Author Archive

Study: Seed Oil Fats Fuel Aggressive Breast Cancer Growth & What if Everything We’ve Been Told About Sunscreen Was a Lie?

https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/new-study-seed-oil-fats-fuel-aggressive?

NEW STUDY – Seed Oil Fats Fuel Aggressive Breast Cancer Growth

Omega-6 fatty acids increase triple-negative breast cancer growth through mTORC1 pathway; population data links high omega-6/omega-3 ratio to increased all-cause and cancer mortality.

Apr 04, 2025

By Nicolas Hulscher, MPH

The study titled, Direct sensing of dietary ω-6 linoleic acid through FABP5-mTORC1 signaling, was recently published in the journal Science:

RATIONALE

ω-6 linoleic acid (LA) is the most abundant unsaturated fat in Western-style diets and is derived from animal products [grain-fed instead of grass-fed] and processed foods containing vegetable oils, such as safflower oil. Many case-controlled retrospective and prospective studies have been conducted that explore associations between ω-6 LA intake and breast cancer incidence, but the conclusions are often contradictory. Adding to this complexity is breast cancer heterogeneity: Patients are stratified into four main clinical subtypes on the basis of expression of hormone receptors or lack thereof, each with distinct molecular characteristics and therapeutic sensitivities. Because ω-6 LA is an essential nutrient, we hypothesized that the mTOR pathway senses and is activated by its availability, leading to increased breast cancer cell proliferation in a subtype-specific manner.

RESULTS

By leveraging an extensive panel of breast cancer cell lines and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) tumors, we observed that ω-6 LA could activate mTORC1 but only in models of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), which is the most aggressive subtype that lacks any targeted therapy. We found that levels of the lipid chaperone fatty acid–binding protein 5 (FABP5) were significantly higher in TNBC compared with hormone receptor–positive tumors and that FABP5 directly interacted with mTORC1 to regulate complex formation, substrate binding, and subcellular localization. Notably, we demonstrated the relevance of this FABP5-mTORC1 signaling pathway in vivo by feeding animals a diet enriched for safflower oil that promoted TNBC tumor growth. FABP5 and ω-6 PUFAs appear to trigger a “perfect storm” of nutrient-driven signaling events, and both factors are also elevated in the serum of newly diagnosed TNBC patients.

CONCLUSION

Accumulating evidence suggests that dietary patterns may influence cancer outcomes, and there is substantial clinical interest in understanding the molecular mechanisms behind these associations to better inform nutritional recommendations. Our findings not only provide a mechanistic explanation for the heterogeneous responses of distinct breast cancer subtypes to dietary fats but also reveal an important perspective on how interactions between ω-6 LA intake and breast cancer need to be studied. Future nutritional studies might consider stratifying patients on the basis of FABP5 expression and triple-negative status.

http://

Seed Oils: Toxic & Inflammatory

It takes EIGHT years to completely detox from linoleic acid! Soybean oil causes the most damage to the body, followed by corn oil, sunflower oil, and canola oil. Healthier cooking oils for frying include avocado oil, coconut oil, palm oil, olive oil, beef tallow, butter, and ghee. It’s best to cook over low or medium heat. Pan-frying, air-frying, and stir-frying are healthier options than deep-frying over high heat.

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https://imahealth.substack.com/p/heres-a-thought-what-if-everything?

Here’s A Thought… What If Everything We Were Told About Sunscreen Was a Lie?

While sunscreen does reduce the risk of some non-lethal skin cancers, the promise that it is the holy grail of preventing the killer ones is questionable at the very, most generous best.

Independent Medical Alliance and Jenna McCarthy
Mar 08, 2025
Article Excerpts:
While sunscreen does reduce the risk of some non-lethal skin cancers, the promise that it is the holy grail of preventing the killer ones is questionable at the very, most generous best.

Perhaps more importantly, sunscreen—not to mention the fear of the sun that keeps some folks indoors or completely covered up—can also reduce vitamin D production and lead to a deficiency of the vitamin, which itself has been linked to higher incidence of cancer. In fact, a study published in 2016 in the Journal of Internal Medicine found that avoiding the sun might be as bad for you as chain-smoking on the beach. Nonsmokers who shunned sunlight had the same life expectancy as smokers who soaked up the rays, suggesting that dodging the sun could be as dangerous as regularly lighting up.

