The report, published in the medical journal Clinical Review, said that there was 'no evidence' that either MMR or single measles vaccines are associated with autism or inflammatory bowel disease after the authors, Dr Anna Donald and Dr Vivek Muthu, conducted a detailed search of the world's scientific literature on MMR and single measles vaccination.
The authors considered the 1998 study by Dr Andrew Wakefield that originally raised the question of a link between MMR and developmental disorder in 12 children with bowel symptoms. They criticised the study as being 'retrospective', saying that parents were surveyed up to eight years after vaccination, the number of cases was small, the study lacked a control group, and it was selective in its sample.
They concluded that, as a result, Dr Wakefield's study 'does not establish MMR as a cause of inflammatory bowel disease, autism, or developmental regression, and that its hypothesis has been satisfactorily tested by scientifically reliable studies'.
But the National Autistic Society pointed out that this report had simply repeated work done in previous research reviews, such as the Medical Research Council's Review of autism published in December 2001.
David Potter, head of autism policy and information at the Society said, 'How can scientists explain to parents the co-existence of these symptoms in their children? These parents are looking for answers, but the studies to investigate their children have not yet been conducted.'
Mr Potter said that while the report criticised Dr Wakefield's original study as having methodological flaws, it failed to address subsequent peer-reviewed work his team has done since then. He said many parents in the debate felt the MMR vaccine may be a 'common thread' that linked the conditions of autism associated with inflammatory bowel disease.
