Study clears measles vaccine of autism link
Scientists who tried to replicate a study that once tied a measles vaccine with autism said on 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.
Infant study casts doubt on vaccine-autism linkParents' refusals to have their children vaccinated against measles have contributed to the highest numbers of cases seen 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. Andrew 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 the 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. Centres 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.
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