The brain size of babies as young as four months old could signal whether
they would develop autism, an American researcher announced at an
international conference here today.
Dr Eric Courchesne, of the University of California, said his study
negated worldwide speculation that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)
vaccination was a cause of autism.
He said his "striking and surprising finding" was that autistic children
had abnormally fast brain growth that began around four months' of age.
"Our finding places the biological beginning of this disorder at a very
early timeframe," he told reporters at the inaugural World Autism
Conference.
The MMR vaccine was given to children at 12 to 18 months of age but his
study showed the abnormal brain growth occurred before this age.
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