several patients with Kawasaki's Disease have presented with elevated urine mercury levels compared to matched controls. Most symptoms and diagnostic criteria which are seen in children with acrodynia, known to be caused by mercury, are similar to those seen in Kawasaki's Disease. Genetic depletion of glutathione S-transferase , a susceptibility marker for Kawasaki's Disease, is known to be also a risk factor for acrodynia and may also increase susceptibility to mercury . Coinciding with the largest increase (1985-1990) of thimerosal (49.6% ethyl mercury) in vaccines, routinely given to infants in the U.S. by 6 months of age (from 75microg to 187.5microg), the rates of Kawasaki's Disease increased ten times, and, later (1985-1997), by 20 times. Since 1990 88 cases of patients developing Kawasaki's Disease some days after vaccination have been reported to the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) including 19% manifesting symptoms the same day. The presented pathogenetic model may lead to new preventive- and therapeutic strategies for Kawasaki's disease.
Posted by: Teresa Conrick | December 12, 2010 at 10:15 AM
Blake;
Vaccines;
The first DPT vaccine my son had caused a heart murmur, the second caused him to spike a temperature and pass out, and the third caused him to have a stroke.
The first 3 DPT vaccine my duaghter had caused her to spike a temperature, the fourth caused her to have Kawasakis - that is vasculitis and involves the heart. The fifth DPT shot(because I was too stupid to catch on) caused her to spike a temperature of 106 and passed out, gasping for breath!
After years of taking tetanus shots with no problems, my husband took one at work at age 28, he passed out at home, and seized all night. He was fine untill he stepped on a nail and had another one at age 34. After several years he ended up down at Emory Clinic were he was dignosed with an acquired mitochondrial cytopathy. I now think the tetanus shot was actually the DPT shot! Because just recently I was hurt by a horse and after some stitches told the doctor I was refusing the tetanus shot. He told me that the tetanus shot that they claimed they were giving was actually the DPT shot! But if I would take it he promised it would be tetanus shot only. I told him to clean it out good, he did and let it bleed a lot too - I did not get the shot.
Mitochondrial cytopathy (energy power house of the cell - or methyalation) will bother your eyes too. I would say that Tereasa Conrick would agree with that too.
The question is: What is messiing up the function of the mitochondria? Is it a virus? Is it something in the vaccine that is messing up the immune system - so the body cannot fight off the virus like it is suppose too, or is it some type of heavy metal like mercury or even the aluminium salts that is causing over stimulation of the the immune system and our own immune system is interferring with the mitochondria, or on and on and on.
THe question still remains what is messing up the mitochondria?
There is also a lot of gut pain, severe legaches, joint stiffness, muscle stiffness, extreme tiredness, lots of sinus infections, that go along with this too! As well as sometimes seizures, muscle weakness, low L-carnitine rates, sometimes heart involvment and on and on and on. It is a mult- system disease.
As far as herd immunity - since when did the human race- (A true American) or if you are a Christian (that is what I am and I can not speak of what other religions believe) but when did people just accept that a few people must pay with their lives, their health, their happiness for the existence of the rest of the human race with out the rest of the human race putting up a fight?
Posted by: Benedetta | December 12, 2010 at 08:42 AM
Mrs. Conrick,
I can certainly relate to the OCD symptoms your daughter is experiencing. I never really heard much about the physical symptoms of autism. It was always presented to me as something purely psychiatric.
Looking at the FDA's stats, it looked like they already largely phased out the use of thiomersal. I only see it in a couple childhood ones and the flu ones (and there's even a thiomersal-free one for the flu). When did they do this, and what happened to the overall autism rates since then?
As for the health risks, these diseases the vaccines are designed to prevent (diphtheria, hepatitis, tetanus, H1N1) could be deadly. I guess I could talk about how it's a trade off, but that seems kind of pointless, as the obvious optimal solution is to have the protection against the disease and no adverse effects with it. It just seems like the common sense choice to not use mercury in a product being injected into people. Why shouldn't use of thiomersal be phased out, regardless of whether or not it causes autism?
The only issue that remains here is the present: the choice parents are faced with now. The possibility of injury may or may not be there, but, as a species, it seems disadvantageous to not vaccinate. Some indivduals (such as the immunocompromised or people allergic to eggs) cannot be vaccinated due to some other medical condition; but that wouldn't be a problem because of herd immunity. Herd immunity is where enough people are vaccinated to shrink the pool of possible hosts for a virus enough to prevent an epidemic. If that herd immunity is compromised by enough people opting out, it seems like the safety of the community as a whole is in jeopardy.
As a completely objective outside observer, the logical choice would probably seem to favor the good of the community, but I would think the choice is much harder from a parent's point of view, who only wants what's best for their child.
...
Sorry about the off-topic rant.
I actually have visual problems of my own, but I think it's just classic myopia. My opthamologist hasn't told me about any mercury deposits, though (I guess that doesn't mean there aren't any).
Posted by: Blake | December 11, 2010 at 07:13 PM
Blake-
I appreciate your honest answer now. If any psychologist told me I was "defective", I'd be out of there. Autism is not being defective. I tell my daughter all the time how beautiful and smart she is BUT she is so ill and I tell her even more how I am going to get her better along with all of the doctors, researchers and therapies.
I wish I could see more of her personality but it is masked by pain and behaviors out of her control. I think it is great that you are able to feel so good about who you are but please don't dismiss our children who struggle with using a toilet, the GI issues associated with that, seizures, or the severe ocd/tics/perseverative behaviors and the bacterial/viral issues that can be associated with them.
