New Study Supports Possible Link Between MMR Vaccine and Autism
Virus Detected in Spinal Fluid of Children with Autism, But Not Controls

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[From an ICDRC press release.]

These data published today in the most recent Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, represent the second in a series of direct observations of Measles Virus (MV) persistence in children with Autistic Regression. [See published abstract, below.] All children had been vaccinated shortly prior to the develpment of autistic symptoms. While all of the controls had also been vaccinated - they were all negative for viral persistence. Taken together with the finding of MV in the intestinal tract of these and other children previously reported by Uhlmann, this represents evidence of active replication of virus and further indicates either failure of the vaccine to protect these children from natural infection or more likely, given the lack of any history of MV apart form the vaccine, this represent vaccine strain persistence.

Presently there is no proven intervention for viral persistence and it is the hope of the authors that these observations will stimulate additional reearch into the nature of the viral persistence and means of assisting the children in completely clearing the virus.

While MMR vaccine is generally considered safe, we propose a subset of genetically vulnerable children lack the ability to clear the vaccine strain of the virus and that this is - on the balance of the available biological data - a direct cause of their symptoms. We recognize the failure of epidemiology to validate these observations, and beleive this specific hypothesis has never been adequately tested with any previous epidemiological study.

Jeff Bradstreet MD FAAFP, Director ICDRC Professor of Child Development Southwest College of Naturopathic >Medicine and Adjunct Professor Stetson University

This study is the latest in a series that examines the relationship between persistent measles virus infection and regressive autism. While the Institute of Medicine were made aware of these findings, and indeed similar findings in a larger group of autistic children, they chose to ignore them in their latest report. This situation is quite unacceptable. Dr Andrew Wakefield MB.BS., FRCS., FRCPath Thoughtful House, Austin Tx and Director of Research ICDRC, Melbourne Fl.

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