Here is an article that supports the implication of environmental factors, especially heavy metals, in autism spectrum disorders. Note that it is published in a conventional medical journal.
Porphyrin testing is offered at my office for $115. It is a simple urine test which takes about 2 weeks to get results back.
US Autism & Asperger Association, Inc. 2007
NEWS RELEASE:For Immediate Release - October 1, 2007
Urine Testing Confirms Autism is Mercury Poisoning
WASHINGTON, DC – A new peer-reviewed scientific/medical case study confirms that many children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) suffer from mercury poisoning. The new study, “A Prospective Study of Mercury Toxicity Biomarkers in Autistic Spectrum Disorders” by Mr. David A. Geier and Dr. Mark R. Geier has been published in the most recent issue of the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A (volume 70, issue 20, pgs 1723-1730). This study utilized urinary porphyrin profile analysis (UPPA) to assess body-burden and physiological effects of mercury in children diagnosed with ASDs. Using UPPA, Geier and Geier (2007) examined 71 children diagnosed with ASDs, neurotypical siblings, and general population controls. The researchers studied urinary porphyrin patterns using results reported both by the US Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp) and the French Laboratoire Philippe Auguste. Their findings demonstrated that: * Only the non-chelated patients diagnosed with ASDs had porphyrin patterns indicative of clinical mercury toxicity. * Treating ASD diagnosed patients with chelating agents resulted in lower mercury-specific urinary porphyrins. * The UPPA patterns reported were consistent between the two labs used. The results of the present study confirm and extend previous observations by Nataf et al. (2006) and Geier and Geier (2006) on the use of UPPA profiling to establish the causal role for mercury in ASDs. Additionally, the current findings are consistent with those observed by many other physicians who treat patients diagnosed with both ASDs and mercury toxicity. Thus, urinary porphyrin profile testing is being successfully used to: * Demonstrate the role of mercury in ASD populations, * Identify those children and adults who are mercury poisoned, and * Track mercury excretion from affected children undergoing treatment. For the past several years there has been a raging controversy as to whether or not mercury in medicines, especially in vaccines, has caused a dramatic rise in the rate of children diagnosed with an ASD. Many experts have insisted ASDs are caused by some yet-to-be-identified genetic cause. A paper recently published in Nature Genetics described the results of multi-million-dollar genetics study (which studied a thousand-plus families with at least two children diagnosed with an ASD using in-depth genetic screening). Tellingly, the authors reported, “None of our linkage results can be interpreted as 'statistically significant'…”(The Autism Genome Project Consortium 2007). With the current study's results, public health officials should now publicly admit what they have been saying in their private transcripts and memos: Mercury from Thimerosal-containing vaccines and other medicines has been a major cause of ASD cases, which, based on recent CDC estimates (CDC 2007), may exceed a rate of one in 100 children. Today, any parent, physician, or healthcare provider can easily confirm whether a non-chelated child with an ASD diagnosis is mercury poisoned by having UPPA testing run at either laboratory. CoMeD's web site, http://www.Mercury-freeDrugs.org contains: * Further information on how to order these tests, * Full copies of the Nataf et al. (2006), Geier and Geier (2006), & Geier and Geier (2007), and * Some of the many published papers validating the UPPA test.Contact:CoMeD President [Rev. Lisa K. Sykes (Richmond, VA) 804-364-8426] CoMeD Sci. Advisor [Dr. King (Lake Hiawatha, NJ) 973-997-1321] Click here to read"A Prospective Study of Mercury Toxicity Biomarkers in Autistic Spectrum Disorders," David A. Geier, Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA, Mark R. Geier, MD, PhD, Genetic Centers of America, Silver Spring, Maryland, USASummaryPorphyrins are derivatives formed in the heme synthesis pathway and porphyrins afford a measure of xenobiotic exposure. The steps in the heme pathway most vulnerable to heavy metal inhibition are uroporphyrin decarboxylase (UROD) and coproporphyrinogen oxidase (CPOX) reactions. Mercury toxicity was associated with elevations in urinary coproporphyrin (cP), pentacarboxyporphyrin (5cxP), and precoproporphyrin (prcP) (also known as keto-isocoproporphyrin) levels. Two cohorts of autistic patients in the United States and France had urine porphyrin levels associated with mercury toxicity. A prospective study of urinary porphyrin testing at LabCorp (United States) and the Laboratoire Philippe Auguste (France) involving 71 autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients, neurotypical sibling controls, and general population controls was undertaken. ASD patients had significant elevations in urinary levels of cP, 5cxP, and prcP relative to controls, and > 50% of ASD patients had urinary cP levels more than 2 standard deviations above the mean values for neurotypical sibling controls. Significant reductions in urinary 5cxP and cP levels were observed in ASD patients following chelation. A significant correlation was found between urinary porphyrins measured at LabCorp and those measured at the Laboratoire Philippe Auguste on individual ASD patients. The established developmental neurotoxicity attributed to mercury and biochemical/genomic evidence for mercury susceptibility/ toxicity in ASDs indicates a causal role for mercury. Urinary porphyrin testing is clinically available, relatively inexpensive, and noninvasive. Porphyrins need to be routinely measured in ASDs to establish if mercury toxicity is a causative factor and to evaluate the effectiveness of chelation therapy.
Dr. Jennifer Reid
27530 SE Division Drive, Gresham, OR 97030 Telephone: (503)492-9427
