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American Morning

Study Finds No Link Between MMR and Autism

Aired April 24, 2001 - 09:11   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: April is Autism Awareness Month, and today there is new information about the disorder.

Autism is estimated to occur in as many as one in 500 people, and that's according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Autism typically appears during the toddler years, and there had been speculation the condition might be linked to vaccinations.

CNN medical correspondent Rhonda Rowland joins us now live with the latest on these findings -- what did you find?

RHONDA ROWLAND, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, the link that you just mentioned has been very controversial, and it first started -- first appeared several years ago in 1998 when a study was done in England, and the study looked at just 12 children with autism, and researchers speculated at that time -- or hypothesized -- that the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine actually brought on this disorder.

And a lot of parents with autistic children really found this believable, and the reason is because the symptoms appear in children between the ages of a year and a year and a half. That's when they start to perhaps have problems with communication, and they note these repetitive gestures. That's also the time when children first get this particular vaccine.

Now, since all children are required to get the vaccine, several government agencies asked the prestigious Institute of Medicine to look at the studies, to look at the data to see if there really is a link, and they just released a report yesterday, and here's what they found.

They say that there was no causal relationship between the vaccine and autism. That is there was no link after reviewing studies that were conducted both in the United States and in Europe. However, this does not exclude the possibility of a link in a small number of children. Now this could be in very rare instances that there could possibly be a link, but more studies need to be done to answer that question.

Now scientists hope this latest report will be reassuring to parents since some have refused to have their child immunized with the MMR vaccine, and not giving a child the vaccine could be dangerous since the measles can be deadly. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. STEVEN GOODMAN, IMMUNIZATION SAFETY REVIEW: We're recommending strongly that the current immunization schedule be maintained exactly as it is given now but also that continued research into both autism and the connection -- the purported connection between the vaccine and autism continue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROWLAND: Now hearings will take place on Capitol Hill on Wednesday and Thursday to look at the need for more research into causes and possible treatments.

And also, Kyra, if parents do have any questions about autism, about treatments or the early signs, there is a Web site they can look at. It's autism-society.org.

PHILLIPS: And they'll be able to find out more about treatments -- new treatments like Secretin and things like this, right?

ROWLAND: That's right.

PHILLIPS: OK. Terrific. Rhonda Rowland, thank you so much.

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