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New Research Shows No Link Between Vaccine And Autism

There's been concern for some parents that vaccines cause autism. Now new research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) may ease the mind of parents when it comes to vaccines.

Researchers looked at almost 100,000 children and say there's no association between getting the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (MMR) and autism. Even among children who might be at risk because they have an older sibling with the disorder. Dr. Tom Frazier, the director of Cleveland clinic's center for autism says he hopes this changes the focus on autism.

"What we need to focus on is the fact that autism is a genetic disorder. We're looking for the causes. We already have some behavioral treatments that can be quite helpful for kids, and so let's not pretend that children can avoid autism by avoiding things. Instead, let's focus our attention on getting kids that are diagnosed appropriate treatment," said Dr. Frazier.

Get more information on the research at the JAMA website.

Autism affects about one in 68 children in the United States and about one percent worldwide.

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