MMR Vaccine and Autism

676 Words2 Pages

The MMR vaccine is administered between the ages of 12-15 months. When a child develops autism, their parents describe the disease as the child growing normally until they reach an age where a degenerative process starts. This problem usually happens around the age of 2 years. Although parents do say the child was growing normally, many researchers do not believe that the child was actually growing normally until the age of 1-2 years but some children do go through a degenerative process and this usually happens after the administration of MMR vaccine. The question is does MMR have a true relation with the development of autism or is it just a coincidence? Doctor Andrew Wakefield had written a paper in Lancet journal in 1998 which suggested that MMR vaccine causes autism. In his research, he found out that MMR vaccine was responsible for bowel inflammation that leads to the translocation of non-permeable peptides into the bloodstream. (American Academy of Pediatrics) This in turn carries them to the brain causing the root of autism spectrum disorder to form. His research was called weak by drug corporations, governments and media companies and was then discredited earning him a fraud reputation. His paper has since raised a decade long argument on MMR vaccine originating autism spectrum disorder. This has caused a lot of parents to withdraw their children from being vaccinated, which increased measles infections. Many studies and research projects have been carried out to find relevance between MMR and Autism. Patients with autism were found to have been harboring an increased number of antibodies to measles when a study was conducted on several patients of Autism. This study was published in medical journal researchers and it was... ... middle of paper ... ...also be mentioned that many studies worldwide have also concluded that MMR vaccine is not a definite cause of ASD. Did Dr. Wakefield’s research uncover something that could damage the medical industry? It is known that medicine manufacturers conceal harmful evidence from public eye to protect their business. Apart from the decade long debate on MMR being linked to ASD, there are still numerous studies and experiments carried out, that suggests MMR vaccines are a potential cause of Autism. Works Cited Text of May 5th 2008 email from US HRSA to Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News Director National Immunization Program in a letter to the UK’s Chief Medical Officer 15 February 2002. American Academy of Pediatrics, . N.p.. Web. 7 Mar 2014.

Open Document