Not only has sunscreen never been conclusively proven to prevent melanoma, some studies even suggest that excessive sunscreen use might increase the odds of developing the deadly cancer by encouraging longer sun exposure.

But the reality is, most sunscreens focus on blocking UVB rays, which cause sunburn, but don’t offer much protection from UVA rays, which penetrate deeper into the skin and can trigger oxidative stress, potentially contributing to melanoma risk. This means you might spend longer in the sun (because you’re not burning!) while still suffering DNA damage and increasing your chances of developing melanoma.  (See link for article)

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**Comment**

As I have been in a battle for over 6 months with basal cell carcinoma on my face and inner thigh, this topic is something I’ve been forced to learn about.

You won’t find it in mainstream media but many in alternative health and several cancer researchers have concluded that increasing omega-6 linoleic acid (PUFAs) intakes better explain the phenomenon of rising melanoma rates than increases in sun exposure over the same period. These oils have been linked to inflammation and chronic disease.

What dermatologists and mainstream medicine isn’t telling you is that full spectrum sunlight is probably the most important nutrient for the human body.  We are now bombarded with unhealthy blue light from technology as well as damaging fake, narrow spectrum lighting in LED lights that have completely replaced incandescent lighting.

Besides the importance of grounding, I’ve learned the importance of taking off all glasses and letting natural light into the eyes daily.

In fact, Dr. Richard Weller’s research suggests that sunlight exposure may trigger the release of nitric oxide in the skin, providing cardiovascular benefits and potentially other health advantages.  When the skin is exposed to sunlight, it triggers the release of nitric oxide, which has various health benefits:

  1. Lowered blood pressure: Nitric oxide helps to dilate blood vessels, reducing blood pressure and promoting better cardiovascular health.
  2. Improved immune system function: Nitric oxide modulates immune responses and protects the body against infections.
  3. Enhanced wound healing: Nitric oxide is involved in various stages of wound healing, such as inflammation, tissue regeneration, and remodeling.

Weller and other researchers have hypothesized that not wearing sunglasses could enhance the skin’s natural photoprotection mechanisms, leading to increased melanin production. This hypothesis is based on the idea that our eyes play a role in signaling our skin to produce melanin in response to sunlight. This work substantiates Dr. Otts work.

A 20-year study of nearly 30,000 Swedish women found that those who avoided the sun had a 60% higher risk of death than those who regularly got sunlight. Non-smokers who avoided the sun had the same mortality risk as smokers who got sun exposure.

The Myth That Sun Exposure Causes Deadly Skin Cancer

The numbers say otherwise:

  • Most skin cancers aren’t deadly. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) are common but rarely life-threatening.
  • Melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer, isn’t primarily caused by sun exposure.
  • Outdoor workers get 3–10 times more UV exposure than indoor workers—yet have lower rates of melanoma.

Image: A Midwestern Doctor’s Substack page.

A Midwestern Doctor calls out this contradiction:

“SCC (squamous cell carcinoma) and BCC (basal cell carcinoma) occur in sun-exposed areas, but melanoma is overwhelmingly found in areas that get almost NO sunlight.”

Go here to listen to Jimmy Dore discuss AMD’s article on dermatology’s war against the sun.

Also read AMD’s Hundreds of Studies Show DMSO Transforms the Treatment of Cancer  as well as how DMSO Revolutionizes skin care and Dermatology

Personally I’ve had two MOHS surgeries on my face (not fun) where they cut out cancer, send samples to pathology and keep cutting until every cell is removed.  You are then sent home with a wound you must keep open and wet which means you look pretty gruesome for a spell.  It’s painful, takes time to heal, and can leave scars.  When done on the face it can interfere with blinking and producing tears.  Go here for my article on MSM and DMSO, and here for how people are using ivermectin and fenbendazole for many types of cancer.

