I thought that the theory for linking vaccines to autism had to do with the use of methylmercury as a preservative. Methylmercury is a known neurological toxin, here is a great resource...<p><a href="http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/SafetyAvailability/VaccineSafety/ucm096228.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/SafetyAvailability...</a><p>The fact that this article brings up the fact that Wakefield had a patent in the same area as his research seems fishy to me.<p>"The panel resurrected and upheld most, if not all, of the main charges against Wakefield, such as his undeclared conflict of interest in having filed a patent relating to treatments for bowel conditions a year before his Lancet study appeared. "The panel therefore rejects the proposition put forward by your [Wakefield's] counsel that third-party perceived conflicts of interest did not fall within the relevant definition at the time," it concludes."<p>I used to be a research scientist and it was common place for researchers (or their institutions) to file patents on research that led to publications. No one I know ever listed this sort of thing as a conflict of interest. It sounds like this counsel might be reaching to try and discredit Dr. Wakefield.<p>Sadly their is more politics in science than most people want to believe.