Mercury and Autism - Research Paper Example

Mercury and Autism Autism is a developmental disorder, which makes children experience a different life from that experienced bynormal healthy children. It is characterized by impaired development in communication, behaviors, and social interactions (Ball, 148). This developmental disorder is common, affecting two out of every 1000 children worldwide. Autism is more common in the male gender, as compared to the female, having every five boys suffer from the disorder, for every one girl affected (Fombonne, 15). The signs and symptoms that an individual is suffering from this disorder normally portrays and becomes apparent, before a child attains the age of three years. This disorder affects how the nerve cells in the brain connect to synapses, thus affecting the way information is processed in the brain. As a result, an individual suffers from communication problem as well as restricted and repetitive behavior (Gerber, 456). However, with cognitive care, those children suffering from the disorder can be assisted to have a more fulfilling life, through attaining self-care. When the necessary intervention is afforded to the victims of the disorder from early in their life, then, they can be assisted to develop communication and social skills, which goes along way is helping them easily associate with the rest of the society. There is no known cure for this disorder. However, there have been noted some cases where children suffering from this disorder have recovered and tended to live a normal life (Augustine, 12). Nevertheless, many of the children even after attaining adulthood still live a dependent life. There has been many explanations and theories developed regarding the causes of Autism. While on one hand it is associated with genetic makeup, it has also been associated with the infection of the brain with heavy metals. The earlier theories proposed that 90% of cases of Autism could be accounted for by hereditary factors (Barrett, 46). There seems to be an underrating emphasis on the role of the environmental factors in causing this disorder, and more emphasis on the genetic makeup. However, the heredity and gene factor as the cause of Autism is not clear; since it has not been established as regards, which genes are responsible for this disorder. Thus, many causes of the disorder have been associated with child immunization, though not enough evidence has been given by the studies undertaken, to this effect (Landa, 18). Autism theories, seeking its main causes are still incomplete, since the perspective held by many, that there was a single cause for this disorder has changed with time, with many studies undertaken suggesting the existence of more than one causative agents (Rogers, 127). However, there has been a shared opinion among the studies undertaken that gene factor dominates among the causes of this disorder. There have been noted some environmental factors, which are believed to accelerate this disorder. These environmental factors include some foods, diesel exhausts, solvents, infectious diseases, pesticides, illicit drugs, vaccines, as well as heavy metals (Ball, 150). However, among these factors, vaccines and heavy metals have been particularly of major concerns, owing to the stage at which the symptoms of the disorder become apparent. The associations of vaccines and heavy metals, notably mercury with Autism dsoder as causative agents have become a controversial issue. This has made parents become reluctant to have their children immunized, in that the fear that vaccines can cause such a disorder has crept in the society (Parker, 802). There has been a claim that vaccine that contains thiomersal, which is mercury based agent used, as a preservative is a contributive factor to Autism and other mental disorders (Pichichero, 1740). This preservative has been used for preserving vaccines since 1930s, to ensure that the vaccines are free from the bacterial and the fungal contaminations (Silverman, 39). More suspicion about the likelihood of the preservative causing the disorder is the fact that it was quickly faced out as a vaccine preservative in the USA, ones a claim was raised that it could be a causative agent to this disorder. The removal of this preservative served to make many parents believe that it was one of the causative agents of the disorder, consequently making them avoid any immunization for their children. There has been many subsequent studies and analysis of the likelihood of the preservative causing this disorder (Shattuck, 29). The clinical symptoms of mercury poisoning have differed greatly with the other symptoms associated with Autism. This has served to make it possible to distance Autism from being a disorder likely caused by this preservative, which is mercury based. There are some reasons that have been put forward to the effect that mercury based substances are not the causative agents for this disorder. The fact that Autism has continued to be diagnosed among children even after the removal of this mercury based preservative from vaccines, is such one reason (Volkmar, 33). Out of this observation, many health organizations, and governmental agencies, such as the World Health Organization as well as the Food and Drug Administration have rejected any role of the mercury-based components in causing Autism disorder (Rapin, 45). There has been many controversies caused by this claim, that mercury based substances have a role in causing Autism. This has caused parents with those children who suffer from the disorder try to treat their children with other means, which have not