title: Methodological issues and evidence of malfeasance in research purporting to show thimerosal in vaccines is safe.
abstract: There are over 165 studies that have focused on Thimerosal, an organic-mercury (Hg) based compound, used as a preservative in many childhood vaccines, and found it to be harmful. Of these, 16 were conducted to specifically examine the effects of Thimerosal on human infants or children with reported outcomes of death; acrodynia; poisoning; allergic reaction; malformations; auto-immune reaction; Well's syndrome; developmental delay; and neurodevelopmental disorders, including tics, speech delay, language delay, attention deficit disorder, and autism. In contrast, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that Thimerosal is safe and there is "no relationship between [T]himerosal[-]containing vaccines and autism rates in children." This is puzzling because, in a study conducted directly by CDC epidemiologists, a 7.6-fold increased risk of autism from exposure to Thimerosal during infancy was found. The CDC's current stance that Thimerosal is safe and that there is no relationship between Thimerosal and autism is based on six specific published epidemiological studies coauthored and sponsored by the CDC. The purpose of this review is to examine these six publications and analyze possible reasons why their published outcomes are so different from the results of investigations by multiple independent research groups over the past 75+ years.
authors.affiliation: Simpson University, 2211 College View Drive, Redding, CA 96001, USA.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2010-1899
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hooker
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chronic Illness, Inc., 14 Redgate Court, Silver Spring, MD 20905, USA ; University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, TX 75235, USA.
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kern
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chronic Illness, Inc., 14 Redgate Court, Silver Spring, MD 20905, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Geier
authors.affiliation: University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA.
authors.forename: Boyd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Haley
authors.affiliation: CoMeD, Inc., Silver Spring, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3653-7152
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sykes
authors.affiliation: CoMeD, Inc., Silver Spring, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: King
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chronic Illness, Inc., 14 Redgate Court, Silver Spring, MD 20905, USA.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Geier
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D011310:Preservatives, Pharmaceutical / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013849:Thimerosal / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014481:United States; D014612:Vaccines / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D011310:Preservatives, Pharmaceutical; D014612:Vaccines; D013849:Thimerosal