Written by Joyce Smith, BS. Neonatal mice, when injected with vaccine-adjuvant equivalent aluminum, experienced significant weight gain, anxiety, reduced exploratory behavior and locomotor activity compared to control mice.
Previous research by Shaw et al 1 (that satisfied Hill’s criteria for causation) demonstrated a dose-dependent correlation between rising autism spectrum disorder (ASD) rates and the use of pediatric Aluminum (AL) adjuvant vaccines in Western countries. (Autism spectrum disorder is a brain development disorder that impacts how a person perceives and socializes with others, causing problems in social interaction and communication. The disorder also includes limited and repetitive patterns of behavior). The same authors, in this present study 2, used an animal model to explore the behavioral and neurological implications of injecting AL hydroxide into twenty-four male and female postnatal CD-1 mice. The injections contained either “high” (to mimic the US vaccine schedule) or “low” (to mimic the Scandinavian vaccine schedule) levels of Al adjuvant which translated into “high Al” dose of 550 Al ug/kg body weight or“low-Al dose of 240 ug/kg of body weight) for the two groups of mice. All three of these exposures were then correlated with the relevant ASD prevalence data. The control mice were injected with saline. A light-dark box and open-field test were used to assess anxiety, locomotor activity and exploratory behaviors 3.
The light-dark box testing revealed that both “high Al” male and female mice had significant increases in anxiety (p=0.0001 males; p<0.001 females) and a significant decrease in exploratory behavior (males, p=0.013; females, (p=0.0001). Females, even at “low Al,” demonstrated significantly increased anxiety (p=0.034). Males receiving “high Al” were significantly more lethargic and less active than both control males and those males receiving “low Al” injections (p<0.0001). Both “high AL” males and females had significant and sustained body weight increases (p=0.0005 males; p=0.001 females) compared to the control mice.
In the open field testing young males with “high-Al” (but not females) had significantly reduced locomotor activity. They travelled shorter distances, spent less time moving, moved more slowly (p<0.0001) and showed reduced rearing frequency (p<0.0004) compared to male controls. These effects were long-lasting and persisted throughout the two month testing period. The decrease in locomotor activity was probably not weight-related since both “high Al” male and female mice had similar weight increases.
The results of this study validate the very delicate balance between vaccine adjuvants’ efficacy and their potential toxicity 1,4. The mechanisms that drive the immunostimulatory effect of Aluminum (i.e., activation of the NLPR3 inflammasome,5), can also provoke a variety of adverse autoimmune and/or inflammatory reactions commonly seen in ASD. Exposure to other metals such as lead and mercury can also over activate the immune system 6; however, aluminum is one of the most common metals to which children are exposed regularly throughout the world. 1
While these results are preliminary, they did show that aluminum in vaccine- relevant doses, when given to neonatal mice, is associated with long-term adverse neurological and metabolic consequences. The authors recommend that future studies should include a greater battery of test to validate aluminum’s link to ASD. Furthermore, “given that autism has devastating consequences in a life of a child, and that currently in the developed world over 1% of children suffer from some form of ASD 1, it would seem wise to make efforts towards reducing infant exposure to Al from vaccines.”
Source: Shaw, C. A., Y. Li, and L. Tomljenovic. “Administration of aluminum to neonatal mice in vaccine-relevant amounts is associated with adverse long term neurological outcomes.” Journal of inorganic biochemistry 128 (2013): 237-244.
© 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved
Posted February 7, 2018.
References:
- Tomljenovic L, Shaw CA. Do aluminum vaccine adjuvants contribute to the rising prevalence of autism? Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry. 2011;105(11):1489-1499.
- Shaw C, Li Y, Tomljenovic L. Administration of aluminium to neonatal mice in vaccine-relevant amounts is associated with adverse long term neurological outcomes. Journal of inorganic biochemistry. 2013;128:237-244.
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- Israeli E, Agmon-Levin N, Blank M, Shoenfeld Y. Adjuvants and autoimmunity. Lupus. 2009;18(13):1217-1225.
- Exley C, Siesjö P, Eriksson H. The immunobiology of aluminium adjuvants: how do they really work? Trends in immunology. 2010;31(3):103-109.
- Olczak M, Duszczyk M, Mierzejewski P, Wierzba-Bobrowicz T, Majewska MD. Lasting neuropathological changes in rat brain after intermittent neonatal administration of thimerosal. Folia neuropathologica. 2010;48(4).
