Under the headline, ” Vaccine Autism Connection Refuted Due to Fraudulent Study,” national and local news outlets have been running a story about a paper published in a major medical journal called “The Lancet” written in 1998 by Dr. Andrew Wakefield. Subsequently retracted by The Lancet last year, Dr. Wakefield studied 12 children with autism who had received a single MMR vaccine (for measles, mumps and rubella), for a connection to Autism and inflammatory bowel disease. He reported that measles were found in the gastrointestinal tracts of these children and that parents reported Autistic regression after one vaccination. It was at best a limited study.  This study like many others in mainstream medicine was re-evaluated, scrutinized, legitimately criticized and retracted as to its validity due to perceived investigative bias, ethical concerns and nature of data collection.

I agree with concerns about the validity of this study, which many believe resulted in parents questioning the safety of vaccination in England. The controversy ended with Dr. Wakefield’s loss of medical licensure and a decline in the vaccination rate in England.

This is not new news.  It is interesting that a massive public relations campaign to refute this poor study of only 12 children has suddenly resurfaced into current news almost out of the blue.  Dr. Wakefield’s study only looked at “one vaccine” – MMR.  It did not look at potential effects of giving over 35 vaccines to a baby or developing child before age five!

Moreover, this study looked only at the presence of active measles virus in the gastrointestinal tracts of children (only 12!) after vaccination and suggested a link to Autism based on history provided by the parents.  Hardly a good study!  I believe there is, in fact, no evidence that giving 35-40 vaccines to children under five years of age is safe.  In fact it is not just my belief …it is a true fact that there is no evidence that our present vaccination schedule does not cause or has not contributed to the Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention Deficit Disorder epidemic.  Likewise, we also have no sound data at this point, establishing a clear link between over vaccination and developmental delay.  The study yet to be done would compare fully over vaccinated kids to children of parents who did not vaccinate.  Why hasn’t this simple study been done?

Additionally, how safe is it to give four, five or six vaccines to a baby in one visit?  A small child who weighs 10 lbs, of which 5 lbs (or half) of its total body mass is the brain and nervous system!  Could our well-intentioned quest for immunity from childhood disease be in fact a toxic and immune insult to the developing fetus, infant or child?  Might our crusade for immunity have resulted in immunity gone wrong?

If we agree that individual vaccines are safe, do we really know that the multitude and combination of vaccinations are safe for all?  I believe certain genetically predisposed children are vulnerable to “over vaccination” injury. The tobacco cancer analogy is a good one here. Not all who smoke get cancer. This was the argument big tobacco used for years to deny a link to lung cancer. Similarly, the twisted use of epidemiologic data is the same argument used to refute the over vaccination Autism connection.  Genetics obviously play a role in explaining why not all who smoke get lung cancer. But to be sure, nicotine is a toxic carcinogen. As with the Autism epidemic, genetics and other potential environmental triggers play a role.  Metal toxicity, virus and bacteria may also have a hand in the brain injury we see as Attention Deficit Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder.   Over vaccination may exist as the greatest trigger, acting as the ultimate immune disabler, setting the stage for development of Autism Spectrum Disorder!

The debate over the role vaccination may play in the Autism epidemic has become a political one and not a medical one. The concern or fear of “who is to blame for our epidemic of Autism” has diverted the national focus and taken center stage away from the more pressing questions, those being what are the biomedical, toxic and immune derangements of Autism and how to treat them.  Passion, opinion, and politics should not divert us from a true crisis epidemic where 1 out of 110 children, with 1 in every 70 boys, being diagnosed with Autism.  This does not even include ADD and ADHD kids!  I believe ASD remains under diagnosed despite huge gains in public awareness and early recognition of the signs of Autism.

Finally, the legitimate criticisms of this limited study from 12 years ago do NOT answer the question of whether or not “over vaccination” results in immune deficits leading to the epidemic of Autism.  Although Autism is likely a multi-factoral disorder with genetic predisposition and environmental triggers, the cause or causes of Autism Spectrum Disorder remain elusive.   However, the safety of 35 vaccines before age five and the possible role that such practice may play in the Autism epidemic cannot be excluded either.  It’s time to do the right studies, get the facts straight and take the debate from cable news and passionate parents to objective scientists, physicians and institutions who are not influenced by pharmaceutical companies, liability issues, historical bias or personal belief.  In short, let’s concern ourselves with the causes, pathophysiology and treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder rather than who to blame. Our Autistic, non-verbal, behaviorally and cognitively challenged kids don’t care who is to blame – they just want us to help make them better!

My opinion……

Patrick L. Elliott, DO, FACS