Italian Court Rules that MMR Vaccine Caused Autism

Post Reply New Topic

Don't get sick in Italy.

Their lawyers think they know more about medicine than their doctors.

Do you think USA is the only country that is corrupt?

. . . Except one of the links I cited said the nation's Ministry of Health did not contest the case at all, . .

If vaccines do cause (some) cases of autism,

I think it's far more likely to be some kind of autoimmune response, rather than the toxicity of the mercury.

* and I say this just as a lay person interested in science.

Timeline: Thimerosal in Vaccines (1999-2010)

The following timeline shows key activities performed by CDC, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concerning thimerosal in vaccines from 1999 to 2010.

2010
September 13. Results of a CDC study do not support an association between prenatal and infant exposure to vaccines and immunoglobulins that contain thimerosal and an increased risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

2009
February 1. Results of an Italian study were reassuring that immunization in infancy with thimerosal-containing vaccines does not decrease neuropsychological performance later in childhood.

2007
September 27. Results of a CDC study do not support an association between early exposure to thimerosal in vaccines and neuropsychological problems in children between the ages of 7 and 10 years.

July 7. CDC issues a statement on autism and thimerosal that states in part "Some people believe increased exposure to thimerosal (from the addition of important vaccines recommended for children) explains the higher prevalence [of autism] in recent years. However, evidence from several studies examining trends in vaccine use and changes in autism frequency does not support such an association.

2006
September 26. In a statement prepared for the Coalition for Mercury-free Drugs, the FDA concludes that the evidence reviewed by the IOM in 2004 does not support an association between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism.

2004
May 28. ACIP recommends that children between the ages of 6 and 23 months routinely receive an inactivated influenza (flu) vaccine. ACIP does not recommend using the thimerosal-free flu vaccine over the thimerosal-containing flu vaccine, and states that the benefits of flu vaccination outweigh any risk from thimerosal exposure.

May 17. After reviewing over 200 scientific studies that examined thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism, IOM concludes in a report that the studies "consistently provided evidence of no association between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism."

2003
November. A study finds no consistent significant associations between exposure to thimerosal-containing vaccines and a variety of kidney, nervous system, and developmental problems.

August. Another study looks for a link between autism incidence and the use of thimerosal-containing vaccines. The study does not find a link between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism in Denmark and Sweden, where autism rates continued to increase although thimerosal was removed from vaccines in 1992.

January. The last children's vaccines that use thimerosal as a preservative expire.

2001
Except for influenza (flu), thimerosal is removed from or reduced in all vaccines routinely recommended for children 6 years of age and under manufactured for the U.S. market.

October 1. IOM's Immunization Safety Review Committee issues a report concluding there is not enough evidence to disprove claims that thimerosal in childhood vaccines causes autism, attention deficit hypersensitivity disorder, or speech or language delay.

May 5. A risk assessment of thimerosal use in childhood vaccines finds no evidence of harm from the use of thimerosal as a preservative, other than redness and swelling at the injection site.

2000
June 7 and 8. Fifty-one vaccine and vaccine safety researchers and experts meet at the Simpsonwood Retreat Center in Atlanta, GA to review data regarding thimerosal in vaccines and nervous system disorders. A report summarizing the meeting was presented to ACIP.

1999
The FDA reviews the use of thimerosal in childhood vaccines and finds no evidence of harm, but as a precautionary measure, recommends removing thimerosal from vaccines routinely given to infants.

November 5. CDC states that vaccine manufacturers, FDA, and other agencies are working together to reduce the amount of thimerosal in vaccines, or to replace them with thimerosal-free vaccines, as soon as possible.

October 20. ACIP reviews information about thimerosal in vaccines provided by CDC's National Immunization Program and several vaccine manufacturers regarding the availability of vaccines that do not contain thimerosal as a preservative.

July 7. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Public Health Service issue a joint statement that says "there is no data or evidence of any harm caused by the level of exposure that some children may have encountered in following the existing immunization schedule." The American Academy of Family Physicians issues a comparable statement soon after.

This raises an interesting issue. I'm curious if studies in other countries where Big Pharma and corporations do not control science have actually come to different results about the supposed connection between vaccines and autism.

I got a virus warning from the first link btw, and I haven't read either.

I actually believe that we might handle vaccines worse than NTs, and that might be worth investigating. But any studies concerning vaccines are still banging on about it being the cause of autism, so I doubt it would be possible to do an unbiased study about what effect, if any, vaccines has on already autistic people.

I found this concerning thimerosol, which apparently isn't the same type of vaccine as the one in Italy? Anyway I've bolded the relevant information, and they mention Italy too:

Autoimmunity to the central nervous system (CNS), especially to myelin basic protein (MBP), may play a causal role in autism, a neurodevelopmental disorder. Because many autistic children harbor elevated levels of measles antibodies, we conducted a serological study of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) and MBP autoantibodies. Using serum samples of 125 autistic children and 92 control children, antibodies were assayed by ELISA or immunoblotting methods. ELISA analysis showed a significant increase in the level of MMR antibodies in autistic children. Immunoblotting analysis revealed the presence of an unusual MMR antibody in 75 of 125 (60%) autistic sera but not in control sera. This antibody specifically detected a protein of 73-75 kD of MMR. This protein band, as analyzed with monoclonal antibodies, was immunopositive for measles hemagglutinin (HA) protein but not for measles nucleoprotein and rubella or mumps viral proteins. Thus the MMR antibody in autistic sera detected measles HA protein, which is unique to the measles subunit of the vaccine. Furthermore, over 90% of MMR antibody-positive autistic sera were also positive for MBP autoantibodies, suggesting a strong association between MMR and CNS autoimmunity in autism. Stemming from this evidence, we suggest that an inappropriate antibody response to MMR, specifically the measles component thereof, might be related to pathogenesis of autism.

Just out of curiosity, you wouldn't happen to have a translated copy of the ruling and/or decision, would you? Last time I checked, when one cites to another court's fact-finding, you generally cite to the ruling, not to news articles.

From the article I read, this looks like a settlement, and just like happens in the US, what was said in the settlement is not always what gets reported in the media.

The first link I cited has excerpts. I am not sure how to find Italian court rulings, as I don't know Italian. Would be curious to read the evidence presented though and why the Italian Health Ministry actually conceded the case.

Other autoimmune conditions include:

Guillain Barre, and

PANDAS (which is itself controversial)