Isn’t it possible that autistic children are “poor excretors” of mercury?
A. Absolutely. It’s possible, but there aren’t any data to support that hypothesis yet. It is also possible – although intuitively absurd – that mercury protects children from autism, if one believes the data from Holmes et al. If some data are found that support the “poor excretor” hypothesis, then I’m all ears. But it will have to be something a lot more direct that simple hair mercury measurements. The researchers will have to be able to show that mercury elimination – in total, via all routes – is significantly lower in autistic children than in non-autistic children. In short, it’s possible, just very unlikely, given the current data. I’m always open to new data.