Now, I am using CURADERM BEC5, an eggplant based cream that targets and destroys cancer cells and salicylic acid sloughs off the dead skin eventually leaving new virgin skin.  This process, I’m not going to lie, is also painful.  Think of burning acid ….. but it does not involve removing skin from vulnerable places or leaving scars.  It can also take time depending on how deep the cancer goes.  There can also be pus and sores until the cancer cells are all removed.  Depending upon the size of the area you can also really go through the tiny tubes which are $200 a pop.  Go here for a video on my process:   https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/03/02/dmso-msm-for-lyme-msids/

Since this self-experiment using CURADERM I’ve read some promising testimonials on Dr. Makis’ Substack where people are using ivermectin paste successfully on cancers that are topical.  Unlike CURADERM, this paste isn’t painful to use.  This will be my next experiment.

NOTE: If you have a scab or skin area that will not heal, have it checked out.  All of my basal cell carcinomas where little areas that wouldn’t heal over time.  In nearly every case the cancer was deeper and wider than the initial spot.  Now, if I have a suspicious spot, I simply apply a tad of CURADERM and wait.  If it becomes red and inflamed I know I’m dealing with cancer.

Category:

Activism, Cancer, diet and nutrition

Targeting the “Motor” That Helps Lyme Spread Through the Body

https://www.lymedisease.org/motor-behind-lyme-and-syphilis/

Targeting the “motor” that helps Lyme spread through the body

By Stephen D’Angelo, Cornell Research & Innovation

3/31/25

Researchers have identified a new way to fight infections like Lyme disease and syphilis by disrupting the bacteria’s ‘motor,’ preventing it from spreading through the body.

The findings could have wide-ranging impacts on the treatment of infections in the future as concern about antibiotic-resistant strains grows. The study was published in ACS Chemical Biology.

“Many types of bacteria must be able to move to infect their host organisms, including humans,” said Brian Crane, director of the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, corresponding author on the publication.

“Motility can be important to move between hosts—ticks to humans, for example—and also for disseminating within the host, colonizing the most advantageous tissue, and evading the immune system.”

Disrupting the ability to move

In the study, funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Bay Area Lyme Foundation, the researchers exploited a crucial relationship in the bacteria’s movement system by disrupting the germ’s ability to propel itself through tissues, and significantly weakening its chances to spread and infect.

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Click to open gallery view

Credit:Credit Chunhao Li
Click here to see video of the Lyme Disease bacterial spirochete in action. 

Spirochetes are thin, corkscrew-shaped bacteria that spiral through body tissues using a hidden propeller-like motor, protected by a membrane that shields it from the host’s immune system.

Central to its ability to accelerate is a long strand called a flagella that is joined by a hook to the organism’s motion-generating machinery. Built from self-assembled protein subunits called FlgE, the hook is tightly held together by molecular bridges known as lysinoalanine (LAL) cross-links.

“When LAL formation is disrupted, a spirochetes’ flagella hook and motor are unable to work together to move effectively. This, in turn, prevents the spirochete from swimming through body tissues and significantly reduces the ability to spread and infect,” said Michael Lynch, research associate in the Crane Group (A&S), a Cornell Weill Institute lab, and the study’s first author.

After testing a collection of existing, clinically approved drug compounds, the researchers identified three—hexachlorophene, triclosan, and dichlorophene—that could be used as inhibitors to interfere with the connections between LAL molecules and the flagella hook.

A new way to fight infections

In one experiment on the spirochete linked to gum disease, treatment with hexachlorophene significantly reduced the bacteria’s ability to move, demonstrating that stopping their motility could be a powerful new way to fight infections.

Spirochetes, including Borrelia (Lyme disease), Treponema (syphilis), and Leptospira (leptospirosis, a bacterial infection that causes mild flu-like illness to severe kidney or liver damage), are highly invasive and capable of penetrating virtually every tissue in the human body, even crossing the blood-brain barrier.

According to the researchers, many of these infections are persistent, difficult to diagnose early, and sometimes resistant to standard medicines. Current treatments rely primarily on antibiotics, which target bacteria and cells indiscriminately, affecting both harmful and beneficial bacteria.

“In contrast, our approach is highly specific, targeting the formation of LAL in flagella within pathogenic spirochetes—the only known bacteria that catalyze the formation of LAL cross-links between flagella subunits,” Lynch said. “This specificity has the potential to reduce collateral damage to beneficial bacteria, such as microbiota in the gut microbiome, which is a significant advantage over conventional antibiotic treatments.”