As far as your question - "What if the mercury isn't from the vaccines? What if it's from something else? -- that Blake is for the researchers to examine in a laboratory. There is plenty of evidence just from the visual of the children and the corresponding studies down on mercury exposure and the eye (including thimerosal). I think I gave you the wrong link to the other piece- http://www.ageofautism.com/2010/10/fish-eyes-mercury-and-autism.html
I think the better question than the one you presented is -- what if it IS from the mercury in the vaccines?
It is still being used today, Blake as I am sure you are learning in your class. Shouldn't this be a warning sign of a very possible injury?
Posted by: Teresa Conrick | December 11, 2010 at 02:02 PM
Blake, I am not angry with you. You are at least engaged that is a plus.
But as was said here by Tereas Conrick and WILLIE, and as always so much better than I could have said it that illness is not part of a person's personality!
Posted by: Benedetta | December 11, 2010 at 12:24 PM
Ms. Conrick,
I actually looked up thimerosal (I'm a pretty bad speller) on the internet and it was spelled "thiomersal" on wikipedia.
As for your research, it seems compelling. However, there's still one question I have. What if the mercury isn't from the vaccines? What if it's from something else?
I apologize for offending people with anything I said. As a person with an ASD, I'm just tired of being told by psychologists about how defective I am. Given the content of the article, it was inappropriate.
Posted by: Blake | December 11, 2010 at 11:45 AM
Blake-
So you're doing a little research on your own, so to speak, for your class? We actually spell it "thimerosal" here in the states. Are you from the UK?
Actually, Blake, there has been very little research on the actual eye and autism. My research may be the first to have investigated color change and if you read my last piece here, http://www.ageofautism.com/a-welcome-from-dan-olmste.html, you would see that there is plenty of evidence of injury. I am presenting these facts and studies here to examine the possibility of a connection to autism, and many parents report the same in their child. That's beyond a hypothesis and so my goal is that Autism Speaks, for example, will then do an actual research study on this hypothesis.
As far as your comments regarding "epidemic", I don't think you have enough knowledge on this topic. Sitting in a class just learning about vaccines hardly makes you an expert. Please take the time to read the research that indicates that we are at 1:110 children being diagnosed with a lifelong disability in many cases.
Your comment to Benedetta has nothing to do with "immunology" and everything to do with trying to dismiss the parents. Autism is at epidemic levels. My daughter's eyes may be an indication of an internal state that many would say is "diseased" -- her grand mal seizures that have begun at age 17, show there is a progression. She has a lovely personality but she can not talk, has pain and inflammation which causes biting, has chronic GI issues, and in many ways is the toddler that she was when she regressed into a diagnosis of autism. It's possible that her eyes are the window to how affected she is. She and so many others deserve investigations into how they are so ill and what can be done to relieve their pain and connected disabling behaviors.
Your statement here is your opinion and is inaccurate, inappropriate and you really ought to apologize.
"My point is that autism isn't a "shell" or something that's imprisoning an otherwise "normal" person; it's a part of that person's personality."
Posted by: Teresa Conrick | December 11, 2010 at 11:12 AM
VACCINES CAUSE AUTISM
This was a well written piece that suggest that eye color can be affected by the increasing presence of mercury, or other companion toxins as a result of the inability to detoxify through the methylation pathway. Autistic children do have a methylation problem that is why so many respond to vit b12 shots and chelation.
The thimerosal presence is obviously bad but clearly does not tell the entire story. The biochemical pathway has been disrupted and viruses and retroviruses are strongly implicated as the pathway disrupter.
As far as embracing the loss of a biological function goes you are kidding right? If you lost the ability to urinate normally and someone told you to embrace it as a normal variant you would be satisfied with that and not try to regain your normally bodily function?
Most sane people do not embrace an iatrogenic immunological disease and its physical and mental manifestations, including tantrums seizures, ear and gut complications including constipation, inability to learn or remember read or speak emotional disconnection social isolation and possible institutionalization to suffer more abuse at the hands of unsupervised workers paid minimum wage.
No we do not accept or embrace allowing our children to be made ill.
Sara you are correct about the need for a genetic review and you should start with your own. Typically there is no dominant allele for light blue eyes and the parents with light blue eyes typically give birth to children with light blue eyes for this reason. The point of this article was that these children have non genetic eye color variation as a result of mercury deposits and other heavy metals in the susceptible ocular tissues preferentially and this is a clue to the disease pathogenesis and another measure of the child’s illness and response to detoxification and it makes sense scientifically.
With regard to eye color in general. Although eye color is usually modeled as a simple, Mendelian trait, further research and observation has indicated that eye color does not follow the classical paths of inheritance. Eye color phenotypes demonstrate both epistasis and incomplete dominance. Although there are about 16 different genes responsible for eye color, it is mostly attributed to two adjacent genes on chromosome 15, hect domain and RCC1-like domain-containing protein 2 (HERC2) and ocular albinism (that is, oculocutaneous albinism II (OCA2)). An intron in HERC2 contains the promoter region for OCA2, affecting its expression. Therefore, single-nucleotide polymorphisms in either of these two genes have a large role in the eye color of an individual. Furthermore, with all genetic expression, aberration also occurs. Some individuals may express two phenotypes-one in each eye-or a complete lack of pigmentation, ocular albinism. In addition, the evolutionary and population roles of the different expressions are significant.
Who could forget the beautiful violet eyes on the stunning Elizabeth Taylor? This is not one of the colors described in any eye chart spectrum and is clearly an example of incomplete dominance and or penentrance
DO NOT VACCINATE ANY CHILD EVER
VACCINES CAUSE AUTISM.
