Study shows no link between MMR vaccination and autism

The measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR vaccine) is not associated with increased risk of pervasive developmental disorders—including autism—according to a case-control study that has confirmed the findings of previous studies (Lancet 2004;364:963-9).

The case-control study used the UK general practice research database—a large database of patients' electronic clinical records—to identify 1294 people born in 1973 or later who had been diagnosed as having a pervasive developmental disorder recorded between 1987 and 2001. Full medical records—including hospital clinic letters and specialist reports—were checked for more than 300 of these …