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A study was conducted to assess the association between mercury from thimerosal-containing vaccines and immune globulins and neuropsychological functioning deficiency. The evidence does not support a causal association due early exposure to mercury at the age of 7 to 10 years.

Investigated two dimensions of the verbal exchange, "here-and-now" v "there-and-then" verbal content and positive v negative affective tone, through use of a feedback device developed by the second author. Feedback enhanced use of affective verbalizations. The positive here-and-now condition enhanced group cohesiveness most. (Author)

Background/Aim: We describe the incidence of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in a large United States cohort. Methods: Between 2000 and 2009, we identified visits with an ICD-9 code for GBS (357.0) from all persons with continuous enrollment for at least 1 year. The primary case definition was restricted to emergency department and inpatient visits. We calculated age-standardized rates and used multivariate Poisson regression to assess variation in rates by sex, age, season and year of diagnosis. We tabulated descriptive characteristics and the positive predictive value (PPV) for a subset of the visits with available medical record review. Results: 1,619 visits with the GBS ICD-9 code were identified from 50,290,898 person-years of observation. After considering the PPV (55%) for record-reviewed visits, the age-standardized incidence rate was approximately 1.72/100,000 person-years. The rate was 40% higher for males and increased by 50% for every 10-year increase in age. The rate was 15% higher in winter and spring compared with summer. Rates were higher in more recent years. Conclusions: GBS rates are higher in males and increase considerably with age. The potential reasons for differences in rates by season and the increased rates in more recent years should be further investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a review conducted by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on the Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule in the U.S. It notes that the ACIP has approved the immunization schedule for 2010 with various recommendations and changes. Among the changes include the licensing of bivalent human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV2) for women.

Context: A link between measles virus-containing vaccines and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been suggested by recent studies. Objective: To address whether receipt or timing of measles-containing vaccine (MCV) increases risk for IBD. Design: A case-control study. Setting: Four large health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that are part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Vaccine Safety Datalink project. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 155 persons with codes from International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision specific for IBD, born between 1958 and 1989 and enrolled from birth to the onset of disease, were identified. Up to 5 controls were matched by sex, HMO, and birth year. Intervention: None. Main Outcome Measures: Risk for IBD, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis. Results: Past vaccination was not associated with an increased risk for Crohn's disease (odds ratio [OR] for measles-mumps-rubella vaccine [MMR], 0.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.08-2.0), ulcerative colitis (OR, 0.8; 95% CI, 0.18-3.56), or IBD (OR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.21-1.68). Risk for IBD was not increased among children vaccinated who were younger than 12 months (OR for MMR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.15-2.45) or aged 12 to 18 months (OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.28-2.59) relative to unvaccinated children. Children vaccinated with MMR who were older than 18 months were at significantly decreased risk for IBD (OR, 0.16; 95% CI, 0.04-0.68). Neither past vaccination nor age at vaccination with other MCV was associated with increased risk for Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, or IBD. Risk for Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, or IBD was not elevated in the time immediately following vaccination with either vaccine. Conclusions: Vaccination with MMR or other MCV, or the timing of vaccination early in life, did not increase the risk for IBD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The measles-mumps-rubella vaccine has been associated with immune thrombocytopenia purpura in 2 small studies., Methods: By using the Vaccine Safety Datalink, we identified measles-mumps-rubella-vaccinated children aged 1 to 18. A case of immune thrombocytopenia purpura was defined as a patient with a platelet count of < or = 50,000/microL with clinical bleeding and normal red and white blood cell indices. The immune thrombocytopenia purpura incidence rates during exposed (42 days after vaccination) and unexposed time periods were determined. A retrospective cohort of vaccinated children was used to determine incident rate ratios for children aged 1 to 18 years, 12 to 23 months, and 12 to 15 months., Results: A total of 1,036,689 children received 1,107,814 measles-mumps-rubella vaccinations; there were 259 confirmed patients with immune thrombocytopenia purpura. Because only 5 exposed cases occurred after age 2, analyses were limited to children aged 12 to 23 months. Exposed patients aged 12 to 23 months had lower median platelet counts than those who were unexposed and had similar median duration of illness (11 vs 10 days). The incident rate ratio was highest for children aged 12 to 15 months at 7.10. The incident rate ratio for boys aged 12 to 15 months was 14.59, and the incident rate ratio for girls in the same age group was 3.22. Seventy-six percent of immune thrombocytopenia purpura cases in children aged 12 to 23 months were attributable to measles-mumps-rubella vaccination. This vaccine causes 1 case of immune thrombocytopenia purpura per every 40,000 doses., Conclusion: Measles-mumps-rubella vaccine that is given in the second year of life is associated with an increased risk of immune thrombocytopenia purpura.