Mercury Research

The literature confirming the toxicity of mercury goes well beyond its associations with autism. This document includes abstracts for over 240 studies that confirm the harmful effects of mercury from any source on brain cells, immune cells and other systems in the body. These include cellular, animal and human studies. There can be no justification for any intentional use of mercury given the extent of this literature.

Annotated Version of Peer-Reviewed, Published Research Linking Autism, Mercury and Thimerosal

In February 2017, Children’s Health Defense collected 89 peer-reviewed published articles linking autism, mercury and thimerosal. Each of these article abstracts are presented here along with a short annotation in layman terms about what the researchers found and how the findings are linked to autism. The science continues to accumulate that mercury and thimerosal are potent drivers of the autism epidemic. Download PDF (36.4MB)

Browse through and/or download a PDF of all the study abstracts, or read the individual study abstracts listed individually.

Also see:

Mercury-Autism Research

Thimerosal Research

Two options:

Download pdf of all studies (27.1mb) or browse the following 240+ abstracts (first page of study only).

Rohyans 1984 – Mercury toxicity following merthiolate ear irrigations

Roman 2007 – Autism: Transient in utero hypothyroxinemia related to maternal flavonoid ingestion during pregnancy and to other environmental antithyroid agents

Rooney 2016 – Mercury Levels in Newborns and Infants After Receipt of Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines

Rose 2015 – Increased Susceptibility to Ethylmercury-Induced Mitochondrial Dysfunction in a Subset of Autism Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines

Rosenblum 1992 – The Endothelium-Dependent Effects of Thimerosal on Mouse Dial Arterioles In Vivo: Evidence for Control Microvascular Events by EDRF as well as Prostaglandins

Ruszkiewicz 2016 – Sex- and structure-specific differences in antioxidant responses to methyl mercury during early development

Ryu 2017 – Associations of prenatal mercury and early childhood mercury exposure with autistic behaviors at 5 years of age: The Mothers and Children’s Environmental Health (MOCEH) study

Sajich 1999 – Iatrogenic exposure to mercury after hepatitis B vaccination in preterm infants

Secor 2011 – Novel Lipid-Soluble Thiol-Redox Antioxidant and Heavy Metal Chelator, N,N’bis(2-Mercaptoethyl)Isopthalamide (NBMI) and Phospholipase D-Specific Inhibitor, 5-Fluoro-2-Indolyl Des-Chlorohalopemide (FIPE) Attenuate Mercury-Induced Lipid Signaling Leading to Protection Against Cytotoxicity in Aortic Endothelial Cells

Shandley 2011 – Ancestry of Pink Disease (Infantile Acrodynia) Identified as a Risk Factor for Autism Spectrum Disorders

Sharpe 2012 – Thimerosal-Derived Ethylmercury is a Mitochondrial Toxin in Human Astrocytes: Possible Role of Fenton Chemistry in the Oxidation and Breakage of mtDNA

Sharpe 2013 – B-Lymphocytes from a Population of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Unaffected Siblings Exhibit Hypersensitivity to Thimerosal

Silbergeld 2008 – Mercury, vaccines, and autism, revisited

Skalny 2016 – Mercury as a possible link between maternal obesity and autism spectrum disorder

Song 2000 – Inhibitory action of thimerosal, a sulfhydryl oxidant, on sodium channels in rat sensory neurons

Stamogiannos 2016 – Screening Identifies Thimerosal as a Selective Inhibitor of Endoplasmic Reticulum Aminopeptidase 1

Sulkowski 2011 – Maternal Thimerosal Exposure Results in Aberrant Cerebellar Oxidative Stress, Thyroid Hormone Metabolism, and Motor Behavior in Rat Pups; Sex- and Strain-Dependent Effects

Suwalsky 2016 – Effects of Thimerosal on Lipid Bilayers and Human Erythrocytes: An In Vitro Study

