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New Study Shows MMR/Autism Link
[From Autism Research Campaign For Health 23 June 2003. See referenced abstract
below "Elevated levels of measles antibodies in children with autism"
by Vijendra K. Singh PhD*, and Ryan L. Jensen BS.]
A new study, published in Pediatric Neurology, Vol. 28, No. 4, is expected to
show that MMR and autism are linked, despite the denials of the UK Department of
Health and the recent court judgement that ordered two girls to receive the
controversial MMR vaccine. World-renowned autism researcher Dr. Vijendra
Singh, at the Utah State University, and fellow-researcher Ryan Jensen have
announced that their latest study,"Elevated Levels of Measles Antibodies in
Children with Autism", points
directly to an MMR/autism link. Singh and Jensen analysed samples from 52
autistic children, all of whom had had the MMR vaccination, and 30 normal
children, plus a further 15
siblings of autistic children. They showed that measles antibody levels, a
sign of an immune reaction to measles virus, were significantly greater in
children with autism compared with the non-autistic children. Levels of mumps
and rubella antibodies were not different from the non-autistic children.
Strikingly, they found that 43 out of the 52 (83%) of the autistic children had
antibodies to the measles vaccine virus. None of the 30 normal children, and
none of the 15 siblings, had these antibodies. Singh and Jensen have
concluded that the antibody results show that
many autistic children have suffered an abnormal response to the measles element
of the MMR vaccine, causing them to develop "inappropriate" antibodies.
Singh and Jensen were testing a hypothesis that, as viruses are common trigger
agents for autoimmune diseases, where the human body attacks itself, then autism
could involve a virus-induced autoimmune response, in turn leading to autism.
The study looked at 88 autistic children, all of whom had a firm
diagnosis of autism. Not all children were tested for all the three viruses, of
measles, mumps or rubella. In those children tested, the level of mumps or
rubella antibodies did not attain statistical significance, leaving the
researchers to focus upon the measles element of MMR. None of the autistic
children had any history of measles rash or wild-type natural measles infection.
This points to the source of the measles antibody as being vaccine strain. The
researchers are undertaking further study work on this crucial aspect. If
the new research by Singh and Jensen is correct, then it backs up the claims of
many families who have reported that their children became autistic after MMR.
It also confirms the validity of the1998 study by Dr.
Andrew Wakefield and other researchers in the UK, and a number of other studies
published since that time. Over 1,000 cases of autism following MMR are
being brought before the High Court in London in April 2004. If the claims are
upheld, it will have dramatic implications for vaccine policy worldwide, and
will throw a spotlight on the way vaccines are licensed and regulated.
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