Posted on 08/12/2002 9:52:47 AM PDT by USA21
NEW STRONG EVIDENCE LINKS AUTISM TO VACCINE
Scientists have uncovered the strongest evidence yet that the three-in-one Measels-Mumps-Rubella(MMR) vaccine plays a clear role in the development of autism.
Earlier this year British expert Dr Andrew Wakefield and molecular pathologist Professor John O'Leary established a possible link between the measles virus, autism and a related bowel disorder. They found fragments of the measles virus from the MMR jab in the guts of autistic children who also suffer a rare form of bowel disease.
Now scientists at Utah State University, have reported finding a strong association between the MMR vaccine and an autoimmune reaction which is thought to play a role in autism.
The team led by Dr Vijendra Singh analysed blood samples from 125 autistic children and 92 children who did not have autism. Dr Singh, is an acknowledged expert with more than 20 years experience of immunology research.
In 75 of the 92 autistic children they found antibodies showing there had been an abnormal reaction to the measles component of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. Nine out of ten of those children were also positive for antibodies thought to be involved in autism.
These are incredible statistics. The antibodies attack the brain by targeting the basic building blocks of myelin, the insulating sheath that covers nerve fibres. This stops the nerves developing properly and may affect brain functions. Dr Singh has suggested that an abnormal immune response may be the root cause of many cases of autism.
None of the non-autistic children showed the unusual anti-measles response.
Not one. Not any. Zero. Nil. What a damming statistic. Read that sentence again and consider it well.
But incredibly, the UK Government's Chief Medical Officer and the British Medical Association, both still insist there is a wealth of scientific evidence that the triple jab is the safest way to protect children.
And Peter Lachmann, Emeritus Professor of Immunology at Cambridge, said that the conclusions drawn by Vijendra Singh and his team did not make for a direct link between MMR and autism.
“In my view the associations that Dr Singh makes do not follow. His hypothesis does not show causality; he is drawing unjustifiable conclusions from the antibody data he has collected. I do not think such conclusions can be drawn.”
As these comments reveal, the new evidence has the Government and the BMJ fighting a rearguard action to keep the lid on the vaccine/autism disaster.
Dr Singh's team report their findings in the latest issue of the Journal of Biomedical Science. The news of their findings is unreported as of this date in the US media.
They sensibly conclude: 'Stemming from this evidence, we suggest that an inappropriate antibody response to MMR, specifically the measles component thereof, might be related to pathogenesis of autism.'
Ever see the movie "Lorenzo's Oil"? A genetic defect causes fatty acids to do the same thing to the myelin. I wonder if the research they are doing to reverse the effects of that disease would help here?
This is going to come as quite a suprise to Dr. O'Leary:
He claimed that, 'most significantly', a currently unpublished study that is due to be presented by virologist John O'Leary at a conference in Dublin in July, had 'confirmed that the measles vaccine virus is present in the diseased intestinal tissues of children with regressive autism'. Furthermore, 'state-of-the-art molecular science' had shown that, in the cases of 12 children with a combination of autism and inflammatory bowel disease, the measles virus in their intestines originated in the MMR vaccine. For Wakefield, these studies constituted 'a key piece of evidence in the examination of the relationship between MMR vaccine and regressive autism'. On 2 July 2002, however, Professor O'Leary rejected Dr Wakefield's interpretation of his work, insisting that it 'in no way establishes any link between the MMR vaccine and autism' (1). Indeed, he strongly recommended that parents should give their children MMR. O'Leary's judgement echoed that of other experts who had earlier dismissed Wakefield's claims for this research to the congressional committee in Washington. The first piece of evidence promising some support to the hypothesis advanced by Dr Wakefield in 1998 was thus discredited even before publication.Speaking on 19 June 2002 before a US congressional committee considering 'The status of research into vaccine safety and autism', Dr Andrew Wakefield, the British gastroenterologist who launched the MMR-autism scare in 1998, outlined the progress of his research.
http://www.spiked-online.com/articles/00000006D970.htm
If your article can't even get that right, what else did it get wrong?
My wife is a special education teacheer and she gets whole families of autistic children. The numbers increase from year to year.
After 4 years of being dismissed, I was finally able to get him fully tested and he was diagnosed as high-functioning autism. Whether the vaccine had anything to do with this or not I don't know. But news like this is always kept in mind.
FWIW, he's now enrolled in the SECEP Autistic Childrens' program here in VA Beach and progressing better than I could have imagined. He's calmer, happier, and a hell of a lot less prone to tantrums (he's 5 so I can't say they're completely gone *s*).
Experts have rejected fresh claims of a link between the mumps, measles and rubella vaccine and autism.
A study by scientists in the United States suggests a "strong association" between the three-in-one vaccine and autism.
They said the vaccine triggers an autoimmune response which they believe plays a role in the onset of autism.
But doctors in the UK have dismissed the study saying it provides no evidence of any link.
Dr Vijendra Singh and colleagues at Utah State University in Logan analysed blood samples from 125 autistic children and 92 children who did not have the developmental disorder.
Immune system
They found that the children with autism who had received the vaccine had raised levels of measles antibodies compared to those without the disorder.
Over 90% of the samples from these children were also positive for antibodies which the authors believe are involved in autism.
These antibodies attack the brain by targeting the basic building blocks of myelin, the insulating sheath that covers nerve fibres.
Dr Singh has maintained for a number of years that this process is one of the root causes of autism.
However, this theory is not widely shared. The paper's suggestion of a link between these antibodies, autism and the MMR vaccine have also been rejected.
Professor Peter Lachmann, Emeritus professor of immunology at Cambridge University, said: "There is no evidence of causality."
Speaking to BBC News Online, he added: "There is a tremendous logical gap in this research."
Research criticised
Dr Liz Miller, head of the immunisation division of the Public Health Laboratory Service, also criticised the study. "There is no data in this paper that implicates MMR vaccine as a cause of autism nor that challenges the robust body of evidence on the safety of the vaccine".
In a statement, the PHLS added: "This claim by the authors that they have identified abnormal measles-mumps-rubella antibodies in autistic children is not substantiated by the data in the paper. "No abnormal virus-specific antibodies have been demonstrated."
It continued: "The data that they show as evidence that this component is one particular antigen of the measles virus is not credible."
Vaccine warning
Professor Lachmann urged parents to have their children vaccinated.
"The evidence of the possibility of coming to any harm from the measles vaccine is so small that anyone who doesn't have their child vaccinated against measles is very foolish," he said.
"Measles is not a trivial disease. If we were to have a measles outbreak the risks to children are very much higher."
However, campaigners said the study highlighted the need for more research.
David Potter, head of information and policy at the National Autistic Society, said: "The NAS would be keen to see further independent research to replicate these findings, which might provide a way forward in understanding and treating the condition."
Keith Lovett, of Autism Independent UK, said: "Parents have been suspecting this for many years now but research was needed in the area to back it up or put it to bed.
"It's certainly not going to go away until it's done properly. Proper trials are needed."
The study is the latest to look at the possible link between MMR vaccine and autism.
Figures show that the number of infants receiving the vaccine has fallen recently. Uptake fell from 76% to 70% between December last year and March. It rose to 72% in April.
The PHLS, Department of Health and British Medical Association have all consistently driven home the message that the vaccine is safe.
They have warned that low uptake of MMR could increase the risk of measles outbreaks. But the anti-MMR pressure group JABS called on the government to reverse its position to only offer the three-in-one vaccine to parents.
Its spokesman Jonathan Harris said: "The evidence is building up tremendously. I really feel there's a very, very strong case now for suspending MMR use while further investigations are carried out."
Actually, the "demand" for this vaccine was created almost entirely by the pharmaceutical companies who manage to get billions in US taxpayer dollars gratis. Years ago, parents vaccinated their children against measles and mumps by letting their children be exposed to the diseases. Suffering through the disease builds up the body's natural immunity and prevents the person from getting the disease when it is really dangerous - as an adult. But now, the child is immunized. The immunization is worn out by adulthood, and if an adult contracts it - the result can be deadly.
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