Posted by: WILLIE | December 11, 2010 at 05:11 AM
Benedetta,
I'm sorry about your son's troubles, but please do not be angry with me.
My point is that autism isn't a "shell" or something that's imprisoning an otherwise "normal" person; it's a part of that person's personality. It's just a little disheartening to see that large part labeled as a disease needing to be cured.
Posted by: Blake | December 11, 2010 at 12:59 AM
Mrs. Conrick,
Thanks for the swift reply.
I'm looking at the letter from Mr. Olmsted and I again see things like "epidemic," which I've only seen associated with things like SARS or diabetes.
I'm actually in an immunology class and we just discussed vaccines. I was doing a little research about the thiomersal controversy and stumbled across this article.
I apologize if I missed this in the article, but is there a link between eye problems/changes and autism? While the mercury could very well have changed the physiological structure of the eyes, does that necessarily indicate that it's involved in autism?
Posted by: Blake | December 11, 2010 at 12:43 AM
difference to be embraced?
My 24 year old son along with his autism has epilepsy.
1 out of 6 with autism do have epilepsy in case you did not know.
My son went in for a blood test this past Tuesday, the first in five years because he has autism I guess and no one gives a damn. The doctor called back today and said his liver enzymes were high and she wants him to come in again this coming Tuesday and get retested.
Sound like anything that should be embraced?
I just have this feeling of doom and gloom, I can't shake off. Hardly a feeling that goes along with Christmas spirit, how about that for embracing????
Today, I went instead of my son to meet with the psychologist at the vocational rehabiltation office to hear her discuss his IQ. I got to hear that she does not believe he has Aspergers but PDD-NOS because Aspergers has no cognitive problems at all. Oh let us embrace low average IQs and low cognitive understanding in both speech and math.
The Pyschologist also lets me have it - that my son is not slow but also sick. And when he is sick I need to stop pushing him and be more understanding. (I sent him last time to her sick - because he became sick at the last minute and she has to drive a long way to meet with us. Thus it was really to late to call her and cancell the meeting.) Something to really embrace there now isn't it?
Oh, and last Tuesday while my son got his blood test, I left him for a little while there to wait while I drove to his lawyer's office to pick up all his records. Because we tried for SSI for the past four years and were refused. So, no job, no health insurance, no income, no future oh let us embrace that for sure.
Embrace Blake????
This is a typical week for the last 23 years, every since he reacted to his DPT shot. I'd embrace it if I things would settle down and we just go along without a crisis, because one crisis after another is really not human nature to embrace.
Posted by: Benedetta | December 10, 2010 at 11:54 PM
Hi Blake,
This may be your first time here so it may be helpful for you to read a Welcome letter from Dan Olmsted, Editor.
http://www.ageofautism.com/a-welcome-from-dan-olmste.html
You may have noticed that I also included both words -- disease and disorder -- in describing autism in my daughter. What did you think of her eye color change and possible connection to mercury toxicity? Is that what brought you to the website?
Posted by: Teresa Conrick | December 10, 2010 at 11:12 PM
(This doesn't have much to do with the article, but this got my attention anyway)
I'm a little disconcerted at the some of the things on the sidebars like "Defeat Autism" and "Autism is Treatable" and how autism is treated like a disease. Why is it treated as something pathological instead of a difference to be embraced?
Posted by: Blake | December 10, 2010 at 10:55 PM
Teresa, I find this post so interesting because in the last two weeks I've come to the conclusion that eye color is a clue in our family's own health issues. I have been looking at the role iodine plays. Some of the symptoms my son has made me start looking into thyroid which led me to investigate iodine deficiency. I was surprised that with all of the research I've done on biomedical treatment, I haven't read more on iodine deficiency. I found articles linking it to ADHD and reports of lower iodine levels in children with autism.
I had my thyroid tested years ago when I first developed a number of symptoms - results were normal, yet I had all of the symptoms of hypothyroidism (except the weight gain - but I had developed allergies to so many foods that I was on a very restricted diet). I tested high for mercury as did two of my boys (the other didn't chelate mercury but very, very high lead). I began supplementing iodine for all of us (very conservatively for the boys) and had some interesting changes. My candida symptoms went away (could this be part of my long struggle with candida yeast - iodine deficiency - if iodine is effective at killing yeast then this link makes sense). My hair is coming in it's natural color again - the grays showed up before the age of 30. And I've noticed a change in our eye color. Mine look more clear blue where I used to have a little more variation - a more noticeable ring in the center of brown/yellow. My husband and I both have blue eyes - my three boys were all born with blue eyes, but two of them were a darker blue and they changed to a green with a brown ring in the center. I have noticed a change in their eyes as well - my blue eyed boy's have become more clear looking, and the other two appear to have less brown in the center. Their eyes look more green now than hazel/green.
And in thinking about my own family growing up - myself and two siblings have blue eyes had no learning problems, were athletic, coordinated, no allergies, etc.), while my one sister (with hazel brown eyes) had learning problems, poor coordination, social difficulties, and major allergies. I have to find out if she was born with that eye color or did they change? If flouride, chlorine, bromide, mercury, etc. displaces iodine - is it creating iodine deficiency? (Or is a lack of iodine hindering metal excretion?) Since iodine is an effective anti-bacterial/anti-fungal, does a lack of it lead to chronic bacterial/fungal infections? Does iodine status play a role in vaccine tolerance? We also had Vitamin D deficiency. Is it a perfect storm? I appreciate your research Teresa.
Posted by: Kara | December 09, 2010 at 09:57 PM
Hi Donna L.
