>By MARY JO LAYTON, STAFF WRITER
A study by Columbia University is the latest to find no link between autism and a common childhood vaccine, news that should reassure concerned parents, experts said Wednesday.
The research, which involved the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, concluded that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine does not cause the neurological disorder that affects one in every 150 children in the nation.
“We are confident there’s no link between MMR and autism,” said Dr. W. Ian Lipkin, director of the Mailman School of Public Health Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University.
In New Jersey, which has the highest rate of autism in the nation one in every 94 children the study should help parents rule out concerns that the vaccine can cause the disorder, said Dr. Irwin Berkowitz, director of pediatrics at The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood.
“There’s harm in not vaccinating and that’s the message that’s got to get across,” he said.
In fact, as of July, the CDC reported 131 cases of measles the highest number since 1996. Ninety-one percent of the cases occurred in people who were not immunized.
The study again rebuts the findings of research completed in 1998 that linked the vaccine to autism after the presence of the measles virus was detected in tissue from children diagnosed with autism and gastrointestinal (GI) disorders.
Experts on Wednesday said their research of 25 children with autism and a control group of 13 with normal neurological development found no link between the presence of the measles virus in tissue and autism.
Those in the study, most of whom were between ages 3 and 5, had GI disorders, which are common in autistic children. Biopsies of bowel tissue were examined for traces of the vaccine. Two biopsy samples with the measles virus were found: one from an autistic child and one from the control group, experts said.
“We found no relationship between the timing of the MMR vaccine and the onset of either GI complaints or autism,” said Dr. Mady Hornig, associate professor of epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health.
More than 20 studies have reported no relationship between MMR vaccine and autism, Lipkin said.
Lipkin stressed that the study did not address any other vaccine or potential causes, including mercury or underlying disorders.
Some parents blame vaccines and a mercury-based preservative, thimerosal, for causing autism or other developmental disabilities. It was once commonly used to prevent bacterial contamination but, since 2001, has been used only in certain flu shots.
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E-mail: layton@northjersey.com