Scientists in America have reported the first independent corroboration of the research findings of Dr Andrew Wakefield, the specialist who has questioned the safety of the childhood MMR vaccine.

Dr Arthur Krigsman, from New York University School of Medicine, has observed serious intestinal inflammation in autistic children identical to that described by the controversial British doctor and his colleagues in a research paper four years ago.

Dr Krigsman's discovery is significant because it independently supports Dr Wakefield's conclusion that a previously unidentified and devastating combination of bowel and brain disease is afflicting young children.

Dr Wakefield has seen nearly 200 previously normal youngsters who apparently developed the combined behavior and digestive problems after receiving the three-in-one measles, mumps and rubella.

Pathologists at Trinity College, Dublin, have since identified measles virus in bowel tissue samples from 75 of these children and now claim to have evidence that the virus comes from MMR.

All the children had a definite diagnosis of autism and had come to him because they had symptoms of serious digestive problems, such as pain, constipation and diarrhea, for which no explanation could be found.

"Our findings, which are independent of Dr Wakefield's findings, completely support his explanation and his observations of the abnormalities in the bowels of these children," he said.

The intestines of the children were "not normal", he added. One 13-year-old autistic boy, who had become so violent that his parents had wanted to institutionalise him, had the "worst case" of inflammation of the colon the doctor had ever seen through a fibre-optic scope.

Dr Krigsman, an experienced consultant pediatric gastroenterologist and an assistant professor at the university, told the committee that he did not know whether his patients' illnesses were linked to MMR. However, he now plans to have the biopsies he took during the examinations tested independently to check for evidence of measles virus infection.

Dr Krigsman's research was among presentations described as "significant findings" by Dan Burton, an Indiana congressman chairing the Congressional committee.

Doctors in Britain and America are recognizing more autistic children than ever. The US National Institute of Health estimates that one American child in 250 is affected, compared with one in 10,000 a decade ago. A recent survey by the National Autistic Society in England suggested that one in 86 primary school pupils may have the condition.

News.Telegraph.Co.Uk June 23, 2002