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SOPHIA AUGIER has three
sons with autism — a severe brain disorder that leaves children
unable to have normal interactions with others. She knows of the
concerns about vaccines.
“There is a slight part of me that says ‘wonder if.’ And you
just never know,” she said.
At the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Autism where the Augier
boys are treated, the director says many parents have similar
worries — especially because the number of children diagnosed with
autism has risen sharply across the country in recent years. Also, a
recent study in California found that the rate of autism had tripled
in just a decade.
Autism cases leap in California
“We spend a lot of time reassuring parents that autism is not
something you catch. It’s not something you did to your child,” said
the clinic’s director Vanessa Jensen.
Doctors know that genetics plays a big role in autism, but
they don’t know much about other causes. MMR, the combined vaccine
for measles, mumps and rubella, has gotten a lot of attention since
a 1998 report suggested a possible link. |
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Advertisement
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But in
the research out Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine,
doctors in Denmark studied medical records of 400,000 children who
got the MMR vaccine — and almost 100,000 did not. There was actually
slightly less autism in the kids who had been vaccinated.
“I can’t imagine a stronger study. And I can’t imagine this
result being incorrect,” said Dr. Loring Dales of the California
Department of Health Services.
So why the increase in autism? Many experts say it is a
matter of better diagnosis — children who would have been classified
as mentally retarded a decade ago are now called autistic. |
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With MMR ruled out as a
cause, some parents groups worry about the role of other vaccines
and that tiny amounts of mercury might be the cause of neurological
damage. Mercury was used as a preservative in some other vaccines
until manufacturers eliminated most of it a few years ago.
But most experts point out there is no solid evidence linking
mercury to autism — big studies are underway — and they say it is
critical to remember that vaccinations save millions of lives.
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Sunday, 8 p.m. ET on 'National Geographic Explorer'
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Robert Bazell is NBC’s chief science correspondent.
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