Autism

“The science is largely complete. Ten epidemiological studies have shown MMR vaccine doesn’t cause autism; six have shown thimerosal doesn’t cause autism; three have shown thimerosal doesn’t cause subtle neurological problems; a growing body of evidence now points to the genes that are linked to autism; and despite the removal of thimerosal from vaccines in 2001, the number of children with autism continues to rise. Now it’s up to certain parent advocacy groups, through their public relations firms, lawyers, and celebrity spokespersons, to convince the public that all of these studies are wrong — and to convince them that the doctors who proffer their vast array of alternative medicines are the only ones who really care.”

– Autism’s False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure (2008) by Paul A. Offit, M.D.; pages 242 – 247

“When parents became concerned that vaccines had caused their children’s autism, scientists responded by performing a series of epidemiological studies.  All showed the same thing: vaccines weren’t at fault.”

– Autism’s False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure (2008) by Paul A. Offit, M.D.; page 176

“… doctors and scientists have listened to parents.  That’s why they had performed sixteen studies examining whether vaccines caused autism and three examining whether vaccines caused subtle developmental and psychological problems.  The most recent study performed by the CDC, involving more than 1,000 children evaluated with forty-two different neurological tests, took several years to perform and cost more than $5 million.  The issue for people like Jenny McCarthy isn’t that doctors and scientists and public health officials haven’t listened to parents; it’s that they’ve been unable to find any evidence to validate parents’ concerns.”

– Autism’s False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure (2008) by Paul A. Offit, M.D.; page 242

On 2010 February 2, the following was reported:

“More than a decade after The Lancet published a study led by Andrew Wakefield that connected the symptoms of autism directly to the Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccine, the journal issued a full retraction today.”

– Posted by Michael Specter of The New Yorker

But What About This:

As the number of vaccines given increased, so did the incidence of autism. Not only did the number of vaccines climb but so did the percentage of children receiving them, as federal grants made free vaccinations available to low-income families.

And this fact highlights another interesting observation: Cases of autism were primarily confined to upper- and upper-middle class families in the 1940s and 1950s. These individuals were the ones who could afford to pay for health care and vaccines for their children, as well as diagnostic testing. As the government made vaccines free to all who could not afford them, autism crossed class lines. Today autism is widespread in all socioeconomic groups.

– What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children’s Vaccinations by Stephanie Cave, M.D., F.A.A.F.P. with Deborah Mitchell; September 2001; page 61

What We Do Know…

Here is what we do know, or suspect, about the causes of autism. Research at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, the University of Arkansas, and the University of California at Davis, to name a few, shows that many autistic kids have a variety of similar health problems, including intestinal disease, autoimmune disease, allergies, brain inflammation, and metabolic defects, as well as a genetic inability to detoxify their bodies of the host of chemicals in food, water, and pollution that are part of our modern society. Their brains and bodies may be affected by the buildup of these environmental chemicals.

The question is: Are the chemicals in vaccines creating enough exposure to contribute to this damage or not? Will we ever answer this hypothesis? Honestly, I don’t see how we can. We would need a control group of many thousands of unvaccinated kids to compare with a group of vaccinated kids. Even then, it might be hard to prove a connection. Some studies have been published in recent years that have failed to show statistical proof of a relationship between vaccines and autism. However, by the same token, it is also difficult to prove that there is not a connection.

– The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert Sears; October 2007; pages 181 and 183

BOTTOM LINE: Autism is a complex disorder, and so, it appears, are the factors that may cause it. Whether it’s the MMR vaccine, the mercury in DTP / DTaP and hepatitis B, the pertusis portion of DTP, a combination of all three, or a factor yet to be uncovered, a link between vaccines and autism seems to grow clearer and clearer as evidence amounts.

– The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert Sears; October 2007; page 76

For more on my notes on the mercury in vaccines, please click on Mercury.