The US licensed vaccines for children that contain aluminum adjuvants are:
Brands:
Daptacel-330micrograms as aluminum potassium sulfate
Tripedia-170micrograms
Infanrix-625micrograms as aluminum hydroxide
DTaP/Hib
Brand:
TriHIBit- 0.170 mg of aluminum
DTaP/HepB/IPV
Brand:
Pediarix-850 mcg as aluminum phosphate
DtaP/Hib/IPV
Brand:
Pentacel-1500micrograms
DT (sanofi)
DT (Massachusetts)
Tdap
Brands:
Adacel– identical to DTaP but with less formaldehyde and 1.5 mg aluminum phosphate
Boostrix-390micrograms as aluminum hydroxide
Td (Decavac)
Td (Massachusetts)
Pneumococcal
Brand:
Prevnar-125 mcg as aluminum phosphate
Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
Brand:
Gardasil- 225mcg as amorphous aluminum hydroxyphosphate
Hepatitis A
Brands:
Vaqta– 250 micrograms amorphous aluminum hydroxyphosphate sulfate
Havrix– 250 micrograms as aluminum hydroxide
Hepatitis A/Hepatitis B
Brand:
Twinrix- 0.45 mg of aluminum in the form of aluminum hydroxide and aluminum phosphate as adjuvants
Hepatitis B
Brands:
Recombivax- 250micrograms as amorphous aluminum hydroxyphosphate sulfate
Engerix–B– 250 micrograms as aluminum hydroxide
HIB/HepB
Brand:
Comvax– 225 micrograms as amorphous aluminum hydroxyphosphate Sulfate
HIB
Brands:
PedvaxHib– 225micrograms as aluminum hydroxyphosphate sulfate
Anthrax
Brand:
BioThrax- 1.2 mg/ml aluminum, added as aluminum hydroxide in 0.85% sodium chloride
The amount of aluminum in the recommended individual dose of a biological product shall not exceed 1.250mg. However, infants are exceeding the maximum recommended dose depending on which vaccine is given, and how many vaccines are being given in one day. This far exceeds the FDA’s safety limit on aluminum.
“The FDA determined that babies should not get more than about 25 to 50 micrograms of aluminum in any one day,” Dr. Sears says. “If too much aluminum is injected all at once, it can find its way into the brain, bones and body organs and cause damage. This was discovered many years ago in hospitalized patients who were receiving IV solutions containing too much aluminum.”
Aluminum neurotoxicity has been recognized in experimental animals, in individuals with renal failure, and links to neurodegenerative disorders to aluminum exposure. Also, aluminum content in infant formulas, and in intravenous solutions for home parenteral nutrition, has been associated with neurological consequences and metabolic bone disease, characterized by low-bone formation rate.
Symptoms of mild to moderate acute aluminum phosphide toxicity may include nausea, agitation and chills, restlessness, abdominal pain, tightness in chest, and excitement. Symptoms of aluminum toxicity may include disorientation, colic, memory loss, headaches, learning difficulty, mental confusion, heartburn, loss of coordination, and flatulence. More severe symptoms of toxicity may include tachycardia (rapid pulse), diarrhea, respiratory failure, cyanosis, dizziness and/or death, difficulty breathing, pulmonary edema, and hypotension (low blood pressure). Convulsions have been to occur in lab animals exposed to high concentrations of phosphine. Severe exposure may indicate kidney damage. Pathological examination of exposed laboratory animal tissue and results of post-mortem examinations of phosphine poisoning in people generally indicate hypoxia, along with evidence of local trauma in the gastrointestinal tract or lungs, liver, kidneys and central nervous system.
Aluminum is highly reactive and a T2 skewer. It is used in vaccines because without it the body won’t react to weak strains of antigens. Aluminum ‘wakes up’ and keeps the antigen presenting cells to the ‘on’ position. It creates more antigen presenting cells because without it, the vaccine won’t provoke antibodies. Why? Because the bacteria did not get there by normal portals of entry.
The antigen presenting cells can cause problems. Dendritic cells that present antigen for too long will allow abnormal antibodies to be produced; also known as autoantibodies. Antigen presenting cells from vaccines promote a better immune response and aluminum ensures this abnormal response.
When macrophages cross the blood brain barrier they take aluminum with them and are thus affected by aluminum as well. They can become loaded with aluminum particles and disrupt their function. Aluminum can integrate into molecular functions but it is also a neurotoxin. It alters permeability of the blood-brain barrier making the brain more accessible to other toxins in the body, just as Thimerosal can.
