<a
href=http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2001/05/27/stinwenws02006.html
target=new>http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2001/05/27/stinwenws0200\
6.html</a><br><br>MERCURY in vaccines for babies and infants could be the
cause of a steep rise in cases of autism in children
around the world, according to a growing number of
scientists. <br><br>The increase in reports of autism in
Britain, America and some other countries coincides with a
growth in the number of inoculations given to young
children, say the researchers. <br><br>Many of the vaccines
contain a preservative called thiomersal, which is 49.6%
mercury - a substance known to have neurotoxic effects,
especially in infants whose brains are still developing.
Symptoms are similar to those displayed by autistic
children. <br><br>Autism is a spectrum of disorders which
range in severity from bizarre, violent behaviour to an
inability to communicate or interact socially, along with
repetitive patterns of behaviour. <br><br>Estimates of the
prevalence of the syndrome in Britain range from 10 cases
per 10,000 of the population with "classic" autism,
to 9.1 cases per 1,000 showing some signs of
autistic behaviour. <br><br>The National Autistic Society
estimates that there are about 500,000 people with autism
in Britain, 120,000 of them children. According to
one recent study, there has been a tenfold increase
among children between 1984 and 1994. <br><br>The new
possible explanation of the rise has emerged after a
two-month review of all the available information by The
Sunday Times. Several groups of academics and
researchers in America and Sweden are investigating similar
theories that a combination of factors is to blame.
<br><br>They include a genetic predisposition, the cumulative
effects of mercury in vaccines lowering the immune
system, with the controversial measles, mumps and rubella
(MMR) triple vaccine being a possible trigger.