Vaccines as a Triggering Agent - Autism and Autoimmunity Excerpts of Articles

Gupta S, Aggarwal S, Heads C. Brief Report: Dysregulated Immune System in Children with Autism: Beneficial Effects of Intravenous Immune Globulin on Autistic Characteristics.

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Vol. 26, No. 4, 1996.

We theorized that the high titers of rubella antibody present in mothers of children with autism would be transplacentally transferred and may also persist for a prolonged period in the child. When such a child gets MMR immunization, rubella antigen may complex with preexisting antibodies and such complexes might play a role in the pathogenesis of autistic features.

Fudenberg H.H. Dialysable Lymphocyte Extract in Infantile Onset Autism:

A Pilot Study. Biotherapy 9: 143-147, 1996. Fifteen of the true autistic patients developed symptoms within a week after immunization with the measles, rubella and mumps vaccine (MMR); 3 had high fevers ( up to 106 degrees F. ) and convulsions within one day of administration; in the other 7 true autistic, the symptoms gradually worsened in severity ( e.g., gradual rather than sudden loss of vocabulary ) with onset of clinical abnormality beginning between 15 and 18 months of age. In those patients, rubella immunization, as well as other live virus immunizations, should be delayed until at least 3 years of age, since cell mediated immunity in many children does not reach maturity at 15 months, the usual time of MMR administration. We observed 2 families, each with 3 children in whom 2 of the 3 suffered from autism. The incidence of viral infections, especially otitis media, was very high not in the non-affected sibling. In one family of identical autistic twins, one responded to therapy, the other did not. Thus, we contend that this syndrome occurs in congenitally predisposed individuals after exposure to a given virus, live virus immunization, or to DPT immunization at 4 weeks in those instances where the mother has a very high IgG antibody titer to, for example, tetanus toxin or diptheria toxin. Indeed, the IgG antibody crosses the placenta during pregnancy and will be present in the infant who was given these toxins at 4 weeks of age thereby precipitating reaction and subsequent autism.

We have observed several infants with pseudo-autistic syndrome who were given the DPT immunization at 4-6 weeks, convulsions occurred and were followed by steadily increasing autistic symptoms. Live rubella immunizations at 15 months has precipitated fever ( 106 degrees F. ) convulsions followed by autistic symptoms, so has live hepatitis B vaccine in 2 infants at age 2 years.

Cohen AD, Shoenfeld Y. Vaccine-induced Autoimmunity. Journal of Autoimmunity 9, 699-703, 1996. Diverse autoimmune disorders have been reported following vaccinations. Vaccines have triggered autoimmune phenomena such as the appearance of DNA antibodies, localized disorders that are self-limiting ( e.g. reactive arthritis ) and systemic diseases, some of which are transient ( e.g. systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

It seems that vaccines have a predilection to affect the nervous system:

neuritis, demyelination, myasthenia gravis, and Guillain-Barre syndrome

have been described. Vaccine Autoimmune ( or possible

autoimmune ) disorder

tetanus toxoid optic neuritis, myelitis

influenza vasculitis, reactive arthritis, Guillain-Barre

syndrome

mumps, measles, immune thrombocytopenic purpura

rubella

mumps diabetes mellitus

rabies neuritis, Guillain-Barre syndrome

hepatitis B erythema nodosum, immune thrombocytopenia,

myasthenia gravis, uvetis, Reiter’s syndrome,

arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus,

central nervous system demyelination, DNA

antibodies, Evan’s syndrome

hepatitis A immune thrombocytopenia

oral polio vaccine Guillain-Barre syndrome

swine flu multiple sclerosis