New study discredits link between MMR and autism

A group of researchers from Great Ormond Street Hospital, Guy's and StThomas' Hospital and the University of Edinburgh used urine samples tocompare 65 children who had autism or Asperger's Syndrome with 158control children. They found no evidence to support the idea thatchildren with autism have dangerous proteins, called opioids peptides,leaking from their intestines, which then affect the brain.

Neither the autistic children's urine nor that of the controls containedany opioids at all.

This would discredit the 'leaky gut' theory, which originated over adecade ago from a study using rats and was built on by other studies,including the controversial paper led by Dr Andrew Wakefield, whichclaimed that the MMR vaccine contributed to the breaking down of theintestine walls.

Co-author Paul Gringras said, 'We were struck by the autisminvestigations and urine tests being offered to parents on the internet- these cost a lot of money. In fact, we found no opioids in the urineat all. These testing labs are finding nothing different in autisticchildren's urine and what they claim or think they are finding is noteven there.'

FURTHER INFORMATION

The study 'Absence of urinary opioid peptides in children with autism'is published in Archives of Disease in Childhood.