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. 2002 Nov;7(9):623–632. doi: 10.1093/pch/7.9.623

TABLE 1.

Claims versus facts for ‘leaky gut’

Suggestions of a connection What we know
Dr Andrew Wakefield, England, 1998:
  • studied 12 children (8 with autism; 4 with other developmental delays)

  • 9 of the 12 showed mild intestinal inflammation, reported by parents to have started soon after their MMR vaccination

  • Wakefield suggested an environmental or external cause, but did not immediately make a direct link to the MMR vaccine

  • Wakefield later reported to the American Academy of Pediatrics, suggesting that:
    • – The measles virus in MMR vaccine is different from other forms of the virus
    • – The MMR measles virus causes damage to the intestine or ‘leaky gut’
    • – A damaged intestine leaks toxic intestinal products from the gastrointestinal system, which can then reach the developing brain, resulting in neurological damage and autism
England, 1998:
  • 90% of British children received measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) The majority do not have autism

  • Some autistic children have been shown to have intestinal inflammation with unknown cause, but this problem has occurred whether the children received MMR vaccine or not

  • No other scientific study has found any evidence of measles causing intestinal damage or ‘leaky gut’

  • Wakefield earlier claimed that measles was linked to inflammatory bowel disease, but further studies by others have found no link between the virus and inflammatory bowel disease (33)