This issue of a connection between thimerosal and autism has been of particular concern to both Dr. Buttar and Dr. Nash. As we reported in the June 14, 2005 issue of the e-Journal, Dr. Buttar testified in 2004 before a congressional subcommittee hearing sponsored by Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) about the connection between heavy metals—particularly mercury—and autism. Dr. Buttar discussed the chelation therapy he had offered his own son, who had a profound developmental delay and is now an example of how autism can be fully and permanently reversed in some children. Dr. Nash was one of a number of experts who joined with Rep. Burton’s House Government Reform Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness to refute the findings published in the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Immunization Safety Review Committee's Vaccines and Autism report of May 18, 2004. In that report, the eighth and final in a series designed to examine the safety of vaccines that contain thimerosal, the IOM Committee concluded, "The body of epidemiological evidence favors the rejection of a causal relationship between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism,” even though the Committee had in a 2001 report called such a causal relationship, “biologically plausible.” The Committee based its final conclusions on their review of approximately 10 previously conducted epidemiological studies. Of those roughly 10 studies, 5 reported probable links between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism, yet those 5 were summarily dismissed because the Committee determined the manner in which they were conducted was flawed. At that time, Rep. Burton stated, “I believe the [IOM] findings are heavily biased, and unrepresentative of all the available scientific and medical research. I think it is highly irresponsible for the IOM Immunization Safety Review Committee to purport definitive findings to the American public, which are based on selective scientific studies that are greatly flawed to begin with.”
The NIH describes chelation is a chemical process in which a substance is used to bind molecules, such as metals or minerals, and hold them tightly so that they can be removed from a system, such as the body. In medicine, says the NIH, chelation has been scientifically proven to rid the body of excess or toxic metals. For example, a person who has lead poisoning may be given chelation therapy in order to bind and remove excess lead from the body before it can cause damage. Chelation therapy has been a keystone of Dr. Buttar’s treatment program, with which he has reported great success in improving the prospects for autistic children. His Advanced Concepts in Medicine clinic specializes in treating cancer, heart disease and other chronic conditions in patients refractory to conventional treatments, with a special emphasis on the interrelationship between metal toxicity and insidious disease processes. With his newfound conviction that every chronic disease i/related to toxicity, Dr. Buttar’s treatment philosophy is likely to take on even greater significance. As he puts it, “These aren’t my theories, these things have been out there. What we have done is taken that hypothesis and figured out how to remove those toxins. The problem is the simplicity of it makes most people say it can’t be—it’s more complicated.” Dr. Buttar does not limit toxicity to only metal and chemical pollutants, however. He categorizes toxins into five groups, of which the first three, he says, are measurable, with the last two being “more esoteric”:
1. Metals – The CDC list of metal pollutants includes
- Antimony
- Barium
- Beryllium
- Cadmium
- Cesium
- Cobalt
- Lead
- Mercury
- Molybdenum
- Platinum
- Tungsten
- Thallium
- Uranium
2. Organic pollutants – benzines, hydrocarbons, etc.†
3. Opportunistics – bacteria, virus, yeast; these need an opportunity to set up house, and find it in immune systems damaged from toxicity groups 1 and 2.
4. Energy – electromagnetics cause a disruption in our resonance; microwaves are the most dangerous.
5. Spiritual, psychological, emotional – someone who is not “whole,” lacking something. Explains Dr. Buttar, “We’ve gotten cancer patients to the point that everything is fine, but their ‘time is up’; patients who on autopsy show no evidence of cancer, but still died.”