Aluminum hydroxide when used in vaccines is injected through the skin right to the tissue where it is absorbed and enters the brain.
The only known cause of Macrophagic myofasciitis has an association with aluminum adjuvant vaccines.
“Macrophagic myofasciitis (MMF) is an emerging condition of unknown cause, detected in patients with diffuse arthromyalgias and fatigue, and characterized by muscle infiltration by granular periodic acid-Schiff’s reagent-positive macrophages and lymphocytes. Intracytoplasmic inclusions have been observed in macrophages of some patients. To assess their significance, electron microscopy was performed in 40 consecutive cases and chemical analysis was done by microanalysis and atomic absorption spectrometry. Inclusions were constantly detected and corresponded to aluminium hydroxide, an immunostimulatory compound frequently used as a vaccine adjuvant. A lymphocytic component was constantly observed in MMF lesions. Serological tests were compatible with exposure to aluminium hydroxide-containing vaccines. History analysis revealed that 50 out of 50 patients had received vaccines against hepatitis B virus (86%), hepatitis A virus (19%) or tetanus toxoid (58%), 3-96 months (median 36 months) before biopsy. Diffuse myalgias were more frequent in patients with than without an MMF lesion at deltoid muscle biopsy (P < 0.0001). Myalgia onset was subsequent to the vaccination (median 11 months) in 94% of patients. MMF lesion was experimentally reproduced in rats. We conclude that the MMF lesion is secondary to intramuscular injection of aluminium hydroxide-containing vaccines, shows both long-term persistence of aluminium hydroxide and an ongoing local immune reaction, and is detected in patients with systemic symptoms which appeared subsequently to vaccination.”
Aluminum-Adjuvanted Vaccines Transiently Increase Aluminum Levels in Murine Brain Tissue
Summary: This British group injected aluminum-containing vaccines into mice and found that levels of the metal rose in the brain and peaked around the third day after injection. Aluminum from vaccines enters the brain almost immediately after it is injected and measurable amounts of aluminum are present at the injection site for up to 8 years after vaccination.
Abstract: “Aluminium is widely used as an adjuvant in human vaccines, and children can often receive up to 3.75 mg of parenteral aluminium during the first six months of life. We show that intraperitoneal injection of aluminium adsorbed vaccines into mice causes a transient rise in brain tissue aluminium levels peaking around the second and third day after injection. This rise is not seen in the saline control group of animals or with vaccine not containing aluminium. It is likely that aluminium is transported to the brain by the iron-binding protein transferrin and enters the brain via specific transferrin receptors.”
Myelin is a preferential target of aluminum-mediated oxidative damage.
Myelin is the protective protein which coats neurons and covers the spinal cord. Damage to this protein is referred to as demyelination. Multiple Sclerosis, Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis, Autism, Transverse Myelitis, and Optic Neuritis are examples of demyelinating diseases when damage to myelin causes neurological dysfunction.
Abstract : Aluminum (Al) is a simple trivalent cation incapable of redox changes. The toxicity of the metal has been the subject of much controversy in the past few decades. Although it has been generally believed that the metal is innocuous to human health, a causal role for Al has been established in dialysis dementia (Alfrey et al., 1976), osteomalacia (Bushinsky et al., 1995) and microcytic anemia without iron deficiency (Touam et al., 1983). Aluminum has also been implicated in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) although a direct causal role has not been determined. The exact mechanism of Al toxicity is not known. However, there are several lines of evidence that show the metal’s capacity to exacerbate oxidative events. The present review is intended to propose a coherent pathway linking Al-induced oxidative events to Alzheimer’s disease. The preliminary segment is an introduction to reactive oxygen species and their potential involvement in the pathogenesis of AD and the generation of an inflammatory response. Evidence on the relation between AD and inflammatory processes is also presented. The epidemiological and clinical evidence of Al neurotoxicity is summarized in the second section of the review. Finally, a hypothesis indicating that aluminum can exacerbate AD by activating ROS generation and initiation of an inflammatory cascade is presented.
Alum adjuvanticity: unraveling a century old mystery.
