Unborn babies stewing in a sea of chemicals... Autism link?

[mamadadawahwah]

Just read a reuters news piece yesterday on a study done on feotuses. Here's the link:

news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050714/hl_nm/chemicals_dc

It says :

"Of the 287 chemicals we detected in umbilical-cord blood, we know that 180 cause cancer in humans or animals, 217 are toxic to the brain and nervous system, and 208 cause birth defects or abnormal development in animal tests," the report said.

Blood tests did not show how the chemicals got into the mothers' bodies, or what their effects might be on the babies.

MERCURY AND PESTICIDES

Among the chemicals found in the cord blood were methylmercury, produced by coal-fired power plants and certain industrial processes. People can breathe it in or eat it in seafood and it causes brain and nerve damage.

Also found were polyaromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, which are produced by burning gasoline and garbage and which may cause cancer; flame-retardant chemicals called polybrominated dibenzodioxins and furans; and pesticides including DDT and chlordane.

The same group analyzed the breast milk of mothers across the United States in 2003 and found varying levels of chemicals, including flame retardants known as PBDEs. This latest analysis also found PBDEs in cord blood.

I knew this all along, the question is what effect is this having? Any comments?

Oh give it a rest, mamadadawahwah. You're opinionated, what's wrong with other people voicing their opinion?

But mamadadawahwah - where exactly does it mention autism in the article? I haven't followed your link, so perhaps it gets mentioned there, but from the abstract you've posted I can't see any direct correlation.

It's nothing new, IMO, that environmental factors i.e. toxins, could play a part in contributing to some birth defects and neurological conditions.

I agree that it is important that there is more research funded into the causes of autism, along with many other neurological conditions or congenital diseases - however I think it is important not to start drawing casual hypotheses from a short research abstract. As Jimjams says, there are often several routes to any one condition.

Excuse me, but its me who has been labelled antagonistic and argumentative. What is mumsnet about except opinion anyway. I only come to mumsnet to see if there is anything of interest which I might be able to use. I dont know everything and never made out that I do.

I think more people would be more opinionated and would post more if they didnt think they would be given the same "labels" as me.

I welcome opinion and have never called anyone antagonistic or opinionated. Not my style thankfully.

Chonky, it might be nothing new to you, but I bet it is to lots of others. NOt only new but shocking. People just dont think about the toxins in their body, or even the fact that we could HAVE all those toxins in our body. There is bound to be an effect of this pollution in our bloodstreams.

The LINK with autism and no doubt other disorders and diseases/ and this article and others like it is that there is much research into mercury and autism. Pretty obvious that if autistic bodies can't excrete mercury properly there is a bet they might not be able to excrete other toxins.

The LINK too, is that there is very little political will imo for determining the rising cases of autism. Does the government really want to advise us that breathing air in a polluted city may harm your child. NOwehre have i ever seen a government warning at a petrol station, or outside a power plant to "hold your breath if you are pregnant".

Hate to say it but if this was an american based forum the comments views would be quite different. Is avoidance of arguing/public debate a particularly "british" thing, a particularly british "women" thing or what. Or is it just a mumsnet thing? One would have to do a study on the "kinds" of women coming to this forum, their social/economic backgrounds and political views to really determine how opinions are made on this forum. If i worried about what five or six of said I would be very foolish now wouldnt I.

thus concludes my participation on this thread.

Maybe the informed and opinionated people you are looking for are just waiting to get a word in edgeways?

Avoidance of arguing on MN?!

Don't think so...

How would the comments be different in America, MDWW? Have to say, whenever I've read your posts, I've thought you were overly aggressive and argumentative.

Snaf

I am not British (though live here)- Mumsnet is a public discussion and IMO a very reasonable and rational one with a lovely sense of self depreciating humour from many contributers. Would far rather this than 'conspiracy theory' arguments.
MDW you need to think about getting help for your son for the problems he has NOW. Finding out what caused them, which you will probably never really know, is not going to 'cure' him. When you have things in place for your son then think about looking at the bigger issues.
FWIW my 4yo DD with Hf ASD is making remarkle progress using conventional therapies such as SALT backed up with loads of input at home.

Also wanted to add, Dh is a scientist and I resent your conspiracy theory ideas of how scientists work and are funded. Certainly not true in DH field.
Secondly-RELAX. I found the best thing to help my DD was for me to relax, enjoy her company and have fun with her. This has probably helped her progress most of all.

mmddww the govt is quite open that pollution is not good for the environment. No-one tries to deny that- BUT getting rid of pollution would mean getting rid of the modern world and technology. Not going to happen short of some doomsday scenario.

I do think the dept of health was a little coy about the hornig et al paper-but to date there is no definitive clinical published research into autism and mercury- give it a few years and there may be- but not yet. And they are worried about throwing a complete spanner in the whole vaccination programme. A potential public health disaster. BUT following the publication of Hornig last year they DID remove thimerosal from childhood jabs so hardly merrily poisoning our kids on purpose. Most published research is on the effect of thimerosal on whole populations, rather than susceptible ones- so is fairly worthless in the autism debate.

Autism research is still in its infancy. Give time for it to be done. And in the meantime read the Schafer report carefully- he collates everything that has been written about autism Some of it is sensationalist.

And before you bite my head off- remember I do think thimerosal was a trigger for my son's autism, I do think he was vaccine damaged, but currently there is very little published research yet- not because of some great cover up. because it is still being done and hasn't yet been published.

Well, where I lived, despite being in Somerset, was a particularly industrial area known to many by it's smell, especially when you approach down the M5. DS1 has AS, allergies, eczma. DS2 has glue ear, ds3 has allergies, hearing problems..

DH was healthy until he moved there, then developed depression so bad he nearly killed himself.

We moved here, where the air is clear (poetry!) and guess what? We're all improving- even the AS, to a degree!

Proves nothing, but I have my theories!

Aha I now know where you lived And yes it reeks- plastics factory.

They closed the plastics factory down last month though, so now smells nice but no jobs.

Did they? Ahh I'll miss that when driving past, it was a landmark!

I can't smell it, it's in my blood too much- wonder if I smell of it? Smells like eggs, so I am told- sulphur I guess!

I remember that smell really clearly going on holiday to Minehead as a child also . We used to be quite pleased to smell it as it meant we were nearly there.

PMSL!!