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Query: UMLS:C0004352 (autism)
 32,579 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The Lancet's 1998 publication of "Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children" by Andrew Wakefield, et. al., positing a causal relationship between MMR vaccine and autism in children, set off a media storm and galvanized the anti-vaccine movement. In this paper, centuries-old fears of vaccination and the history of autism as a medical diagnosis are considered, and an affective, family-centered approach to dealing with parental fears by physicians is proposed.
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PMID:"I've heard some things that scare me". Responding with empathy to parents' fears of vaccinations. 2242 39

The paper of Wakefield et al. in The Lancet, triggered a negative reaction to the MMR vaccine, even though it was just a series of cases and the association between vaccination and autism could well be anecdotal. However, it was found that this association was spurious, not only because of hidden biases but also to alterations of the data and other improper behavior of the two authors that they were expelled from medical council. Finally, the article was removed from the magazine. This episode invites to think about the credibility and trust in the authorities and professionals to the population, as well as the suspicions that may arise when there are potential conflicts of interest among professionals, industry magazines and the population. A special area of interest is on the distorted expectations of health interventions, including vaccination, particularly with regard to both individual and collective prevention.
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PMID:[The putative link between the MMR vaccine and autism and refusal to vaccinate]. 2244 16

In 1998, the English physician Andrew Wakefield suggested that the MMR vaccine insults the guts of children who then regress developmentally and become autistic. Although his research did not provide firm evidence for this hypothesis, many believe that (a) the MMR vaccine can cause autism; (b) children with autism typically have gastrointestinal problems; and, (c) a necessary component of treating autism is "treating the gut" through dietary restrictions. Research has subsequently shown that Wakefield's hypothesis is unquestionably false, children with autism are not more likely to have gastrointestinal problems, and there is no sound evidence that diets are a valid treatment for autism. This paper will critically review these topics.
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PMID:What Every Behavior Analyst Should Know About the "MMR Causes Autism" Hypothesis. 2247 71

Autism spectrum disorders [ASD] are complex neurobehavioraL disorders defined by social and communication deficits and repetitive and stereotyped behaviors. The current estimated prevalence of ASD is approximately 1:100, which reflects a 15-fold increase from studies published a half-century ago. ASD is a highly heritable disorder, however, the exact cause of ASD is still unknown. ASD is associated with altered functional and structural connectivity patterns in the frontal and temporo-limbic brain regions that occur early in life. It is now believed that environmental factors may modulate phenotypical expression of ASD that are associated with the genetic predisposition. Several possible risk factors for ASD were investigated and included advanced parental age, birth complications, prematurity, Low birth weight and assisted conception. Numerous epidemioLogical reports have failed to confirm any association between immunizations and MMR specifically or thimerosaL exposure and risk for ASD. The diagnosis of ASD can be reLiably made in the second year of Life and appears to be relatively stable over time. However, diagnosis of very young children can be quite complex due to their clinical heterogeneity and varying patterns of onset that can differ from the typical autism symptoms of an older child. It is further challenging to distinguish between developmental and/or speech delay and ASD at this early age. Standardized tests for ASD diagnosis, developmental level and adaptive skiLls have been successfully used for accurate diagnosis of ASD. Research has recently focused on possible basic measures and/or biological markers that can assist with early diagnosis of ASD. Recent studies suggest that substantial gains can be achieved by intensive behavioral intervention initiated prior to 24 months, as neural plasticity is increased and chaLLenging behaviors are less prominent. Effective early intervention should begin soon after the diagnosis is made, and be individualized, intensive, and comprehensive and should include parent education, and behavioral intervention. It is highly important for pediatricians and experts in child neurology, development and child psychiatry to recognize the early signs of ASD, diagnostic tools and effective intervention methods.
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PMID:[Autism spectrum disorders--a syndrome on the rise: risk factors and advances in early detection and intervention]. 2251 65

In 1998, a Lancet paper described 12 cases of children with autism, and having been vaccinated (MMR) in the United Kingdom; medias presented the information to the lay public, stating that a link was possible. In 2004, The Lancet published letters responding to allegations against the paper. Later, it was established that no link existed between MMR and autism; few years and many publications were necessary to conclude to the absence of evidence. In 2010, the General Medical Council published a report against Dr Wakefield, first author of the 1998 paper, and showing that the children hospital records did not contain the evidence; hospital records differed from the published paper; the Lancet retracted the 1998 paper. In 2011, Brian Deer, a journalist, published the complete story in theBMJ: in 1996, Wakefield was approached by lawyers representing an anti-vaccine lobby, and they supported the Wakefield research. Dr Wakefield left England; in 2012 he works in Texas, USA, for anti-vaccine lobbies.
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PMID:[Wakefield's affair: 12 years of uncertainty whereas no link between autism and MMR vaccine has been proved]. 2274 60

