Unveiling Autism’s Roots: Aluminum, Vaccines, and the Encephalitis Epidemic

Interview with Cicero Coimbra

In the late 20th century, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) emerged as a perplexing medical enigma, its prevalence climbing from obscure case reports to a global epidemic affecting millions. By the early 2000s, researchers like Cicero Coimbra, a Brazilian neurologist with decades of clinical and experimental expertise, began probing environmental triggers behind this surge, challenging the prevailing narrative of purely genetic causation. Coimbra’s work, detailed in this interview, posits autism as an organic, inflammatory, and autoimmune condition—specifically, a form of vaccine-induced encephalitis driven by aluminum nanoparticles. These adjuvants, embedded in roughly 70% of childhood vaccines, cross the immature blood-brain barrier of infants, inciting chronic inflammation and autoantibody production against neural tissues. Supporting this, Interview with Dr. Christopher Exley and Interview with Guillemette Crepeaux reveal how injected aluminum accumulates in brain tissue, triggering immune activation events that disrupt neurodevelopment. Yet, official bodies maintained that rising autism rates stemmed from broader diagnostics, a claim Coimbra and others, as echoed in The Great Autism Deception, argue masks a deeper truth. They wilfully ignore the biochemical havoc wrought by cumulative vaccine schedules.

This evidence reframes autism not as a static neurodiversity but as a dynamic assault on the developing brain, with aluminum acting as a Trojan horse within immune cells. Coimbra’s clinical observations, corroborated by Interview with Dr. Kenneth Stoller and Interview with Kerri Rivera, trace the onset of autistic symptoms to vaccination episodes. The scale of this phenomenon, described in Lalu Total, overwhelms educational systems and economies, with annual U.S. costs projected to exceed $460 billion by 2025. Coimbra’s treatment protocol—high-dose vitamin D, aluminum detoxification via monomethylsilanetriol, and antifungal therapy with green propolis—targets the inflammatory and autoimmune cascade, offering hope where conventional therapies falter. However, resistance persists. As Vaccination, Social Violence, and Criminality suggests, institutional denialism, fueled by economic and reputational stakes, perpetuates circular reasoning: autism’s rise is attributed to awareness, not environmental insult. “Autism is an epidemic, and genes do not cause epidemics,” Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. asserts, a sentiment Coimbra echoes, exposing the genetic narrative as a convenient distraction.

The implications are staggering, yet the cover-up is the greatest crime against humanity, a fire lit in the brains of tens of millions now transitioning to adulthood. Coimbra’s insights, born from his pivot to autoimmune research post-2003 Human Genome Project, align with a growing chorus questioning vaccine safety. The adjuvants’ neurotoxicity, detailed in studies like those by Shaw and Tomljenovic, cited in Coimbra’s interview, reveals a mechanism where aluminum nanoparticles, untested for cumulative effects, disrupt synaptic pruning and induce genetic alterations via oxidative stress. This environmental trigger, dismissed by authorities, demands a reckoning. As The Great Autism Deception underscores, the exponential rise in autism parallels intensified vaccine schedules, not diagnostic artifacts. Coimbra’s work, accessible through his brother’s platform, invites readers to interrogate this crisis with scientific rigor and moral urgency, setting the stage for a deeper exploration of autism’s roots and remedies.

With thanks to Cicero Coimbra.

1. Cicero, can you please share your background and explain what led you to focus on the role of aluminum in vaccines and its connection to autism as an autoimmune condition?

I am a doctor who graduated from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in 1979, where I also earned the titles of specialist in internal medicine in 1981 and neurology in 1983. I completed a fellowship in pediatric neurology at Jackson Memorial Hospital, University of Miami, USA, from 1984 to 1985. I earned my master's degree in Neurology from the Federal University of São Paulo in 1988 and my doctorate in 1991. I completed postdoctoral training at Lund University, Sweden, in the Laboratory for Experimental Brain Research from 1991 to 1993. Between 1997 and 2024, I served as an Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Neuroscience Discipline.

What motivated me to pause my clinical work for two years to engage in experimental research in Sweden, complementing my master's and doctorate, was my realization of the necessity to understand the causes of diseases in order to develop effective treatments aimed at combating them and, consequently, restoring the quality of life for neurological patients.

The results of the Human Genome Project were made public in 2003. They demonstrated that patients with autoimmune diseases were carriers of genetic polymorphisms that made them resistant to the biological effects of the so-called "vitamin D."

