A large study of children born in Denmark found that the vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) does not affect the risk of autism. Other research studies also have found no link between the vaccine and autism. The Danish study of 657,461 children is one of the largest to do so. Scientists compared children who received the vaccine to those who did not.
The U.S. Interagency Autism Coordinating publishes a list of autism reports on various subjects, by year, on its website. These include reports on changes in the autism rate in children, as well as on medical therapies and interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder.
Pregnant women who took medications targeting neurotransmitters, such as antidepressants and antipsychotics, were not more likely to give birth to a child with autism than mothers who did not take those drugs.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has been tracking autism rates among 8-year-old children in the United States for almost two decades. But it recently announced ifunding to follow up with some of those children when they reach age 16, to get a better idea of what happens with symptoms, health, and services during adolescence.
The U.S. Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) is accepting public comments in advance of its September 27 workshop, "Addressing the Health Needs of People on the Autism Spectrum."
A large study from Finland found that pregnant women with high levels of the pesticide DDT in their blood faced a greater risk of having a child with autism.1 Many countries banned DDT decades ago over environmental concerns, but it can persist in the soil and food chain. The study was published in the American Journal of Psychiatry today.
Connie Anderson, PhD, an autism researcher, will discuss bullying and autism in a free webinar on Tuesday, September 11, at 12 noon Eastern Time. Registration information will be provided in the coming weeks.
An analysis by researchers with the Cochrane Collection examined the accuracy of autism diagnostic tools for preschool children. They found the ADOS test "is best for not missing children who have ASD and is similar to CARS and ADI-R in not falsely diagnosing ASD in a child who does not have ASD."