Med Mal News

Based on a review of worldwide clinical and epidemiological studies, researchers at the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies have concluded that neither the mercury-based vaccine preservative thimerosal nor the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine's active ingredients are associated with autism. Furthermore, the study's authors proclaimed hypotheses regarding how the MMR vaccine and thimerosal could trigger autism lack supporting evidence and are theoretical only. The report updates two earlier IOM reports, published in 2001, on possible links between autism and the MMR vaccine and thimerosal. At that time, the committee determined that the evidence did not show an association between the MMR vaccine and autism, but there was not enough evidence to determine whether thimerosal was associated with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism. Given that mercury is known to have a toxic effect on the nervous system and that prenatal exposures to another form of mercury have been shown to adversely affect early childhood development, the committee concluded in 2001 that it was possible to hypothesize that thimerosal might trigger neurodevelopmental problems. The committee revisited these issues because several studies exploring the epidemiology and biological mechanisms of possible links between vaccines and autism have been undertaken during the past three years. Pre-publication copies of the report, “Immunization Safety Review: Vaccines and Autism,” are available from the National Academies Press; Phone: 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242, or on the Internet at http://www.nap.edu.

Hospital Fined for Safety Lapses Following Author's Death

The hospital at which novelist Olivia Goldsmith (author of The First Wives' Club) died during outpatient cosmetic surgery has been fined $20,000 by New York State health investigators. The investigation of the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital was prompted not only by Goldsmith's death, but also by the death 1 month earlier of another plastic surgery patient. Both deaths were attributed to an allergic reaction to anesthesia, the administration of which was not properly monitored, state investigators found. The state identified a total of ten health violations at the hospital, each carrying a maximum fine of $2000.

Further Evidence That MMR Vaccines and Autism Are Unrelated

Based on a review of worldwide clinical and epidemiological studies, researchers at the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies have concluded that neither the mercury-based vaccine preservative thimerosal nor the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine's active ingredients are associated with autism. Furthermore, the study's authors proclaimed hypotheses regarding how the MMR vaccine and thimerosal could trigger autism lack supporting evidence and are theoretical only. The report updates two earlier IOM reports, published in 2001, on possible links between autism and the MMR vaccine and thimerosal. At that time, the committee determined that the evidence did not show an association between the MMR vaccine and autism, but there was not enough evidence to determine whether thimerosal was associated with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism. Given that mercury is known to have a toxic effect on the nervous system and that prenatal exposures to another form of mercury have been shown to adversely affect early childhood development, the committee concluded in 2001 that it was possible to hypothesize that thimerosal might trigger neurodevelopmental problems. The committee revisited these issues because several studies exploring the epidemiology and biological mechanisms of possible links between vaccines and autism have been undertaken during the past three years. Pre-publication copies of the report, “Immunization Safety Review: Vaccines and Autism,” are available from the National Academies Press; Phone: 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242, or on the Internet at http://www.nap.edu.