Follow-up report on autism in congenital rubella

Abstract

A longitudinal study was conducted of 243 children with congenital rubella. In this sample a high rate of autism and a high rate of recovery were observed. Examination of the data suggested that the rubella virus was the primary etiologic agent. It is hypothesized that the course of autism was that of a chronic infection in which recovery, chronicity, improvement, worsening, and delayed appearance of the autistic syndrome all were found. Other rubella consequences such as blindness, deafness, and cardiac and neuromuscular defects remained present except as modified by operations and prostheses. Degree of mental retardation initially was related to the outcome of autism but shifts in mental retardation over time did not correlate significantly for the group with shift in the autistic symptoms.

The genetics of autistic disorders and its clinical relevance: a review of the literature

“…Numerous case reports exist that reported associations of maternal thalidomide use, 70 maternal valproic acid use 67,71,72 or maternal alcohol abuse 73,74 during pregnancy. The association of congenital rubella with autism has been studied in a longitudinal study on 243 children with congenital rubella, 75,76 of whom 7% developed typical or atypical autism. With about 2%, another relatively frequent medical condition in AD is cerebral palsy.…”

Technical Report: The Pediatrician's Role in the Diagnosis and Management of Autistic Spectrum Disorder in Children

“…46 Although autism seems to be mainly genetic in origin, a number of environmental effects may play a role in modulating the autism phenotype, indicating a multifactorial mode of inheritance in some cases. A relationship between congenital rubella and autism was noted in the 1970s, 47,48 and more recently, one has been shown between ASD and early first trimester thalidomide exposure. 49 Although a group of investigators in the United Kingdom has hypothesized that administration of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine was associated with an increased risk of ASD, 50 this hypothesis has not been substantiated by more in-depth research.…”

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“…Seasonality phenomena have also been reported for patients with congenital disorders such as Down syndrome (Harlap, 1974;Jongbloet & Vrieze, Relatively few studies have looked at birth patterns of autistic patients. This is remarkable, given the fact that the connection between pre-and perinatal complications, on the one hand, and autism, on the other, is well established (e.g., Chess, 1971Chess, , 1977Gillberg, 1990a;Prior, 1987). Thus it is conceivable that seasonally linked variables contribute to vulnerability of the fetus, thereby raising the risk of autism.…”