Despite retraction, some LI parents believe in vaccine-autism link

For years, scientists have dismissed theories that there is a link between vaccinations and autism, running contrary to the beliefs of many parents of children with autism.

Despite mounting evidence such a link doesn't exist - including this week's retraction of a well-known study espousing a connection between autism and the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine - many autism advocates say they won't rule one out.

"The bottom line is they're saying, 'OK, it's not this, it's not the MMR vaccine,' but they're not saying what does cause it," said Lynn Filosa, treasurer and chief financial officer of Autism United in Hicksville, who has an 11-year-old daughter with autism. "What are the answers? I need something solid and I need everyone to agree on it. Nobody's kind of gotten to the root of it all and the numbers are still growing."

On Tuesday, the British medical journal The Lancet retracted a 1998 study by British physician Andrew Wakefield linking the MMR vaccine to autism and bowel disease. He also is under investigation by a British medical disciplinary board.

Meanwhile, two recent studies found clusters of autism cases in California, suggesting environmental or social factors, not vaccines.

Medical experts say this week's news confirmed what has been long known - that vaccines are not to blame for autism. "I think this is going to be the first of many types of retractions, but there is that camp that's still going to believe that science is the bad guy," said Liza Geonie, a behavioral analyst at Kidz Therapy Services in Garden City. "People want an answer."

John Pomeroy, associate professor of pediatrics and founding director of The Cody Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities at Stony Brook University, said the debate likely won't be settled until a cause is determined. "When we get to the point when we can understand causes of autism in a more distinct way, that's going to be the real breakthrough," he said.

Evelyn Ain, publisher of Spectrum, a national autism-related magazine published in Hicksville, has a 10-year-old son diagnosed with autism. This week's news, she said, does nothing to quell doubts about vaccines. "I don't think we can discredit anything at this point," she said. "I question why it took them 12 years to retract that story."

But Assemb. Marc Alessi (D-Shoreham), who agrees vaccines need more study, said the news raised doubts in his mind. "It's welcome news because I'd rather that the debate be over and that there's nothing to worry about."

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