Antibiotic resistence

According to the researchers, the need for novel antimicrobial strategies to combat spirochetes is pressing, as antibiotic-resistant strains evolve and emerge. This puts available drug options for individuals, and even public health efforts combating certain diseases, at risk, they said.

The researchers’ approach focusing on bacteria mobility could expand the number of targets for antibiotic drug development, helping to address the challenge that disease-causing bacteria are developing resistance to today’s common antibiotics.

“While bacterial motility has been studied extensively, this is the first research to target LAL cross-links in the flagella hook as an antimicrobial strategy,” Crane said. “Ultimately, because motility is widely recognized as an enhancement in pathogenic spirochetes’ ability to cause disease, our results establish LAL cross-linking as a legitimate target for antimicrobial therapeutic development.”

SOURCE: Cornell Research & Innovation

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Category:

Activism, Lyme, research, Treatment

Cleveland Clinic Study Confirms Flu Vaccine Ineffective, Warns of Harms

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.01.30.25321421v3

Effectiveness of the Influenza Vaccine During the 2024-2025 Respiratory Viral Season

Nabin K. Shrestha, Patrick C. Burke, Amy S. Nowacki, Steven M. Gordon
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.01.30.25321421

This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review [what does this mean?]. It reports new medical research that has yet to be evaluated and so should not be used to guide clinical practice.

ABSTRACT

Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine during the 2024-2025 respiratory viral season.

Methods Employees of Cleveland Clinic in employment in Ohio on October 1, 2024, were included. The cumulative incidence of influenza among those in the vaccinated and unvaccinated states was compared over the following 25 weeks. Protection provided by vaccination (analyzed as a time-dependent covariate) was evaluated using Cox proportional hazards regression.

Results Among 53402 employees, 43857 (82.1%) had received the influenza vaccine by the end of the study. Influenza occurred in 1079 (2.02%) during the study. The cumulative incidence of influenza was similar for the vaccinated and unvaccinated states early, but over the course of the study the cumulative incidence of influenza increased more rapidly among the vaccinated than the unvaccinated. In an analysis adjusted for age, sex, clinical nursing job, and employment location, the risk of influenza was significantly higher for the vaccinated compared to the unvaccinated state (HR, 1.27; 95% C.I., 1.07 – 1.51; P = 0.007), yielding a calculated vaccine effectiveness of −26.9% (95% C.I., −55.0 to −6.6%).

Conclusions This study found that influenza vaccination of working-aged adults was associated with a higher risk of influenza during the 2024-2025 respiratory viral season, suggesting that the vaccine has not been effective in preventing influenza this season.

Summary Among 53402 working-aged Cleveland Clinic employees, we were unable to find that the influenza vaccine has been effective in preventing infection during the 2024-2025 respiratory viral season.

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SUMMARY:

    1. THE FLU VACCINE INCREASES THE RISK OF CONTRACTING A NON-FLU RESPIRATORY ILLNESS BY 65%.
    2. THE FLU VACCINE DOESN’T REDUCE DEMAND ON HOSPITALS.
    3. THE FLU VACCINE DOESN’T PREVENT THE SPREAD OF THE FLU.
    4. THE FLU VACCINE FAILS TO PREVENT THE FLU ABOUT 65% OF THE TIME.
    5. REPEAT DOSES OF THE FLU VACCINE MAY INCREASE THE RISK OF FLU VACCINE FAILURE.
    6. DEATH FROM INFLUENZA IS RARE IN CHILDREN.
    7. THE FLU VACCINE DOESN’T REDUCE DEATHS FROM PNEUMONIA AND FLU.
    8. PATIENTS DON’T BENEFIT FROM THE VACCINATION OF HEALTHCARE WORKERS.
    9. FLU VACCINE MANDATES ARE NOT SCIENCE-BASED.

Excerpts:

Originally, the flu vaccine was a measure to protect the elderly, but go here for a blast from the past when four scientists researching the Flu vaccine during the 1960s found it to be ineffective and refused to give it to their own families.  The scientists state they were prevented from publishing their negative findings.

Despite this, the ineffective and dangerous vaccine has increasingly been pushed on everyone 6 months old and up, including pregnant women despite the fact the flu vaccine is linked to increased risk of miscarriage.