In reality, vitamin D is a pre-steroid hormone with receptors (VDRs) found in nearly all nucleated cells of the human body. This broad distribution of VDRs enables the diverse effects of vitamin D, affecting a wide range of physiological and pathological processes. Not only kidney cells but also immune system cells (as well as neurons, other brain cells, and cells in various tissues) can convert vitamin D into its active (hormonal) form, indicating that this steroid is particularly vital for the function of these organs and systems. It serves as a steroid that regulates and enhances the action of the immune system.

A deficiency or resistance to vitamin D allows the immune system to execute a type of "activity program" called Th17 aimed at attacking the body itself, and vitamin D is a powerful natural inhibitor of Th17. Since 2003, I have been using high doses of vitamin D (much higher than the doses considered normal) to treat autoimmune diseases. I adjusted the levels of 25(OH)D3 based on the degree of inhibition of parathyroid hormone secretion, while limiting the intake of foods rich in calcium and maintaining adequate hydration to prevent intoxication. This treatment eventually became known as the "Coimbra Protocol" on social media in 13 different languages.

In 2014, after I learned that autoimmune activity (Th17) was present in autism, I began treating children, adolescents, and young adults with autism using the same approach. Motivated by the alarming rise in autism prevalence and severity, I have since sought to uncover the cause of this condition. Mothers of autistic children reported a link between the onset of symptoms and multiple simultaneous vaccination episodes. Concurrently, I became aware of Shoenfeld's publications, which demonstrated that the adjuvant effect of vaccines (particularly due to aluminum nanoparticles) could lead to autoimmune diseases.

2. You’ve talked about circular reasoning in the public health response to autism. What does that mean, and why do you think it’s holding us back?

Circular thinking in current discussions about rising autism rates can be illustrated through the following hypothetical dialogue. One might ask, “Why is autism on the rise?" The response would likely be: “Autism is not increasing; the observed rise is a result of enhanced diagnostic capabilities and greater awareness of its prevalence.” Then, one might seek evidence to support such an assumption: “But why dismiss the possibility that the autism rate is truly increasing?" The response would revert to the original point: “Because the diagnostic criteria have become more inclusive, and society is now more aware of the existence of ASD.”

This circular argument overlooks the fact that a genuine rise in autism prevalence conversely results in greater awareness of the condition and the need for standardization of precise diagnostic criteria for suitable therapeutic referrals.

Additionally, if there were a consensus and official recognition of a significant increase in ASD, the public would demand government action to address the underlying causes, ensuring that effective prevention and treatment are accessible to children at risk of developing the disorder or those already affected by it. And such demand for explanations of the ASD epidemic may be inconvenient for some sectors of society that, fearing accountability, resist a deeper understanding of the situation by continually promoting this circular argumentation. This circular reasoning undermines the identification of the condition’s root cause that could justify effective prevention and treatment.

Similarly, claiming that autism is a condition influenced by multiple factors or that it results solely from the presence of altered genes (“Autism is an epidemic, and the genes do not cause epidemics" - Robert F. Kennedy, Jr) also dilutes the efforts to identify and eliminate the root cause. Every disease or disorder, particularly when it occurs as an epidemic, should have a root cause influenced by a predisposing genetic factor. This does not exclude additional contributing factors that arise from the root cause and amplify its impact. To ignore this fact means breaking the scientifically established Principle of Parsimony (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/law-of-parsimony). The cause is the vaccines given in excessive numbers and frequencies (with cumulative and synergistic effects), which have risen in parallel with autism rates. They are never tested for safety, not even individually, let alone in multiple and repeated administrations, as we have progressively seen to occur since the nineties in parallel with autism rise.

3. How do you see the current approach to autism failing, especially when it comes to the economy and education?

The following excerpt from a message that a Brazilian teacher sent to me in November 2024 exemplifies the situation regarding the educational system:

“I am a teacher in the early grades of the public school system. I have been experiencing the reality of autism being increasingly included in schools, which has consequently created chaos. The needs of these students, along with others who have different disorders and difficulties, coupled with the lack of training and adequate information for teachers and advisory teams of Specialized Educational Support, have hindered academic progress and contributed to an unhealthy environment.

The classroom is no longer a place for peaceful learning because students with ASD, who have varying degrees of impairment, along with others who have disorders such as ADHD, learning disabilities, intellectual deficiencies, and many more, disrupt the learning of other students who are living under stress and are emotionally shaken due to the emotional instability of students with ASD and others.

