The Archives of Diseases in Childhood has published the results of a study that aimed to assess if the MMR vaccine is involved in the pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorders.
The study was a case control study involving 240 children. 98 had autism, 52 with special educational but not autism and 90 controls. Blood samples were collected and tested for measles virus and antibody response to measles.
No differences were found between the three groups for antibody response. Measles virus nucleic acid was found to be elevated in one child with autism and two control cases. Overall there was no evidence of a differential response between the three groups.
Action: This new study adds to the existing evidence that there is no causal link between MMR and autism.