Cure Autism Now
Foundation: Statement in Response to
New England Journal of Medicine Report on Autism and MMR Vaccines
- Cure Autism Now Co-Founder Portia Iversen responds to Danish study on
vaccines and autism in children.
- ³Now we need to turn our attention to other environmental factors,² says
Iversen.
- Cure Autism Now Foundation will encourage and fund additional large-scale
studies of autism causes.
LOS ANGELES, CA ­ November 6, 2002 - Cure Autism Now Foundation released
the following statement today in response to the New England Journal of
Medicineıs November 7, 2002, article ³A Population-Based Study of Measles,
Mumps, and Rubella Vaccination and Autism² based on the Danish study
regarding MMR and Autism
By: Portia Iversen, co-founder, the Cure Autism Now Foundation
In a major study, appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine today, at
least one suspected environmental factor appears to be an unlikely cause for
the recent dramatic rise in autism. Like asthma and diabetes, autism is
thought to be a genetic disorder, which may be increasing due to
gene-environment interaction. But because neither the genes contributing to
autism, nor the possible environmental factors, have yet been identified,
there is no way to predict which young children are at risk. This is made
even more ominous by the recent California report of an alarming increase in
the disorder. Intensive research efforts are underway in the genetics of
autism and the Danish study published today represents the first major
research effort investigating environmental factors which could play a role
in autism.
The Danish study, which followed more than 500,000 children, over 7 years,
found no association between the MMR vaccination and autism. Now we need to
turn our attention to other environmental factors, which could be
contributing to the recent increase in autism.
When my husband and I founded CAN seven years ago, after our two-year-old
son was diagnosed with autism, the federal government was spending almost
nothing on autism research,² Iversen continued. ³Starting an organization
to speed up autism research was the only thing we could do to help our child
and the million other kids like him. So it seems fitting that on the
anniversary of the founding of CAN, we are seeing the results from the first
really large-scale study of a potential environmental factor suspected in
autism.
This collaboration between the CDC and the Danish Epidemiology Center
certainly reflects the deepening concern of our federal government about the
increasing number of autism cases across the country. Autism has become a
huge public health crisis that is only getting worse, with a recent study
reporting nine new cases of autism being diagnosed in California every day.
An epidemic of this magnitude canıt be solved by private foundations alone.
It will require the NIH and CDC to act rapidly, to increase funding, and to
attack this situation with everything theyıve got.
To learn about the Cure Autism Now Foundation, log on to
www.cureautismnow.org .
For interviews with Portia Iversen or additional information, please contact
Michel Schneider of Edelman at (323) 202-1054 or by e-mail at
michel.schneider@edelman.com.
ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND
MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION
PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS
OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR
LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND
COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH
YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.