Autism, Mercury and Melanin: Can You Hear Me Now?
By Teresa Conrick
My daughter, Megan, appears to be an illustrative example of a fair canary overtaken by autism. Here she is in a heartbreaking picture with her Early Childhood Special Education classmates in 1997. She was the only child with autism. You may notice that I purposefully have blocked their faces due to confidentiality of IEP and special education status. Some of those peers may be without an IEP now and doing well as they prepare to go on to college soon. Megan, sadly, continues to be very impaired and as I have reported before, began to have severe seizures in this summer of 2010.
You may also notice that Megan is the only child who is visibly fearful, fingers in her ears, crying and exceptionally pale. This is not only a snapshot of my daughter's history, our painful history with autism, but a very possible snapshot of yet another piece of the mercury-melanin connection. In 1999, Megan began to wear construction headphones as she could not tolerate the noises of the world. Today, in the midst of the autism epidemic, they are called "noise reducing" headphones and are available all over the internet for children specifically with an autism diagnosis.
Noise and hearing issues are not new to autism. From Dr. Leo Kanner, the first report EVER of a novel and unique condition, "Autistic Disturbances Of Affective Contact" written in 1943:
Case 3: "Richard M. was 39 months old when admitted to the Johns Hopkins Hospital on February 5,1941, with the complaint of deafness because he did not talk and did not respond to questions."....."In September 1940, the mother wrote: 'I can't be sure just when he stopped the imitation of word sounds. It seems that he has gone backward mentally.'"
How many mothers and fathers since 1940 have said the same thing? That their child regressed, stopped developing language and stopped responding to others' words? Megan did. "Bubbles" became "emuls", a nonsense word that should have been a clue to her losing hearing and sensory stability. Instead I was told that she had "autism" and that was that. She then became almost mute except for crying and pained utterances when she was scared or frustrated, which was often. How horrible to see your child in agony at age 2, crying because a Muppet on Sesame Street is playing a cello, beautiful sounds to most but tortuous for her fragile ears. Others thought she was becoming deaf as she did not respond to her name.
As most know now from reading Dan Olmsted and Mark Blaxill's unprecedented, historical book on autism's roots in, "The Age Of Autism, Mercury, Medicine, And A Man-made Epidemic", "Richard M's" father, William Dykstra Miller, was one of the first to be exposed to an ethyl mercury fungicide, as a Ph.D in Forestry.
Our family has no connections to forestry but my daughter had contact with ethyl mercury numerous times as it was in her baby and toddler vaccines. Another factor I have been presenting in my quest to understand Megan's symptoms is the connection of melanin or pigmentary issues. So I began to investigate if her auditory issues, like her ocular issues HERE, could also be involved as a mechanism of injury in her exposure to mercury.
First let's take a look at autism and the significance to auditory issues:HERE
"Student and Sohmer (1978) stated that all of the autistic children they studied had peripheral hearing loss according to auditory brainstem response (ABR) examination. Skoff and his group (Skoff, Mirsky, & Turner, 1980; Skoff et al., 1986) reported that 44-63% of children with autism examined by them had hearing impairment."
Auditory Processing Disorder as a Key Feature of Autism HERE
"Delacato (1974) documented how a child could be unresponsive to certain sounds (act as-if deaf), but have an exaggerated response to other sounds. Dr. Bernard Rimland (1964) indicated that his research found 40% of people with autism to suffer from hyper-processing of the auditory stimuli, or ‘hyperacusis’. From accounts, it appears that this hyper-hearing leads to social withdrawal, speech problems, and overload behaviour in the form of tantrums and aggression."
This research describes my daughter, but why would Megan be so affected? She is a red head and very fair skinned. I have previously described her eye color change later in her life, so is there a connection to melanin and her many extreme sensory issues? How is melanin related to hearing? From Wiki:
"In humans, melanin is the primary determinant of skin color. It is also found in hair, the pigmented tissue underlying the iris of the eye and the stria vascularis of the inner ear."
So stria vascularis is a key. Can that be connected to mercury?:
Cochlear Pathology Following Exposure To Mercury HERE
"The sensory and secretory epithelia may become morphologically changed following the exposure to mercury chloride. The earliest and most severe change in the sensory epithelium appeared in the apical part of the cochlea, while the basal coils were only seldom damaged (cytocochleogram studies). Acute intoxication mostly affected both afferent and efferent nerve terminals and the hair cells, while chronic poisoning could also damage the stria vascularis.
Environmental Impact on Hearing: Is Anyone Listening? HERE
"Mercury . Mercury intoxication causes hearing loss in humans and animals. In 1953, a severe neurological disorder was recognized among persons living in the vicinity of Minamata, Japan, where mercury-containing effluent flowing from a chemical manufacturing plant into the local bay contaminated shellfish. Deterioration in hearing and deafness were reported among other neurological symptoms. Early stages of poisoning may result in cochlear lesions, whereas hearing loss in the late stages of intoxication may result from neurological damage."
Encyclopaedia of occupational health and safety, (HERE) "Hearing loss is described as a common part of the clinical picture in acute and chronic methyl-mercury poisoning. Both cochlear and post-cochlear lesions have been involved. Inorganic mercury may also affect the auditory system, probably through damage to cochlear structures."
Now a look at autism and its auditory dysfunctions:
Autism and auditory brain stem responses HERE
"To study a controversy that has been discussed for more than two decades: whether or not children with autism have abnormalities affecting the cochlear nerve or the auditory pathway in the brain stem and, if so, to describe these abnormalities. ...The individual test results showed that more than half of this normal-hearing autistic disorder group (58%) had abnormalities of one or more of eight ABR (auditory brain stem responses) parameters studied.
Brain stem lesion, occult cochlear dysfunction, and involvement of the cochlear efferent system are probable factors that can explain the ABR findings"
And related back to mercury:
Introduction to neurobehavioral toxicology: food and environment HERE
"The ototoxic effects by mercury differ from the effects by many other compunds like aminoglycoside antibiotics and cis-platinum by causing the most severe damage to the apical cords of the cochlea related to low-frequency hearing"......."In addition degenerations of efferent and afferent nerve endings were found as well as vacuolization of marginal cells in the stria vascularis."