Now a recent Japanese study shows NO BENEFIT on hard outcomes: hospitalization and death. Another perfect example of how the massive push to vaccinate people for the flu has been a waste of time and effort.  Do not expect to read about this in the news.

Further demonstrating the diabolical history behind vaccines, the military mandated the Adenovirus vaccine for ‘cold-like symptoms’:

”…when it was shown that the vaccine contained a contaminant which caused cancer in laboratory animals, it was taken off the market, but that was 3 years after the division’s scientists have pointed out the danger…”

The Adenovirus vaccine (which contains live adenovirus Type 4 and type 7 can be shed in stool and and breast milk and infect contacts – particularly children, pregnant women, and those with immune system problems, as well as harming the unborn) is still available for United States military personnel.  It is not available to the general public.

Category:

Activism, vaccines, Viruses

Lyme Disease Increases Gynecological Health Risks in Women

https://www.lymedisease.org/lyme-disease-reproductive-health/

Lyme disease increases gynecological health risks in women

By Lonnie Marcum

3/17/25

A new study has uncovered significant findings about how Lyme disease can impact the female reproductive system.

While previous research primarily focused on the effects of Borrelia (Lyme) on pregnancy, this study explores how the infection affects the reproductive system in non-pregnant mice and compares this to its effect on human gynecological disorders.

In a MedRxiv article entitled, Lyme disease increases risk for multiple gynecological conditions, MIT researchers Michal Caspi Tal, PhD, and Paige S. Hansen Colburn teamed up with researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Nasa Sinnott-Armstrong, PhD, and colleagues.

“This changes how we understand Lyme”

Dr. Tal says, “For years, people have been asking if Lyme disease might cause miscarriage and other pregnancy problems. Our study shows a strong link, and more research is vital. This research changes how we understand Lyme. It’s a much bigger problem than we thought, especially for women.”

Tracking the illness for months, the team demonstrated that Lyme disease can cause prolonged and severe infection in the reproductive organs of female mice.

The study documented infected gynecological tissue, and problems such as enlarged uterus, ovarian cysts, thickening of the vaginal lining and inflammation of the internal and external tissues. Notably, older mice experienced more severe outcomes when infected.

Hansen Colburn says, “Our research both supports previous studies on Lyme in pregnancy and also highlights novel implications for Lyme in women’s health outside of the reproductive lens.”

In addition, using clinical and survey data, the researchers found associations between Lyme disease and an increased risk of endometriosis, dysmenorrhea (menstrual cramps), menorrhagia (heavy periods), miscarriage, uterine polyps, and endometriosis (uterine tissue growing outside the uterus).

Supporting evidence from human data

These findings were corroborated with data from a Finnish database, which showed higher rates of gynecological issues like miscarriage, vulvovaginitis, uterine fibroids, and dysmenorrhea in women with Lyme disease.

Hansen Colburn says, “We still need to learn exactly how the bacteria cause this damage. Is it the bacteria themselves, or is it collateral damage from the body’s immune response?”

It’s known that men and women exhibit different symptoms of Lyme disease. For example, men tend to develop a larger more typical Lyme rash than women. Men are also more likely to have a CDC-positive two-tier test for Lyme. But why?

In order to prevent miscarriage, women’s bodies are designed to alter their hormones and immune response when pregnant. It may be that female hormones or this immune response set women up for chronic Lyme.

Elevated risk

“Lyme disease appears to elevate risk of many gynecological diseases, and we still have a lot to learn about what else might result from Borrelia infection. This is just the beginning,” says Sinnott-Armstrong.

This study emphasizes the importance of:

  • tracking gender in Lyme disease studies
  • tracking age-related status
  • understanding the hormonal phase at the time of infection, during treatment and post-infection (eg. pre & post-pubescent, peri & post-menopausal)
  • understanding hormone levels and hormone dysregulation
  • tracking reproductive pathologies in both male and female patients with Lyme disease.

Findings from MyLymeData

In 2019, LymeDisease.org published results of a MyLymeData study, Gender Bias in Chronic Lyme Disease, showing that women are at a disadvantage when it comes to Lyme disease. Not just because women’s bodies respond differently to infection, but also because women represent a smaller percentage of participants in acute Lyme disease research.

