Statement on Autism, Vaccines & Mitochondrial Disease
Mitochondrial Disease Action Committee (MitoAction) Statement on Autism, Vaccines and Mitochondrial Disease
www.MitoAction.org
March 21, 2008
The recent headlines concerning the potential links between autism, mitochondrial diseases, and vaccinations are evidence of the need for better understanding about mitochondrial disease. It is conservatively estimated that one in 4000 individuals are affected by mitochondrial disease, although specialists agree that the disease is under-recognized in the general population. The presentations and severity of symptoms of mitochondrial disorders clinically vary and affect both adults and children.
Vaccinations are critical in protecting the health of our children. All children, even those with suspected or known mitochondrial diseases, should receive the recommended vaccinations. The risks of these communicable illnesses outweigh the risk of vaccine-related reactions. Any causal relationship of thimerisol to incidence of autism has been disproven by observing the incidence of autism before and after eliminating this form of mercury from the vaccines. MitoAction encourages parents to talk to their pediatrician about these concerns.
David Holtzman, MD, PhD, a Pediatric Neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA, notes, “Mitochondrial Disease may present with the clinical features of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Several recent studies have documented biochemical evidence of abnormal mitochondrial functions in at least 30% of children with ASD.”
Awareness and attention to mitochondrial disorders will bring greater understanding of the impact of environmental and physiologic stressors on both autism and mitochondrial disease. Further research may explain how autism can be an expression of mitochondrial diseases and could be prevented.
SEE ALSO - AUTISM BIOMEDICAL GRANTS
Well if autism can be a
Submitted by Cindy_01 on Thu, 09/04/2008 - 5:11pm.
It's important to think
Submitted by Cristy Balcells on Thu, 10/02/2008 - 7:24am.
It's important to think about what "symptom" means here. If autism were a "symptom", then it would be marker that one would look for when diagnosing mitochondrial disease.
I don't think that's the case. Instead, many children with confirmed mitochondrial disease have autistic spectrum features - and which came first, the chicken or the egg, is left to be determined.
Is there a component of mitochondrial function that is related to autism? Quite possibly. Could vaccines stress mitochondrial function in some children, creating a tipping point that causes autistic characteristics. Again, it's possible.
My mother teaches at a
Submitted by mikese on Wed, 05/20/2009 - 12:44pm.
My mother teaches at a school where the kids have autism or aspergers.
I agree that vaccines for
Submitted by nikifrost8 on Mon, 10/12/2009 - 10:18am.
I agree that vaccines for children are very important. It strengthens their immunity at an early age, and also prevents diseases from spreading quickly. Just think how quickly lice spreads in schools. The sooner our kids are vaccinated the better.
I agree,all children, even
Submitted by Deea on Mon, 02/01/2010 - 5:38pm.
I think this can be left up
Submitted by janets on Tue, 08/03/2010 - 1:39pm.
I think this can be left up to some debate it could be vaccines genetics who knows. We can speculate all we want but no one knows for sure. I met an autistic patient at narconon and unless someone told you they were autistic you wouldnt know since there are so many forms of autism.
What’s your take on the
Submitted by peterbk on Tue, 06/21/2011 - 1:11pm.
What’s your take on the distinction between?
Mito disorder
Mito disease
mito disfunction/dysfunction
From reading this post, it appears that disorder and disease are used interchangeably, but I’m unsure as to how disfunction plays into the equation.
I think i got autism when i
Submitted by Malotravel69 on Thu, 06/30/2011 - 4:35am.
I think i got autism when i was young, but my pareants never notice
IMHO, there's hardly much
Submitted by JohnMoore on Fri, 07/15/2011 - 3:39pm.
IMHO, there's hardly much awareness about mitochondrial disease ... and in addition to vaccination, focused programs to increase awareness might also be necessary. Just about everyone has heard about autism. But my guess is, less than 1% of people have heard about mitochondrial disease. And hardly anyone would even suspect that there may be a link between the two conditions.
I think there are many types
Submitted by sarah123 on Wed, 08/17/2011 - 11:37am.
That's why I don't miss my
Submitted by leviandanes on Tue, 08/30/2011 - 11:57pm.
That's why I don't miss my baby's vaccination because I don't want my child to be sick. -