Thanks -Yes,interesting but did not have an indication of prior exposure to mercury. Since I knew Megan had increasing amounts via her vaccinations in 1993 and 1994, I used studies looking specifically at mercury exposure and the effects on the eye.
The 16 subjects also were random - where I was looking at 1 subject, my daughter, who has a diagnosis of autism.
Thanks again.
Posted by: Teresa Conrick | December 09, 2010 at 07:27 PM
Teresa,
Not sure if you already found this article - also very interesting:
http://www.ibcmt.com/2006-11-22-Heavy_Metal_Concentrations_In_Human_Eyes.pdf
I should add that we saw my son's eye color go back to blue only after he excreted significant amounts of lead and cadmium. We have yet to get out all the mercury (born in 1999 and fully vaxxed with mercury to the max).
Posted by: Donna L. | December 09, 2010 at 05:49 PM
@sarah,
I wonder if your comment is more evidence of the "new normal?" Did we assume blue-eyed parents only produced blue-eyed offspring because that was the general observation of the time, and now we are seeing enough exceptions to that belief that we are assuming "genetics are a lot more complex than this?"
I grew up assuming it was normal for eyes to change some as you reached adulthood. My mom said her eyes became more hazel. Mine changed from blue to greenish/hazel, but I've noticed that my eye color is variable over time.
Now I'm wondering if the genetics for eye-color are possibly fairly simple, but that the environment is much more influential on eye-color than we think (of course if there are genes that cause variations in how one handles environmental exposures then these would probably indirectly influence eye color as well, but the environmental "insult" would have to be present).
I'm wondering if exposure such as the dental amalgams placed increasingly in my mouth as a child and adolescent could influence eye color? Nutrional status such as mineral intake could be involved as well. If I understand correctly, mercury is believed to disrupt mineral levels in the body tissues. It seems like other endocrine disruptors (besides mercury) or other pollutants could be a factor in this, as well?
Posted by: JenB | December 09, 2010 at 03:45 PM
My mother always told the story of how I was blue-eyed until age 3 -- she had even made up a little song about her blue eyed baby -- and then one day she noticed they had rather suddenly turned hazel. My mostly recovered ASD son had dark blue eyes at birth, they were hazel in pictures at about 9 mos., and now they are dark brown. My daughter who has motor issues had bright blue eyes that have faded to light grey. It's interesting that so many of us have experienced this phenomenon. I wonder how common it is.
Posted by: Garbo | December 09, 2010 at 03:16 PM
Interesting... In pictures of me at less than a year, my eyes are the same color of blue as my mother's... In every older picture, they're "brown", actually a dark green color with brown around the pupils. I call them "hazel" for purposes of identification - closest match that's offered.
I never regressed, though - I developed atypically from the start. Lots of pulling away from people, lack of babbling, screaming tantrums, keeping the house up all night, from day one. I was born in 1974, and was fully vaccinated, but the schedule was much less aggressive back then than now.
Posted by: Tara Marshall | December 09, 2010 at 01:18 PM
I think we all agree mercury does not belong in our bodies.
In my studies on mercury and autism I have come to the following conclusions.
o Our bodies are NOT designed to have mercury and other toxins injected into our veins.
o Our bodies have the ability to get rid of small amounts of mercury. This ability can vary VASTLY among individuals.
o Cilantro plays an important part in mercury prophylaxis and chelation. IMO anyone with a mercury problem should probably be ingesting cilantro daily.
o Autism is a multi-factorial problem and requires a broad approach. Each approach MUST begin with a simple rule. Do not "vaccinate". All "vaccines" contain mercury at at least the nano-gram level which has been proven toxic to the brain.
http://healthyprotocols.com/2_autism.htm
Posted by: Lou | December 09, 2010 at 01:18 PM
Hi Marie-Anne Denayer, M.D.-
I didn't see any other comments from last night.
Posted by: Teresa Conrick | December 09, 2010 at 12:27 PM
Hi sara-
Just needed to comment- You said:
"It is possible, and not uncommon, for two blue-eyed parents to produce children with darker eye colors, including brown. Most of us need an updated course in basic genetics."
My post on Megan and her eye color change had no mention of genes and really had everything to do with research discussing why that would be - ie - mercury toxicicty. Again, no genes were mentioned so not sure how or why you brought that up?
Posted by: Teresa Conrick | December 09, 2010 at 12:18 PM
"I believe blue eyes is a recessive trait... that is... blue eyed parents can only have blue eyed children."
CMO - I was also taught this in HS biology, but we now know eye color is a lot more complex than this. It is possible, and not uncommon, for two blue-eyed parents to produce children with darker eye colors, including brown. Most of us need an updated course in basic genetics.
Posted by: sara | December 09, 2010 at 11:40 AM
I have been told that when I am angry beyond the point of no return, in PTSD flashbacks, or in meltdown (most often all three happen quickly one after the other) that my eyes go nearly black.
I am my dear better half are developing an interesting theory. It seems to me that families with a history of siezure activity often have autistic children. Makes me wonder with that kind of susceptability if when given a vaccine, that doesn't set off a trigger in us that results in autism.
It also makes me wonder if autism in and of itself might be a triggered siezure disorder. Particularly since I have been told that in meltdown, the activity going on in the brain looks nearly identical to a siezure.
Which would explain to me the change in eye color, mood swings, stomach issues, imune issues, and even the social issues tied to the diagnoses. What makes me think this is likely even more is the fact that we know that with autism that there is a part of the brain that is inflamed and becomes even more so durring meltdown.
Just an interesting thought.
Posted by: Theodora Trudorn | December 09, 2010 at 09:59 AM
Before we totally leave this subject, my husband has brown eyes, I have baby blues.