A follow-up MyLymeData study, Does Biological Sex Matter in Lyme Disease? The Need for Sex-Disaggregated Data in Persistent Illness, published in 2023, found that women encountered lengthier diagnostic delays, grappled with more severe symptoms, and suffered greater functional impairment compared to men.

The MyLymeData authors concluded, “Our results indicate that biological sex should be integrated into Lyme disease research as a distinct variable. Future Lyme disease studies should include sex-based disaggregated data to illuminate differences that may exist between men and women with persistent illness.” (Disaggregated means that you separate out the data from male and female patients, so that you can look for trends in each group.)

Next steps

Today, we owe a huge thank you to the Tal Research Group and the Sinnott-Armstrong lab for demonstrating that Lyme disease increases the risk for gynecological disorders in women.

Dr Tal tells me the next step is to work on treatment protocols. “We’re very interested in the intersection of hormones and immune responses to infection, and we’ll be testing out different treatment protocols for the infection and also modulating the immune response to the infection to try to understand once this gynecological damage has happened, if antibiotic treatment alone be sufficient to reverse it.”

The Tal Research Group at MIT has also found Borrelia bacteria in the male reproductive tract, which is currently being investigated further.

The CDC estimates there are 475,000 annual cases of Lyme disease, however they make no meaningful analysis of sex differences in their list of symptoms or progression of disease.

Furthermore, approximately 5 million women in the U.S. suffer from endometriosis. Perhaps some of them would benefit from exploring a diagnosis and treatment for Lyme disease?

We look forward to the continued MIT research results and further understanding of chronic illness following infection.

LymeSci is written by Lonnie Marcum, a physical therapist and mother of a daughter with Lyme. She served two terms on a subcommittee of the federal Tick-Borne Disease Working Group. Follow her on X: @LonnieRhea   Email her at: lmarcum@lymedisease.org.

Reference

Hansen–Colburn PS, Blacker G, Galloway S, Feng Q, Padmanabham PS, Pisani G, Lee BT, Loeser G, Perez MW, Liu K, Kuan J, Von Saltza E, Strausz S, Mattei L, Nahass GR, Kitjasateanphun A, Potula HS, Shoham MA, Mascetti VL, Gars E, Ollila HM, Bruner-Tran KL, Weissman IL, You S, Pollack B, Griffith L, Sinnott-Armstrong N, Tal MC. (2025). Lyme disease increases risk for multiple gynecological conditions. medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.03.03.25323258.

Acknowledgement

This research was supported, in part, by the Emily and Malcolm Fairbairn donor advised fund.

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Category:

Activism, Lyme, research

Government Misled Public on Thimerosal Link to Autism ‘for Decades,’ Falsely Claims It’s Been Removed From Vaccines

https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/government-misled-public-thimerosal-link-autism-decades/

Government Misled Public on Thimerosal Link to Autism ‘for Decades,’ Falsely Claims It’s Been Removed From Vaccines

According to a special investigation by journalist Sharyl Attkisson, the government has misled the public for decades about the science linking thimerosal to autism and other neurodevelopment disorders. It also continues to claim thimerosal has been removed from all childhood vaccines — even though some vaccines, including those given to children, still contain the ingredient.

This article was originally published by The Defender — Children’s Health Defense’s News & Views Website.

by Brenda Baletti, Ph.D.
April 4, 2025
vaccine and baby and word "thimerosal"

The U.S. government has long told the public that thimerosal, a mercury-based vaccine preservative ingredient, poses no harm to children, but that out of an abundance of caution, the ingredient hasn’t been used in childhood vaccines since at least 2001.

According to a special investigation by journalist Sharyl Attkisson, both these claims are false. Attkisson described them as part of a “a concerted propaganda campaign to mislead the public” about thimerosal and the science linking it to autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Attkisson’s investigation outlines how government agencies and the mainstream medical establishment for decades promoted a contradictory narrative about the toxic chemical.

On the one hand, they misled the public about thimerosal’s known and possible harms and actively worked to discredit anyone who questioned its safety. On the other hand, they also falsely assured the public that it had been removed from vaccines.

Thimerosal is still used in some vaccines today, including some “thimerosal-free vaccines,” Attkisson said.

