THE NATIONAL AUTISM ASSOCIATION (NAA) AND SAFE MINDS SPONSOR SYMPOSIUM TO LAY GROUNDWORK FOR AUTISM RESEARCH

http://www.nationalautismassociation.org/press083105.php

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
August 31, 2005 Contact:
Jo Pike, NAA (SC) 843-206-8443
Rita Shreffler, NAA (MO) 417-725-6107
Wendy Fournier, NAA (RI) 401-632-7523


THE NATIONAL AUTISM ASSOCIATION (NAA) AND SAFE MINDS SPONSOR SYMPOSIUM TO
LAY GROUNDWORK FOR AUTISM RESEARCH

THE TWO-DAY WORKSHOP UNITED TOP EXPERTS TO DISCUSS ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS AND
AUTISM

BETHESDA, MD - National experts in environmental health sciences and
neuroscience came together on Thursday and Friday in Bethesda, Maryland to
create a "roadmap" for future research on the role of environmental factors
in the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders.

NAA and Safe Minds sponsored the event through a generous donation from The
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). Both parent-led
organizations have long advocated for increased research of the relationship
between exposures to toxins such as the mercury-based vaccine preservative
thimerosal and the development of neurological disorders.

Autism spectrum disorders were the primary focus of this symposium, but the
overall objective was to define a research agenda elucidating the mechanisms
by which toxicants may induce neural damage in the developing brain and ways
to reverse such damage.


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