title: Neuropathology of vaccination in infants and children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Documentation of clinical-pathological features of 37 infants/children whose parents alleged a relationship between vaccination and death or permanent central nervous system (CNS) damage, and sought compensation through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.
  
  
  METHODS
  Of the 5545 claims filed during the 10-year period (1990-1999), CNS tissue was available for evaluation by a pediatric neuropathologist in 37; 33 died and 4 had a biopsy or lobectomy. Most commonly implicated vaccines were DTP/DTaP, followed by MMR and IPV/OPV, but almost all of the vaccines currently given to infants/children were alleged to be responsible for the illness/death. No lesions were found in 5 of 37 (13.5%). The most frequent abnormality consisted of acute anoxic encephalopathy (14 of 37 - 37.8%), consequent to several different causes, such as positional asphyxia, cardio-respiratory arrest during status epilepticus, etc. The remaining children manifested other lesions, including inflammation (5 of 37 - 13.5%), vascular and developmental anomalies (4 each of 37 or 10.6%), cerebral edema and system degeneration (2 each of 37 or 5.4%), and one case of heavy metal exposure in a child living near an abandoned mine (2.2%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was no obvious relationship between type of vaccine (or vaccines simultaneously administered) to time of onset of symptoms, nature of symptoms or the lesions found.
authors.affiliation: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Department of Pathology Main Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. rorke@email.chop.edu
authors.forename: Lucy B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Rorke-Adams
authors.forename: Geoffrey
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Weibel
authors.forename: Rosemary
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Johann-Liang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009420:Nervous System / Q000473:pathology*; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology*; D014611:Vaccination / Q000009:adverse effects*