A new study, published in Pediatric Neurology, Vol. 28, No. 4, is expected to show that MMR and autism are linked, despite the denials of the UK Department of Health and the recent court judgement that ordered two girls to receive the controversial MMR vaccine.

World-renowned autism researcher Dr. Vijendra Singh, at the Utah State University, and fellow-researcher Ryan Jensen have announced that their latest study,” Elevated Levels of Measles Antibodies in Children with Autism”, points directly to an MMR/autism link.

Singh and Jensen analysed samples from 52 autistic children, all of whom had had the MMR vaccination, and 30 normal children, plus a further 15 siblings of autistic children.

They showed that measles antibody levels, a sign of an immune reaction to measles virus, were significantly greater in children with autism compared with the non-autistic children.

Levels of mumps and rubella antibodies were not different from the non-autistic children. Strikingly, they found that 43 out of the 52 (83%) of the autistic children had antibodies to the measles vaccine virus. None of the 30 normal children, and none of the 15 siblings, had these antibodies.

Singh and Jensen have concluded that the antibody results show that many autistic children have suffered an abnormal response to the measles element of the MMR vaccine, causing them to develop "inappropriate" antibodies.

Singh and Jensen were testing a hypothesis that, as viruses are common trigger agents for autoimmune diseases, where the human body attacks itself, then autism could involve a virus-induced autoimmune response, in turn leading to autism.

The study looked at 88 autistic children, all of whom had a firm diagnosis of autism. Not all children were tested for all the three viruses, of measles, mumps or rubella. In those children tested, the level of mumps or rubella antibodies did not attain statistical significance, leaving the researchers to focus upon the measles element of MMR. None of the autistic children had any history of measles rash or wild-type natural measles infection.

This points to the source of the measles antibody as being vaccine strain. The researchers are undertaking further study work on this crucial aspect.

If the new research by Singh and Jensen is correct, then it backs up the claims of many families who have reported that their children became autistic after MMR. It also confirms the validity of the1998 study by Dr. Andrew Wakefield and other researchers in the UK, and a number of other studies published since that time.

Over 1,000 cases of autism following MMR are being brought before the High Court in London in April 2004. If the claims are upheld, it will have dramatic implications for vaccine policy worldwide, and will throw a spotlight on the way vaccines are licensed and regulated.

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