6 – Impairment of mitochondria and the blood-
brain barrier
Mitochondria are the locus of aerobic metabolism
within cells, where the enzymes of oxidative
metabolism are found. Mitochondria were sites of
early damage in Myers' experiments [1]. This finding
indicates that aerobic enzymes themselves need
uninterrupted delivery of oxygen for self-maintenance;
That mitochondria are compromised early-on may be
the reason that damage within brainstem nuclei of
high metabolic rate is permanent and irreversible
following resuscitation.
Loss of membrane integrity is the basis for
degradation of the blood brain barrier, following which
bilirubin or any other substance normally found within
the circulatory system are no longer blocked from
entering neurons.
Innoculations have lately been given shortly after
birth. If an infant has suffered some degree of
respiratory compromise with breakdown of the blood-
brain barrier, substances like the vaccine preservative
thimerosol could get into the brain and compound the
damage. This seems a more likely explanation for
why vaccine injury affects only a small number of
infants. Most children do not have any adverse
reactions associated with vaccinations, but most
children breathe right away at birth and are therefore
not likely to suffer impairment of mitochondria or the
blood-brain barrier. The blood-brain barrier, if intact,
will prevent natural substances like bilirubin from
getting into the brain, and foreign substances like
thimerosol are more likely to be excluded too.
Immunizations should probably be deferred, as in the
past, until at least six months of age. Administering
the Hepatitis B vaccine at birth should be considered
dangerous, especially in cases where the umbilical
cord is clamped before the first breath.
- Myers RE (1972) Two
patterns of perinatal brain
damage and their
conditions of occurrence.
Reference