14 DAY TRIAL // For too many years there's been talk that vaccines - either the concoctions themselves or thimerosal, a compound added to them to keep them fresh - can cause children to develop autism spectrum disorders.
Specialists have argued time and time again that, just because the onset of a disorder happens around the same time that a vaccine is administered, this does not mean that there is a connection between the two. Rather, such cases are just coincidences, they maintain.
All the same, there are many parents who are still suspicious and so refuse to vaccinate their kids. Hoping to convince them otherwise, scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center recently carried out an extensive study researching these allegations.
The team didn't find any evidence vaccines correlate with ASDs
As part of their investigation, the research team administered vaccines to dozens of rhesus monkeys, chosen for these experiments because their brains and their physiology are very human-like. The monkeys received different vaccine combinations and were inoculated at different ages.
Some were given vaccines containing thimerosal, others received concoctions free of this compound, the specialists detail in a report in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Following inoculation, the monkeys were monitored for an extensive period of time. As it turns out, not one of them displayed symptoms linked to an autism spectrum disorder, the scientists say.
Besides, when some were sacrificed so that the researchers could study their brains, there was no sign of any abnormalities indicative of a neurological problem. Plainly put, the monkeys were just fine.
There is no link between vaccines and ASDs, the team concluded
Writing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the specialists behind this study argue that, as confirmed by their experiments on rhesus monkeys, there is no link between autism spectrum disorders and vaccines, be it with or without thimerosal added as a preservative.
“Some parents believe that thimerosal-containing vaccines and / or the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine are involved in the etiology of autism. This study does not support the hypothesis that thimerosal-containing vaccines and / or the MMR vaccine play a role in the etiology of autism,” they explain in their report.