Vaccines and Autism: Is There a Link?

There has been a worldwide increase in autism cases in the past few decades, but the cause of it is unclear. It has been suggested that vaccines may be contributing to the rise in autism rates. One claim is that the MMR vaccine can cause intestinal inflammation that may lead non-permeable peptides to be transferred to the brain where it will affect neurodevelopment. This may lead to autism with symptoms of developmental regression and gastrointestinal problems. Another major hypothesis that has received much attention is that a mercury-containing compound, thimerosal, found in many vaccines, can have toxic effects on the central nervous system. By retrieving studies from databases such as Ebsco, Proquest, and Pubmed found in the Touro College Library, this review investigates if there is any truth to these claims. No evidence of a direct link between vaccines and an increase in autism cases have been found