“The development of vaccine adjuvants for human use has been one of the slowest processes in the history of medicine. For almost one century, aluminium hydroxide (alum) has been the only vaccine adjuvant approved worldwide. Only in the past decade have two oil-in-water emulsions and one TLR agonist been approved by the European authorities as new vaccine adjuvants. Despite the fact that alum has been injected into billions of people, its mechanism of action is not fully understood. Recently, several reports have greatly increased our knowledge of the molecular and cellular events triggered by alum; however, the contribution of each of these processes to alum adjuvanticity is still unclear. A study published in this issue of the European Journal of Immunology, together with two recent publications, have demonstrated that the NOD-like receptor, pyrin domain containing 3 (Nlrp3)-inflammasome is the molecular target of alum immunostimulatory activity in vitro. Surprisingly, these three studies reported conflicting results on the requirement of the Nlrp3 inflammasome complex for alum adjuvant effects in vivo. This commentary attempts to resolve some of these discrepancies.”
Aluminum adjuvant linked to gulf war illness induces motor neuron death in mice.
Abstract: “Gulf War illness (GWI) affects a significant percentage of veterans of the 1991 conflict, but its origin remains unknown. Associated with some cases of GWI are increased incidences of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other neurological disorders. Whereas many environmental factors have been linked to GWI, the role of the anthrax vaccine has come under increasing scrutiny. Among the vaccine’s potentially toxic components are the adjuvants aluminum hydroxide and squalene. To examine whether these compounds might contribute to neuronal deficits associated with GWI, an animal model for examining the potential neurological impact of aluminum hydroxide, squalene, or aluminum hydroxide combined with squalene was developed. Young, male colony CD-1 mice were injected with the adjuvants at doses equivalent to those given to US military service personnel. All mice were subjected to a battery of motor and cognitive-behavioral tests over a 6-mo period postinjections. Following sacrifice, central nervous system tissues were examined using immunohistochemistry for evidence of inflammation and cell death. Behavioral testing showed motor deficits in the aluminum treatment group that expressed as a progressive decrease in strength measured by the wire-mesh hang test (final deficit at 24 wk; about 50%). Significant cognitive deficits in water-maze learning were observed in the combined aluminum and squalene group (4.3 errors per trial) compared with the controls (0.2 errors per trial) after 20 wk. Apoptotic neurons were identified in aluminum-injected animals that showed significantly increased activated caspase-3 labeling in lumbar spinal cord (255%) and primary motor cortex (192%) compared with the controls. Aluminum-treated groups also showed significant motor neuron loss (35%) and increased numbers of astrocytes (350%) in the lumbar spinal cord. The findings suggest a possible role for the aluminum adjuvant in some neurological features associated with GWI and possibly an additional role for the combination of adjuvants.”
“Similar adjuvants are used in the following vaccines, according to Shaw’s paper: hepatitis A and B, and the Pentacel cocktail, which vaccinates against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, and a type of meningitis.”
“… After 20 weeks studying the mice, the team found statistically significant increases in anxiety (38 percent); memory deficits (41 times the errors as in the sample group); and an allergic skin reaction (20 percent). Tissue samples after the mice were “sacrificed” showed neurological cells were dying. Inside the mice’s brains, in a part that controls movement, 35 percent of the cells were destroying themselves.”
Abstract: “Aluminum, the most abundant neurotoxic metal in our biosphere, has been implicated in the etiology of several neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). To further understand aluminum’s influence on gene expression, we examined total messenger RNA levels in untransformed human neural cells exposed to 100 nanomolar aluminum sulfate using high density DNA microarrays that interrogate the expression of every human gene. Preliminary data indicate that of the most altered gene expression levels, 17/24 (70.8%) of aluminum-affected genes, and 7/8 (87.5%) of aluminum-induced genes exhibit expression patterns similar to those observed in AD. The seven genes found to be significantly up-regulated by aluminum encode pro-inflammatory or pro-apoptotic signaling elements, including NF-kappaB subunits, interleukin-1beta precursor, cytosolic phospholipase A2, cyclooxygenase-2, beta-amyloid precursor protein and DAXX, a regulatory protein known to induce apoptosis and repress transcription. The promoters of genes up-regulated by aluminum are enriched in binding sites for the stress-inducible transcription factors HIF-1 and NF-kappaB, suggesting a role for aluminum, HIF-1 and NF-kappaB in driving atypical, pro-inflammatory and pro-apoptotic gene expression. The effect of aluminum on specific stress-related gene expression patterns in human brain cells clearly warrant further investigation.”
