Lisajb Report post Posted September 10, 2004 (edited) Just picked this up off the web. Haven't read it yet though http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3640898.stm Lisa Edited September 10, 2004 by Lisajb Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ksasnic Report post Posted September 10, 2004 Heres another version on it MMR jab-autism link 'ruled out' There is no evidence to support a link between the controversial MMR jab and the development of autism in children, researchers said. Concern about a reported link between the triple vaccine and the disorder has led to a drop in the number of parents getting their children vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella in the UK. But research funded by the Medical Research Council today concluded that they could find no evidence of a link between autism and MMR. Controversy over the jab was first sparked after a small-scale study published in The Lancet and led by Dr Andrew Wakefield suggested a link with autism and bowel problems in 1998. After that, various large-scale studies failed to find any evidence of a link and Dr Wakefield's own research was later discredited. The latest study, also published in The Lancet, looked at the vaccination records of 1,294 children diagnosed with autism or other pervasive development disorders (PDDs) between 1987 and 2001 in England and Wales. These youngsters were compared with a control group of 4,469 children of the same sex and similar age who were registered with the same practices but did not have a recorded diagnosis of autism. The researchers, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, were unable to find evidence to support an association between MMR and autism or other PDDs. The team, led by Dr Liam Smeeth, went on to look in more depth at the records, looking only at children who had MMR before their third birthday - autism is not normally diagnosed before the age of three. They also looked at children vaccinated in the period before reporting of the theory that MMR might be linked with autism. The researchers finally compared children who joined practices before their first birthday with those joining after this age. Again their conclusion was that there was no link between MMR and autism. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
baddad Report post Posted September 11, 2004 More of the same in the Daily Mail (page 4) today... Same old same old (as highlighted in many threads on this forum) along the lines of; �We?ve looked again at the usual tired data that we know is inherently flawed because of the way it was gathered and because it was non-specific, and, surprisingly came to the same conclusions as last time? We?ve also taken the opportunity once again to gainsay the findings of Andrew Wakefield, the Dr. who first widely reported on the possibility of a link, by suggesting that there might be a conflict of interests arising from some of the funding sources he was forced to use for his research when all other avenues were closed for him�. The paper does offer the alternative perspective, a brief statement from jabs about the use of ?empirical data?, but fails to comment on the implications for govt (who funded the ?new? research) of a link being proven, either in terms of vaccine damage payments or the (devastating) loss of sponsorship and support from the multinationals who make and distribute the stuff, and the potential knock on effects for the other conglomerates (i.e. food/agriculture) who may also have to take some responsibility for the apparent rise in ASD?s. Wouldn?t it be lovely if the game playing stopped and they actually did a straightforward study to look specifically at the one point parents actually care about ? does it or doesn?t it? Perhaps they could pay Dr Wakefield to do it, which would remove that particular bias from the equation once and for all. Ho, Hum? soapbox away. I?ll leave it handy though, just in case! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites