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http://gut.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/51/6/816

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Collections under which this article appears: Other Neurology Small intestine Drugs: immunological products and vaccines Infants

Gut 2002;51:816-817
© 2002 by Gut
 

Effect of Pentavac and measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination on the intestine

B Thjodleifsson¹, K Davídsdóttir², U Agnarsson³, G Sigthórsson⁴, M Kjeld¹ and I Bjarnason⁴

¹ Department of Medicine, University Hospital, Hringbraut, Reykjavík, Iceland
² Center for Children Health Services, Reykjavík, Iceland
³ Center for Children Health Services, Reykjavík, and Sudurnes Health Institute, Keflavik, Iceland
⁴ Department of Medicine, GKT Medical School, London, UK

Correspondence to:
Professor I Bjarnason, Department of Medicine, Guy’s, King’s, St Thomas’ Medical School, Denmark Hill Campus, Bessemer Road, London SE5 9PJ, UK;
ingvar.bjarnason@kcl.ac.uk

ABSTRACT
Background: The safety of infant vaccination has been questioned in recent years. In particular it has been suggested that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination leads to brain damage manifesting as autism consequent to the development of an "enterocolitis" in the immediate post-vaccination period.

Aim: To assess if MMR vaccination is associated with subclinical intestinal inflammation, which is central to the autistic "enterocolitis" theory.

Methods: We studied 109/58 infants, before and two and four weeks after immunisation with Pentavac and MMR vaccines, for the presence of intestinal inflammation (faecal calprotectin).

Results: Neither vaccination was associated with any significant increase in faecal calprotectin concentrations.

Conclusions: The failure of the MMR vaccination to cause an intestinal inflammatory response provides evidence against the proposed gut-brain interaction that is central to the autistic "enterocolitis" hypothesis.

Keywords: intestinal inflammation; MMR vaccination; Pentavac vaccination; autism

Abbreviations: MMR, measles-mumps-rubella

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