Hot Topic (2/4): Link between vaccines and autism? Or not?

[Cafe GroupAdmin]

(CNN) -- The medical journal The Lancet on Tuesday retracted a controversial 1998 paper that linked the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism.

The study subsequently had been discredited, and last week, the lead author, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, was found to have acted unethically in conducting the research.

The General Medical Council, which oversees doctors in Britain, said that "there was a biased selection of patients in The Lancet paper" and that his "conduct in this regard was dishonest and irresponsible."

The panel found that Wakefield subjected some children in the study to various invasive medical procedures such as colonoscopies and MRI scans. He also paid children at his son's birthday party to have blood drawn for research purposes, an act that "showed a callous disregard" for the "distress and pain" of the children, the panel said.

After the council's findings last week, The Lancet retracted the study and released this statement.

"It has become clear that several elements of the 1998 paper by Wakefield et al. are incorrect, contrary to the findings of an earlier investigation. In particular, the claims in the original paper that children were 'consecutively referred' and that investigations were 'approved' by the local ethics committee have been proven to be false. Therefore we fully retract this paper from the published record."

Dr. Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet, said he reviewed the General Medical Council report regarding Wakefield's conduct.

"It's the most appalling catalog and litany of some the most terrible behavior in any research and is therefore very clear that it has to be retracted," he said.

CNN was unable to speak to Wakefield, but in a statement he denied wrongdoing.

"The allegations against me and against my colleagues are both unfounded and unjust and I invite anyone to examine the contents of these proceedings and come to their own conclusion. In fact, the Lancet paper does not claim to confirm a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. Research into that possible connection is still going on."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention praised The Lancet's retraction, saying, "It builds on the overwhelming body of research by the world's leading scientists that concludes there is no link between MMR vaccine and autism. We want to remind parents that vaccines are very safe and effective and they save lives. Parents who have questions about the safety of vaccines should talk to their pediatrician or their child's health care provider."

Since its publication, Wakefield's study has attracted many critics who argued that the work had been so flawed, it should not be regarded as scientific.

Wakefield theorized that the measles vaccine caused gastrointestinal problems and that those GI problems led to autism. In his view, the virus used in the vaccine grew in the intestinal tract, leading the bowel to become porous because of inflammation. Then material seeped from the bowel into the blood, Wakefield's theory said, affecting the nervous system and causing autism.

But subsequent research has been unable to duplicate Wakefield's findings.

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What are your thoughts?

Do you believe there's a link between autism and vaccinations?

Has autism touched your life?

[tericared]

I am not familiar with this mans paper...How ever after my first child changed after a series of shot  I started reading about shots and their effects...My opinion is that some kids can not handle what are in these shots and it does result in things like Autism and other problems...we have way more shots and chemicals we are injecting into our children than we were 40 or even 20 years ago......There is just something wrong with putting poison into our kids.....

[Arroree]

I think that the vaccines with mercury in them may have had a connection but for the most part i dont think the others cause autism. However i do believe they are linked to the extreme hike in deadly childhood allergies.

On the other hand there have been recent studies that suggest that the entire back to sleep campaign may have something to do with the rise in autism. The autism rates started going up drastically right around the time they started pushing the back to sleep program and getting everyone to have their babies sleep on their backs.  The idea revolves around the pressure it puts on the back of the head during young infancy and how so many infants are having such bad head shaping issues from it that its causing issues in the brain, there have also been huge hikes in the amount of infants needing the head shaping equipment.

[Lucy137]

Having spent some time in the UK, I was very aware of the issues you raise here.  It led to a huge drop in the take up of vaccines.  There was an increase in cases of mumps, measles and rubella especially in the larger cities where 'herd immunity' tends to be lower due to higher number of migrant families whose children may not have been innoculated in their home countries. 

Sadly as moms we're not necessarily health experts and we rely on the people who are to produce rigorous peer-reviewed research before scaring us all.  In this day and age this sort of thing spreads very quickly on the net.

 

[GoodMomma24-7]

 

What are your thoughts?  It really does sound like a lot more of the "he said she said" that always happens when the discussion of vaccines/autism goes on.  Aritcles are nice, but none of us here are doctors actually doing the tests ourselves...

Do you believe there's a link between autism and vaccinations?  Honestly, I don't know.  If so, a large number of children who take vaccines are extremely luckly.

Has autism touched your life?  No.  I have a huge extended family, all vaccinated, and none have autism.

