Childhood autism is the result of encephalitis affecting primarily the limbic system of the brain, located below the cerebral cortex. A relatively few number of cases are due to genetic causes, but officially the great majority are of unknown causes.

Bernard Rimland, PhD, founding director of the Autism Research Institute, estimates that there are now a minimum of 250,000 autistic children in America, a 10 to 15-fold increase in the past 50 or so years. Dr. Rimland, internationally recognized as a leading expert in the field of autism, has publically stated that he believes current childhood vaccine programs are one of the major causes for the current epidemic of autism.1

The US Committee on Children, Youth, and Families has estimated there are now 7.5 million American children with developmental delay compared with 4.8 million in 1991. Of these, 30% are thought to be autistic or have autistic tendencies .2

It is true that statistics are subject to question, but the real scope of the problem can be gained by talking with veteran elementary school teachers, and I have talked with many of them. Without exception in my experience, they emphatically confirm that there has been a dramatic and widespread increase among school children in learning and behavioral disorders attention deficit and hyperactivity, and children requiring special education. These changes appear most notable since the 1970's.

Dawbarns Law Firm of England has published a paper in which they report on over 600 instances of side effects following the MMR and MR vaccines, which were introduced in England in 1988.3 These include 202 cases of autism, 97 of epilepsy, 40 with hearing and vision problems, and 41 with 100 behavioral and learning problems, the latter in older children. Although British health officials deny a relationship of these conditions with the vaccines, Dawbarns has accounts of over 200 parents who believe that their children were normal before they were vaccinated, and who can point to nothing (other than the vaccine) which could account for the deterioration in their children's conditions.

The Physician's Desk Reference, in its section on the MMR vaccine, states that complications from MMR, such as encephalitis and optic neuritis, occur "very rarely." This is the conventional view, sincerely held by a majority of doctors, but where does the truth lie? Could it be that adverse consequences to MMR vaccine are occurring on a larger scale than officially recognized?

Hypothetical model for MMR vaccine as a cause of encephalitis Nerve cells of the brain function by conducting nerve impulses, Much like electrical wiring, these cells require insulation to function normally. This insulation is provided by myelin sheaths, made up largely of fatty material. For the most part myelination of nerve cells of the brain does not commence until after birth. Most is laid down during the first 5 years of normal development.

It is now generally thought that the process of encephalitis, whether from wild viruses of live-virus vaccines, is associated with an interference with the myelination process brought about by the development of antibodies against myelin basic protein, a constituent of the myelin sheaths .4

In theory there are several mechanisms whereby the MMR vaccine could have increased potency to induce harmful autoantibodies (antibodies which attack the body's own tissues and organs, including the myelin sheathes), once injected into the human system.

First and perhaps foremost, MMR is incubated in chick embryo culture medium, which necessarily includes precursors of all the organ systems of the chick, including myelin basic protein. Merck Pharmaceuticals, which produces MMR vaccine, claims that all traces of the chick embryo are removed before the vaccine is released for use. This may be true, but it is probably irrelevant as it does not take into account the process of mobile genetic elements, more commonly referred to as "jumping genes." Viruses being made up entirely of genetic material, they are highly susceptible to this process. It has been shown that viruses are genetically changed by accepting genetic material from cell cultures.' The genetic imprint of the chick myelin basic protein, which is foreign to the human system because of its chick origin, may be programmed to induce antibodies against human myelin basic protein, once injected into the human system. This in turn, potentially resulting in encephalitis.

The second theoretical reason is that the MMR vaccine is injected by needle directly into the system. This differs, from the natural infections which are "cushioned" or buffered by the mucosal immune system (Secretary IgA) of the respiratory tract. By passing this mucosal immune system, the injection may carry greater potency for harmful autoantibody formation.

Third, measles virus carries protein similar to those found in myelin sheaths 6 so that antibodies induced by the measles vaccine may cross-react harmfully with myelin. **

**To read the rest of the article, please click the following link http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/01/02/mmr-vaccine-part-three.aspx

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