86 Research Papers Allegedly Supporting the Vaccine-Autism Link: Paper # 4 Abnormal measles-mumps-rubella antibodies and CNS autoimmunity in children with autism., Abnormal measles-mumps-rubella antibodies and CNS autoimmunity in children with autism.

Abnormal measles-mumps-rubella antibodies and CNS autoimmunity in children with autism. (Not in Taylor’s original list,   second Taylor number  = 6,  current Taylor number = 4)

Correct citation:  Singh VK, Lin SX, Newell E, Nelson C. Abnormal measles-mumps-rubella antibodies and CNS autoimmunity in children with autism. J Biomed Sci. 2002 Jul-Aug;9(4):359-64.J Biomed Sci. 2002 Jul-Aug;9(4):359-64.

Authors' Affiliations:  VK Singh refers to a number of scientists in a number of disciplines. This particular VK Singh is Vijendra Kumar Singh. At the time this paper was published, Singh was a professor in the  Department of Biology and Biotechnology Center, Utah State University, Logan, Utah. 

Nature of Journal: Journal of Biomedical Science was published by Karger and was sponsored  by the National Science Council, Taipei. It began publication in 1995 and was discontinued in 2004.

Where does this paper fit on the pyramid of evidence?  This is a variation on the case-control study model.

Methods: using  blood products  from typically developing children and autistic children, the authors claimed to have found a protein unique to the measles vaccine in more than half of the autistic children. 

This finding has never been replicated. As Paul Offit wrote on page 45 of Autism's False Prophets,

...a closer look at Singh's science revealed two critical flaws: children with autism didn't have nerve damage and, according to measles experts, the test that Singh had used to detect measles antibodies didn't detect them.

Other leading scientists have criticized Singh's research.

Multiple studies in multiple countries with tens of thousands of subjects have repeatedly failed to find an association between measles vaccine and autism.

• http://www.immunizationinfo.org/issues/iom-reports/measles-mumps-rubella-vaccine-and-autism
• http://www.immunizationinfo.org/science/no-evidence-mmr-vaccine-causes-autism

Summary:

Remember that the compiler of this list of papers made the following assertion:

Here we provide for the reader research that demonstrates the link between vaccines and autism, and the mechanisms by which vaccines can cause autism.

Does this paper effectively demonstrate a link between vaccines and autism? No.

Does this paper demonstrate the mechanism(s) by which vaccines can cause autism? No.