More specifically to Ethyl Mercury/Thimerosal:
Ototoxicity HERE
"Cortisporin Otic Suspension contains neomycin sulfate, polymyxin B, hydrocortisone, cetyl alcohol, propylene glycol, polysorbate 80 and thimerosal."............"Following the application of 0.5 mL of Cortisporin Otic Suspension to the middle ear of these experimental animals degeneration of all inner and outer hair cells throughout the cochlea, severe damage to the stria vascularis, and moderate to severe damage of the vestibular receptor organs were observed."
More digging brought me to an interesting connection to autism and again, back to mercury.
A BRIEF LOOK AT THE STRIA VASCULARIS IN AIT HERE
"Melanin Receptors of the inner ear, AIT and Metabolism- The area in the ear, called the stria vascularis, where melanin is found, is of special importance to AIT as it possibly represents both a locus of toxicity and a rationale for a probable mechanism for detoxification, as it is energized by acoustic energy, likely aiding in the restoration of auditory lesions through intensive acoustic stimulation."......"Larsson explains that various drugs and other chemicals, such as organic amines, metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, etc., are bound to melanin and retained in pigmented tissues for long periods. He stresses that the physiological significance of the binding is not evident, but it has been suggested that the melanin protects the pigmented cells and adjacent tissues by absorbing potentially harmful substances, which then are slowly released in nontoxic concentrations.
Long-term exposure, on the other hand, may build up high levels of noxious chemicals, stored on the melanin, which ultimately may cause degeneration in the melanin-containing cells, and secondary lesions in surrounding tissues"........"it might be one of the key contributing reasons why we see such significant sensory disturbances (ocular and auditory) in children with autism."
Very interesting connections. It is similar to the studies connecting melanin, mercury and the pigmented epithelium of the eye that I reported when examining information on Megan's eye color change. I am not endorsing AIT, though I know it can help. Megan has done modified versions through school and any benefits were not visible for very long but she is extremely affected so it is possible that this is an avenue of hope that may be of benefit as a long term treatment. In addition, it may be a glimpse of how melanin and mercury could interact within the auditory system.
Here is an excerpt from a very recent study on autism and hearing:
Malformation of the human superior olive in autistic spectrum disorders. 2011 Jan 7 HERE
"Autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) comprise a continuum of psychosocial disorders clinically characterized by social difficulties, impaired communication skills and repetitive behavioral patterns". ...... "Further, there is ample evidence that auditory dysfunction is a common feature of autism. Our preliminary investigation of neuronal morphology in the auditory brainstem of individuals with ASD focused on the medial superior olive (MSO) and revealed that neurons in this region were significantly smaller and rounder than in controls"........ "Our studies implicate an extensive malformation of the auditory brainstem in the hearing and language difficulties in individuals with ASD."
But is this too, connected to melanin issues?
Auditory brainstem anomalies in albino cats: II. Neuronal atrophy in the superior olive. HERE
In a previous paper (Brain Res., 260:1-9, 1983) we reported that albino cats show abnormal auditory brainstem evoked responses that appear to arise from structural defects in or near the superior olivary complex. In the present study, neuronal cross-sectional area in brainstem nuclei was compared in albino and normally pigmented adult cats. The albinos were true tyrosinase-negative (cc) and should not be confused with the deaf white cat (W); the albinos are not deaf. Neurons in the medial superior olivary nucleus (MSO) of albinos were, on average, 41% smaller than in pigmented animals;"...... Several lines of evidence suggest that the auditory system defects in albinos are related to abnormal pigmentation rather than to other gene effects. It is possible that a subtle pigment-related disruption of inner ear development in albinos results in a central cascade of atrophic changes along the auditory pathway."
Is it possible that the cats of Minamata were the canaries to that disease similar to the fair redheads of autism?
It is unbelievable that the use of mercury, especially ethyl mercury in thimerosal vaccines is still happening as we go into the year 2011. How long have the dangers of mercury, especially as a medicine, been known? We saw many examples in "The Age Of Autism" book and I also came across this one while exploring mercury and its connection to auditory damage. It was a warning back in 1829 yet somehow the mirage of safe mercury and denial of its harm continues today:
On the varieties of deafness, and diseases of the ear: with proposed methods -1829 HERE
"MERCURY has been recommended, and still continues to be prescribed, by some practitioners, in cases termed, or mistaken for, nervous deafness. From long and extensive experience, I am satisfied that deafness, even if truly nervous, is never benefited by the administration of mercury, under any modification; on the contrary, there are abundant proofs that it not only increases the noises in the head, diminishes the hearing, and renders the majority of cases very difficult to relieve, but that this baneful mineral will absolutely destroy the hearing entirely, and occasion such distressing noises in the head, that the patient's life becomes a burthen, and no human skill can remove the continual confusion in the head thus created.
"Whilst writing this, I had a deaf and dumb child sent to me by an eminent physician. The child heard perfectly until it was more than twelve months old, when an eruptive disease took place on its head. A medical man, who resides in the neighbourhood of the child's home, about ten miles from town, applied mercurial ointment, which cured the eruption very speedily, but left the child totally deaf. I have seen several cases of a similar description, in which mercury applied to the head produced the same effect."......As to the general abuse, or injudicious use of mercury, there can be no doubt but it is the cause of the great increase of deafness, noises in the head, blindness, paralysis, apoplexy, and madness."
--
Teresa Conrick is a Contributing Editor to Age of Autism.
I keep revisiting this site again and again.
I ran across this bit of interesting stuff --
Red heads tolerate pain better
and
are much more sensitive to opioids -- As in an author Diana Gabaldon novels about her red headed hero, Jamie really gets knocked out and dreams really vivid under the influence of opioids.
And Diana Gabaldon should know - she is married to a red head.
Here is the link to redheads pain and opioids.
http://sciencenordic.com/redheads-feel-different-kind-pain
It has something to do with the pigment in the skin Melanin -- red heads have a different varient of the usual brown pigment melanin which also associated with the central nervous system.
