At the second annual conference of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), Dr. Andrew Wakefield of the Royal Free Hospital in London, England, offered a possible explanation--some children may be developing autism as a result of a regular schedule of government mandated vaccinations. At the conference Dr. Wakefield presented findings from a study that indicates that there may be a connection between an autistic disorder and the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
In a study currently being conducted, Dr. Wakefield is examining 150 children that were diagnosed with autism following administration of the MMR vaccine. In his initial findings, Dr. Wakefield observed distinct symptoms in children who developed autism following vaccination, or what scientists in the field have termed regressive autism. Unlike children who are born with autism--which is thought to be a genetic disorder --children developing autism after vaccination are more prone to develop chronic upper respiratory tract and ear infections. These children also are developmentally normal before vaccination, but begin to exhibit behavioral, dietary, and physical changes following vaccination.
Children with regressive autism may also develop a condition called atopy--an allergic reaction to the presence of antigens resulting in asthma, hay fever, eczema, or hives in some cases. Subjects also presented other symptoms in this distinct form of autism, also known as autistic enterocolitis, such a lower intestinal swelling, colon inflammation, alternating bowel habits marked by diarrhea and constipation, loss of bowel control, reflux, and lower intestinal swelling. Due to the bowel disruption presented with the syndrome, Dr. Wakefield has reported that children developing the disorder may be extremely finicky eaters, since certain foods, likely to be aggravating allergens, cause bowel disruption. These children, reportedly, complain of excessive thirst and a self-limited diet.
Low levels of circulating immune cells and the presence of measles-specific antigens also are hallmarks of the disorder. Control subjects in the study--who did not develop autism after vaccination--did not have measles-specific antigens in their blood stream, a significant difference according to Dr. Wakefield.
Dr. Wakefield, like others who have studied regressive autism, also noted that a family history of autoimmune disorders seems to be a risk factor. Another scientist at Utah State University, Dr. Vijendra Singh, has reported similar findings. Both scientists have suggested that their work indicates children should have single vaccines for each of the three viruses that the MMR multi-valent vaccine is designed to protect against.
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