Autism and children's vaccinations
Vaccinations undoubtedly represent one of the greatest discoveries in the history of medicine. Thanks to them, diseases such as polio (Heine-Medin disease), smallpox, or mumps are now more known from historical books than cases affecting people closest to us. According to the definition, a vaccine is a biological preparation containing fragments of pathogens, dead microorganisms, or live microorganisms deprived of virulence.
Introducing this type of material into the human body is equivalent to introducing an antigen, which is a specific protein that identifies a given pathogen. At the moment of encountering a foreign antigen by our immune system, a complex cellular process begins, ultimately leading to the production of specific antibodies by B lymphocytes. In the future, when encountering the pathogen against which the vaccine was used, the body will already "know" the microorganism to some extent, and the reaction aimed at neutralizing it will be much faster, thus preventing the occurrence of severe infection or long-term complications.
A similar process occurs naturally after acquiring immunity through suffering from a specific disease.
However, there is a fundamental difference between these situations because during the illness, the patient is exposed to its severe course and future complications. For this reason, the use of vaccines has helped protect humanity from many negative consequences of infectious diseases, thus preventing epidemics and pandemics that regularly plagued and decimated humanity in the past.
What is autism?
Autism is a disease encompassing a range of developmental disorders of the central nervous system in humans.
The earliest symptom suggesting the presence of the disease is speech disorders in children. This particular symptom is noticed by parents first. Children on the autism spectrum start speaking much later than their peers and also form more complex sentences later. Although the exact causes of autism have not been explained, scientists attribute them to genetics and environmental influences. This means that a child is born with the problem rather than acquiring it during life, and vaccination is not its cause.
Where did the myth about vaccines and autism come from?
The myth about the MMR vaccine, which covers measles, mumps, and rubella and was believed to be responsible for autism in children, is considered one of the greatest frauds in the history of medicine. But how did a dubious scientific study, whose scientific value was questionable from the beginning, cause mass fear of vaccination?
The whole commotion around the MMR vaccine was caused by a scientific study conducted by the infamous doctor Andrew Wakefield and 12 other doctors, which was published in the world-renowned journal "The Lancet" in 1998. This article claimed that there is a connection between the MMR vaccination and the occurrence of autism in children. However, it was quickly proven that the study contained a series of errors, including falsification of medical documentation and parental accounts, as well as incorrect selection of a non-representative research group of children. It was also proven that Wakefield himself, as a scientist, could not unknowingly make so many blatant mistakes. Furthermore, it was also revealed that during the period of publication of Wakefield's research, he was involved in a lawsuit against the producer of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. This led to a long legal process, which resulted in the clear refutation of the doctor's theory, the withdrawal of 10 out of 12 co-authors from their positions, and the retraction of the article from the journal. Unfortunately, the consequences of this study are still felt today, and the fear of vaccinations, which are one of the greatest discoveries of medicine, is still very much alive, causing insufficient vaccination of children in many parts of the world and thus posing a potential risk of the return of dangerous diseases known to most of us only from the pages of medical history.
Vaccinations undoubtedly represent one of the greatest discoveries in the history of medicine. Thanks to them, diseases such as polio (Heine-Medin disease), smallpox, or mumps are now more known from historical books than cases affecting people closest to us. According to the definition, a vaccine is a biological preparation containing fragments of pathogens, dead microorganisms, or live microorganisms deprived of virulence.
Introducing this type of material into the human body is equivalent to introducing an antigen, which is a specific protein that identifies a given pathogen. At the moment of encountering a foreign antigen by our immune system, a complex cellular process begins, ultimately leading to the production of specific antibodies by B lymphocytes. In the future, when encountering the pathogen against which the vaccine was used, the body will already "know" the microorganism to some extent, and the reaction aimed at neutralizing it will be much faster, thus preventing the occurrence of severe infection or long-term complications.
A similar process occurs naturally after acquiring immunity through suffering from a specific disease.
However, there is a fundamental difference between these situations because during the illness, the patient is exposed to its severe course and future complications. For this reason, the use of vaccines has helped protect humanity from many negative consequences of infectious diseases, thus preventing epidemics and pandemics that regularly plagued and decimated humanity in the past.
What is autism?
Autism is a disease encompassing a range of developmental disorders of the central nervous system in humans.
The earliest symptom suggesting the presence of the disease is speech disorders in children. This particular symptom is noticed by parents first. Children on the autism spectrum start speaking much later than their peers and also form more complex sentences later. Although the exact causes of autism have not been explained, scientists attribute them to genetics and environmental influences. This means that a child is born with the problem rather than acquiring it during life, and vaccination is not its cause.
Where did the myth about vaccines and autism come from?
The myth about the MMR vaccine, which covers measles, mumps, and rubella and was believed to be responsible for autism in children, is considered one of the greatest frauds in the history of medicine. But how did a dubious scientific study, whose scientific value was questionable from the beginning, cause mass fear of vaccination?
The whole commotion around the MMR vaccine was caused by a scientific study conducted by the infamous doctor Andrew Wakefield and 12 other doctors, which was published in the world-renowned journal "The Lancet" in 1998. This article claimed that there is a connection between the MMR vaccination and the occurrence of autism in children. However, it was quickly proven that the study contained a series of errors, including falsification of medical documentation and parental accounts, as well as incorrect selection of a non-representative research group of children. It was also proven that Wakefield himself, as a scientist, could not unknowingly make so many blatant mistakes. Furthermore, it was also revealed that during the period of publication of Wakefield's research, he was involved in a lawsuit against the producer of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. This led to a long legal process, which resulted in the clear refutation of the doctor's theory, the withdrawal of 10 out of 12 co-authors from their positions, and the retraction of the article from the journal. Unfortunately, the consequences of this study are still felt today, and the fear of vaccinations, which are one of the greatest discoveries of medicine, is still very much alive, causing insufficient vaccination of children in many parts of the world and thus posing a potential risk of the return of dangerous diseases known to most of us only from the pages of medical history.
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