MMR Vaccine And Autism: A Case Study

Although there is no scientific proof that vaccines cause autism, proponents still believe that they do. The theory that vaccines cause autism were based on unproven facts and falsified information (DeStefano 81). In an article called CNS Drugs, the author writes about how a man named AJ Wakefield stun the public with a theory that the MMR vaccine may cause autism and how enterocolitis (bowel dysfunction) and MMR vaccine may be linked to autism (DeStefano 831). Even though Wakefield falsified information and his theories were proven to be discredited many people still

In order to investigate more about Wakefield’s study, Brian Deer, a journalist of British Medical Journal, carefully talked to the parents of all children who were participated in the study. Interestingly enough, he revealed the fraud behind Wakefield’s research. The Lancet, the journal that reported Wakefield’s study, retracted the paper soon afterwards (Deer). However, the real trouble still exists. Though it has been proved by many researchers that the MRR doesn’t cause autism, many people perceive the vaccine as a threat. Dr.Nemeroff once said “it is quite difficult to get the cognitive sewage out of the water even after the real sewage is gone” (Greene).

The controversy over the MMR vaccine started in the late 1990’s when Andrew Wakefield suggested that there was a connection between the MMR vaccine and autism in a scientific paper which he had published with several other co-authors. Although there has not been a proven fact that the MMR vaccine is the causation to autism it has brought concerns to parents and has caused a major drop in immunization rates. For example, Dannetun et al., 2005 states that, “Fear of side effects and beliefs

The topic of the article is the connection (or lack of) between childhood vaccines (MMR) and autism. Contrary to popular opinion, vaccines are not linked to autism in any shape or form and there is no scientific evidence to support it.

In 1998, the British medical journal called The Lancet published a controversial research paper written by Andrew Wakefield. In the research paper “Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children, ” Andrew Wakefield et al. attempted to link MMR (Mumps, Measles, Rubella) vaccinations and autism. Nevertheless, the paper seemed to successfully do that. However, this was not known was at the time was Wakefield had tampered with the findings. Furthermore, this was brought to light in 2004 by British journalist Brian Deer. In 2011, thirteen years after The Lancet published the paper, and seven years after Brian Deer exposed the paper. The Lancet finally retracted the article. A common theory

This led to the support of various unproven vaccine-autism theories by parents in both the UK and America. After findings of intestinal disease in children with autism, Wakefield claimed that separating the MMR into three different vaccinations would be safer. Since then, Wakefield’s research has been discredited, he was charged with serious professional misconduct by the General Medical Council for violating several ethical practices, and he was investigated for failing to disclose conflict of interest – a pending patent on a rival measles vaccine (Gross, 2009). Although false, many still believe wholeheartedly that vaccines are harmful.

One such factor helping to manifest these large-scale epidemics is a study from 1998 by Andrew Wakefield, which claimed that there was a direct link between autism and the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine (Smith 1). As a result, many parents refused to vaccinate their children out of fear, and vaccine-preventable diseases like measles began reappearing more in both America and Britain, the place where Wakefield conducted his study (Cohen 2). Although a later investigation by the British Medical Journal discovered that Wakefield had distorted or altered the medical records of all twelve of the study’s participants and that he had been paid $674,000 USD by lawyers attempting to sue vaccine manufacturers, the atmosphere of apprehension surrounding vaccines is still strong among many individuals, and especially parents (Cohen 1-2). But despite all the controversy and the scientifically unsupported arguments of anti-vaccine sympathizers,

Andrew Wakefield and other 12 co-authors published a study in the Lancet in 1998 that suggested a relationship between measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and autism. In other words, Wakefield and associates suggested that the vaccine for MMR could predispose children to autism. The paper received massive publicity despite the researchers having used a sample size that was not representative (n=12), the research design was uncontrolled as well as conclusions being speculative (Sathyanarayana Rao & Andrade, 2011). Consequently, the vaccines for MMR plummeted since parents feared that vaccinating their children against MMR could predispose their children to autism.

