U.S. study clears measles vaccine of autism link

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http://www.forbes.com/reuters/feeds/reuters/2008/09/03/2008-09-

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Reuters

U.S. study clears measles vaccine of autism link

09.03.08, 5:31 PM ET

United States - (Embargoed for release at 8 p.m. EDT

By Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Scientists who tried to replicate a study that

once tied a measles vaccine with autism said Wednesday they could not

find any link and hope their study will encourage parents to

vaccinate their children to combat a rash of measles outbreaks.

Parents' refusals to have their children vaccinated against measles

have contributed to the highest numbers of cases seen in in the

United States and parts of Europe in many years.

Measles kills about 250,000 people a year globally, mostly children

in poor nations.

Public health officials have been stressing the safety of the

combined measles-mumps-rubella, or MMR, shot and other childhood

vaccines in the face of vocal groups who claim the immunizations may

cause autism and other problems.

The U.S. Institute of Medicine has issued several definitive reports

showing no connection between autism and any vaccinations.

This study took a new tack. It attempted to replicate 1998 research

by a team led by Dr. Wakefield, then of Britain's Royal Free

Hospital, in the Lancet medical journal that suggested the vaccine

was linked to autism and gastrointestinal problems.

Wakefield is undergoing disciplinary action for professional

misconduct by Britain's General Medical Council and 10 of his

collaborators formally withdrew their original Lancet study.

Scientists at Columbia University in New York and the U.S. Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta looked for evidence of

genetic material from the measles virus in intestinal tissue samples

taken from 25 children with autism who also had GI problems. They

compared these to samples from 13 children of similar ages who had GI

problems but no autism.

NO DIFFERENCES

The samples were analyzed in three laboratories that were not told

which came from the children with autism. One of the labs had been

involved in the original study suggesting a link between measles

virus and autism.

" We found no difference in children who had GI complaints and no

autism and children who had autism but no GI complaints, " Dr. Ian

Lipkin of Columbia University told reporters in a telephone briefing.

The team also collected data about the children's health and

immunization histories from parents and physicians to see if

vaccinations preceded either their autism or bowel trouble.

" We found no relationship between the timing of MMR vaccine and the

onset of either GI complaints or autism, " Dr. Mady Hornig, also of

Columbia, said in a statement.

But the study did find evidence that children with autism have

persistent bowel troubles that should be addressed.

" No longer can mainstream medicine ignore parents' claims of

clinically significant GI distress, " said Rick Rollens, a parent and

autism research advocate.

He commended the researchers for their work but said, " This study by

itself does not exonerate the role of all vaccines. "

The CDC estimates that about one in every 150 children has autism or

a related disorder such as Asperger's syndrome -- 560,000 people up

to age 21 in the United States.

The findings, reported in the journal Public Library of Science, can

be found at http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0003140. (Editing

by Maggie Fox and )

Copyright 2008 Reuters,