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Vaccine-autism question divides parents, scientists
By David S. Martin
CNN
YUMA, Arizona (CNN) -- At 13, Michelle Cedillo can't speak, wears a diaper and
requires round-the-clock monitoring in case she has a seizure. While her peers
go to school or the mall or spend time with friends, the Yuma, Arizona, teenager
remains at home, where she entertains herself with picture books and "Sesame
Street" and "Blue's Clues" DVDs.
Michelle has no idea she is at the center of a court case pitting thousands of
families of children with autism against the medical establishment. A number of
prestigious medical institutions say there is no link between vaccines and
autism. The families believe vaccines caused their children's autism, and
they've taken their case to court.
"I think there is a link," says Theresa Cedillo, Michelle's mother.
Theresa and her husband, Mike, say their only child was a happy, engaged toddler
who responded to her name, said "mommy" and "daddy" and was otherwise normal
until she received a measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine at 15 months.
They believe the MMR vaccine, combined with a mercury-containing preservative
found in that and other vaccines at the time, drastically altered the course of
their daughter's development. Within days of receiving the injection as part of
the normal course of vaccinations, Michelle suffered from a high fever,
persistent vomiting and problems with her digestion. Worse still, her parents
say, Michelle stopped speaking and no longer responded to her name.
"I thought it was because she was so sick. I thought certainly she'll start
talking again," Theresa recalls. "You think you're dealing with something that's
going to come and go, and you're going to get your child back, and you don't."
Michelle has since been diagnosed with autism, inflammatory bowel disease,
arthritis, osteoporosis and epilepsy.
Dr. Paul Offit, chief of infectious diseases at the Children's Hospital of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, says the connection between vaccines and autism is
nothing more than a sad coincidence.
"About 20 percent of children with autism will regress between their first and
second birthday," says Offit. "So statistically, it will have to happen where
some children will get a vaccine. They will have been fine. They will get the
vaccine, and they will not be fine anymore. And I think parents can reasonably
ask the question, 'Is it the vaccine that did this?'"
The answer is no, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
the World Health Organization, and the Institute of Medicine.
In reaching its conclusion, the Institute of Medicine pointed to five large
studies finding no link between autism and the preservative thimerosal, which
contains mercury, and 14 large studies finding no link between the MMR vaccine
and autism. Childhood vaccines no longer contain thimerosal, though it remains
in some flu shots.
The studies compared autism rates among populations of children who did and did
not receive the MMR vaccines, and among those who did and did not receive
vaccines containing thimerosal.
"It's been asked and answered: Vaccines don't cause autism," Offit says.
Michelle Cedillo's parents disagree. They've sued the government through the
National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, established in 1988 to pay damages
to those who have suffered as a result of vaccines. Funded by a 75-cent tax
added to the cost of each vaccine dose, the program's trust fund balance is more
than $2.7 billion.
Michelle's autism claim is one of 4,900 in a single case before a special
federal court, dubbed the "vaccine court," part of the U.S. Court of Federal
Claims. The court picked Michelle's claim as the first of a total of nine test
cases from the 4,900.
The court heard testimony in the Cedillo claim last June. Testimony in other
test cases is scheduled for later this year.
Three special masters -- attorneys appointed by the court to make findings in
this case -- are considering whether a combination of the MMR and the
mercury-containing thimerosal preservative in vaccines could cause autism;
whether MMR vaccines alone could cause autism; and whether thimerosal alone
could cause autism. To prove their case, families need to show a plausible
biological mechanism for vaccines to cause autism.
While many studies have concluded that vaccines do not cause autism spectrum
disorders, researchers are still looking for the causes. Some have found that a
child born with certain genetic mutations is more likely to develop autism than
one without the mutations.
At Michelle Cedillo's hearing last year, Dr. Marcel Kinsbourne, a pediatric
neurologist who is a professor at The New School in New York, testified that he
thought the measles vaccine was a "substantial factor" in causing the girl's
autism. Traces of the measles virus were found in Michelle's gut, leading the
Oxford University-trained doctor to conclude the girl's immune system had not
rejected the virus. Kinsbourne told the court the measles virus invaded cells in
Michelle's brain, resulting in her autism.
Already, families who believe vaccines can trigger autism are pointing to the
case of 9-year-old Hannah Poling as a major victory.
In November, the government conceded that vaccines "significantly aggravated"
the Georgia girl's underlying illness, predisposing her to symptoms of autism.
"Vaccines save lives," countered Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, after the Poling decision was announced in
March. "The most reputable scientists around the world have looked at this
situation over and over again, and they have stated that they cannot see an
association between vaccines and autism."
No matter what the vaccine court decides, the debate will most likely not go
away anytime soon, nor will the sometimes devastating symptoms of the children
with autism.
At the Cedillos' modest home, Michelle receives nutrition through a feeding
tube, cannot walk unassisted and uses hand motions and tapping to communicate
with her mother, father, grandmother and grandfather, who are her constant
companions and caregivers.
The Cedillos hope the vaccine court will award them enough money to ensure
Michelle receives all the medical care she needs in the future.
"We all want our children back, and we can never have them back," Mike Cedillo
says. "If me and Theresa aren't here anymore, and Michelle's well taken care of,
that'll make me happy."
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