The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 269 No 7211 p205
17 August 2002

This article
Reprint
Photocopy

News summary

Related websites
Journal of Biomedical Science (more)
Public Health Laboratory Service (www.phls.co.uk)

Antibody link between MMR and autism suggested

An inappropriate immune response to the measles component of the MMR vaccine could be related to the pathogenesis of autism, researchers have suggested (Journal of Biomedical Science 2002;9:359).

Dr Vijendra Singh and colleagues at Utah State University, United States, found "an unusual MMR antibody" in the blood of 75 out of 125 autistic children (60 per cent) they tested. However, they did not find this antibody in any of the 92 vaccinated non-autistic children. Further analysis revealed that the antibody in question was specific for measles haemagglutinin protein, but not measles nucleoprotein, rubella or mumps viral proteins. The researchers also found that over 90 per cent of blood samples containing this antibody also tested positive for myelin basic protein autoantibodies. Dr Singh and colleagues say that autoimmunity to the central nervous system, and to myelin basic protein in particular, may play a causal role in autism and that their results suggest a strong association between MMR and CNS autoimmunity in autism.

However, the United Kingdom Public Health Laboratory Service told The Journal the authors had not used any of the currently available tests that could measure specific antibodies to measles, mumps and rubella and that there was insufficient viral protein in MMR vaccine to show up positive in test used in the study. Head of the immunisation division at the PHLS, Dr Liz Miller, said: "There are no data in this paper that implicates MMR vaccine as a cause of autism or that challenges the robust body of evidence on the safety of the vaccine."