Blood Levels of Mercury Are Related to Diagnosis of Autism: A Reanalysis of an Important Data Set

Abstract

The question of what is leading to the apparent increase in autism is of great importance. Like the link between aspirin and heart attack, even a small effect can have major health implications. If there is any link between autism and mercury, it is absolutely crucial that the first reports of the question are not falsely stating that no link occurs. We have reanalyzed the data set originally reported by Ip et al. in 2004 and have found that the original p value was in error and that a significant relation does exist between the blood levels of mercury and diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder. Moreover, the hair sample analysis results offer some support for the idea that persons with autism may be less efficient and more variable at eliminating mercury from the blood.

The Role of Heavy Metal Pollution in Neurobehavioral Disorders: a Focus on Autism

“…The contradictory results may derive from different deposition of mercury in the two matrices, whereas dentin is living in tissue from the origin to the lost of tooth, enamel is completely formed only by 3-12 months of age (Ash and Nelson 2003;Adams et al 2012). A positive relationship has been also reported between Hg levels both in whole blood and red blood cells, and the degree of severity of autism (DeSoto and Hitlan 2007;Geier et al 2010). In contrast, results from another cohort study did not show any difference in total Hg in blood comparing children with ASD and controls .…”

Functionalized DNA Nanostructures for Nanomedicine

“…Abnormal ATP levels are observed in some metabolic diseases such as metabolic myopathies, [62] and elevated mercury levels indicate mercury poisoning or a possible autism diagnosis. [63,64] Therefore, such intracellular DNA-logic gate platforms could potentially be useful tools for disease diagnosis.…”

The Genetic and Epigenetic Basis Involved in the Pathophysiology of ASD: Therapeutic Implications

“…A few studies have documented higher serum lead levels [214] often associated with pica [215], although more recent studies show no difference between autism and control populations [216,217]. Association between mercury levels and autism is also somewhat contradictory [218]. Ethyl mercury is a component in the vaccine preservative thimerosal, which has received attention in recent years.…”