I’ve just been given a press release (thanks, Paul) showing that Wi-Fi may be linked to autism – if by “linked” you mean “not linked”. It’s toss, of course, based on studies by a nutritionist and the infamous Wi-Fi “expert” Dr Carlo, a regular subject of Ben Goldacre’s Bad Science blog. An extract:

The autistic children followed specific detoxification protocols in an environment that was mitigated with regard to sources of EMR including mobile phones and WiFi. Heavy metal excretions were monitored from hair, urine and feces over periods ranging from several weeks to several months. The researchers found that with protocols administered in the mitigated environment, heavy metals were cleared from the children?s bodies in a pattern dependent on time and molecular weight. The heaviest metals, such as mercury and uranium, cleared last. In many of the children, the decrease in metals was concomitant with symptom amelioration.

It’s a classic of its kind, actually. Not only does it have killer wi-fi, but it also has the heavy metals/autism link – which doesn’t exactly have a happy history:

An autistic boy died after receiving an unproven treatment that some people believe may cure the neurological and developmental disorder, officials said.

Abubakar Tariq Nadama, 5, had received his third treatment of chelation therapy at a doctor’s office Tuesday before going into cardiac arrest, said Deputy Coroner Larry Barr.

…Some people believe that autism can be linked to a mercury-containing preservative once commonly used in childhood vaccines, and these people sometimes advocate chelation therapy, which causes heavy metals to leave the body through urine.

…Howard Carpenter, the executive director of the Advisory Board on Autism-Related Disorders, said it was just a matter of time before there would be a death linked to the therapy.

“Parents of children with autism are desperate. Some are willing to try anything,” Carpenter said.

Buried in the wi-fi/autism study:

…the study was a retrospective observation based on subjects with severe autism whose parents chose to pursue alternative metal detoxification methods after other traditional approaches had failed.

In other words, desperate parents who were willing to try anything.

Expect to see it in the papers tomorrow.