Her investigation shows that evidence linking thimerosal in vaccines to neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism, has existed for decades. It also exposes an intentional project to rewrite the scientific narrative around the toxin to hide that link from the public.

Thimerosal is still present in vaccines

Websites for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia — a key source for vaccine industry propaganda promoted by Google — and others have long posted statements leading the public to believe thimerosal has been removed from children’s vaccines.

For example, although in recent weeks some changes have been made to the CDC website, the site still contains statements like this one: “Fact: Thimerosal was taken out of childhood vaccines in the United States in 2001.”

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia states on its website that thimerosal “was removed from vaccines after an amendment to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Modernization Act was signed into law on Nov. 21, 1997.”

“These claims would receive five outrageous Pinocchios from any neutral fact-checking organization,” Attkisson wrote.

In her report, Attkisson shows a series of screenshots from websites and vaccine labels — many removed from the internet but archived on the Wayback Machine — from 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024, and 2025.

The screenshots all show thimerosal as an ingredient in vaccines available to children in the U.S., including in flu shots and some tetanus shots.

What the government and vaccine manufacturers knew, a timeline

In 1997, Congress asked the FDA to review the use of thimerosal in drugs and vaccines due to safety concerns about mercury exposure. The following year, the agency requested detailed information from manufacturers about thimerosal in their products.

By 1999, U.S. and European public health institutions had begun recognizing that cumulative exposure to mercury in all vaccines a child takes “may exceed some of the government guidelines.”

That same year, the Public Health Service, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), National Vaccine Advisory Committee and the Inter-Agency Working Group on Vaccines all recommended that mercury be removed from vaccines licensed in the U.S.

The advisory committee thimerosal working group proposed analyzing the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) to identify vaccines with “plausible” neurologic, neurodevelopmental and renal conditions — including autism, attention deficit disorder, speech delay, stammering, epilepsy, and tics — related to mercury.

If “any hint of association” appeared, the committee would conduct follow-up studies, its members said.

In 2000, the CDC brought together vaccine makers and the public health officials who regulate, mandate and distribute vaccines for a meeting conducted behind closed doors at the Simpsonwood Retreat and Conference Center in Norcross, Georgia.

Transcripts from the Simpsonwood meeting obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests revealed attendees discussed the findings on thimerosal research — which showed a link between mercury-based thimerosal in vaccines and brain injuries, including autism — and debated strategies for keeping the information from the public.

During the meeting, immunologist and pediatrician Dr. Dick Johnston explained that mercury (in the form of thimerosal), a known toxin, is used in vaccines because it lowers rates of bacterial and fungal contamination during manufacturing process.

However, he said there was “scant data” on the safety of injecting babies with multiple metals through vaccination, Attkisson wrote. This, despite the fact that “aluminum and mercury are often simultaneously administered to infants, both at the same [injection] site and at different sites,” Johnston said.

Other experts present at the meeting agreed.

Dr. Walter Orenstein, director of the CDC’s National Immunization Program, reported that the VSD analyses “to date raise some concerns of a possible dose-response effect of increasing levels of methylmercury in vaccines and certain neurologic diseases.”

Researchers found possible associations between thimerosal-containing vaccines given to healthy babies before age 6 months and tics, attention deficit disorders, speech and language disorders.

“It was further worrisome that an association between brain disorders and thimerosal showed up in the limited sample of children mostly aged six and younger since that’s typically too young to be diagnosed with ADD and autism,” Attkisson wrote. “Those disorders are typically diagnosed from ages 6-12.”

Many doctors at the meeting expressed concern. One famously said he knew that definitive research may take some time, but in the meantime, he had a newborn grandson. “I think I want that grandson to only be given Thimerosal-free vaccines.”

After the meeting, other published research also linked autism and thimerosal, including a 2001 report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), which found a “biologically plausible” connection between thimerosal exposure and neurodevelopmental disorders.

“This sounded alarm bells with some in public health since the number of recommended vaccines and, thus, cumulative mercury exposure had exploded in the 80s and 90s, along with autism cases,” Attkisson wrote.

In 2001, the government urged the removal of thimerosal from vaccines while officially denying that it caused any harm.

Why remove it, Attkisson asked, “if it’s unquestioningly harmless?”

