(English) Reduced Levels of Mercury in First Baby Haircuts of Autistic Children

Authors: Amy S. Holmes a; Mark F. Blaxill b; Boyd E. Haley c
Affiliations: a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
b SafeMinds, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
c Chemistry Department, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
DOI: 10.1080/10915810305120
December 2008

Reported rates of autism have increased sharply in the United States and the United Kingdom. One possible factor underlying these increases is increased exposure to mercury through thimerosal-containing vaccines, but vaccine exposures need to be evaluated in the context of cumulative exposures during gestation and early infancy. Differential rates of postnatal mercury elimination may explain why similar gestational and infant exposures produce variable neurological effects.
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