Regressive Autism&MMR Vaccine
REGRESSIVE AUTISM AND MMR VACCINATION
F. Edward Yazbak, MD, FAAP
First published in REDFLAG WEEKLY ON LINE VACCINE CONFERENCE Nov 1 – 2003
Autism, as an entity, was unknown before the early 1940s when it simply appeared in small numbers. A steep increase in its prevalence was noted in the United States starting in the late 70s and in the United Kingdom after 1988 following the extensive use of the MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine in both countries. The vaccine authorities in both countries are convinced that there is no connection between MMR vaccination and autism.
A new clinical picture also started to emerge around the same period. While earlier, symptoms of autism were noticed shortly after birth, “He was born autistic”, lately many of the affected children are healthy and developmentally normal in the first 12 to 15 months of life. Sometime between 15 and 18 months of age, they suddenly stop acquiring new skills and then start regressing, losing speech and social dexterity. At the same time, neurological, immune and gastro-intestinal symptoms appear: some children develop seizures, some have recurrent infections and are prescribed repeated courses of antibiotics and some start with peculiar eating habits and severe diarrhea, obstinate constipation or a combination of both. Most affected children today are not simply “autistic”, a psychiatric behavioral description. They suffer from a multi-system medical syndrome, called Regressive Autism. They do not require psychiatric care and medication only; they need medical treatment, dietary intervention and the close attention of a multidisciplinary team of therapists. The parents must be taught how to cope with aberrant behavior but they also need advice on diet, supplements, detoxification, management of obstipation, control of recurrent infections and development of education plans.
Relatively more affected children now have IQs above 70, respond to dietary restrictions, improve with Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) and can be gradually mainstreamed. This recent more frequent clinical picture and the fact that in many cases some symptoms can be improved and behavior controlled, seem to support the parents’ conviction that their children were normal for months, that they had acquired skills and that, with help, some of those skills can be retrieved, at least partially. As far as many parents are concerned, the timing of the behavioral, speech and cognitive changes appeared to follow the first dose of MMR.
Some parents have also reported that their children, after improving on special diets, supplements and behavioral therapy, regressed a second time around the age of 5 years shortly after receiving their MMR booster. Such double-hit situation (challenge-rechallenge) has been accepted in courts and by a committee of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) as proof of causation.
The vaccine authorities do not know what causes autism but they are certain that the administration of the MMR vaccine is NOT responsible for Regressive Autism and are convinced that any “temporal association” between the two is simply a coincidence “because autism usually occurs at about the age of 18 months”, shortly after the administration of the MMR vaccine.
Methods
Bernard Rimland, Ph.D., Founder of the Autism Society of America and Founder/President of the Autism Research Institute (ARI) in San Diego, disagrees:
“Late onset autism, (starting in the 2nd year), was almost unheard of in the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s; today such cases outnumber early onset cases 5 to 1”.
Dr. Rimland bases his statement on information derived from the Autism Research Institute’s huge database, the largest nationwide.
In a large study in South London, 4 out of 5 children subsequently-diagnosed as having an autistic disorder appeared normal at 18 months, exhibiting good eye contact, fantasy play and pointing.
In a 1998 Italian study by De Giacomo and Fombonne “The mean age of children was 19.1 months when the parents first became concerned, and the first professional advice was sought when children were 24.1 months”.
Obviously, no one believes that the increase in the prevalence of autism is only due to MMR or other vaccinations. The present dramatic rise in the number of cases, described by Dr. Rimland as an explosion and by others as an epidemic, is due to many causes. Some are genetic but in all likelihood, the majority will be proven to be environmental. Genetic illnesses simply do not present as epidemics.
Thimerosal, a mercury derivative added to vaccines since the late 30’s to assure sterility, has been also suspected by a well-informed group of parents and by experts in the field, of causing some cases of autism. The fact that the number of cases of regressive autism still continued to rise rapidly in the 90’s, after MMR vaccination rates had been consistently high for several years, seems to support this theory.
The vaccine authorities have also ruled out such a connection.
The possibility that a child, often a boy, who has a genetic predisposition to immune disorders, may be first affected by mercury [in the vaccines administered from birth to his first birthday] and then succumb after receiving 3 or more live virus vaccines and several other antigens on the same day at a vulnerable age, has never been ruled out conclusively, by reliable unbiased clinical studies.
Mercury has been reportedly removed from pediatric vaccines. Hopefully, the vaccine manufacturers will be able to assure sterility without injecting a known poison into newborns and little infants. If not, they can always shift to manufacturing single dose vaccines and increase their profits. The fact that mercury was added to injected pediatric vaccines in the 30s to assure sterility is hard to believe. That this practice was never reviewed in 75 years is incredible.
Historical Review
Measles
CDC data show that about 300,000 to 400,000 cases of measles were reported yearly between 1950 and 1960. Epidemics occurred every 2 to 3 years. The worse year of that decade was 1958 with 763,094 cases of measles and 552 deaths. In 1962, there were 481,530 cases of measles and 408 deaths. According to the CDC “Following licensure of vaccine in 1963, the incidence of measles decreased by more than 98%, and 2-3 year epidemic cycles no longer occurred.” In 1970, there were 47,351 cases of measles and 89 deaths nationwide. The MMR vaccine was licensed in 1971, and the incidence of measles continued to decrease. In 1978, there were 26,871 cases of measles and 11 deaths.
Nationwide, the number of cases of measles dropped by 90% between 1962 and 1970 compared to 43% between 1970 and 1978 [one year before to 7 years after the introduction of each vaccine]. Because many US physicians kept using the monovalent vaccine exclusively even after the MMR vaccine was introduced (See below); the decrease in the number of cases of measles after 1971 may not be solely due to the triple vaccine. Clearly the monovalent vaccine worked well and the MMR vaccine was never “better” in controlling measles.
Measles mortality in the United States decreased before the introduction of both the monovalent and the trivalent vaccines, because of improved health and better nutrition, hygiene and medical care. (Table I)
Table I Measles Mortality in the United States
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