‘A powerful propaganda campaign’

After the meeting in Simpsonwood, the pharmaceutical industry, government and scientific establishment “launched a powerful propaganda campaign designed to discredit the scientists and studies unearthing vaccine-autism links, or investigating vaccine safety, in general,” Attkisson wrote.

This included “flooding the scientific landscape with industry-friendly counterstudies” claiming that thimerosal was safe, exerting pressure on the media, politicians and medical organizations like the IOM, and funding nonprofits to misdirect the public.

The 2003 publication of the final version of the VSD study discussed at the clandestine Simpsonwood meeting was key to this campaign, Attkisson wrote.

The final version reported that phase one of the study had found significant positive associations between the cumulative effects of thimerosal in vaccines with tics and language delay at three and seven months. However, it also stated, “In no analyses were significant increased risks found for autism or attention-deficit disorder.”

This was misleading because the report didn’t also state that the children studied were too young for these diagnoses, Attkisson said.

The final version also used “word play” to downplay significant findings of increased neurodevelopmental risks, saying things like “no consistent significant associations” were found, even though different types of significant associations of elevated risk had been identified.

Earlier drafts of the report later obtained by Congress showed how the authors played with language to minimize the appearance of risk, she said.

The study also failed to reveal that its lead author was hired away from the CDC during the study by vaccine maker GlaxoSmithKlein, whose vaccines were being studied.

The study concluded there were “conflicting findings” and called for more research — yet it was “peddled to the media as proof that vaccines don’t cause autism,” according to Attkisson.

The following year, in 2004, as researchers were publicizing evidence and calling for more research into the autism-thimerosal link, the IOM issued a reversal of its 2001 conclusions.

Attkisson wrote:

“Three years earlier it had found a ‘biologically plausible’ connection between thimerosal exposure and neurodevelopmental disorders. But the organization now took the position that, while it could not rule out a thimerosal-autism link, the scientific establishment should not waste money studying the issue further.

“This proclamation by the IOM was largely a death knell for any taxpayer-funded research honestly attempting to uncover vaccine safety issues involving thimerosal. The IOM report was then widely misrepresented in the media as having disproven or debunked any link between vaccines and autism.”

From that point on, all of the previous science that had shown safety risks of thimerosal was “magically wiped away” and replaced by “the scientific consensus,” Attkisson said.

Thimerosal continues to be used in many shots, although its presence is effectively hidden by proclamations that no vaccines contain the toxin and by deceptive labeling practices — vaccines with trace amounts of the toxin can be marketed as “thimerosal-free.”

This article was originally published by The Defender — Children’s Health Defense’s News & Views Website under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Please consider subscribing to The Defender or donating to Children’s Health Defense.

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**Comment**

Go here for Attkisson’s report:  https://sharylattkisson.com/2025/03/special-investigation-govt-deception-over-thimerosal-in-vaccines-linked-to-neurodevelopmental-harm-in-children/

Please notice the deceptive government “page not found” and “we no longer support this file” headings forcing Attkisson to use the way back machine to uncover truth the government is covering up.

Important quote:

…the cumulative exposure of thimerosal through recommended annual flu shots, combined with aluminum, formaldehyde, and other chemicals, continues to grow as the number of vaccines has expanded.  Sharyl Attkisson

If this doesn’t sound the death knell on ‘vaccines,’ I don’t know what will.

For more:

“[The ‘vaccine’ schedule] has been a one-hundred-year bluff…The head of the Nigerian vaccine program says, ‘I need to know if I put this cocktail of vaccines in one little body…the cocktail is safe and effective.’ [But they had] nothing. The whole thing is an empty hand.” Investment banker, former HUD official, and founder of the Solari Report (@solari_the) Catherine Austin Fitts describes on a recent episode of the @ChildrensHD series Financial Rebellion how the entire “vaccine” schedule is based on a “one-hundred-year bluff.”

Fitts notes that there are no studies supporting the safety and efficacy of giving multiple “vaccines” to a child simultaneously, at one time. (See link for video)

https://icandecide.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/no-placebo-101823.pdf

Vaccine chart shows:  Not a single routine childhood vaccine was licensed based on a long-term placebo-controlled trial. Not one. 

Category:

Activism, vaccines