One of the more prominent figures in the debate regarding the cause of autism is Jenny McCarthy. However, she is not a doctor or a medical expert; rather, McCarthy is an actress, appearing in movies such as Scream 3 and shows such as In the Motherhood. What made her a prominent figure in this issue is the fact that she is one of the few who bravely faced millions of people through her interviews in television shows and various interviews to say that autism is caused by vaccines, specifically MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccines. Her son, she said, started having autism symptoms when he was around 15 months ago, right after he received numerous MMR vaccines. She has released numerous books on the topic, such as the most recent Healing and Preventing Autism with Dr. Jerry Kartzinel. Many people were expectedly skeptical with her claims. After all, she was no expert, what gave her the right to claim such unaccepted testimonies? But her claim is not alone—many parents also claim that MMR vaccines have indeed caused the autism of their children.

In any case, is there a basis to this claim? How did these vaccines cause autism? And if this is true, is there a cure for autism?

To be sure, it is not the vaccine itself that is the culprit. Rather, it is the substances in the vaccines that supposed cause this brain development disorder. Thiomersal, an organomercury compound, is said to be responsible for autism. This substance is used as a preservative in vaccines since vaccines were started being used in the 1930s. The fact that autism did not exist before people had to receive thiomersal into their bodies can already be seen as a proof that vaccines can indeed cause autism.

But how does thiomersal cause autism?

Thiomersal, or mercury, is a heavy metal substance that the body cannot easy expel using normal, natural means (for instance, those who experienced heavy metal poisoning receive a treatment called chelation in order to remove the chemicals from the body). Needless to say, when these harmful chemicals remain in the body, they can cause harm. After all, these chemicals are proven to be harmful. Now, it has been said in reports and various researches that the effect of thiomersal poisoning directly affects the brain. It hinders the brain's development. In short, thiomersal poisoning damages one's brain in a way that it fails to develop normally. Or, in other words, autism.

Although most vaccines do have thiomersal, MMR vaccines are often seen as the culprit here because they are the vaccines usually administered to infants.

There have been numerous researches, papers, and other medical surveys that try to prove and disprove the effect of mercury in the body. However, one of the more important proof for the likes of Jenny McCarthy is the case of Hannah Poling. Just like McCarthy's son, Poling was growing up normally and were not exhibiting any autism symptoms until she received numerous vaccines (MMR vaccines, among them). When the case went public, the court sided with the Polings. This is, of course, a victory for those who have been trying to prove vaccines cause autism.

Of course, many sectors are trying to prove that autism is caused by other factors just as well. But the link between autism and vaccines can be seen as a small step towards fully understanding the disorder.