So my husband's vitagalo is getting worse, and so is he. He is painfully thin.
I guess it is not a clue to the answer to a cure - just another symptom that the immune system is attacking stuff that it shouldn't.
But vitalgo - white skin patches is on the rise. As the dermatologist mentioned to my husband -- there is a huge rise in vitalogo cases he is seeing. Now we know that it indicates a central nervous disease too.
I just thought that was kind of neat and thought I would share.
Did DG say her husband is red headed??? I can't remember (I know she said he was tall) -- but if he is red headed too -- is that how she knew to write about Jamie being very sensitive to Morphine?
Posted by: Benedetta | July 27, 2013 at 11:12 AM
A couple of more things on skin pigments.
My husband has vitiligo and recently went to a dermatologist about skin cancer that is below his eye.
The doctor noticed his vitiligo and my husband told her that he had mitochondria myopathy following a tetanus shot.
She said that in the past few months there had been a rash of patients showing up with the same linkage of skin de pigmentation, mitochondria dignosis and some linked their problems beginning with vaccines.
Another thing;
My father was scared to death of the flu following his heart attack and probably had about 10 years worth of them as he claimed unlike his grand kids vaccines did not bother him -- as he dragged his feet across the floor.
He has parkinson.
This is under an article "Parkinson"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_disease
Under: Anatomical
"Macroscopic alterations can be noticed on cut surfaces of the brainstem, where neuronal loss can be inferred from a reduction of melanin pigmentation in the substantia nigra and locus coeruleus"
Posted by: Benedetta | October 28, 2012 at 02:58 PM
Arrgh! I just broke one of those light bulbs at my office--it shattered in my hand! What a tremendous hassle to clean up off of carpet and now I have had some kind of exposure. Couldn't get the window open right away. Getting blood tested--will update as to what I find out...
Posted by: anonymous | September 03, 2011 at 02:59 PM
Various people on this thread mentioned Meniere's Disease, so I thought you might find this of interest.
"Mercury Fillings A Health Threat?" WCVB (ABC)TV 5 Boston
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/health/26555853/detail.html
In the United States, Maestro Ben Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, speaks publicly about his complete recovery from Meniere's Disease after having his fifteen mercury amalgam fillings removed. The neurological disease, Ben says nearly cost him his career.
Posted by: Sue | January 23, 2011 at 02:32 PM
Thank you, Teresa! I'm very intrigued by these posts regarding melanin.
On auditory issues, I remember when my daughter was about a year old, I would attempt to practice something on the piano, and she would come up to me wailing, like she was begging me to stop. I wondered at the time why she was ok with some musical numbers, even seemed to really enjoy them, but be in such distress by most. I now think that when she was familiar with a number, she knew how to predict the auditory input somewhat and organize it and deal with the process of listening pretty well, but I think it often caused her pain (and maybe still does) to get to that point.
In her wedding picture, my maternal grandmother had hair with a very similar color as your daughter's. She once remarked that she never felt the same following a vaccination at a military base where she met up with my grandfather before he was deployed in WWII. I know that at least part of what my grandmother dealt with as an adult was type II diabetes.
I don't know if related, but all of her daughters have differing autoimmune or neurological conditions and the health of her grandchildren, at least the ones I am aware of, is not exactly stellar, though none of us truly have her red hair. Now I am looking at the health of my once blue-eyed, now brown-eyed honey-brown-haired daughter on the ASD spectrum, one of her great-grandchildren, knowing that some of her regressions came clearly on the heels of her own vaccinations (I don't believe anyone would have come out of the vaccine administrations she received with their health perfectly intact), but I also wonder if some of her injuries were in part due to an environmental exposure that occurred generations ago.
Posted by: JenB | January 05, 2011 at 06:17 PM
I got a call from my elderly 84 year old aunt today. She says she has meniere's. Now I wonder if my father has that instead of laying it onto a bomb going off near him in war time. He only had a slight problem with hearing when younger maybe it was Meniere's all along??
This mitochondrial cytopathy that my husband has also will affect the hearing. I notice in just that last two years it is getting worse, but it comes and goes. Mostly he ignores me (at least I think that is mostly it).
Posted by: Benedetta | January 05, 2011 at 12:18 PM
Elucidatus - please say it isn't so! The video link you provided, if valid, cites some stuff that is positively evil and demonic. Synthetic life forms - I'm sure they must be FDA and EPA approved! Why not put them into the vaccine schedules? We're likely to already be non-human/human chimeras, thanks to decades of the vaccine schedules. This is why we need God left in our Constitution. This is we need medical freedom guaranteed in law. The public is generally clueless as to what is really going down. We ALL need prayer, now more than ever! I'm reminded of the scene from the film Waterworld where Kevin Costner is dumped into some toxic bilge up to his neck. That's what pharma is doing to us today! They have poisoned both our internal and external waterworld! Humans as endangered species? Why are the numbers of Polar Bears near the Arctic circle beginning to dwindle? Why are transgender fish showing up in streams? Hmmmmmm!
VACCINES CAUSE AUTISM
MAKE AUTISM STOP
MEDICAL FREEDOM NOW
END MEDICAL FASCISM NOW
Posted by: patrons99 | January 05, 2011 at 08:22 AM
Hi Sue.
Yes, thanks. I have encountered that study numerous times in one way or another. Very interesting... and great your child is doing better!
Posted by: Teresa Conrick | January 04, 2011 at 08:10 PM
Teresa,
In case you haven't seen this re: macular degeneration (note: treatable via chelation per this author):
Age-related macular degeneration and cutaneous signs of mercury toxicity
Auteur(s) / Author(s)
DANTZIG Paul I. (1) ;
Journal of toxicology. Cutaneous and ocular toxicology
ISSN 0731-3829
2005, vol. 24, no1, pp. 3-9 [7 page(s) (article)] (14 ref.)