Our kids started out with dark blue, but they have green eyes with brown mixed in.
Their colors changes with their mood. At times they are very green, at others a light brown, and still others a hazel, but I think normal for them is mostly green with brown specks.
the outer ring of the iris however, is always darker color, a darker green most times but sometimes it is brown.
Audrey: It does look like your picture of Wilson disease at times. But ---
Gotogorre: I have seen that mix of green with brown concentrating around the pupils too?????
But what I am still most concerned about is the pupils. Esp when they are really large.
I wish I could have found those pictures of bipolar eyes/vaccine reaction that was on the internet that I found in May, but they are gone now.
Now those eyes are creepy!
funny onesies:
And from experience - my son seemed to not be paying attention when people said things about him. When he was small if they said it in a sweet tone he did not really get it. But when he was older - starting about 8 or 9 - I found out that he was paying attention.
There are some doctors out there that need a good strong bull whip used on them. I wish when I heard the first speech that my son is not college material, or that sometimes these kids have short statue and slow or what ever making me later have to go into damage ego repair Don't worry - you will more vocal for your pretty little boy as he gets older and needs you too. We all grow into our roles, Unfortunally.
Posted by: Benedetta | December 09, 2010 at 09:40 AM
So.999, my entire family has boycotted fish to a very large degree. My spouse and I only eat shrimp or salmon if nothing else is available at a party. We don't go to parties often. My children have never eaten fish, and I hope they never will. We take molecularly distilled fish oil supplements only.
I recently purchased some new LED light bulbs from Lowe's made by Osram Sylvania. I refuse to use the fluorescent bulbs containing mercury. Mercury is bad, whether it is ethyl or methyl, and there is enough of it raining down upon us from the coal burning power plants as it is. I do not need to add more to my, or to my family's burden, and I won't.
Posted by: Not an MD | December 09, 2010 at 06:54 AM
I have spent 2 hours answering some of the comments posted above...it all vanished in cyberspace.
I hope it made it to you!!
Posted by: Marie-Anne Denayer, M.D. | December 09, 2010 at 01:03 AM
This is SO interesting!!
funny onesies, those are beautiful pictures of your son!!
so.999, most parents who are concerned about mercury avoid fish that contain mercury. Your comment reminds me of a cartoon I saw in the newspaper funnies, where a grandmother said to a small child, "Two wrongs don't make a right!" and the child replied, "Then how many does it take?" If mercury comes both from vaccines and from fish (and amalgams and coal burning power plants...) that does not make the mercury in vaccines right.
Posted by: Twyla | December 09, 2010 at 12:18 AM
Maurine and funny onesies -
We have seen Dr. Megson as well. Another reason that eyes dilate is in reaction to adrenaline. Some children with autism may be producing and secreting large amounts of adrenaline on a frequent basis.
Posted by: Carolyn M | December 08, 2010 at 11:36 PM
Thank you Benedetta. :) Concerned Mom - I know! Yes, right in front of him. I guess I can be thankful that he is almost never paying attention to what people say, as he is in his own world much of the time. And, if he did - he is not cognitively adept enough to understand words like that. :) I wish I had the confidence to counter people like you do!
Maurine - Megson would always look at his eyes too and seemed fascinated by how they would barely contract when she shined the light on them. I don't remember what she said about the reason either. She may not have given us one. But, my son does not react to gluten or casein (as witnessed and shown by testing). So in his case, it must be neurologically based.
so.999 - the fish consumption isn't mandated by the government, for one. But, I certainly wouldn't feed any of what you listed to my children. We get our omegas through toxin-free supplementation.
Posted by: funny onesies | December 08, 2010 at 10:53 PM
Wow, that is very interesting. People with Wilson's Disease (a metal efflux disorder that results in toxic copper accumulation) develop copper deposits called Kayser Fleischer rings in their eyes. It would make sense that other metals could accumulate in eye tissue too. Here's a picture of what kayser fleishcher rings look like: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayser%E2%80%93Fleischer_ring
Posted by: Audrey | December 08, 2010 at 09:23 PM
Some of you mentioned pupils. If I stand side by side with my son, or daughter, or husband and look in a big mirror - shine a very bright light in both our eyes - my pupils shrink and shrink fast.
My son's pupil shrines slowly but never gets as small as my pupils, which my pupils will reduce the size of a pin. I nor my son has to have sunglasses joining us at the hip like my daughter or husband.
My daughter's pupils never shrinks, not one little bit, they are huge pupils, and are even larger when she is suffering pyschosis, which I think is some type of seizure! She does not leave the house, she does not drive without sunglasses.
My husbands is some what even slower in shrinking than my son's pupils but will eventually shrink. But he is the worse about being joined at the hip with sunglasses. He requires sunglasses when he drives even on a very cloudy day.
Anyone else out there notice the slowness of pupils????
Or is it just my quirkey family?
And funny onesies he is a very cute little boy, love his smile, and like his new hair cut. Eyes - well they are such dark brown I can not tell where the iris ends and the pupils begin, not creepy at all, just really pretty!
Posted by: Benedetta | December 08, 2010 at 08:09 PM
Eye color change occured in my second son days before my perfect neuro-typical 2 1/2 year old became autistic.
But his teeth turned grey too.
I knew we/he were/was in trouble.
Our first son was diagnosed with autism by this time.
He had a normal but health whole foods diet at that time, which was rich in seafood. We don't consume seafood any more. We can only assume he was mercury poisoned by seafood. He had only ever had one vaccine a year and a half prior to his change. That, though containing mercury, was enough for obvious poisoning.