Vaccines have been administered to millions of individuals, usually infants and children, with few serious adverse effects. In 1998 a report suggested that there may be a link between the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and the development of behavioral abnormalities (i.e., autism) and inflammatory bowel disease in children. This report generated considerable media and political attention, which many feared would result in a decreased willingness of parents to immunize their children against these contagious diseases. Over the past decade, an increasing number of healthcare practitioners have been credentialed to administer vaccinations. Therefore, it is imperative for all medical professionals to understand the controversy surrounding this issue and to be able to appropriately educate and advise parents accordingly. This review article evaluated the primary and secondary literature pertaining to this topic and concluded that the available epidemiological and scientific evidence does not support a causal association between the MMR vaccine and autism or inflammatory bowel disease.
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PMID:Measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and the development of autism or inflammatory bowel disease: the controversy should end. 2311 78

With little or no evidence-based information to back up claims of vaccine danger, anti-vaccine activists have relied on the power of storytelling to infect an entire generation of parents with fear of and doubt about vaccines. These parent accounts of perceived vaccine injury, coupled with Andrew Wakefield's fraudulent research study linking the MMR vaccine to autism, created a substantial amount of vaccine hesitancy in new parents, which manifests in both vaccine refusal and the adoption of delayed vaccine schedules. The tools used by the medical and public health communities to counteract the anti-vaccine movement include statistics, research, and other evidence-based information, often delivered verbally or in the form of the CDC's Vaccine Information Statements. This approach may not be effective enough on its own to convince vaccine-hesitant parents that vaccines are safe, effective, and crucial to their children's health. Utilizing some of the storytelling strategies used by the anti-vaccine movement, in addition to evidence-based vaccine information, could potentially offer providers, public health officials, and pro-vaccine parents an opportunity to mount a much stronger defense against anti-vaccine messaging.
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PMID:Story and science: how providers and parents can utilize storytelling to combat anti-vaccine misinformation. 2381 86

There has been enormous debate regarding the possibility of a link between childhood vaccinations and the subsequent development of autism. This has in recent times become a major public health issue with vaccine preventable diseases increasing in the community due to the fear of a 'link' between vaccinations and autism. We performed a meta-analysis to summarise available evidence from case-control and cohort studies on this topic (MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, Google Scholar up to April, 2014). Eligible studies assessed the relationship between vaccine administration and the subsequent development of autism or autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Two reviewers extracted data on study characteristics, methods, and outcomes. Disagreement was resolved by consensus with another author. Five cohort studies involving 1,256,407 children, and five case-control studies involving 9,920 children were included in this analysis. The cohort data revealed no relationship between vaccination and autism (OR: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.92 to 1.06) or ASD (OR: 0.91; 95% CI: 0.68 to 1.20), nor was there a relationship between autism and MMR (OR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.70 to 1.01), or thimerosal (OR: 1.00; 95% CI: 0.77 to 1.31), or mercury (Hg) (OR: 1.00; 95% CI: 0.93 to 1.07). Similarly the case-control data found no evidence for increased risk of developing autism or ASD following MMR, Hg, or thimerosal exposure when grouped by condition (OR: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.83 to 0.98; p=0.02) or grouped by exposure type (OR: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.76 to 0.95; p=0.01). Findings of this meta-analysis suggest that vaccinations are not associated with the development of autism or autism spectrum disorder. Furthermore, the components of the vaccines (thimerosal or mercury) or multiple vaccines (MMR) are not associated with the development of autism or autism spectrum disorder.
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PMID:Vaccines are not associated with autism: an evidence-based meta-analysis of case-control and cohort studies. 2728 98

In 2004, the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) published a paper showing that there is no link between the age at which a child is vaccinated with MMR and the vaccinated children's risk of a subsequent diagnosis of autism. One of the authors, William Thompson, has now revealed that statistically significant information was deliberately omitted from the paper. Thompson first told Dr S Hooker, a researcher on autism, about the manipulation of the data. Hooker analysed the raw data from the CDC study afresh. He confirmed that the risk of autism among African American children vaccinated before the age of 2 years was 340% that of those vaccinated later.
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PMID:Commentary--Controversies surrounding mercury in vaccines: autism denial as impediment to universal immunisation. 2510 48

Immunizing against influenza is tricky; against measles is not. Influenza comes in many constantly evolving strains, but one measles shot in childhood confers lifelong immunity. Unlike the flu, measles was wiped out. Its return represents an outbreak not of disease, but of stupidity. The matrix of stupidity is, however, reinforced by strong strands of malice, as when Andrew Wakefield's fraudulent 1998 paper linked the MMR vaccine to autism. The fraud was unmasked and the vaccine-autism link disproven, but the evil influence continues. Measles offers an illustration of Virchow's insights that medicine is a social science and that politics is medicine writ large. It is this "inconvenient truth" that is being suppressed by muzzling the Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO) and attacking public health for addressing "social determinants."
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PMID:Dummheit. 2594 30


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