MMR vaccine and autism
Saturday, 05 Jan 2008 11:08
No evidence has been found to suggest a link between autism and MMR vaccine
There is no link between the MMR vaccine and an increased risk of autism, according to the most comprehensive study undertaken on the subject.
Concerns were raised that immunisation against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) could somehow trigger the developmental disability after a report published in 1998 in the Lancet journal linked the vaccine to autism and bowel problems.
This link has since been disputed and the report's lead author Dr Andrew Wakefield is appearing before the General Medical Council on charges related to the claims.
In the wake of the original report many parents refused to let their children have the vaccine.
Researchers behind the latest study suggest the vaccine is safe for use and highlight the fact that their study is the third, and largest, report that has failed to find "any association" between the MMR vaccine and autism.
They studied nearly 250 children, including 98 with an autism spectrum disorder, aged between ten and 12 born between 1990 and 1991 in one area of southern England.
Blood samples were examined for the presence of persistent measles infection or an abnormal immune response.
The findings, published in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, showed no difference circulating measles virus or antibody levels in the groups of children studied.
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