I've NEVER heard anyone talk about the eye color besides me before today.
Posted by: momof2withasd | December 08, 2010 at 07:35 PM
Hi. Just wanted to reply on Marie-Anne Denayer, M.D.'s comment. As Becky Grant- Widen wrote, my daughter's picture is at age 5 YEARS. I'm not sure what your post was referring to as it did not answer my question about mercury/thimerosal and the eye issues of autism (including color change).
Also, I remembered a comment that you had left that I was confused about. It kind of relates to this topic so I am going to paste it here as I think it gives some background information:
http://www.ageofautism.com/2010/09/autism-speaks-mangles-the-poling-decision-nyt-blog-adds-insult.html
September 17, 2010 at 02:23
"Thimerosal should not be used as preservative, given the known neurotoxicity of mercury. It is simply a matter of common sense. I do not believe Thimerosal is the cause of the current autism epidemic. My daughter, now 23 was one of the first babies to present with acquired autism, this after 15 months of being ahead of all the Milestones. The vaccines she received did contain Thimerosal. Since 1993, vaccines given to kids are supposed to be Thimerosal-free, yet the epidemic continues to progress. As a neurologist, I am of the opinion that this acquired autism epidemic is the result of an immunological disturbance IN PREDISPOSED KIDS."
I'm not sure how you came to your conclusion about thimerosal not being involved in autism but I do know that again, your facts seem inaccurate. Where did you hear that thimerosal was removed from vaccines in 1993 - the year my daughter was born, coincidentally?
Posted by: Teresa Conrick | December 08, 2010 at 07:34 PM
Someone here asks, if mercury is so bad for you, how many of you are still feeding fish to your children?
I have actually stopped allowing even my two cats to eat canned tuna. I have realized, through all my reading on the subject, that there is no such thing as a "safe" level of mercury exposure. The only issue is whether the individual is able to excrete whatever amount of mercury he or she is exposed to. And that differs from species to species, from person to person, from animal to animal... It also differs within the same individual from one day to the next depending upon a whole host of other factors. Therefore, it is a crap-shoot whether at any given time a person or animal is excreting the amount of mercury to which he or she is exposed. Since mercury is pure poison, it makes sense to Just Say No to all of it, in every form and every quantity, which is what I've done, not only for myself but also for my pets. (I don't yet have children, but if/when I do, I will Just Say No to all of it for them as well.)
Posted by: lisa | December 08, 2010 at 07:18 PM
My son was born with clear blue eyes. They stayed blue for several years, but gradually darkened until around age 3. At this point, when he was very clearly physically ill and had regressed into full-blown autism, they were no longer blue, but rather a muddy grayish-brown.
Nine years of biomed, including chelation, have slowly returned his eyes to their original blue.
This same topic has come up on several biomed discussion boards over the years - as the kids get physically better, the original eye color starts to come back.
Thank you, Teresa, for doing all the research for us! (And I am always taken aback by your daughter's striking beauty.)
Posted by: Donna L. | December 08, 2010 at 07:01 PM
Teresa, as usual you make people think. My question, can you recap where else "densely loaded with mercury deposits" occur or suspected? I probably need to read everything all over again.
Posted by: michael framson | December 08, 2010 at 06:32 PM
I have three blond, initially blue-eyed children. My just-about-NT gifted/quirky son's blue eyes turned hazel green between 4 and 5, just after his kindergarten vaccines. Over the same period, he also became low tone, sensorily defensive, anxiety-ridden, etc., etc. He's now 11.
MY ASD daughter started intensive biomed before age 2. Now 7, her blue eyes are still blue.
Difference in vax schedules? My daughter got the flu shot in utero and at 1 year, and probably the birth dose of Hep B. We halted vaccinations at 1 year.
Posted by: introvert | December 08, 2010 at 06:27 PM
Ironically, when my son was very young I notices that color change and commented on it to my husband, we actually thought it was neat that his eye color would change so often. Who would have thought about that and mercury as a combination.
Posted by: Tammie | December 08, 2010 at 05:35 PM
I had an allergic reaction to PolyPred prednisolone eyedrops back in 1981, after only a few days' use. I had little red bumps all over the whites of my eye.
The opthalmologist told me that I was allergic to thimerosal, the preservative used in those eyedrops, and to be sure and tell EVERY doctor I ever saw that I was allergic to it.
I did.
Not ONE of them even told me that thimerosal was also in vaccines--even after I REACTED to vaccines. Not ONE of them ever suggested that it might be a good idea to delay my babies' vaccines, even when my oldest was born at 4 1/2 pounds. They still vaccinated him when he was 4 hours old.
Posted by: Taximom | December 08, 2010 at 05:19 PM
I believe blue eyes is a recessive trait... that is... blue eyed parents can only have blue eyed children.
Any change from that would seem to need explanation.
Posted by: cmo | December 08, 2010 at 04:30 PM
Years ago we saw mary Megson when the kids werre very small. As I recall, the first thing she looked at were the kids' eyes to see if they were dilated, which they were. I think(but am not sure) that she mentioned the dilated eyes were related to Gluten and casein reactions. Don't quote me or mary megson on this as my ememory is not always accurate. I'll go back and check my old records.
