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A Link Between Autism and Thimerosal?
tessellation writes "Environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has just published a review of evidence for the link between thimerosal (a mercury-based preservative added to vaccines until 2003) and the autism epidemic. It also details attempts by the FDA and CDC to protect the drug industry from litigation by producing favorable results rather than objective studies: '"Four current studies are taking place to rule out the proposed link between autism and thimerosal," Dr. Gordon Douglas, then-director of strategic planning for vaccine research at the National Institutes of Health, assured a Princeton University gathering in May 2001. "In order to undo the harmful effects of research claiming to link the [measles] vaccine to an elevated risk of autism, we need to conduct and publicize additional studies to assure parents of safety." Douglas formerly served as president of vaccinations for Merck, where he ignored warnings about thimerosal's risks." How often are studies successfully altered by funding agencies to conceal negative results?"
Wow. I didn't realize I'd stumbled onto CoastToCoastAM.com - I thought this was slashdot! What's next - a Slashdot story on chemtrails and Mel's Hole? While I agree that your typical drug company is about as evil as it gets, I have to employ a serious dose of skepticism whenever the source of a story is a mix of Art Bell/George Noorey/CoastToCoastAM, an Environmentalist and a Kennedy.
Anyway, I don't see why this is a surprise. Even a layman could have guessed that autism is often (if not always) the result of environmental factors. And why are we surprised that drugs have unwanted effects? We know that commonly prescribed drugs for acne, depression, hyper-activity have side effects like suicidal tendencies.
See, we have to ban yellow and red dyes from M&Ms, but god forbid we make pharmaceutical companies get with the program on the dangerous substances they pump into people.
And I don't see how they can't be held liable if a link isn't found. After all, if a woman is a crackhead or drinks a lot, she can be held accountable for her child's defects (and negligence).
Seriously. Assume that some of the people who read these comments are not psychology students/PhDs/what-have-you. The fact that this may be a well-known problem in this field is irrelevant. Bohr, Heisenberg, and Plank want us to remember that Observation Affects Results. If you are not familiar with The History Of Physics, that statement is likely to be gobbeldygook.
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. (Einstein)
You are an asshat. You may have specifically asked for background material, but one quick hit of the google bong gave me a highly informative set of results on this interesting subject. You are a troll, and should be treated as such.
People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.
Youre a douche, have you not ever heard of wikipedia? it takes whats 5 seconds to do a search on it?
Take your spoon. Go to http://google.com/ or http://wikipedia.com/. Feed yourself. It has taken you longer to complain at others here for not feeding you than it would to find it yourself. You're demonstrating the Lazy Silver Spoon effect... (and I don't have the link for that. Sorry.)