In conclusion, studies show that there is no relationship between the MMR vaccination and autism. The reasoning behind individuals not trusting these scientific studies, comes from the untrue propaganda of anti-vaccine extremists who believe and support Andrew Wakefield, even though his work has been discredited. Although there have been hundreds of studies surrounding the link between this a vaccination and autism, none have ever proved Andrew Wakefield's

The autism scare started 17 years ago, in the year 1998, when a paper was published in the British medical journal called The Lancet. Andrew Wakefield, M.D., a British gastroenterologist, and his colleagues were the authors of this paper which started the scare of immunizations causing autism. "Wakefield had a case study of eight children who had received the MMR and then developed symptoms of autism, says Paul Offit, M.D., chief of infectious diseases at the Children 's Hospital of Philadelphia. He also believed they had abnormal intestinal tracts and proposed a syndrome -- linking intestinal inflammation from receiving the MMR with the development of autism.” (Rope)

Yet, it became significantly clear that there is no association between MMR vaccine and Autism. To illustrate, a study in the British Medical Journal have found that Autism rates continued to increase even though the MMR vaccine rates were not increasing (Taylor 1999). Many other studies found no difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated children (Madsen 2002). Another research showed no connection between Autism, MMR vaccine and gastrointestinal disturbances (Taylor 2002). Moreover, the most recent study showed no decrease in the Autism rates after the MMR vaccine withdrawal in Japan (Honda 2005). In 2001, the Institute of Medicine reviewed all the data available for MMR-Autism link and concluded that there is no connection between the two and closed the case (IOM

In 1998 a study was published by Andrew Wakefield theorizing that there was a link between autism symptoms and receiving a MMR vaccination. However, his findings are to be inconclusive considering he did not take the proper procedures to conduct a controlled study. First, he did not include control subjects in his study, so the results cannot be compared properly if there were any changes in the subjects. Second, the endoscopic or neuropsychological assessments were not done blind and the data was not collected systematically or completely. Third, the symptoms found between the children with autism and gastrointestinal problems were inconsistent. In reality, many health groups are theorizing that a vaccination does not cause autism by any

Parents today are risking their children’s and other children’s safety and life by refusing vaccinations. They decide to take this risk because they are trying to avoid their children’s chance of getting autism. Studies have shown following the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine children become diagnosed with autism. Parents are risking bringing back diseases that before vaccinations killed and threatened the lives of many people. The MMR vaccine does not cause autism, because the doctor who published the first study about this theory has since lost his medical license, many more studies have proven the correlation is a myth, and Autism Speaks, an autism advocacy organization, has come out and said vaccinations do not cause autism.

Live Science Contributor, Stephanie Pappas tell us that, “Wakefield was getting money from lawyers planning on suing vaccine makers, and he owned a patent on an alternative to the MMR (measles) vaccines,” [2] this statement is clear evidence of fraudulent activity and proves that Wakefield had corrupt reasons for undergoing this study in the first place. The second flaw to Wakefield's paper was the questionable practises of his study, for starters he based his study on twelve children that he “cherry picked,” and “although the paper claimed that cognitive problems developed a few days after the MMR vaccine, a simple investigation of hospital records revealed that wasnt so; and in several cases parents reported problems before the vaccine,” [2]. In summary, the investigation was sloppy and provided no tangible evidence that links autism to the MMR vaccine. Furthermore, it should be noted that the the link between autism and vaccines is purely coincidental, the symptoms of autism typically appear at around the age that vaccines are administered, in fact director of the Vaccine Education Centre at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Dr Paul Offit confirms this says, “Children get their first dose of the MMR vaccine at 12 to 15 months, the age at which autism symptoms typically

In 1998, British medical journal The Lancet, published a research paper written by Dr. Andrew Wakefield and his research partners. This particular paper stated that there was a direct link between autism, Gastrointestinal Decease and the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine. It concluded that a specific mercury based preservative found in the vaccine caused neurological damage to some children (Wakefield).