There is a huge lack of information among parents, teachers, doctors, psychologists, and therapists. I have watched many of your interviews, and I am shocked at how the percentage of autism is growing and where it is heading.”

The educational system is collapsing worldwide, and new generations face incapacitation, further jeopardizing the future sustainability of society. See Sarah Martin’s report for “The Guardian” of April 28, 2024 on the situation in Australia (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/apr/29/how-the-rise-of-autism-and-adhd-fractured-australias-schools). A similar situation has been reported in South Africa (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/13623613221142111) and in other parts of the world.

10,000 stories: The sickest generation of children

The annual cost of ASD, which encompasses direct expenses (such as expenses with special education, and ineffective therapies like psychotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy – all of which do not address the underlying cause of the disorder) and indirect expenses (for instance, a parent unable to work to care for the affected child), could exceed 460 billion dollars in the U.S. by 2025 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26183723/).

4. You describe autism as an organic, inflammatory, and autoimmune condition. Can you break that down for us—what does that look like in the body?

The pathophysiological features of autism show that it fulfills all the criteria to be included in the "ASIA" group - Adjuvant-Induced Autoimmune (Autoinflammatory) Syndrome described by Yehuda Shoenfeld and Nancy Agmon-Levi in 2011.

Unlike the soluble aluminum salts found in drinking water or food, aluminum nanoparticles, which are present in about 70% of vaccines, are fully absorbed when injected and are difficult to eliminate from the body, especially in individuals with common genetic variations that slow down the folate cycle—on which the body's ability to excrete heavy metals depends. Instead, they are taken up by the immune system cells and begin to circulate within them, crossing biological barriers such as the blood-brain barrier and the placental barrier. These cells are attracted to the intestinal wall. Carried by immune system cells, the aluminum nanoparticles reach nervous and fetal tissues, leading to tissue inflammation and compromising the biological barriers that should prevent the passage of microorganisms. They harm nerve cells, causing them to release proteins contained in their structure. The neural proteins then attach to the nanoparticles, prompting immune cells to produce antibodies against them, much like what happens at the vaccination site, where protein residues (antigens) of the microorganism attached to aluminum nanoparticles stimulate the production of antibodies.

Thus, autistic individuals exhibit higher plasma levels of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) — which indicates an active inflammatory process affecting their brains — as well as increased serum levels of autoantibodies specifically targeting the brain tissue, characterizing this neuropsychiatric condition as part of the ASIA group.

5. You argue that the exponential rise in autism cannot be explained solely by improved diagnostics, pointing to increased vaccine schedules and aluminum exposure. Why do you believe these environmental factors outweigh the diagnostic artifact explanation?

Check the experiences and reports of elementary school teachers who have worked for the past 20 years. These behavioral abnormalities are so evident and severe that they could not have been overlooked before. Likewise, I graduated in 1979, and I have witnessed the emergence and explosive increase in autism in my clinical practice over the past 45 years.

6. Your editorial suggests that official bodies and media resist acknowledging vaccines as the cause of the autism epidemic. Which groups do you believe are most resistant, and what institutional or economic stakes might drive this denialism?

Groups that require public trust to maintain their activities could face accountability, suffer economically, and have their reputation irreversibly damaged by such acknowledgment.

7. Your editorial mentions a confidential meeting discussing Vaccine Safety Datalink analysis, suggesting withheld evidence on vaccine risks. How does this align with claims, like RFK Jr.’s, that officials concealed links between vaccines and autism, and what evidence supports your view?

This issue has been thoroughly covered and discussed on the Children’s Health Defence (CHD) (https://childrenshealthdefense.org/authors/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) and Kennedy Beacon websites.

8 and 9. Your editorial highlights the neurotoxicity of aluminum nanoparticles in vaccines, particularly for infants with immature blood-brain barriers. Why is the cumulative dose from multiple vaccinations especially concerning for young babies? You describe aluminum crossing the placental barrier, potentially causing increased head circumference, genetic alterations, and maternal autoantibodies. What are the mechanisms and long-term consequences of this prenatal aluminum exposure for the fetal brain?

As Tomljenovic and Shaw pointed out in 2012 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22235057/), infants and children should not be viewed as "small adults" regarding toxicological risks; they are much more vulnerable to toxic insults. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) reaches full maturity at age 6, and the immune system does not reach maturity until approximately age 9. Furthermore, a 2-month-old baby weighing 5.0 kg receives a series of vaccines containing an amount of particulate aluminum equivalent to what a 70 kg adult would receive in 24 hepatitis B vaccines administered simultaneously.

