Clinic Notes: Autism and Wakefield

Lancet has formally retracted Dr. Wakefield's paper that purportedly found a link between autism and the MMR vaccine. His "finding" made so much sense. Mercury is toxic to the nervous system and autism is usually diagnosed between the second and third year shortly after the MMR vaccine is given to children. But it was a flawed study and better-done research has found no link. Many parents are still convinced though and yelling cover up by government and the pharmaceutical industry. Recently, it was time for my grandchildren to get their MMR vaccines. I'll admit that I cringed. I know that's it's very difficult for a parent who has a normally developing child to see them regressing after the MMR vaccine. It is not a causal link, but so emotional and hard for parents to put aside. But it is time to move on and look for the real cause of autism.