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Is There a ‘Regressive Phenotype’ of Autism Spectrum Disorder Associated with the Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine? A CPEA Study

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders volume 36, pages 299–316 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

A multi-site study of 351 children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and 31 typically developing children used caregiver interviews to describe the children’s early acquisition and loss of social-communication milestones. For the majority of children with ASD who had experienced a regression, pre-loss development was clearly atypical. Children who had lost skills also showed slightly poorer outcomes in verbal IQ and social reciprocity, a later mean age of onset of autistic symptoms, and more gastrointestinal symptoms than children with ASD and no regression. There was no evidence that onset of autistic symptoms or of regression was related to measles-mumps-rubella vaccination. The implications of these findings for the existence of a ‘regressive phenotype’ of ASD are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the participation of the families in all sites in the Collaborative Programs for Excellence in Autism (CPEA), supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the National Institute for Deafness and Communication Disorders (NIDCD), particularly HD 35482 to the last author. The help of Colleen Hall, Kathryn Larson, Gwendolyn Young, Deborah Anderson, Matthew Brown, Amanda Edgell, Kaite Gotham, Daniel Karstofsky, Adrienne Lomangino, Margaret Kim, Jennifer Cooper, Amanda Taylor, Angela Fish, Norma Harary, Andrew Pickles, and Efi Sichondis is also gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA

    Jennifer Richler, Rhiannon Luyster, Susan Risi & Wan-Ling Hsu

  2. University of Washington, Seattle, USA

    Geraldine Dawson & Raphael Bernier

  3. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, USA

    Michelle Dunn

  4. University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Aurora, USA

    Susan Hepburn

  5. University of Rochester, Rochester, USA

    Susan L. Hyman

  6. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA

    William M. McMahon & Julie Goudie-Nice

  7. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA

    Nancy Minshew

  8. University of California-Davis, Davis, USA

    Sally Rogers

  9. University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA

    Marian Sigman

  10. University of California-Irvine, Irvine, USA

    M. Anne Spence & Wendy A. Goldberg

  11. Boston University, Boston, USA

    Helen Tager-Flusberg

  12. Yale University, New Haven, USA

    Fred R. Volkmar

  13. Autism and Communication Disorders Center, University of Michigan, 1111 East Catherine Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2054, USA

    Catherine Lord

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  1. Jennifer Richler
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  2. Rhiannon Luyster
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  3. Susan Risi
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  7. Michelle Dunn
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  8. Susan Hepburn
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  14. Marian Sigman
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  15. M. Anne Spence
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  16. Wendy A. Goldberg
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  18. Fred R. Volkmar
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  19. Catherine Lord
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Correspondence to Catherine Lord.

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Richler, J., Luyster, R., Risi, S. et al. Is There a ‘Regressive Phenotype’ of Autism Spectrum Disorder Associated with the Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine? A CPEA Study. J Autism Dev Disord 36, 299–316 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-005-0070-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-005-0070-1

Keywords

  • Autism spectrum disorder
  • language development
  • regression
  • Autism Diagnostic Interview - Revised (ADI-R)
  • measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine
  • gastrointestinal disorders