VACCINE AFFECT

The 2004 Andrews study — funded by the UK Department of Health — analyzed over 100,000 children and reported no link between infant thimerosal exposure and autism, with one possible signal for tics. But because it relied on routine GP records, critics argue the data may have missed diagnoses, introduced bias, and reflected its government funding. The reel covers what the study found — and the next carousel breaks down exactly what critics say.

Critics argue that the study was not sensitive enough to rule out a modest effect.

The 2002 Danish cohort study by Madsen and colleagues is often cited as a cornerstone in the argument against any link between MMR vaccination and autism. However, one of the most important criticisms centres on the fact that the study used diagnosis dates rather than the onset of symptoms.

This study is often quoted as proof that MMR has nothing to do with autism, but its methods were too vague to rule anything out with confidence. It was a limited statistical exercise, not a definitive answer.

Different studies investigating the presence of measles virus in the intestines of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or autism have produced mixed results, partly due to inconsistent laboratory techniques.

Epidemiological evidence lacked the precision to assess rare occurrences of a response to MMR leading to autism.

A review of scientific literature and governmental data suggests that early exposure to thimerosal may contribute to cases of idiopathic autism in predisposed children, representing a potentially overlooked form of mercury-related neurotoxicity influenced by both genetic and environmental factors.

This study examined whether the rise in autism diagnoses in California from 1980 to 1994 correlated with increased MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccination among young children and concluded there is no evidence to support a causal link.

Consultations in the six months before and after MMR were compared there was a significant fall in consultations in both groups reflecting increasing age

The risk of autism increased nearly fourfold among boys aged 2 to 5 years born in 1988-93 and registered in the UK general practice research database, whereas the prevalence of MMR vaccination was over 95% and virtually constant.

Megson discusses how pertussis toxin (whooping cough) found in the DPT vaccine separates the G-alpha protein from retinoid receptors and how this disruption may be linked to autism. They also suggest that natural Vitamin A helps to reconnect the retinoid receptors.

In this study researchers looked into the children with autism and bowel disease to see if they carry measles virus and to find out if this virus derives from wild or vaccine strains.

Altmann wanted to know a little more detail about the first two analyses in Taylor et al study “Autism and measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine: no epidemiological evidence for a causal association.”

MMR vaccination and autism

Researchers investigated whether measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine may be causally associated with autism.

SECRETS OF THE MMR SCARE BMJ | 15 JANUARY 2011 | VOLUME 342

Andrew Wakefield replies to some of the questions raised

Correspondence to Lancet in response to Andrew Wakefield and colleagues' case report

In this retracted early report researchers investigated 12 children with chronic enterocolitis and regressive developmental disorder

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 1991. Adverse Effects of Pertussis and Rubella Vaccines.