Immune cells containing aluminum nanoparticles that are internalized at the injection site cross the infant or child’s BBB (through the “Trojan horse” mechanism), inducing brain tissue inflammation during a critical period of brain development. This is when unused neural connections should be eliminated through “synaptic pruning,” which is required for normal brain development and is carried out by microglia cells. The inflammatory process caused by aluminum nanoparticles recruits microglia, diverting these cells from promoting the refinement of neural connections. The resulting excess of connections likely underlies certain autistic manifestations, such as an enlarged head circumference, intolerance to sensory stimuli, and difficulty focusing.

Vaccines are not subjected to safety tests under the pretext that they are considered "inherently safe" (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123948106000095). Much less consideration has been given to the potential adverse effects of administering multiple vaccines simultaneously. An even more serious implication is that the cumulative (additive or synergistic) effects of repeated vaccinations, whether administered simultaneously or separately, have also not been evaluated. Thus, the inflammatory process caused by an episode of multiple or isolated vaccination probably remains active when a new episode of multiple vaccinations is imposed on the immature nervous tissue, when the inflammatory process generated by the previous vaccination is likely intensified, generating disastrous consequences for the nervous system. Due to its high fat content, brain tissue is particularly susceptible to inflammation-related, persistent oxidative damage, undergoing the accelerated harmful process known as lipid peroxidation. As a result, the developmental window for acquiring essential skills like speech is impeded.

On the other hand, aluminum nanoparticles may cross the placental barrier through a similar mechanism (Trojan horse) and, therefore, exposure to aluminum during pregnancy and the postnatal period can cause changes in gene expression and various types of acquired genetic mutations, either through a direct effect or through the oxidative stress that damage DNA.

10. Your editorial argues that genetic alterations in autism may be induced by aluminum exposure, challenging the view that autism is purely genetic. How does this environmental influence reshape our understanding of autism’s causes?

Please review the response to the previous questions.

11 and 12. If autism is an autoimmune condition, as you suggest, how should that change the way we treat it? Given your concerns about aluminum in vaccines and its role in autism, what advice would you give parents considering vaccination, particularly regarding safer adjuvants like calcium phosphate or addressing related fungal infections?

Because (1) “individuals with a diagnosis of ASD have extraordinarily high levels of aluminium” in their brains in the form of nanoparticles (https://pdfhost.io/v/PXqzjfZmD_Aluminium_in_brain_tissue_in_autism), (2) aluminum is a potent inflammatory toxin with multiple toxic and genotoxic effects, and (3) elevated levels of Neuron-Specific Enolase (NSE) and brain-specific autoantibodies is found in the blood of individuals with ASD, it seems impossible to exclude ASD from the ASIA group of disorders.

As an Adjuvant-Induced Autoimmune (Autoinflammatory) Syndrome (ASIA), autism is not only related to aluminum, but also to the MMR vaccine, which does not contain aluminum nanoparticles but uses three different attenuated (weakened) viruses that cause three simultaneous (supposedly limited) infections imposed on an immature immune system of a toddler. Measles and mumps viruses belong to the same family of viruses, while the rubella virus belongs to a different family. So, as the adjuvant effect of an infection can cause ASIA (according to Shoenfeld's publications), three simultaneous infections imposed on an immature immune system of a developing individual, whose brain is already experiencing inflammation-related damage to neuronal cells caused by aluminum nanoparticles, may clearly trigger or worsen a major ASIA-related disorder affecting the brain tissue.

Calcium phosphate nanoparticles have been used as a nontoxic adjuvant, with several advantages over particulate aluminum (https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/cdli.7.6.899-903.2000; https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14760584.2017.1244484; https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/materials/articles/10.3389/fmats.2021.788373/full; https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14760584.2017.1355733). It should replace aluminum nanoparticles in vaccines immediately.

Parents should consider keeping their children’s blood levels of 25(OH)D close to the upper limit of the normal range (100 ng/mL or 250 nmol/L) by giving them 200 IU of cholecalciferol per kg daily. Given all the above information, pediatricians should be better informed about the consequences of aluminum nanoparticles in vaccines and the administration of vaccines containing multiple live viruses. They should be aware of the work by Aaron Siri and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., considering all possible reasons behind the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986.

