Dr. Staci Bilbo and Dr. Jaclyn Schwarz have been leaders in research relating to the effects of immune stimulation early in life and how it affects brain function later in life.

One of the big questions they have sought answers to is why are boys more affected by one set of neurological disorders, such as autism, while girls appear to have a greater incidence of others, such as depression and anxiety later in life.

While a great many things have been looked at, including testosterone and estrogen receptors in the brain, the important factor appears to be the difference in the number of immune glial cells, primarily microglia, existing in the brain during different stages of development.

According to their report in the journal “Human Behavior,” early on in life boy babies have much higher numbers of brain microglia than do girls. This means that if they are exposed to either infections or vaccines early in life, the boys are more likely to develop autism.

Girls, on the other hand, have much higher microglia cell numbers in certain parts of their brain during adolescence than do boys.

Immune stimulation, either from natural infections or vaccines during adolescence can cause depression or anxiety in girls.

Dr. Bilbo has done similar research for other problems, and has shown that immune stimulation either while the baby is in the womb or soon after birth can “prime” the brain’s microglial immune cells.

As adults, such individuals are extremely sensitive to any immune stimulation, whether it is natural (as with infections) or especially with repeated vaccinations.

In fact, the overactivity of the brain’s immune system can last into old age.

Interestingly, older people naturally have more active microglia, putting them at a much higher risk of degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and ALS.

If these elderly persons had immune activation as babies, they are at a much higher risk than the elderly who had no infections or fewer vaccines as a baby.

This certainly should make us rethink our vaccine policy, especially when it comes to vaccinating pregnant women and newborn babies.