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Elijah Wingo, 9, watches as Judith Miles, MD '75, checks
his reflexes at MU's autism center. Miles has scientifc
evidence that shows no relationship exists between immunizations
and autistic symptoms. Rob Hill photo
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MU
Researcher Finds No Link Between Autism and Immunizations
By Jennifer Faddis
Immunizations are a staple of early childhood;
however, a controversy over whether there is a connection between
vaccines and autism continues despite scientific evidence to the
contrary. A University of Missouri-Columbia researcher is now
adding her own evidence to the debate that points to the safety
of immunizations.
At the center of the controversy is thimerosal,
a mercury-containing preservative that was used in some vaccines
to protect multi-dose vials from bacterial contamination. Scores
of scientific studies have been conducted and the overwhelming
majority has found no trace of a connection between the increase
in autism and thimerosal. However, in spite of this finding, in
the United States thimerosal was removed from all routine childhood
vaccines between 1999 and 2001.
“Many children with autism start to
develop autistic symptoms around the same time as they receive
immunizations,” said Judith Miles, professor of pediatrics,
Thompson Endowed Chair of Child Health and Pathology, and director
of the Medical Genetics
Division at MU. “Obviously, it is worrisome to families
and it seems reasonable to conclude that a relationship exists.
However, if you look at the data there is simply no relationship
between them. There has been no thimerosal in Denmark's vaccines
since 1991 and yet diagnosed cases of autism there rose at the
same rate as it did worldwide.”
Miles also is conducting research on the effects
of exposure to thimerosal during pregnancy. The study involved
women with a certain condition who must receive Rh immune globulin
shots during pregnancy. Those women are exposed to thimerosal
since it is an ingredient in the injections they receive. Therefore,
Miles hypothesized if thimerosal is a risk factor for autism then
this group of women should give birth to a greater number of children
with autism.
Miles is a professor
of pediatrics, the Thompson Endowed Chair of Child Health
and Pathology and director of the Medical Genetics Division
at MU.
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“We conclude that there is no indication
that pregnancies resulting in children with autism were more likely
to be complicated by Rh immune globulin/thimerosal exposure,”
Miles said. “This data suggests there is no role for thimerosal
in the development of autism.”
Miles presented her study — “Rh
Immune Globulin in Pregnancy: Relationship to Autism Development”
— at this year's national meeting of the American
College of Medical Genetics. The study included mothers of
children with autism who were evaluated at the MU Autism Clinic
from 1995 to 2005.
The Institute
of Medicine and the National
Academy of Science — both independent bodies —
convened groups to examine all the studies and the evidence involved
in this controversy. The most recent report concludes there is
no connection between thimerosal and autism. The main concern,
Miles said, is that parents will opt not to immunize their children
because of this unfounded scare.
“There is no doubt that immunizations
represent the safest, most effective means of protecting people
from serious, often life-threatening diseases, that have ever
been devised. The most important reason for this is that they
provide a natural protection, one which mimics the protection
provided by nature,” said Ted Groshong, past president of
the Missouri chapter of the American
Academy of Pediatrics.
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Last Update:
November 15, 2007
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