268 Vaccines and Autism
On the one hand, the right combination of antigens and adjuvants can benefit
a recipient’s adaptive immune response, enabling the development of new
efficacious vaccines. On the other hand, some adjuvants may have unknown
adverse effects. Some infectious diseases of global importance are not currently
preventable by vaccination. Adjuvants are the most advanced new technology
in the search for improved or novel vaccines against elusive pathogens and for
vulnerable populations that respond poorly to traditional vaccines.
Aluminum adjuvants are neurotoxic when injected directly into the spine of
mice [30]. There is minimal knowledge that explains the actual mechanism
behind this action. Aluminum has been linked to brain, bone and renal disease
when exposed in excessive amounts [30,31]. Despite the notion that aluminum
in vaccines is safe, experimental evidence has clearly refuted this claim by the
vaccine makers. As a matter of fact, aluminum adjuvants have a potential to
induce serious immunological disorders in humans. In particular, aluminum in
adjuvant form carries a risk for autoimmunity, long‐term brain inflammation,
and associated neurological complications and may thus have intense and
widespread adverse health consequences.
One of the most fascinating investigations examining potential effects of
aluminum adjuvant took place in France in 1998 [32]. Safety concerns about
the use of aluminum in vaccines arose in France as a result of deltoid muscle
(the muscle that forms the rounded contour of the shoulder) biopsies in
patients with a constellation of symptoms including muscle pain and fatigue.
Close scrutiny of microscopic histological lesions revealed aluminum salts,
which were shown to persist for up to 10 years. Because these lesions occurred
at the traditional vaccination site in the deltoid, the illness was linked with the
administration of aluminum‐containing vaccines [33]. However, to date, there
is no reliable scientific evidence that absolutely links vaccination sites to long‐
term pain at the deltoid site [34,35]. In 2008 the World Health Organization
(WHO) Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) issued a
statement concluding that: “From the most recent evidence available, there is
no reason to conclude that a health risk exists as a result of administration of
aluminium containing vaccines, nor is there any good reason for changing
current vaccination practice. The GACVS will continue to review the evidence
that might emerge from on‐going studies” [35].
Phenol and phenoxyethanol are also added to vaccines as a form of disin-
fectant. Phenol, chemically known as carbolic acid, is produced both naturally
and synthetically. Naturally, phenol can be found in coal tar, as well as in
human and animal waste, indicating that it is present in foods that are con-
sumed [36–38]. The CDC has reported that exposure to phenol by any route
is capable of causing systemic poisoning, which includes transient CNS stim-
ulation, followed very quickly by CNS depression. Other possible symptoms
following exposure include nausea, vomiting, hypotension, arrhythmia