So, Aluminum interacts directly with DNA. Exogenous aluminum interacts via membrane contact and with cell signaling events. Both mechanisms take place and around 30 genes can be affected. Seven of which are significantly up-regulated or in other words, genes that are primarily pro-inflammatory or pro-apoptotic: apoptosis means cell suicide. The consequences for brain development are still unknown since there has not been enough research done to date. However, it is known that aluminum in vaccines is sufficient to induce abnormal gene expression in the brain.
Aluminum salts in vaccines-US perspective
Abstract: Aluminum in the form of aluminum hydroxide, aluminum phosphate or alum has been commonly used as an adjuvant in many vaccines licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration. Chapter 21 of the US Code of Federal Regulations [610.15(a)] limits the amount of aluminum in biological products, including vaccines, to 0.85 mg/dose. The amount of aluminum in vaccines currently licensed in the US ranges from 0.85-0.125 mg/dose. Clinical studies have demonstrated that aluminum enhances the antigenicity of some vaccines such as diphtheria and tetanus toxoids. Moreover, aluminum-adsorbed diphtheria and tetanus toxoids are distinctly more effective than plain fluid toxoids for primary immunization of children. There is little difference between plain and adsorbed toxoids for booster immunization. Aluminum adjuvants have a demonstrated safety profile of over six decades; however, these adjuvants have been associated with severe local reactions such as erythema, subcutaneous nodules and contact hypersensitivity.
*The views in this article are those of the authors and are not intended to represent those of the Food and Drug Administration or the Public Health Service.
Vaccines containing Aluminum are not the only source of aluminum exposure for infants. Aluminum is present in air, food and water so infants are exposed to aluminum in the environment. Breast milk alone can contain approximately 40 µg of aluminum per liter, and infant formulas can contain an average of approximately 225 µg of aluminum per liter. Since large quantities of aluminum can cause serious neurologic effects in humans, guidelines were established by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry(ATSDR).
ATSDR-Potential for Human Exposure:
Since aluminum is ubiquitous in the environment, the general population will be exposed to aluminum by the inhalation of ambient air and the ingestion of food and water. The consumption of foods containing aluminum-containing food additives are a major sources of aluminum in the diet (Saiyed and Yokel 2005; Soni et al. 2001). The use of other consumer items such as antiperspirants, cosmetics, internal analgesics (buffered aspirins), anti-ulcerative medications, antidiarrheals, and antacids that also contain aluminum compounds will result in exposure to aluminum. The intake of aluminum from food and drinking water is low, especially compared with that consumed by people taking aluminum-containing medicinal preparations. Daily intakes of aluminum from food range from 3.4 to 9 mg/day (Biego et al. 1998; MAFF 1999; Pennington and Schoen 1995), whereas aluminum-containing medications contain much higher levels of aluminum, for example 104-208 mg of aluminum per tablet/capsule/5 mL dose for many antacids (Zhou and Yokel 2005). While aluminum is naturally present in food and water, the greatest contribution to aluminum in food and water by far is the aluminum-containing additives used in water treatment and processing certain types of food such as grain-based products and processed cheese. Aluminum has no known physiological role in the human body (Nayak 2002).
The aluminum content of human breast milk generally ranged from 9.2 to 49 μg/L (Fernandez-Lorenzo et al. 1999; Hawkins et al. 1994; Koo et al. 1988; Simmer et al. 1990; Weintraub et al. 1986). Soy-based infant formulas contain higher concentrations of aluminum, as compared to milk-based infant formulas or breast milk. Recent reports provide average aluminum concentrations of 460-930 μg/L for soy-based infant formulas and 58-150 μg/L for milk-based formulas (Fernandez-Lorenzo et al. 1999; Ikem et al. 2002; Navarro-Blasco and Alvarez-Galindo 2003).
Occupational exposures to aluminum occur during the mining and processing of aluminum ore into metal, recovery of scrap metal, production and use of aluminum compounds and products containing these compounds, and in aluminum welding. Individuals living in the vicinity of industrial emission sources and hazardous waste sites; individuals with chronic kidney failure requiring long-term dialysis or treatment with phosphate binders; patients requiring intravenous fluids; infants, especially premature infants fed soy-based formula containing high levels of aluminum; and individuals consuming large quantities of antacids, anti-ulcerative medications, antidiarrheal medications may also be exposed to high levels of aluminum.”
