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  • Vaccines and Autism
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MMR vaccine and autism: a review of the evidence for a causal association

Molecular Psychiatry volume 7, pages S51–S52 (2002)Cite this article

The hypothesis that combined measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine may cause autism was advanced by Wakefield and colleagues in a report describing 12 patients with inflammatory bowel conditions and regressive developmental disorders, primarily autism.1 The authors hypothesized that MMR vaccine may have been responsible for the bowel dysfunction which subsequently resulted in the neurodevelopmental disorders.

Autism has a strong genetic component and associated neurological defects probably occur early in embryonic development. Therefore, in most cases, it is unlikely that a vaccination that is given after birth could cause autism. In a minority of cases, a child can appear to be developing completely normally but then regress and develop autistic characteristics. Theoretically, for cases of regression a biologically plausible link with vaccination could be made. A recent study by Nelson, however, has identified abnormal levels of certain growth factors at birth among children who developed autism, including the subgroup with regression.2

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References

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  2. Nelson KB et al. Ann Neurol 2001 49: 597–606

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  1. National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    F DeStefano

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  1. F DeStefano
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Correspondence to F DeStefano.

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DeStefano, F. MMR vaccine and autism: a review of the evidence for a causal association. Mol Psychiatry 7 (Suppl 2), S51–S52 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.mp.4001181

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