Exposure to mercury through thimerosol
Reading through one of the latest issues of NeuroPsychiatry Review (November 2007, Volume 8, Number 11) I stumbled across a little bit of “News Roundup” about the exposure to mercury though thimerosol-containing vaccines.
There has been quite the controversy about vaccinations due to exposure to mercury, thimerosol. Parents nationwide are concerned about what toys they’re buying their children and what they’re putting into their children’s bodies. There has been a controversy about the connection between autism and mercury exposure, but this review journal says that there is “no casual association.”
The New England Journal of Medicine (September 27 edition) looked at over one thousand children’s neuropsyhological performance between ages seven to ten. Given 42 assessable outcomes, the associations they found were “small and almost equally divided between positive and negative effects.” In fact, the article writes that higher prenatal mercury exposure showing an improvement in language performance. However, there is also the other side showing that exposure in the first four weeks of life (from conception to day 28) results in a lower speech articulation test BUT an improved motor function control.
So, we know that a high amount of mercury exposure is detrimental to humans, but this study is also showing that there might be slight positive benefits to a bit of mercury exposure. Generally though, the Food and Drug Administration recommends that women thinking about becoming pregnant, are currently pregnant or nursing or feeding a young child should avoid swordfish, shark, tile fish, king mackerel & tuna due to high levels of mercury.
December 14th, 2007 at 11:35 pm
[...] women, and even those who might become pregnant, should keep their intake to a minimum. The element causes developmental delays in babies and children. It can be harmful to adults as well because our body accumulates and stores it until poisonous [...]