Saturday, October 31, 2009
Autism is becoming an epidemic in the United States, having increased about five-fold in the last 10 years. From its rise in diagnoses and increased media presence, autism has become the target of misinformation.
The greatest myth surrounding autism is its hypothesized link to vaccines, an idea advocated by the anti-vaccination movement often attributed to Jenny McCarthy. They contend that the childhood vaccines impair normal neurological development and, therefore, cause autism. But an overview of the evidence behind these claims exposes them to be both false and dangerous.
Is autism a true emerging epidemic? In the time that autism rates appeared to have grown in recent years, the medical definition of autism has begun to expand, and more people have gained access to physicians. Most scientists agree that this is creating the illusion of skyrocketing autism rates. While it is possible that autism rates are growing, it remains far more likely that we are just much better at detecting it now than we were a decade ago.
Anti-vaccinationists often point to vaccine’s mercury-containing preservative Thimerosal as autism’s true culprit. Intensive research has overwhelmingly shown that this is not the case.
Thimerosal contains the form of mercury called ethyl mercury, which is cleared from the body quickly and safely, not methyl mercury, which is more toxic and leads to most mercury-related neurological damage. Regardless, those who are exposed to toxic levels of mercury do not develop autism, but rather a more general form of neurological damage.
The Centers for Disease Control had Thimerosal removed from childhood vaccines in 2001, with little change in the autism prevalence since. Many rigorous, independent epidemiological studies since have shown no significant connection between vaccines and autism. Despite these many lines of evidence, the anti-vaccination movement persists, now targeting different components in vaccines as harmful. This idea is not only scientifically incorrect; it is dangerous.
Measles, mumps, rubella and other vaccine-preventable diseases are slowly increasing around the country. After the historical use of vaccines had virtually eliminated these diseases, their numbers are steadily climbing. We are losing our herd immunity, our protection against disease transmission when nearly everyone is vaccinated.
But if individuals continue to deny vaccines for their children and rely solely on herd immunity for protection, a devastating recurrence of these past-defeated diseases is foreseeable.
The cause of autism is still elusive, but researchers are slowly unraveling its mystery. It is becoming increasingly apparent that autism has a very strong genetic link.
For instance, males are more than four times as likely to become autistic than females. Although there is almost certainly no single gene or mutation that contributes to the entire spectrum of the disorder, it is likely that the complex interactions of genetic expression and regulation result in autism.
Researchers are investigating the neurological characteristics of those with autism. By understanding what neurotransmitters are elevated or depressed, synapses grown or destroyed, or brain structures altered, we move steps closer to understanding autism and potentially developing better treatments.
The safety and efficacy of vaccines may be one of the best-studied and documented treatments of modern medicine, but the non-evidence-based rationale of well-intentioned individuals in the anti-vaccination movement may do more harm than good.
— Folmsbee is a Topeka senior in neurobiology.
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Comments
Folmsbee: Vaccines not to blame for autism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3xgV11ZSAg
Vaccines are pretty safe.
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