VOA标准英语2010年-US Court Finds No Link Between Ingredi

Autism spectrum¹ disorder² is a complex neurological disorder that affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with others.

For decades some parents, researchers and doctors have debated a possible link between autism and vaccines⁴ that contain the preservative⁵ thimerosal. Thousands of parents with autistic children took their case to court when their children developed autism after being vaccinated⁶. But a U.S. federal court says it sees no evidence of a connection.

The court's decision came as a blow to the more than 5,000 families who say that the mercury in thimerosal caused their children's autism.

Autism spectrum disorder is a complex neurological disorder that affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. Treatments are often expensive.

In order to get financial compensation from the government, the families had to prove that thimerosal in vaccines caused autism in their children. 

Rebecca Estepp of San Diego, has a 12 year old son with autism.  She was one of the families that helped to bring the case to a special branch of federal claims court. "I was disappointed but not surprised. Vaccine³ court is a system where government attorneys defended a government program using government funded science, decided⁷ by government judges," she said. "I don't think these children had much of a chance."

The court released 600 pages of findings and said  there is no sound evidence connecting thimerosal  to autism. But the anti-vaccine groups dismissed the ruling. A national survey finds that one in four parents in the U.S. believe that vaccines containing thimerosal cause autism in healthy children and one in eight have refused at least one ecommended dose of vaccine.

That is not surprising says Arthur Allen, the author of "Vaccine," a book about vaccines and their controversies⁸. "At some level, debates like this never really end.  Like, there are still people who believe that fluoride in water is a government plot," he said.

Dr. Paul Offitt of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia says it is time to move on and find the real cause for autism. "I think today's ruling should bring comfort to parents who can finally put to rest the notion that vaccine was the problem. We can start now to focus our attention on the real cause or causes of autism,  he said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that autism affects almost one percent of children in the U.S. Some link autism to a mother's age. Others to an autism gene⁹. Still other research blames environmental toxins¹⁰.

Inspite of several ground breaking studies on autism, there is no single treatment or cure, although experts say certain therapies and educational approaches reduce the challenges associated with the condition.
 

1 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

2 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

3 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

4 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

5 preservative   

n.防腐剂；防腐料；保护料；预防药

参考例句：

• New timber should be treated with a preservative.新采的圆木应进行防腐处理。
• Salt is a common food preservative.盐是一种常用的食物防腐剂。

6 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 controversies   

争论

参考例句：

• We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议，我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句

9 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

10 toxins   

n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
• Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》