Higher Levels of Toxic Metals Found in Children with Autism

A recent study shows that many children with autism have higher levels of several toxic metals in their blood and urine compared to typical children.

The recent study, published in the journal Biological Trace Element Research, reported the results, involving 55 children with autism ages 5-16 years compared to 44 controls of similar age and gender. The toxic metals included Lead, thallium, tin, and tungsten, which are toxic metals that can impair brain development and function, and also interfere with the normal functioning of other body organs and systems.

A statistical analysis was conducted to determine if the levels of toxic metals were associated with the health condition based on three different scales of autism severity.

It was found that 38-47 percent of the variation of autism severity was associated with the level of several toxic metals, with cadmium and mercury being the most strongly associated.

The authors of the study, James Adams, a President's Professor in the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, one of ASU's Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, stated the following regarding the information found: "We hypothesize that reducing early exposure to toxic metals may help ameliorate symptoms of autism, and treatment to remove toxic metals may reduce symptoms of autism; these hypotheses need further exploration, as there is a growing body of research to support it."

Overall, the study showed that children with autism have higher average levels of several toxic metals, and levels of several toxic metals are strongly associated with variations in the severity of autism for all three of the autism severity scales investigated.

The study was funded by the Autism Research Institute and the Legacy Foundation.

Want to find out more about the problem? Check out this video, courtesy of YouTube.