Résumé / Abstract
The objective of this study is to determine the relationship between age-related macular disease, and cutaneous signs of mercury toxicity. Methods. Fourteen patients with macular degeneration, 14 patients with Grover's disease, 14 control patients over the age of 52 with no signs of Grover's disease, and nine control patients over age 57 with measurable blood mercury levels but no evidence of macular degeneration were randomly selected. All patients had physical exam, skin biopsies where applicable, and blood mercury levels checked. Results. Of the 14 patients with macular degeneration, 11 patients had Grover's disease, two had spongiotic papules as reported by Dantzig, and 13 had measurable blood mercury levels. Of the 14 patients with drover's disease, all 14 patients had measurable blood mercury levels and three of the patients were treated with diet and chelation with excellent response. Conclusions. Grover's disease may represent a cutaneous marker for age-related macular degeneration, and low levels of mercury may represent an etiology for both age-related macular degeneration and Grover's disease. If these findings are corroborated and proven to be true, then both diseases could
potentially be drastically reduced or eradicated through strict environment controls.
----
I came across this reference when searching info on this author who also found that guttate psoriasis is likely tied to mercury toxicity.
My father, who was severely mercury toxic per Cutler counting rules, had both Alzheimer's and macular degeneration. My child's guttate psoriasis, which had not responded to dermatologist steroid creams, improved dramatically after I read Dantzig's info relating this issue to mercury and acting to treat accordingly using Cutler chelation. A recurrence a year later also resolved via the same treatment; the condition has not recurred again (so far--knock on wood).
Interesting that your father was an opthalmologist.
Posted by: Sue | January 04, 2011 at 07:33 PM
Thanks everyone for your thoughtful comments and support. I really appreciate it.
Taximom- just wanted to comment that my paternal grandmother had Meniere's, as well as my dad (her son - both deceased). Out of 7 kids, I am the only redhead and the only one to have all of the full blown symptoms as well. The irony of my father being an opthalmologist and eye surgeon (exposed to ethylmercury daily) is another clue. Macular Degeneration is another that they both had and one that I need to worry about for me and Meg,too.
Posted by: Teresa Conrick | January 04, 2011 at 07:08 PM
Hi John L. Willman-
Thanks for your comment. Megan, too loves music of all varieties and she frequently blasts it and the tv...often at the same time. Her hearing issues are so very extreme that many day to day situations make her vulnerable to anxiety, sheer panic and fight/flight.
Your question - "can't it just be summarized by saying that mercury is a poisonous toxin, period?"....
is correct -- but for the sake of looking at specific mechanisms of injury in autism, I think it is important to be able to see what has happened to cause the symptoms, behaviors and disability that the kids have. I have heard for years that mercury can cause vision and hearing problems but [how?], was my question. If we can see what is affected and how it became damaged, then that opens doors for possible treatments that maybe were never considered. It also shows how a normally developing child, injected with ethylmercury, could then lose skills and exhibit symptoms and behaviors listed on the DSM as "autism". Thanks again for your input.
Posted by: Teresa Conrick | January 04, 2011 at 06:44 PM
Teresa's article was very interesting. I am always fascinated by both the striking similarities and radical differences among people with Autism. I was struck by the photo of Megan and how similar her expression and very pale complexion are to the 25 year old Severely Autistic man that I have worked with for 8 years. "Ron" also has issues with noise, but only noises like metallic clanging or the beeping of trucks backing. Music on the other hand is one of his greatest joys, and the stereo can be cranked up with everything from gangster rap to heavy metal and he will dance around the room vocalizing happily. I also found it interesting that hearing loss is also associated with Autism, since Ron's hearing is very sharp. And while the science regarding mercury is way over my head, can't it just be summarized by saying that mercury is a poisonous toxin, period?
Posted by: John L. Willman | January 04, 2011 at 05:35 PM
Fielding J. Hurst;
I bought some of those when they first came out and I did not know they had mercury.
They last forever.
During Christmas, my husband naturally broke the only one I had left in the house.
He had ADHD as a child - and I can sort of see how he was always in trouble!!!!
But from what I am hearing on the television news, that the old light bulbs are being phased out- that are made here in the United States, and these mercury filled ones are going to be made overseas.
Posted by: Benedetta | January 04, 2011 at 02:46 PM
Sort of off topic a little, but has Age of Autism discussed the MERCURY Light Bulbs that governments are starting to mandate be in houses in some states like CA?
Posted by: Fielding J. Hurst | January 04, 2011 at 01:35 PM
Just a hint: The woman in the blue sweater standing behind Megan has the typical facial redness of a person with iron overload. Tell her to have this checked and, if correct, to have her iron overload removed.
Hans Raible
Stuttgart, Germany
Posted by: Hans RAIBLE | January 04, 2011 at 01:13 PM
Interesting about the anxiety Mary. I always just asumed it was part of the whole ASD package. That and being extremely sensitive to certain sensory issues. I too can blare the radio all day long, but the sound of a metal pan hitting a tile floor causes me litteral physical pain!
I get sick from certain types of chocolate purely based on it's texture and whether or not it is completely solid or a liquid! I have been told mine tended to be a bit more extreme than most with Asperger's. I always attributed it then to the combination of AS and PTSD. I think I will research on what you said.
Posted by: Theodora Trudorn | January 04, 2011 at 11:01 AM
Yes, it is good to hear the link of autism to hearing problems.
How about sight problems?
It seems everyone todag gets to wear glasses and from memory this was rare until quite late on in the age of a child.
Mercury does not only attack brain cells but makes no distinction of auditory cells here or sight cells as well.
I have not seen any reports yet on autism and sight issues but predictably like other illness and disorded it is to be predicted if neurotoxic cause is responsible for the learning and developmental delays we see more and more of.