Takahashi 2017 – Methylmercury Causes Blood-Brain Barrier Damage in Rats via Upregulation of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Expression

Tosti – Systemic reactions due to thimerosal

Trumpler 2014 – In vitro study of thimerosal reactions in human whole blood and plasma surrogate samples

Uchida 1994 – Thimerosal Induces Toxic Reaction in Non-Sensitized Animals

Ueha-Ishibashi 2004 – Effect of thimerosal, a preservative in vaccines, on intracellular Ca²+ concentration of rat cerebellar neurons

Ueha-Ishibashi 2004 – Property of thimerosal-induced decrease in cellular content of glutathione in rat thymocytes: a flow cut-metric study with 5-chloromethulfluorescein diacetate

Van Horn 1977 – Effect of the ophthalmic preservative thimerosal on rabbit and human corneal endothelium

van’t Veen 2001 – Vaccines without Thimerosal: Why So Necessary, Why So Long Coming?

Verstraeten 1999 – Increased risk of developmental neurological impairment after high exposure to thimerosal-containing vaccine in first month of life

Vetvicka 2009 – Effects of Glucan on Immunosuppressive Actions of Mercury

Waly 2004 – Activation of methionine synthase by insulin-like growth factor-1 and dopamine: a target for neurodevelopment toxins and thimerosal

Waly 2016 – Alternatively Spliced Methionine Synthase in SH-SY5Y Neuroblastoma Cells: Cobalamin and GSH Dependence and Inhibitory Effects of Neurotoxic Metals and Thimerosal

Westphal 2000 – Homozygous gene deletion of the glutathione S-transferases M1 and T1 are associated with thimerosal sensitization

Westphal 2003 – Thimerosal induces micronuclei in the cytochalasin B block micronucleus test with human lymphocytes

Wong 2005 – A generalized reaction to thimerosal from an influenza vaccine

Wu 2008 – Thiol-Modulated Mechanisms of the Cytotoxicity of Thimerosal and Inhibition of DNA Topoisomerase IIα

Wyrembek 2010 – Intermingled Modulatory and Neurotoxic Effects of Thimerosal and Mercuric Ions on Electrophysiological Responses to GABA and NMDA in Hippocampal Neurons

Yassa 2014 – A form of lead and mercury toxicity

Ye 2012 – Cytoprotective effect of hyaluronic acid and hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose against DNA damage induced by thimerosal in Chang conjunctival cells

Yel 2005 – Thimerosal induces neuronal cell apoptosis by causing cytochrome c and apoptosis-inducing factor release from mitochondria

Yeter 2013 – Mercury Promotes Catecholamines Which Potentiate Mercurial Autoimmunity and Vasodilation: Implications for Inositol 1,4,5-Triphosphate 3-Kinase C Susceptibility in Kawasaki Syndrome

Yole 2007 – Cell death and cytotoxic effects in YAC-1 lymphoma cells following exposure to various of mercury

Youn 2010 – Porphyrinuria in Korean Children with Autism: Correlation with Oxidative Stress

Young 2008 – Thimerosal exposure in infants and neurodevelopment disorders: An assessment of computerized medical records in the Vaccine Safety Datalink

Zareba 2007 – Thimerosal distribution and metabolism in neonatal mice: comparison with methyl mercury

Zerbo 2016 – Association Between Influenza Infection and Vaccination During Pregnancy and Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Zhang 2006 – Environmental mercury contamination in China: Sources and impacts

Zhang 2012 – Developmental exposure to mercury chloride does not impair social behavior of C57BL/6 x BTBR F₁ mice

Zieminska 2010 – Low molecular weight thiols reduce thimerosal neurotoxicity in vitro: Modulation by proteins

Zieminska 2013 – Select putative neurodevelopment toxins modify SNAP-25 expression in primary cultures of rat cerebellar granule cells

Zieminska 2016 – Select putative neurodevelopment toxins modify SNAP-25 expression in primary cultures of rat cerebellar granule cells