Posted by: Maurine Meleck | December 08, 2010 at 03:49 PM
The dilated pupils seem to appear in some cases of various neurologically based conditions. This includes Autism. I first thought without much question that the peptides from undigested milk and wheat products fed opiate peptides into the blood stream via the gut and this caused the dilated pupils. Since my wife's pupils started to dilate more properly on removing these foods from her diet I surmised they must have been the cause. Yet, she was also on a gut regimen to reduce candida and bacteria populations during the same time. After looking into opiates further it seems that opiates actually normally constrict the pupil. I don"t know whether a continual large amount of the peptides would eventually cause dilation instead of constriction or indicate an opioid rebound effect related to it, so it remains a possible cause. I do find that norepenephrine, which is a catecholamine, can also dilate the pupil and it is possibly involved in dialtion and some suggest it is dysregulated in Autism. Since clostridia was part of my wife's problem as well, the strongest mechanism at this point my be the production of a substance by this bacteria that is very similar to scopolamine. Scopolamine can dialte the pupils as well. Dr. Shaw published his findings about 3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-3-hydroxypropionic acid and you can read about it at the first link below.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20423563
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norepinephrine
I mention some of this in a blub on AoA at this link.
http://www.ageofautism.com/2010/06/test-for-autism-measuring-gut-microbes/comments/page/3/#comments
My wife's eyes were like the picture on the right headed "Mydriasis" on the page found at the link below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mydriasis
Posted by: Nick | December 08, 2010 at 03:11 PM
This is fascinating. We have often talked about my son't late eye color change (from blue to brownish-green) somewhere between the age of 2 1/2 to 3 years old. It was a gradual change, as was his slide into autism around the same time. I never put those two things together. My NT daughter (who is only partially vaccinated)has mostly kept her blue eyes, though they have a bit of brown around the pupils. Definite food for thought.
Posted by: James' mom in MN | December 08, 2010 at 03:02 PM
funny onesies,
Your son is a beautiful boy with a light in his eyes and a gorgeous smile. The people who looked disturbed while observing him and, further, had the unmitigated nerve to tell you that your son looks 'creepy' or 'haunting' (presumably in front on him sometimes) are insensitive a**holes. I love telling people like that exactly what I think of them, too, since one good turn certainly deserves another and you can be sure that what I call them is a whole lot worse than creepy or haunting.
Posted by: Concerned Mom | December 08, 2010 at 02:54 PM
If mercury is so bad why aren't any of you speaking out against the fishing industry? How many of you feed fish, sushi, tuna, salmon ect. to your children?
Posted by: so.999 | December 08, 2010 at 02:45 PM
For what it's worth my blond Swedish boy had the most beautiful clear blue eyes!! After he was 14 months old they got darker (still blue but almost murky green blue), I was so disappointed. Of course, I didn't think that it would EVER have anything to do with the 30 vaccines (and boosters) he'd had up to that point. He is almost four, we've been doing chelation for 2 years... my family noticed at a Labor Day get together this year.. "oh his eyes are so blue and clear!" AND THEY WERE! They had changed BACK to what they were before. We went back and looked and pictures and sure enough, it was true!
It seems logical there would be a link, neurotoxins can do some crazy things. I can't wait to see further research.
Posted by: casey | December 08, 2010 at 02:20 PM
It’s not just the eye color changes that might be a clue to mercury and aluminum poisoning. Look at the facial asymmetry in Megan’s photo. She appears to have a cranial nerve palsy. Could this represent cortical deafferentation? Andrew Moulden described facial and eye findings often seen in ASD, quite some time ago, but his work has been completely marginalized by orthodox medicine.
http://healthyprotocols.com/2_Dr_Moulden.htm
Prediction: Moulden’s work will be completely vindicated during his lifetime! His contribution to medicine will be incalculable. His theories, once validated and accepted, will literally lead orthodox medicine “out of the darkness”.
Posted by: patrons99 | December 08, 2010 at 02:02 PM
I've pondered over this as well. All three of my boys have brown eyes like my husband. But only my vaccinated son with autism has a color so close to black, you can hardly call them brown. AND larger pupils. People comment on them everywhere we go. Using words like "haunting" and "creepy". And people look very disturbed while they comment! Here's a picture of him before and after a haircut:
http://www.snugfits.com/Our-Blog/129-The-Kindergarten-Haircut.html
But, you really have to see it in person to get the full effect. :)
Great article Teresa. Extremely thought-provoking!
Sara
Posted by: funny onesies | December 08, 2010 at 01:32 PM
Darn, I still can't find the website that had tons of pictures of eyes of people with bipolar - I am beginnig to think I dreamed it up.
However I did find this pretty easy about eyes and bipolar.
http://bipolar.about.com/b/2010/02/08/can-the-eyes-predict-bipolar-disorder.htm
There are also other places that those with bipolar go and many of them not only mention that their pupils are dilated but that sometimes their eye color changes too.
Also some bipolar people will not make direct eye contact or if they do it is a strange way of looking at another person.
Posted by: Benedetta | December 08, 2010 at 01:27 PM
Marie Ann-
I think many parents know that their newborn babies born with blue eyes may result in a color change in their first month or so. The author showed a photo of her daughter with clearly blue eyes at AGE 5, not as an infant. It sounds like many other parents of children with autism have noticed a similar pattern.
If you are going to come on here with your M.D. hat on, how about responding to the actual question and hypothesis posed here? Why are autistic children's eye colors changing as adolescents? Why might an autistic child's eyes be dilated so much? WOuldn't this indicate something physiological going on? Isn't it INTERESTING (at a minimum) that MANY parents report this in their autistic children??
My son's eye color did not change, but he did have the extemely dilated pupils that started abruptly around the age of three (before diagnosis) and continued for several years. Now he only gets them when he is "off" behaviorally.
Why is it that the parents are asking all the questions "why", and most doctors instead just shrug their shoulders about this and other physiological "phenomena" of autism such as large heads and GI and metabolic issues?
It's tiring and the input in meaningless to us.