Posted by: John Fryer Chemist | January 04, 2011 at 10:28 AM
My son was a sick little boy years ago after being completely over-vaccinated... GI problems, "sensory issues" (I put it in quotes because I always felt like his sensory issues were more related to a biological problem as opposed to what the doctors were saying it was...). Thankfully, with NO HELP from mainstream doctors, we were able to correct many of his issues (via diet, glutathione, no more vaxx's, etc). Now, at 9, he has very few remaining problems. One thing that does remain is a real sensitivity to sound. As an example, we were at a play a few weeks ago and there was intermittent clapping from the audience... I kept looking over at him and his hands would move immediately up to his ears every time the clapping would start. He will also cover his ears if the tv is too loud or in a movie scene that is too loud, etc... I have asked him and he has said that the sound "hurts" his ears/head. I believe him... I'm mentioning it because I often wonder about people who have non-verbal kids... the parents may not realize that it really does seem to "hurt" the kids... at least for my kiddo. :( He is also a blondie with very light coloring (quite pale...). My youngest, mainly non-vaccinated child, has beautiful coloring and never had any of the health issues that my older two had... Sigh....
Posted by: A Friend | January 04, 2011 at 09:45 AM
My son loves to blare music but the sound of a bus or garbage truck causes him to cover his ears in pain. He bombards his auditory system ALL day with echolalia but a barking dog causes him intense pain. He was unable to respond to his name but could hear a candy wrapper being rustled one floor away.
He was also the most visually stimmy kid I've ever seen. He has a strabismus and was constantly flicking sticks, yarn and basically anything in front of his eyes. He's hyperlexic but the words jump around the page. How did he manage to even read without getting motion sickness? He's lost all of the visual problems after chelation but the auditory problems while less are still present. These poor children are living their lives in a simulated fun house.
Posted by: Mary | January 04, 2011 at 09:31 AM
Zinc is found in high amounts in the stria vascularis. A Zinc deficiency could easily contribute to theses problems.
Zinc is also a key component of Zn/Cu Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) This is found in the highest amounts in the Cochlea. It acts as a powerful antioxidant, neutralizing free radical damage. Mercury is a powerful free radical.
Pyroluria causes chronic mild to severe B6 & Zinc deficiency & is generally said to occur in about 30% of the Autistic as a complication. Although widely believed to be genetic, I am positive that it is an opportunistic infection.
Easy to see symptoms of Pyroluria are fine to pronounced lines running the length of the fingernails, crowded teeth, dry skin.
Pyroluria creates many difficulties: great sensitivity to noise, bright lights, & intolerance to stress of all kinds, also emotional volatility, & temper control issues.
In the HBO movie, Temple Grandin, her desperate need for the "restraining box" was not a product of Autism, but a self-comforting & self control behavior in response to an Anxiety attack likely caused by Pyroluria.
In the non-Autistic, Pyroluria & it's B6 deficiency is highly associated with Anxiety related problems such as ADD, Bipolar, Phobia, Panic attacks, Alcoholism (self medication of inner discomfort= Anxiety) & more.
Checking the Autistic child for Pyroluria & effectively treating it as early as possible, helps to lessen these physical issues & calm the emotional problems, & makes the child somewhat easier to care for.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8817319
Posted by: Mike Kohloff | January 04, 2011 at 06:07 AM
"Mum I can hear you better from a distance than near you"
This is what my Asperger son was able to elaborate.
If he takes a forbidden food he starts to ask me "what have you said? Repeat please".
We too have the red gene in the family.
Thank you for this article that brings new light in to our knowledge on autism.
Posted by: Elena Ucropina | January 04, 2011 at 04:18 AM
Hmmmm;
Ears; Ear problems! I don't remember ever going to a doc for ear infections as a child, but my kids sure did - and they really, really needed to go too, seemed to start right after all those DPT shots.
I know everyone here on this site has screamed their child's name as it dances to it's destination, with out even a flinch, a pause, a clue that it has heard us - and we (I) begin to think --- It does know it's name doesn't it???? I did name it didn't I???? It can hear, don't it?? It seems to be able to hear the word: cake even if whispered! Oh, and I know he can hear it thunder, because it would send him into a screaming, frantic, hand flapping, tiptoeing, running circles!
I bet we all have screamed - okay (I) have screamed my son's name a 100 times in rapid sequence, at the top of my lungs, and it is embarrassing when he never even turns around, especially embarrassing as we are leaving church, and I am bellowing like a sailor on the deck of a ship in the middle of GAIL force winds- frantic too because he broke away from me (and he usually did manage to break away)!!! Not very lady like, or the gentle, little mother - that I always thought that I would be, but there was a parking lot out there, and these people were serious about getting in their cars and leaving!
I had no ear infections as a child, but I did have hearing problems.
TaxiMom; brings up tinnitus, and that is something that I have always had every since I was a child. I thought everyone had this ringing in the ears that comes and goes,or a loud pulsing that matches the beating of my heart. (I too had DPT shots as a baby !). Then my mother got tinnitus, when I was nine or so years old(yeah, she had a flu shot and claims she was never well since - fevers/GI problems - all that????
My mother drove me crazy complaining about it. I could ignore the high pitch ringing or the pounding in my ears to the beat of my heart, but her complaining/describing the sound in every little detail, really got on my nerves because she made it very clear that not everyone has this!
My Hearing problems did not end at tinnitus,- nor was it just me. My sister at age 23 went totally deaf on one side; she had calcium built up on those tiny bones in her middle ear. The anvil, hammer and stirrup.
I thought Poor dear, and then it got me too at age 40. Yeap, my health went to hell in a hand basket at age 40 - well darn it, I too lost my hearing in one ear, for the same reason. I now have titanium steel in my middle ear. I can hear again with it and the only problems I have with it besides the high pitch ringing is that I could not stay beside my son as he had an MRI after a grand mal seizure. A huge magnet, and the metal in my ear: together--- was not a good idea. Which was crappy! Once again not the mother I thought I would be.
But anyway the ear surgeon told me when I lost my hearing that this calcium built up is an autoimmune problem, brought on by sometimes horomonal changes like pregancy - nope, not in my case???
Now granted my Immune problems with my ears may not be the same as my kids at all, with their middle ear infections and an ear infection of all places: the ear canal!!!!???? Who gets an infection in the outer ear canal??? My kids apparently!
My son had so many outer ear canal infections, and in so much pain from them that to this day (many years later) he will not allow anyone to touch his ears with out him whipping out the tail of his shirt and wiping off where his ears have been touched.
