US scientists back autism link to MMR

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...8/wmmr28.xml&s
Sheet=/news/2006/05/28/ixnews.html






US scientists back autism link to MMR
By Beezy Marsh and Sally Beck
(Filed: 28/05/2006)

The measles virus has been found in the guts of children with a form of
autism, renewing fears over the safety of the MMR jab.

American researchers have revealed that 85 per cent of samples taken from
autistic children with bowel disorders contain the virus. The strain is the
same as the one used in the measles, mumps and rubella triple vaccine.

The findings will spark fresh concern about MMR, because they back theories
of a causal link between the jab, autism and painful gut disorders suffered
by a number of autistic children.

The study replicates findings made by the gastroenterologist Dr Andrew
Wakefield in 1998 and Prof John O'Leary, a pathologist, in 2002.

Parents say their children were developing normally until they had the MMR
jab, given when a child is between 12- and 18-months-old. The children now
suffer from regressive autism.

One theory is that the virus passes through the gut, causing damage, and
into the bloodstream, from where it is able to attack the brain.

More than 2,000 families claim that their children have suffered damage but
the Department of Health reiterated last night that MMR is safe, a stance
supported by the British Medical Association and all the Royal Colleges.
Last year Government scientists failed to reproduce research results by Dr
Wakefield.

Research to be presented this week in Montreal, Canada, provides fresh
evidence that the measles virus is present in the guts of autistic
children. Dr Stephen Walker, of the Wake Forest University School of
Medicine, North Carolina, studied children with regressive autism and bowel
disease. "Of the handful of results we have in so far, all are vaccine
strain," he said.



13 February 2006[Health]: Secret report reveals 18 child deaths following
vaccinations


16 June 2002: Revealed: more evidence to challenge the safety of MMR

"john" wrote in
:


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...6/05/28/wmmr28.
xml&s Sheet=/news/2006/05/28/ixnews.html

US scientists back autism link to MMR
By Beezy Marsh and Sally Beck
(Filed: 28/05/2006)

The measles virus has been found in the guts of children with a form
of autism, renewing fears over the safety of the MMR jab.

American researchers have revealed that 85 per cent of samples taken
from autistic children with bowel disorders contain the virus. The
strain is the same as the one used in the measles, mumps and rubella
triple vaccine.

That figure is meaningless unless you can compare it to the percentage of
samples taken from children who either aren't autistic, don't have bowel
disorders, or both. The researchers don't have those figures because
they didn't use any controls. Of course taking bowel-tissue samples from
living children who don't have bowel disorders would be extremely
unethical, but without that information there's no way to assess the
importance of that finding; it's like saying that the majority of serial
killers drank milk as children.

In article , john wrote:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...8/wmmr28.xml&s
Sheet=/news/2006/05/28/ixnews.html

US scientists back autism link to MMR
By Beezy Marsh and Sally Beck
(Filed: 28/05/2006)

The measles virus has been found in the guts of children with a form of
autism, renewing fears over the safety of the MMR jab.

American researchers have revealed that 85 per cent of samples taken from
autistic children with bowel disorders contain the virus. The strain is the
same as the one used in the measles, mumps and rubella triple vaccine.

As another poster already pointed out, this is meaningless unless you
compare it to other children who aren't autistic etc. Meanwhile,
there is some contrary evidence:

J Med Virol. 2006 May;78(5):623-30.
Absence of detectable measles virus genome sequence in blood of
autistic children who have had their MMR vaccination during the
routine childhood immunization schedule of UK.

Afzal MA, Ozoemena LC, O'Hare A, Kidger KA, Bentley ML, Minor PD.

Division of Virology, National Institute for Biological Standards
and Control, South Mimms, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, United
Kingdom.

Leukocyte preparations from children with documented evidence of MMR
vaccination and confirmed diagnosis of autism were examined by
several assays designed to target multiple regions of the measles
virus genome sequence. No sample was found positive by any
method. The assays applied were highly sensitive, specific and
robust in nature, and were based on the amplification of measles
virus RNA transcripts by real-time quantitative RT-PCR (QRT-PCR) as
well as by conventional RT-PCR-nested PCR. The assays applied were
potentially able to detect measles virus RNA down to single figure
copy numbers per reaction. The amount of total nucleic acid extract
of leukocytes subjected to various measles virus-specific
investigations was several fold higher than minimally required of a
sample where measles virus persistence is well documented. This
study failed to substantiate reports of the persistence of measles
virus in autistic children with development regression. Copyright
2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

And as for "regressive autism":

Pediatrics. 2001 Oct;108(4):E58.
No evidence for a new variant of measles-mumps-rubella-induced autism.

Fombonne E, Chakrabarti S.

Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.

[this one is pretty long, so I'll just include the conclusion]

CONCLUSIONS: No evidence was found to support a distinct syndrome of
MMR-induced autism or of "autistic enterocolitis." These results add
to the recent accumulation of large-scale epidemiologic studies that
all failed to support an association between MMR and autism at
population level. When combined, the current findings do not argue
for changes in current immunization programs and recommendations.

PMID: 11581466 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]


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