Study suggests mercury-containing preservative not responsible for autism

A new study released yesterday in the Archives of General Psychiatry state that rates of autism have increased in California despite the removal of the preservative thimerosal from childhood vaccines seven years ago, according to published reports.

Parents, however, are still operating under the belief that the preservative, which contains trace amounts of mercury, has a part in causing autism; the drug is still available in such other vaccines as flu shots which are given to pregnant women.

Cases of autism, a neurological disorder marked by profound communication problems and impaired social skills, have exploded in the past two decades, pushing the condition to the forefront of medical research. Autism was considered rare before the 1990s, afflicting as few as 5 children per 10,000 births, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated last year that as many as 1 in 150 children is diagnosed with autism now.

Now, with the disagreement, more money will have to be invested to prove if this study is correct or not. Some health care professionals, though, are upset that this study has not satisfied parents’ concerns with thimerosal and are claiming that the money should be spent on looking for solutions to the disease rather than on more tests for the preservative.