Posted by: Benedetta | January 04, 2011 at 12:48 AM
Wow. Why does it take a layperson to make these connections? Where are are the doctors and medical researchers?
Posted by: Twyla | January 03, 2011 at 11:41 PM
Re: Post by Valerie Foley: "I like to call it CSI:ASD"
This is a "Crime Scene Investigation" alright. Our children have been poisoned in a criminal manner and now it's our job to be the "Medical Detectives".
After my grandson received 9 vaccines at age 12 months, including flu shot and MMR, he bit the dust literally overnight. Could no longer walk or talk and chronic diarrhea and intestinal inflammation amongst many other problems, including hyper-sensitivity to noise. He screamed and covered his ears if I turned the blender on. He also then refused to allow me to simply wash his hands or touch his head affectionately. He ripped hats off, pulled his socks off and refused to wear shoes. Of course there was all that head banging, arm flapping, and screaming as well.
Fortunately he responded very well to Methyl B 12 transdermal cream and Glutathione to the point where all of the above was eventually reversed. He even recovered his ability to walk again although it took a long time for him to become balanced and walk correctly. He still couldn't speak but just a few words occassionally until the PhD researcher who had developed the transdermal creams referred me to Klaire Labs THER-BIOTIC Complete probiotic formula. Over a 3 year period we had already tried 10 different probiotics, but this one was truly the magic bullet. He started rattling off words from the first day and has now developed sentences and is rapidly improving in his communication. He still has intestinal inflammation problems however, but somehow with these probiotics he is speaking in spite of that.
Recently he started complaining "too noisy" and covering his ears again, also saying "What's that sound?" I found information regarding Magnesium and Autism so we started using Magnesium transdermal cream, Magnesium Glycinate (Kirkman Labs.), and Magnesium Bath Flakes (Swanson Vitamins). However, I did not think this had anything to do with his hearing sensitivity issues, but the Magnesium is indeed improving this greatly. Just recently I read another article on Magnesium which stated that one of many symptoms resulting from Magnesium deficiency is "sensitivity to loud noises".
Magnesium Glycinate -
http://www.healthbeyondhype.com/magnesium-glycinate-p-179.html
So although Methyl B-12 resolved the demylination issue, he had a secondary issue with Magnesium depletion due to vaccine toxicity. The magnesium also stopped his leg cramping at night and improved his sleep further. [Also through researching Magnesium I discovered that it is primary to healthy blood pressure, and so this has been a lifesaver for my own high blood pressure which came down dramatically.]
Go Here for info: http://www.ancient-minerals.com/#recommendation
Is Ancient Minerals topical magnesium beneficial for detoxification?
Magnesium is not only beneficial, but essential! The body utilizes alkaline minerals such as magnesium to process cellular debris and counteract elevated uric acid production when combating a detox reaction. In addition, if there is not an adequate amount of magnesium for combating the detox reaction, it will remove the magnesium from the bones and body for this purpose. Studies have shown that magnesium is one of the most commonly deficient nutrients in the chemically toxic individual. People who tend to retain chemical and heavy metal toxins were observed to excrete a high amount of magnesium in their urine, and have problems maintaining adequate magnesium levels. Most importantly, magnesium shields our cells from heavy metals such as aluminum, mercury, lead, cadmium, beryllium and nickel, which rationalizes why we so desperately need magnesium for heavy metal detoxification. Magnesium, for the most part, is indispensable for the survival of our cells, but takes on additional significance in the age of toxicity where our systems are being overrun on a daily basis with heavy metals.
There is escalating evidence that low levels of magnesium plays a role in the deposition of heavy metals that may have accumulated in brain tissue. In fact, the cause and solution of numerous physical maladies can be as easy as correcting a magnesium deficiency. In addition, many of the difficulties with mercury chelation can be reduced when the subject is administered sufficient magnesium. Most information associated with chelation will tell you that chelating wastes minerals and yet very little investigation has been done into the critical mineral whose loss cannot be tolerated without unacceptable risk. Magnesium is vital for phase one detoxification and along with other minerals such as zinc, dislodges toxic heavy metals from the body. The bottom line is that magnesium is a fundamental factor in the natural self-cleansing and detoxification responses of the body. According to Doctor Frederica P. Perera, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences and Director of the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health, there is a 500-fold difference in the ability of each person to detoxify the same exact toxin. One of the main indicators - is each individual's level of magnesium. For these
reasons, the use of Ancient Minerals magnesium oil, magnesium gel, and magnesium flakes, provides the user with a foundational support system for safe and efficient detox.
HERE is the best article I have ever found regarding Magnesium and Autism.
"Magnesium and Autism" HERE:
http://magnesiumforlife.com/medical-application/magnesium-and-autism/#arrive
I guess we all know by now that the Medical Detective work is never ending and the Crime Scene Investigation continues....
Posted by: Autism Grandma | January 03, 2011 at 10:50 PM
They are going to put this in vaccines...
http://video.godlikeproductions.com/video/BP_Oil_Geyser_2010_-creating_OMG_Synthia_Syn-Sin_thetic_Life
Posted by: Elucidatus | January 03, 2011 at 09:11 PM
Good work, Teresa. Nuclei in the brainstem auditory pathway have greater blood flow than any other area of the brain, thus they are exposed to more of any toxic substance that gets into the circulation. Aerobic metabolism is also higher in nuclei of the auditory pathway.
My son, Conrad, had to be resuscitated at birth, and that was my starting point for trying to understand his difficulties learning to speak. The October 1969 issue of the Scientific American had an article on asphyxia at birth by William F. Windle. In experiments with monkeys they found damage in the auditory pathway as the primary result of asphyxiation at birth.
I posted my ideas on www.conradsimon.org eleven years ago. Still I have had no luck bringing auditory problems to anyone's attention. However, look at the research of N. Russo et al. Brainstem transcription of speech is disrupted in children with autism spectrum disorders. Dev Sci. 2009 Jul;12(4):557-67. I tried to bring this and other papers by Russo et al. to the attention of the IACC, with no luck.
