Thimerosal information, risk and safety

Exposure to thimerosal, a mercury-containing chemical previously used as a preservative in vaccines, does not seem to increase the risk of autism according to lead author Dr. Judith Miles, from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Although studies have shown little or no evidence of an association, thimerosal was removed from all routine childhood vaccines in the U.S. in 2002. The present study involved a telephone survey of 214 mothers of 230 children with autism or a related disorder. Exposure to thimerosal -containing Rh immune globulin, a vaccine administered to some women to avoid pregnancy complications, was compared between this group and the general population. The researchers found that autistic children were no more likely than unaffected children to have been exposed to Rh immune globulin. American Journal of Medical Genetics, May 16th online issue, 2007.

Thimerosal is a mercuric derivative of thiosalicylic acid that goes by many names. It has been used as a disinfectant (eg, Merthiolate) and as a preservative in some vaccines, cosmetics, tattoo inks, eye drops, and contact lens solutions. It remains one of the least likely chemicals to cause contact allergy and for this reason has been removed from many standard screening series. Positive patch-test reactions (demonstrating sensitization) may still be seen (especially in older children); however, these reactions are not clinically relevant and are expected to be fewer, reflecting changes in current vaccine formulations.

Thimerosal exposure & increasing trends of premature puberty in the vaccine safety datalink.
Indian J Med Res. 2010; Geier DA, Geier MR.The Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc., Silver Spring, MD, USA.
The US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry reports that mercury (Hg) is a known endocrine disruptor and it adversely affects the steroid synthesis pathway in animals and humans, and may interact to enhance the risk for a child developing premature puberty. An association between premature puberty and exposure to Hg from thimerosal-containing vaccines (TCVs) was evaluated in computerized medical records within the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD). A total of 278,624 subjects were identified in birth cohorts from 1990-1996. The birth cohort prevalence rates of medically diagnosed International Classification of Disease, 9(th) revision (ICD-9) premature puberty and control outcomes were calculated. Exposures to Hg from TCVs were calculated by birth cohort for specific exposure windows from birth-7 months and birth-13 months of age. Poisson regression analysis was used to model the association between the prevalence of outcomes and Hg doses from TCVs. Significantly increased rate ratios were observed for premature puberty for a 100 microg difference in Hg exposure from TCVs in the birth-7 months and birth-13 months (rate ratio=6.45) of age exposure windows. By contrast, none of the control outcomes had significantly increased rate ratios with Hg exposure from TCVs. Routine childhood vaccination should be continued to help reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with infectious diseases, but efforts should be undertaken to remove Hg from vaccines. Additional studies should be done to evaluate the relationship between Hg exposure and premature puberty.

Does this chemical cause itching?
   Pruritis define and treat, we are not sure if it does.

Passion Rx does not contain this chemical in its formula.