title: Thimerosal-containing hepatitis B vaccination and the risk for diagnosed specific delays in development in the United States: a case-control study in the vaccine safety datalink.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Within the first 3 years of life, the brain develops rapidly. Its development is characterized by critical developmental periods for speech, vision, hearing, language, balance, etc.; and alteration in any of the processes occurring in those critical periods can lead to specific delays in development.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The present study evaluated the potential toxic effects of organic-mercury exposure from Thimerosal (49.55% mercury by weight) in childhood vaccines and its hypothesized possible relationship with specific delays in development.
  
  
  METHODS
  A hypothesis testing case-control study was undertaken to evaluate the relationship between exposure to Thimerosal-containing hepatitis B vaccines administered at specific intervals in the first 6 months among cases diagnosed with specific delays in development and controls born between 1991-2000, utilizing data in the Vaccine Safety Datalink database.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cases were significantly more likely than controls to have received increased organic-mercury from Thimerosal-containing hepatitis B vaccine administered in the first, second, and sixth month of life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Though routine childhood vaccination may be an important public health tool to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with infectious diseases, the present study supports an association between increasing organic-mercury exposure from Thimerosal-containing childhood vaccines and the subsequent risk of specific delays in development among males and females.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Geier
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA ; Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Janet K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Kern
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Simpson University, Redding, California, USA.
authors.forename: Brian S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Hooker
authors.affiliation: CoMeD, Inc, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Paul G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: King
authors.affiliation: CoMeD, Inc, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Sykes
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Mark R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Geier
keywords: Ethylmercury; Merthiolate; Thimerosal; Thiomersal; Vaccine