I would love to find a group like AOA to push for more attention to the auditory problems of children with autism.
Posted by: Eileen Nicole Simon | January 03, 2011 at 07:39 PM
Great research, Teresa!
One of the sets of dots that I feel doctors and researchers have left unconnected are those that are shared between autism and Meniere's "Disease" (which is really a syndrome, not a disease).
Meniere's is characterized by periodic hearing loss, dizziness/vertigo, tinnitus, and HYPERACUSIS (hypersensitivity to sound).
These symptoms can be caused by many things, including vitamin deficiencies, cervical misalignments, viral flares (especially herpes viruses, including zoster, or chicken pox), candida albicans, and, based on what I just read here, MERCURY POISONING. (And nobody, to my knowledge, is aware that mercury poisoning can cause any of the symptoms of Meniere's!)
Go to any Meniere's forum and you'll see the same complaints we autism parents have: the doctor tell you there is no cure, and brush you off with prescriptions for antipsychotics.
Think of the symptoms, too: imagine a TODDLER with periodic hearing loss, dizziness, tinnitus, and hyperacusis. An adult can articulate what's wrong, because they've experienced NOT having those symptoms. But a toddler? Hmm, there's one good explanation to autistic behavior, especially with intestinal problems on top of everything else.
This thread on the Meniere's forum: http://www.menieres.org/forum/index.php/topic,25945.0.html details many of the known causes of Meniere's symptoms. Autism parents might be interested to see how many of them (perhaps all) overlap with causes of autism symptoms (like celiac and vitamin deficiencies).
My hope is that somebody reading this post might be able to connect the dots between vaccines, autism and Meniere's "disease."
Posted by: Taximom | January 03, 2011 at 07:00 PM
Hyperacuity and hyperacusis are pure symptoms of another disease state, lyme disease. Please check your children for this with www.igenex.com and go to a lyme literate physician who knows how to treat these kids. www.liafoundation.org
Also, I see a connection with vitiligo and autism, sometimes running in families, I have it, and I have two with autism. Please see STOP CALLING IT AUTISM and read his article on vitiligo, which is a melanin synthesis, autoantibody condtiion, and oh, less I forget, very much connected to inability to digest gluten as well.
Posted by: kathy blanco | January 03, 2011 at 06:40 PM
I would be interested in having my son participate in some sort of a study if one is ever done. His ABR showed normal hearing as did his recently completed full hearing tests yet he has some severe sensitivity to sounds and like many children with ASD carries the large sound reducing head phones in his carry bag just in case some loud noise pierces his brain. I have the results of the ABR and hearing tests that I would be happy to share with the you or anyone that might be collecting data.
Posted by: Lisa B | January 03, 2011 at 06:38 PM
Your articles on melanin prompted some thoughts in me today. I wondered about the relationship between melanin and folate? The reason why is because my son ( HF Aspergers and mito dysfunction) and I are very fair skinned - very white - and do not tan well, if at all. Recently, we found that my son has folate binding autoantibodies and his neurologist put him on a high dose prescription folate ( 50mg/day). After a few months on this, my son told me he did not need his glasses anymore and that he was seeing double with them. Previously, he had always worn them, claiming he could not see and had difficulties with binocular vision/double vision. Upon taking him to the eye doctor, it was found that his vision had improved to 20/30 and the issues with binocular vision were minimal now. The only change was added folate.
I did some research on folate and binocular vision. It seems that the MTHFR C677T varient predisposes one to issues with binocular vision (BV) and folate supplementation can improve BV. While I do not know my son's MTHFR status, I know that I have a single mutation on that gene and allele.
So after reading your article, I decided to look up folate and melanin. What do you know??? It seems that melanin is protective of folate and also serves to preserve immune function ( my son also has immune dysfunction and gets sick a lot). I don't know if the folate supplementation will improve his immune system eventually, we shall have to wait and see.
Just thought I'd share another little piece of the puzzle..
Thanks
Laura Cox
Posted by: Laura | January 03, 2011 at 05:57 PM
Great article, and the information does fit with what is seen in the autism community. But, I think there is so much more. In recovering my children, their skin went from pale to beige. I am not sure how much being born with lower mellatonin effects one, but surely since they lose their paleness as they lose their autism symptoms, it is a sign that there is a connection.
Posted by: Heidi N | January 03, 2011 at 05:36 PM
Hello , I’ve researched the aetiology of autism for the last 10 yrs ,i put the case for altered gut flora by the use of antibiotics as the root cause of autism in my site [URL below] ..please find below important information on the vitally important role of normal gut flora in excreting from the body ..In other words without normal gut flora mercury and other xenobiotics accumulate in the body .. The evidence is clear .Read my site for evidence that antibiotics are causing a environmental catastrophe of unprecedented proportions ..
http://www.yeast-candida-infections-uk.co.uk/
J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2007 Jun;70(12):1046-51.
Mercury, lead, and zinc in baby teeth of children with autism versus controls.
Adams JB, Romdalvik J, Ramanujam VM, Legator MS.
Chemical and Materials Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.
Abstract
This study determined the level of mercury, lead, and zinc in baby teeth of children with autism spectrum disorder (n = 15, age 6.1 +/- 2.2 yr) and typically developing children (n = 11, age = 7 +/- 1.7 yr). Children with autism had significantly (2.1-fold) higher levels of mercury but similar levels of lead and similar levels of zinc. Children with autism also had significantly higher usage of oral antibiotics during their first 12 mo of life, and possibly higher usage of oral antibiotics during their first 36 mo of life. Baby teeth are a good measure of cumulative exposure to toxic metals during fetal development and early infancy, so this study suggests that children with autism had a higher body burden of mercury during fetal/infant development. Antibiotic use is known to almost completely inhibit excretion of mercury in rats due to alteration of gut flora. Thus, higher use of oral antibiotics in the children with autism may have reduced their ability to excrete mercury, and hence may partially explain the higher level in baby teeth. Higher usage of oral antibiotics in infancy may also partially explain the high incidence of chronic gastrointestinal problems in individuals with autism.