The treatment developed in our clinic for autism is based on three fundamental points. We use high doses of vitamin D (a powerful regulator of the immune system) adjusted to ensure that the PTH level does not fall below the lower limit of reference values. This approach aims to inhibit the production of autoantibodies directed against nerve cells while simultaneously enhancing the immune system’s ability to combat invading microorganisms. This item requires avoiding excess calcium in the diet and maintaining adequate daily hydration, along with medical and laboratory monitoring. It should be suspended in cases of nausea or loss of appetite that suggest increased calcium levels. When medical and laboratory monitoring is not feasible, we recommend supplementation with physiological doses of 200 IU per kg of weight per day, which have proven completely safe.

The second point addresses the detoxification of aluminum through administering 200 mg of monomethylsilanetriol (the best absorbed form of silicon, devoid of toxic effects) to children aged at least 1 year. We prescribe half of this dose for those younger than this age (infants).

The third point addresses the fungal infection that arises from the inflammatory effects caused by aluminum nanoparticles: (1) at the intestinal level, leading to the proliferation of fungi in the intestinal lumen and the rupture of the intestinal barrier, which permits the passage of fungi in the L form (without a cell wall) into the bloodstream (as identified in the blood of autistic individuals by Markova - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-49768-9), and (2) at the cerebral level, resulting in inflammation of the brain tissue, with the subsequent rupture of the blood-brain barrier that allows fungi to enter the brain tissue.

The Baker and Shaw (2020) case study (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33132781/) led us to use high doses of aqueous green propolis (40 drops four times a day), which demonstrated greater efficacy than itraconazole in eradicating the fungal infection. Additionally, it is devoid of side effects, eliminating the need for monitoring liver function tests. Baker and Shaw reported that high doses of itraconazole administered to a severely autistic child not only resolved the Aspergillus infection (as indicated by the normalization of urinary levels of organic acids - markers of active Aspergillus infection) but also led to the disappearance of ASD manifestations within 6 months of treatment. We have achieved similar results using green propolis, leading to the simultaneous disappearance, when present, of the foul fecal odor while posing no risk to hepatic tissue. Without high doses of propolis, the improvements do not achieve these satisfactory levels.

These results indicate that a fungal infection secondary to BBB disruption, which accompanies inflammation caused by aluminum nanoparticles, not only contributes to the manifestations of autism but also must sustain the presence of inflammatory cells containing aluminum nanoparticles in brain tissue. This situation creates a vicious cycle that requires the eradication of the fungal infection to break.

As a fourth point that may eventually become necessary, even if temporarily, in cases of significant manifestations of agitation, hyperactivity, or aggressiveness, we administer glycine, initially at doses of 4 g four times a day. These dosages are adjusted to achieve the amount needed to control such symptoms without causing drowsiness during the day.

13. What’s the biggest misunderstanding about autism out there, and how does your work clear it up?

The biggest misunderstanding about autism in Brazil mirrors what is seen worldwide: autism is officially regarded as a neuroatypical behavioral disorder that is now better understood, despite the vivid perceptions of school teachers (see the reply to the third question). Recognizing the true state of a rising organic disease affecting consecutive generations would require an official explanation and proper accountability. Our work should not be confined to providing appropriate treatment for our patients, but also involves spreading information to combat misinformation by writing editorials and publicly addressing questions like yours.

14. If you could wave a wand and fix one thing about how we deal with autism today, what would it be?

With consent from properly informed parents, I would immediately cease the injection of defenseless infants and children with vaccines containing adjuvant aluminum nanoparticles or multiple live viruses.

15. What are your current research priorities, particularly regarding treatments like propolis for fungal infections or aluminum detoxification, and how can people stay updated on your work

Actually, I am not conducting research; I am focused on providing the best possible care for my patients while sharing what I have learned. I will continue to keep my mind open to information provided by parents while exploring the published scientific literature to deepen my knowledge of autism and other related disorders like ADHD that share common pathophysiological features.

Additionally, there is a surge of severe depression, self-harm, and suicide among adolescents sweeping across the globe in parallel with the rise of autism, and I have recently noticed that their psychiatric condition responds to aluminum detoxification with monomethylsilanetriol, suggesting that they are also individuals injured by vaccines containing aluminum nanoparticles.

Finally, I have observed a significant occurrence of a long history of annual flu vaccinations among patients with Alzheimer’s disease—another condition (among other neurodegenerative diseases) linked to elevated brain tissue concentrations of aluminum, according to the research of Christopher Exley and his colleagues.

Updated information has been available on my lawyer brother’s website.

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