Sunday, December 3, 2017

Unlucky 13: Aluminum Toxicity in Autism

 
A few days ago, new research published in the Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology showed “shockingly high” levels of aluminum in the brains of teenagers diagnosed with autism. [To read an excellent article from the Children’s Medical Safety Research Institute, who funded this study, please click here.] Compared to previous brain studies of people who did not have autism, those with autism had much higher aluminum levels found in all four lobes of the brain. In fact, the results of this study found “some of the highest values of aluminum yet measured in human brain tissue.”

The author of the study, Dr. Christopher Exley, Professor in Bioinorganic Chemistry at Keele University in England notes the potential impact of high levels of aluminum upon the brain, stating, “…these very high concentrations of a neurotoxin in brain tissue are not going to be benign and will contribute to neurodegeneration in affected tissues.” Dr. Exley, who also published recent research regarding high levels of aluminum in the brains of those who died of Alzheimer’s disease, poses an important question: “One has to wonder why aluminum in the occipital lobe of a 15-year-old boy with autism would be a value that is at least 10 times higher than what might be considered acceptable for an elderly adult?”

So how did the aluminum get into the brain in the first place? This research indicates that inflammatory cells loaded with aluminum cross the blood-brain barrier. A potential source of this aluminum is adjuvants from vaccines. Adjuvants are used to improve the immune response in vaccines, according to information from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia [To read this report, please click here.] CHOP asserts that the maximum amount of aluminum that an infant following the recommended vaccine schedule for the first year would receive is about 4 milligrams, which they assure is a safe level, especially compared to the aluminum they may be also ingesting from breast milk or formula. Although aluminum is a known neurotoxin present in food that apparently cannot be avoided, they, nonetheless, still recommend injecting infants with additional amounts that can end up in their developing brains.

In addition, they also note that aluminum from vaccines enters the bloodstream, whereas aluminum from food enters the intestines, where less than one percent is absorbed into the blood. To reassure parents, they state, “The ability of the body to rapidly eliminate aluminum accounts for its excellent record of safety.” Even though aluminum is present in DPT, Hib, and hepatitis shots routinely given to infants, this should not concern parents, according to CHOP’s position.

But what about those infants whose ability to eliminate toxins from their system has been compromised, as is frequently found in children with autism? Children with autism often have toxic metals in their system that their bodies have not purged. For example, tests revealed that Alex had toxic levels of arsenic, mercury, lead, and aluminum. Since his body could not detox itself, he had to go through chelation therapy in which he took DMSA, sulfur-based pills designed to bond with the toxic metals and remove them from his body. In addition, he took magnesium glycinate supplements to reduce his aluminum load. To prevent further accumulation of aluminum, we don’t cook his food in aluminum pans, and he has used aluminum-free deodorants for many years. (He currently uses Arm and Hammer’s Essentials deodorant with natural deodorizers and no aluminum or parabens.) He regularly takes baths with Epsom salt, which is magnesium sulfate, to detox his body. Most importantly, he has not received any more vaccines in the past twenty years. Nonetheless, I still wonder how much damage aluminum adjuvants from his childhood vaccines have done to his developing brain. How many children and adults with autism are suffering the ill effects of aluminum poisoning similar to those found in elderly Alzheimer’s patients?

Certainly, more research needs to be done regarding why people with autism may have more aluminum in their brains, the impact this neurotoxin may have upon their behavior and learning, and how to heal their brains. Another report that received very little attention in the mainstream media last week involved the new statistics released by the National Health Center for Health Statistics regarding the prevalence of autism. [To read an outstanding article on this topic, please click here.] In honor of my son who loves numbers and statistics, I offer the following shocking percentages and ratios:

The rate of autism spectrum disorders for 2016 is 2.76%.

That translates into 1 in 36 American children with autism, up from 1 in 45.

Since autism is more prevalent in boys, the rate is 1 in 28 boys born between 2014-2016.

NCHS statistics indicate a 147% increase in children with autism in less than a decade.

Our society is ill-prepared to care for the multitude of children with autism who will become adults with autism. Consequently, more research must be done to find a cure for autism now. Maybe aluminum holds the key to this mystery and needs further investigation, and perhaps the effect of aluminum adjuvants should be considered. I'm not a doctor––just an autism mom looking for ways to help my child heal. However, I do know that God has a divine plan, and I must have faith to wait for the “appointed time” that He has promised.

“For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.” Habakkuk 2:3

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