PMID: 17497416 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Arch Environ Health. 1984 Nov-Dec;39(6):401-8.
Effects of diet on mercury metabolism and excretion in mice given methylmercury: role of gut flora.
Rowland IR, Robinson RD, Doherty RA.
Abstract
Mice fed either (1) a pelleted rodent diet, (2) evaporated milk, or (3) a synthetic diet (high protein, low fat) exhibited different rates of whole body mercury elimination and fecal mercury excretion after exposure (per os) to methylmercuric chloride. The percentage of the total mercury body burden present as mercuric mercury was highest (35.3%) in mice fed the synthetic diet (which had the highest rate of mercury elimination) and lowest (6.6%) in the animals having the lowest mercury elimination rate (milk-fed mice). Mice fed the synthetic diet had lower mercury concentrations and had a higher proportion of mercuric mercury in their tissues than the mice from the other dietary groups. Treatment of the mice with antibiotics throughout the experimental period to suppress the gut flora reduced fecal mercury excretion and the dietary differences in whole body retention of mercury. Tissue mercury concentrations and proportion of organic mercury in feces, cecal contents, liver, and kidneys were increased by antibiotic treatment of mice fed the pelleted or synthetic diets. These results are consistent with the theory that demethylation of methylmercury by intestinal microflora is a major factor determining the excretion rate of mercury.
PMID: 6524959 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Posted by: Paul Jaep | January 03, 2011 at 05:23 PM
Thank you so much for connecting all of the dots. As a red head, this interests me very much. Even though my kids are not red-heads, they definitely have my genes, fair skin and blue eyes. Thank you for your continued research.
I also wonder about the Irish and celiac connection. Those of Irish or Scandinavian descent are much more prone to celiac disease and gluten intolerance. So there would seem to be underlying conditions already in place in the gut that could potentially place a fair-skinned at risk for gut and immune system disorders....exacerbated by environmental factors such as vaccines, mercury, pollution, etc.
Posted by: Catherine | January 03, 2011 at 05:19 PM
I'm in Australia - read, way behind the eight ball in medical terms.
For the seven years he's been alive, I've been knocking on doctor's doors with my son, wanting them to help him with the sound sensitive part of his 'high functioning' (their words, not mine) autism.
In the absence of a bleeding artery, they tell me 'he's fine'.
If fine is packing headphones, ipods and musicians ear plugs everywhere we go, being massively immune compromised, missing 1/3 of all school days last year and always holding his hands half way to his ears in case some seemingly innocuous noise stabs his brain through his ears... then, yeah, he's fit as a fiddle. Just don't play that fiddle near him.
This article is just what I need to start the next episode of our life story (I like to call it CSI:ASD).
Posted by: Valerie Foley | January 03, 2011 at 04:23 PM
Look at what we are discovering- Autistic kids, who appear to have normal hearing and sight, in fact, do not have either. Probably this explains why I have not yet had an autistic kid in my nursery school who seemed to benefit from "classtime" In my school, classtime involves sitting at about a distance of 5 to 9 feet from the teacher and listening to a story (with pictures in the book shown) or watching a simple activity on the blackboard. The autistic kids just dont watch or listen much. They do better sitting next to a teacher - one on one.
Posted by: Cherry Sperlin Misra | January 03, 2011 at 03:05 PM
I am very fair with red hair. My son is also very fair... we both have processing delays. As usual, amazing work Teresa! This is so important.
Posted by: casey | January 03, 2011 at 01:25 PM
Amazing work Ms. Conrick. Seek and you will find ..............
Posted by: Adam M | January 03, 2011 at 12:21 PM
Excellent sleuthing Teresa! Everyone suspects hearing loss when a child starts to regress, most hearing tests find nothing because they are not looking at the processing of the hearing or ABS response testing. My son had numerous hearing testing done, testing for fluid, testing for hearing in that infamous booth, testing with the headphones on. Not until he was 9 years old did he get a BEAM test finding that his auditory response could not tell the difference between speech and noise, not at all. Zero. All noise comes at him at once all together.
Even though he is still very affected, it's amazed me since the test, that he's been able to make the progress in the expressive and receptive speech that he has, no conversation yet but he's filtering some of it somehow..
I think the mercury continues to take a toll on all of our kids as they age. Their bodies were not made to rid themselves of continuous injections of mercury.
Thank you for connecting so many of the dots Teresa!
Posted by: Allison | January 03, 2011 at 10:04 AM
There is no doubt in my mind that mercury in vaccines have caused most all the Central Auditory Processing Disorders we see today. I have two children who both suffer from it and it sucks. Like I've said before, the autism may be gone but the brain damage still exists. This is an area which needs research into effective treatment.
Posted by: Holly M. | January 03, 2011 at 08:58 AM
I have long wondered if Helen Keller was mercury-poisoned by a doctor treating whatever illness she had.
One of my kids spoke very clearly and very early--yet had slurred speech and pronounced difficulty understanding conversation and directions by first grade (after multiple thimerosal shots). Testing showed she had lost her upper range hearing somewhere along the way. In researching what might cause hearing loss, I found information that various chemical exposures could lead to hearing loss, so I have strongly suspected her mercury exposures were the most likely explanation.
I also lost my upper range hearing rather suddenly, years earlier, as an adult. In hindsight, I think this happened following a dental appointment involving the placement of multiple mercury amalgams. I wonder if "age-related" hearing loss sometimes results from cumulative mercury exposures--from multiple sources.
For a few years conversations around our house were nearly impossible--a comedy of misunderstandings. Though misunderstandings still occur, they seem to be much less frequent, and conversations much more often coherent, after years of Cutler style mercury detox of all.
Thanks for your research.
Posted by: Sue | January 03, 2011 at 08:30 AM
An explanation why so many of our kids have ear infections so early on in life and continue to do so? I know my youngest grandson had an ear infection at 5 days old(having had the hepB vaccine). Thanks Teresa for some very interesting material.
Maurine
Posted by: Maurine Meleck | January 03, 2011 at 08:03 AM