Aluminum-hydroxide in vaccines causes serious health problems
“A new disease has been identified, first in France, called macrophagic myofasciitis (MMF). The condition manifests with spread out muscle pain and chronic fatigue. One third of the patients develop an autoimmune disease, such as multiple sclerosis (MS) or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease). Even if they don’t have an obvious autoimmune disease, most of them are part of a subgroup called HLADRB1*01 that puts them at risk of developing polymyalgia rheumatica and rheumatoid arthritis.”
Doctors have identified that the aluminum-hydroxide in the vaccines stays at the site of the injection for years. The whole time it is there, it is stimulating an immune response. Which is exactly why the vaccine makers include it in the vaccine, so that the immune system will react more strongly to the virus or toxoid. But switching the immune system on without turning it off is not good for the body. This appears to be what causes the chronic fatigue seen in MMF.2″
In studies they were able to reproduce the MMF lesions in rats, and concluded that they were caused by the aluminum-hydroxide in the vaccines, and the ongoing local immune reaction.3 The vaccines in question for this particular study were hepatitis B, hepatitis A and tetanus.
…In another study of 92 MMF patients, eight had a demyelinating central nervous system disorder. The myelin sheath is the protective covering that surrounds and insulates nerves. When myelin is damaged, the nerves eventually become damaged, leading to disrupted transmission of signals within the nervous system.4 The MS diagnosis was definite in five out of seven cases, and probable in two out of seven.5 Based on the association with MMF and MS disorders they suggested that deltoid muscle biopsies be done in cases of MS to look for MMF.
MMF has now been identified in children, and was characterized by motor delay, hypotonia (diminished muscle tone), and failure to thrive. They concluded that MMF should be considered in the evaluation of children with failure to thrive, diminished muscle tone, and muscle weakness.
…So what can we conclude from all of this? Science has proven that the following conditions may all be caused by the aluminum-hydroxide in vaccines: Chronic fatigue, Multiple sclerosis , Lou Gehrig’s disease, Demyelinating central nervous system disorders, Plymyalgia rheumatica and rheumatoid arthritis, Motor delay, Hypotonia or diminished muscle tone, Failure to thrive, Apoptic neurons, which are self-destructing neurons in the lumbar spinal cord, Neuron loss in the lumbar spinal cord.”
Its Not Just The Mercury: Aluminum Hydroxide In Vaccines
“Aluminum is known to be associated with degenerative, fatal neurological conditions like Parkinson’s, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s) and Alzheimer’s…
The reason that aluminum is in our vaccines is because it is an adjuvant.
Generally speaking, the way vaccines work is that they contain a virus and substances called ‘adjuvants’ (like mercury and aluminum) that kick the immune system into high gear so that they go on the hunt for the viruses, eat ‘um up, and create antibodies against further infection.
In people with typical immune systems, the body then stands down from high alert. But in some people, it doesn’t, and the immune system begins to behave like early 20th century Germany and attacks what ever is in sight. The result, autoimmune disorders.
A few examples of autoimmune disorders: When the immune system attacks the connective tissue, you get arthritis, when it attacks the mylon sheath around the nerves, you get Guillain-Barré Syndrome (a known side effect of the flu shot that causes paralysis), and when it attacks the pancreas you have Type 1 Diabetes. And on and on.
…it has taken decades for it to be properly medically investigated, and for the autoimmune features of the disorder (i.e. cytokines in the brain causing swelling leading to cognitive dysfunction) to be recognized. (Which is why even mild anti inflammatory agents like fish oil improve communication skills of so many people with autism, and why parents report that children’s autistic symptoms seem to improve when their kids are sick.)
…Similar adjuvants are used in the following vaccines, according to Shaw’s paper: hepatitis A and B, and the Pentacel cocktail, which vaccinates against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, and a type of meningitis.”
Aluminum toxicokinetics regarding infant diet and vaccinations.
“Some vaccines contain aluminum adjuvants to enhance the immunological response, and it has been postulated that this aluminum could contribute to adverse health effects, especially in children who receive a vaccination series starting at birth. The pharmacokinetic properties and end-point toxicities of aluminum are presented. In assessing the relevance of dietary and medical aluminum exposure to public health, we estimated infant body burdens during the first year of life for breast milk and formula diets and for a standard vaccination schedule. We then compared those body burdens with that expected for intake at a level considered safe for intermediate-duration exposure. The methodology blends intake values and uptake fractions with an aluminum retention function derived from a human injection study using radioactive 26Al. The calculated body burden of aluminum from vaccinations exceeds that from dietary sources, however, it is below the minimal risk level equivalent curve after the brief period following injection.”
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