been proven. The other harm caused by the claim is that many parents have been discouraged from taking their children for routine vaccinations and immunizations, because of the fear that such practices subscribes to this disorder. A major harm caused by this claim is that many resources have been diverted from research, to concentrate on this area. Many researchers and scientific bodies have committed most of their valuable resources and time to undertake the study on the relationship between mercury based components and Autism disorder (Gerber, 459). There have also been many cases filed in the courts, where parents are seeking damages over the intoxication of their children with mercury based vaccines, which they claim has caused the disorder in their children. There has been some rationale applied to the effect that mercury poisoning is not related to Autism disorder. The symptoms depicted by patients who are suffering from mercury poisoning are quite different from those depicted by individuals suffering from Autism (Fombonne, 16). Additionally, the features of the brains of people suffering from mercury poisoning infections are very different from the features of the brains of those individuals suffering from Autism disorder. To further refute the claim that mercury is a causative agent to Autism, it has been argued that the population living in Minamata Bay, Japan, ought to have significantly depicted high cases of Autism disorder, out of the mercury poisoning that occurred there (Landa, 23). Owing to the fact that there has not been any evidence to the effect that Autism is dominant in this area as opposed to other areas of Japan that were not involved in the poisoning, then mercury is not causative agent of this disorder. One of the rationale used by parents to associate the mercury based substance with Autism disorder is the fact that the symptoms of the disorders become apparent at a stage where their children are undergoing such vaccinations. However, the mere coincidence of the occurrence of the symptoms at a stage when the vaccination is administered on the children is not a sufficient reason to associate mercury with Autism, in that such an association of mere coincidence does not establish the causation (Augustine, 18). Through various studies that have been undertaken, there lacks any evidence to link mercury based substances to the body physiological mechanisms such as metabolic, developmental or immune (Silverman, 28). Since these are the mechanisms, which could be related to the development of Autism, then, there lacks any basis to link mercury to Autism. There lacks any study that has concluded that Autism is related to the vaccinations obtained by children. The fact that there was an observed increase in the cases of Autism diagnosed in Denmark between 1991 and 1996, after the removal of mercury based preservative in vaccinations also serves to indicate that there is little to link mercury to Autism, as a causative agent (Ball, 153). The case was similar in Canada in the period after 1996, when thimerosal was eliminated in the vaccines. Another major evidence that has been put forward to the effect that Autism is not caused by mercury is the fact that some genetic defects, which are known to be caused by the environmental factors have been noted to be already present in the newborn children. If such defect, as associated with mercury-based component, were only caused by environmental influences, then, there could be a cause to believe that Autism is caused by such substances (Barrett, 55). Since the defects are diagnosed in the newly born children who have not been exposed to any of such environmental influences, then, it provides sufficient evidence that it is not the mercury components in children vaccines that causes Autism disorder. Therefore, there lacks evidence to the effect that mercury causes Autism. Works Cited Augustine, Burgess. Quality of life for people with autism: raising the standard for evaluating successful outcomes. Child Adolesc Ment Health, 2007. 12-18. Print. Ball, Lenny. An assessment of thimerosal in childhood vaccines. Pediatrics, 2001. 147-154. Print. Barrett, Stephen. Edelson Center closed after three suits alleging fraud and malpractice. Quack watch, 2006. 45-56. Print. Fombonne, Elias. Thimerosal disappears but autism remains. Archives of General Psychiatry, 2008.15-16. Print. Gerber, Soffit. Vaccines and autism: A tale of shifting hypotheses. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2009. 456-461. Print. Landa, Richard. Early communication development and intervention for children with autism. Ment Retard Dev Disabil Res Rev, 2007. 16-25. Print. Parker, Schwartz. Thimerosal-containing vaccines and autistic spectrum disorder: a critical review of published original data. Pediatrics, 2004. 793-804. Print. Pichichero, Martin. Mercury concentrations and metabolism in infants receiving vaccines containing thimerosal: a descriptive study. Lancet, 2002. 1737-1741. Print. Rapin, Tuchman. Autism: definition, neurobiology, screening, diagnosis. Pediatr Clin North Am, 2008. 29-46. Print Rogers, Johnson. What are infant siblings teaching us about autism in infancy? Autism Res, 2009. 125-137. Print. Shattuck, Petersons. The Contribution of Diagnostic Substitution to the Growing Administrative Prevalence of Autism in US Special Education. Pediatrics, 2006. 28-37. Print. Silverman, Charles. Fieldwork on another planet: social science perspectives on the autism spectrum. Biosocieties, 2008. 25-41. Print. Volkmar, Chawarska. Autism in infancy and early childhood. Annu Rev Psychol, 2005. 15–36. Print. Read More