Study: Childhood measles vaccine not linked to autism
ELIZABETH LOPATTO:
The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine doesn't raise a child's risk for autism, according to a new study designed to replicate a 1998 report that first suggested a link between the shot and the disorder.
The decade-old study suggested the MMR vaccine caused bowel ailments in children that led to autism. Using molecular technology to detect genetic material from the vaccine in bowel tissue, researchers from the U.S. and Ireland found no connection between the vaccine and autism, nor ties between intestinal symptoms and onset of autism.
The research is the latest of more than 20 studies that have dismissed a link between the vaccine and autism and aimed at reassuring parents of the benefits of vaccinating against childhood diseases. The 1998 paper touched off a wave of anxiety among parents, including many who refused to inoculate their children, leading to an increase in measles cases in the U.S. READ IT ALL
