There are also indications that the Al adjuvants in vaccines could be

causally associated with the symptoms used to diagnose ASD

(Tomljenovic and Shaw, 2011; Shaw and Tomljenovic, 2013; Miller,

2016). Thus, a recent study reported a positive correlation between the

levels of the toxic metals including Al and the severity of the ASD

symptoms as assessed by using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale

(CARS) (Metwally et al., 2015). According to numerous studies, the

interaction of Al in ASD patients was attributed to suppression of cellular

energy synthesis and elevation of the potential neurotoxic activities

in ASD children.

It has been proposed that Al exposure may contribute as an environmental

factor to cause ASD when taken in its elemental or salt

form via oral ingestion and/or as adjuvant (Morris et al., 2017). Numerous

studies highlight the relevance of Al exposure and development

of ASD (Table 1). For example, Shaw and Tomljenovic (2013) have

reported the potential involvement of Al adjuvants in the development

of ASD. They found the prevalence of ASD in areas where exposure to

vaccine-derived Al is high. READ STUDY:  Toxic metal pollution and ASD. Environmental Research 2018

VLA Comment: Aluminum adjuvants are used in vaccines such as hepatitis A, hepatitis B, diphtheria–tetanus-containing vaccines, Haemophilus influenzae type b, and pneumococcal vaccines, but they are not used in the live, viral vaccines, such as measles, mumps, rubella, varicella and rotavirus.