In a Forbes.com article, ACSH trustee Dr. Henry I. Miller, a Hoover Institution fellow, and ACSH’s Dr. Elizabeth Whelan teamed up to report on important research published in the June issue of Nature that provides a genetic basis for some autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The study analyzed the genes of 969 children with ASDs and 1,287 children without the disorder and found that each affected child possessed a unique assortment of genetic mutations in the form of DNA deletions, insertions or duplications.
Commenting on the importance of the study, Dr. Whelan says, “This is the first time it has been shown that patients suffering from ASD have a higher incidence of mutations.”
The study results provide further evidence against the causal association of autism and vaccines made infamous by Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s 1998 Lancet article, which was later retracted. “This is great evidence against claims that vaccines cause autism, and hopefully it will allay parental fears of vaccinations,” says Dr. Whelan. “In addition, the study holds promise for the early detection and intervention of ASDs by neutralizing these aberrant genes.”