[2boys2love79]

Except that mercury, especially thimerosol, which was the big boogeyman, has been gone from vaccines for about 10 years, and the rate of autism has not gone down. Aside from the numerous studies done showing no link between the two, that alone is a good indicator that there is no correlation.

Quoting Arroree:

I think that the vaccines with mercury in them may have had a connection but for the most part i dont think the others cause autism. However i do believe they are linked to the extreme hike in deadly childhood allergies.

On the other hand there have been recent studies that suggest that the entire back to sleep campaign may have something to do with the rise in autism. The autism rates started going up drastically right around the time they started pushing the back to sleep program and getting everyone to have their babies sleep on their backs.  The idea revolves around the pressure it puts on the back of the head during young infancy and how so many infants are having such bad head shaping issues from it that its causing issues in the brain, there have also been huge hikes in the amount of infants needing the head shaping equipment.

[eringobrough]

What are your thoughts?

I've been aware of the scientific flaws in Wakefield's study for years now.  His unethical behavior during the study is disappointing.  He had an interesting hypothesis for a link between MMR and autism - but the scientific evidence does not support the hypothesis at all.  And that's how science works - someone gets a hypothesis and tests it.  Other scientists review the information and attempt to recreate the results.  If the evidence does not support the hyposthesis and/or the results cannot be duplicated it's strongly suggests that the hyposthesis is incorrect.  And Wakefield's hypothesis is way out there - there's no indication that wild measles "leak" into the gut and cause neurological problems so why would vaccines do this?  And the question of just how measles would lead to autism is unanswered.  I think it's pretty clear that MMR does not cause or even trigger autism. 

 

Do you believe there's a link between autism and vaccinations?

No, mainly because the scientific evidence does not support such claims.  The other big idea was the "mercury" (or some other ingredient) gets to the brain and then somehow causes autism.  Again the mechanisms of how that would be done are very vague - making it hard to demonstrate that it can't happen.  But none of the ingredients in vaccines are unique - "mercury," alumnium, and other ingredients are ubiquious in the enviornment - the small amount in vaccine is just a drop in the bucket.  And just because vaccines are administered to the muscle (not the blood stream) by a shot does not magically make the ingredients somehow more toxic.  I think claiming vaccines cause or trigger autism is an attempt to find a simple solution for a complex problem. 

Has autism touched your life?

I have friends who do research into autism and friends who have children who are autistic and a couple of friends who are autistic.

 

[pageantgirl3]

I have a close family friend and her son John has autism. The funny thing is, he has never been vaccinated.

[jlizgar]

Quoting 2boys2love79:

Except that mercury, especially thimerosol, which was the big boogeyman, has been gone from vaccines for about 10 years, and the rate of autism has not gone down. Aside from the numerous studies done showing no link between the two, that alone is a good indicator that there is no correlation.

Quoting Arroree:

I think that the vaccines with mercury in them may have had a connection but for the most part i dont think the others cause autism. However i do believe they are linked to the extreme hike in deadly childhood allergies.

On the other hand there have been recent studies that suggest that the entire back to sleep campaign may have something to do with the rise in autism. The autism rates started going up drastically right around the time they started pushing the back to sleep program and getting everyone to have their babies sleep on their backs.  The idea revolves around the pressure it puts on the back of the head during young infancy and how so many infants are having such bad head shaping issues from it that its causing issues in the brain, there have also been huge hikes in the amount of infants needing the head shaping equipment.

 

If im not mistaken the flu shot still does contain thimerosol.

[orbi_mama]

It's irresponsible not to vaccine your children.  I mean, of course you have a right not to do it, but what if EVERY child went without being vaccinated??

The diseases that we are vaccinated against STILL exist.  Before vaccines, it was NORMAL for people to lose multiple kids from disease.  It was an expectation for a lot of babies and young children to die.

[jlizgar]

Quoting eringobrough:

even trigger autism. 

 

.  I think claiming vaccines cause or trigger autism is an attempt to find a simple solution for a complex problem. 

Then how do you explain those children who are perfectly healthy before they get vaccinated and then stop talking, and developing in a normal way?

Im not saying that I think vaccines are the only cause or "trigger" for autism, I think it *IS* a complex issue but I also believe that vaccines arent without fault and that they DO cause issues, even autism, in certain children...how else do you explain these reactions that some have? Do you think they are just having an allergic reaction of some sorts? Do you think they would have just stopped talking and developing just the same if they had not gotten the shots?