Posted by: Becky Grant-Widen | December 08, 2010 at 01:00 PM
Fascinating research, Teresa. Thanks. Joshua has hazel eyes that have turned more brown with time(but still green). I have read that environment and medication can affect the color(of course the change in amount of melanin)
If anyone knows anything about a rare eye disease of the retina called parafoveal retinal telangiectasis--I'd love to hear it. It's a progressive eye disease. The retina specialist(considered one of the best in the country)poo pooed my meercury comments on the eye, but we know better. It was first noticed 20 years ago. TIA.
Maurine
Posted by: Maurine Meleck | December 08, 2010 at 12:40 PM
All newborn caucasian babies have blue eyes. At about 6 weeks of age in most fullterm babies the permanent eye color will have become established thanks to progressive pigmentation-or lack therehereof- of the iris.
"Huge pupils" are due to excessive dilation of the pupils via the ciliary muscles of the iris and has nothing to do with "discloration".
My advice to those people with eye problems is to see a neuroophthalmolgist.
Posted by: Marie-Anne Denayer, M.D. | December 08, 2010 at 11:24 AM
Really interesting. There seems to be a host of diseases involving eye color change for which there are "no explanations".
http://www.uveitissociety.org/pages/diseases/fhu.pdf
Posted by: Gatogorra | December 08, 2010 at 10:02 AM
I posted about my daughter, but I have a mercury/vision link. I got glasses in college - about 6 months after I had Hep B & other boosters for college entrance and had 3 silver fillings placed.
Since my daughter's mercury-poisoning, I've done natural & biomed treatments to address mercury in her and myself.
Last year my prescription glasses changed -- it improved!
And the best, this year I passed my drivers license vision test without my glasses for the first time in 20 years!
Is there a connection between mercury and vision? You bet!
Posted by: Libby | December 08, 2010 at 09:41 AM
Patrons99 blogged:
"Where else in the body can you literally look right into our nervous system?"
The night my son's temp spiked from his DPT shot, the pupils became huge and you could see nothing of his iris(eye color). How about that for color change?
What really scares me is the on going thing with my daughter's eyes. There are times still that she not right. She is depressed, or she is manic, or she is thinking she has another cyst in her hand that needs to be taken out. Every time that she is really not alright the pupil of her eyes become huge, huge, huge to the point you cannot see her eye color. How about that for color change???
It is getting harder and harder not to lay awake a worry at night - something five years ago I promised myself I would no longer do, and have worked hard to stop it. But my gosh!!!!!
I easily found something in May about bipolor eyes, vaccine reaction - and it actually showed pictures of other people but it also looked exactly like what my daughter's eyes looked like when she was having a bad time. I have looked since, I can't find it. If I do I will link it here.
Posted by: Benedetta | December 08, 2010 at 09:37 AM
My daughter was born with brilliant blue eyes. At about age 3 they turned to green. For us, we learned it was the EMFs from her baby monitor, cordless phones and wireless internet we had in the house. When we removed them, her eyes went back to blue. They still turn green when she has a seizure. And its a good check for me that something is wrong when I see her eyes are green. For her, Blue = healthy, green = sick. Sadly, the national switch from analog to digital has been hard on her. Its a constant signal vs pulsed signal.
Mercury is of course in the mix since she was fully vaccinated before the "removal" of Thimerosal.
Posted by: Libby | December 08, 2010 at 09:36 AM
I've thought a bit on this too. I was born with deep dark blue eyes. They are now a blue, grey, green color, and far lighter than they use to be.
Not to mention along with eye contact issues, I also began around the age they started changing loosing that 20/20 vision and had to get glasses for being near sighted, with my vision becoming more and more off each year.
Right now, without my glasses on, the words I am now typing would be extremely blurry and I wouldn't be able to read them. It tis food for thought.
Posted by: Theodora Trudorn | December 08, 2010 at 09:25 AM
My daughter was born with beautiful blue eyes that turned hazel around the time of her regression... and eventually went totally BROWN. She is mercury toxic...
Posted by: Erik Nanstiel | December 08, 2010 at 09:15 AM
Here’s a question for an opthalmologist: Can in vivo real-time video photomicroscopy of retinal blood flow be done at the capillary level? Does the technology presently exist or can it be developed? Could an anesthesized non-human primate serve as a model of ACUTE vaccine toxicity in humans? Darkfield microscopy of live blood is already being done. The technology exists. Quite often, a picture is worth a thousand word. I can envision some full page newsprint ads.
“Vaccines Are One Big Experiment Causing Hundreds of Diseases In the Modern World” on September 21, 2009.
http://www.blackherbals.com/vaccines_are_one_big_experiment.htm
http://preventdisease.com/news/09/092109_vaccines_responsible_for_all_diseases.shtml
Posted by: patrons99 | December 08, 2010 at 08:59 AM
Fantastic post, Teresa. Thank you.
Where else in the body can you literally look right into our nervous system? Which came first? The mercury poisoning or the glaucoma and cataracts? How much glaucoma and cataract disease are cummulative neurotoxic manifestations of mercury in the vaccine schedules, mercury amalgams, and eye drops? I’m beginning to think that my glaucoma, my father’s glaucoma, my mother’s cataracts, my brother Chuck’s aniridia and strabismus, and my brother Jim’s schizophrenia, are ALL manifestations of mercury poisoning. We were a heavily-vaccinated, military family. Every family with an ASD member or members really should review and chronical their entire families’ opthalmologic and vaccination history. Reconstructing the timeline is very difficult without these records.
Posted by: patrons99 | December 08, 2010 at 08:41 AM