Autism and Vaccines: What's the Link? London KY

Since 1998, when the British medical journal The Lancet published a study connecting the use of vaccines containing thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, with a spike in the diagnoses of autism, a debate has waged over the validity of such a hypothesis. Since then, a number of other studies have been published, and the link between autism and vaccines has remained in the public eye. In fact, actress Jenny McCarthy recently came forward, claiming that her son, Evan, developed the disorder after receiving a measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) shot. Is the evidence that supports these facts well-founded, or is the development of autism in these children just sheer coincidence?

The Lowdown on Mercury
A recent University of Rochester study published in the February issue of Pediatrics showed that ethyl mercury, the type used in thimerosal, was quickly excreted among the infants who took part in the study, meaning that unlike methyl mercury, which is often found in fish, ethyl mercury cannot establish a progressive, debilitating buildup in the body. Additionally, investigations undertaken in Denmark and by the California Department of Health concluded that the removal of thimerosal from childhood vaccines failed to result in a corresponding decrease in autism; in fact, diagnoses of the disorder continued to rise in the preservative's absence. Still, many parents stand firm in the belief that their autistic children would have been fine had they not received certain vaccines...

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