Vaccines, Brain Changes, and Autism

Researchers from both the University of Pittsburgh and Texas' Thoughtful House Center for Children have found that infant monkeys who receive the vaccine schedule used in the 1990s have amazingly similar brain changes to those seen in children with autism. 

Through use of scanning techniques that evaluated brain growth and function, the researchers were able to observe distinct differences in the brain development of vaccinated versus non-vaccinated animals. 

Through the entire study, vaccinated animals were found to have an increase in total brain volume.  Interestingly, this is also a common attribute of children with autism.  After the 12 month vaccines, two notable findings were made: (1) the amygdala, the area of the brain associated with emotional response, began to show abnormalities, and (2) extraordinary differences were seen in the brain scans of the vaccinated versus the non-vaccinated animals.

Additionally, the study found that animals vaccinated with hepatitis B on their first day of life had delayed acquisition of vital brain stem reflexes, when compared to non-vaccinated animals.

The findings were recently published in the journal Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis.