Renounced Autism studies II
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 8:45 pm
Thanks to followup by Maria Verderaime:
The position of John Witherow, chief editor of the British newspaper The
Sunday Times London, may be in jeopardy following an escalating debate over
a story about anti-vaccine campaigner Dr. Andrew Wakefield. Freelance
journalist Brian Deer’s shown-to-be-false story alleged that Wakefield
“fixed” data in a Lancet medical journal paper to show a link between the
MMR vaccine, autism and serious bowel disorders in children.
For the allegation in Deer’s story to be true meant that for 10 years, a
single-handed action by Wakefield had to have gone completely unnoticed by
the other 12 authors on the well-known paper. While 10 of the authors have
partially retracted the suggested interpretation in the paper of a possible
link between the MMR vaccine and autism, the bulk of the Lancet paper still
stands and has been replicated in other scientific studies.
The Times also did not mention as part of the story that an investigation
into Wakefield was triggered by a complaint from Brian Deer himself, meaning
that his article was a report on the hearing into his own complaint.
I have enormous respect for Dr. Wakefield, as in my opinion he is one of the
most well-respected academic researchers on autism in the world. This latest
attempt to smear his name, in which freelancer Brian Deer said he “changed
and misreported results in his research, creating the appearance of a
possible link with autism,” has been called out for what it is: fraud.
In order to understand the graveness of this latest attack, it helps to
first know a bit of background.
Sadly, Dr. Wakefield has been persecuted for more than a decade by both
Pharma-funded special interest groups as well as public health officials
maintaining close relationships with vaccine manufacturers.
His crime?
Daring to publish a study in The Lancet in 1998 calling for more scientific
investigation into the possible link between the MMR vaccine and
autism .
What he and colleagues identified was a previously unknown combination of
bowel disease and autism in 12 children. Bowel symptoms are common in
autistic children but had until then been regarded as simply a manifestation
of their behavioral problems.
The finding that these children had real and severe bowel disease was a
groundbreaking discovery in and of itself, but then, against the advice of
others in the team, Dr. Wakefield explained in the paper that eight parents
said their previously normal child had fallen ill after receiving the MMR
inoculation -- a mixture of weakened but live measles, mumps and rubella
virus.
Dr. Wakefield has found evidence of measles virus infection in damaged bowel
tissue from some of the children, and later revealed he had seen 170
children with the bowel effects and
autism ,
and that a majority of the parents involved had said their children fell ill
after being given the MMR vaccine.
After these findings were publicized, rates of MMR vaccine in the UK
promptly fell, Dr. Wakefield was fired from his position and later was
charged with professional misconduct by the UK's General Medical Council
(GMC). The paper was also removed from The Lancet amidst all the
controversy.
It should be noted that through it all, Dr. Wakefield has defended his
findings and said he did not regret his decision to get involved in the MMR
controversy. Back in 2001, he said:
"Losing a London hospital teaching job doesn't do much for my CV but there
are bigger issues at stake. What matters now most of all is what happens to
these children."
Then, just last month, writer Brian Deer published an article in The Sunday
Times London attempting to further tarnish Dr. Wakefield’s reputation by
saying he “fixed” data for the study.
What’s Really Going On Here?
It has now come out that Brian Deer’s allegations were totally false and
amounted to nothing more than a smear campaign. But it’s not just a simple
case of a reporter with mistaken facts, because Brian Deer was the one who
originally furnished allegations against Dr. Wakefield in the first place.
In other words, the GMC’s investigation was triggered by a complaint made by
Deer, so he was essentially reporting on a disciplinary hearing that he
himself instigated.
Ironically, the article came out just days before the U.S. “vaccine
court” ruled
that the MMR vaccine does not cause
autism ,
and Deer is now being challenged to explain his potential role in all of
this
.
On top of that, MMR vaccine manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline has just appointed
James Murdoch, the head of News International and boss of The Sunday Times
(the paper that published Deer’s story) to its board!
The conflict of interest appears so blatant that some have now dubbed The
Sunday Times “The Sunday Glaxo”!
A Reminder to Always Read Between the Lines
Whenever you hear or read something in the news, it is so important to
examine the source and look for any hidden agendas. This is especially true
when it pertains to your health or the health of your children.
It appears the truth may just come out and Dr. Wakefield may get the
vindication he’s deserved all along. In the meantime, if you’re looking for
information to help clear up the whole vaccine controversy in your own mind,
the Related Articles below are an excellent starting point.
Lynn Cremona wrote:
--
Imagine Peace
The position of John Witherow, chief editor of the British newspaper The
Sunday Times London, may be in jeopardy following an escalating debate over
a story about anti-vaccine campaigner Dr. Andrew Wakefield. Freelance
journalist Brian Deer’s shown-to-be-false story alleged that Wakefield
“fixed” data in a Lancet medical journal paper to show a link between the
MMR vaccine, autism and serious bowel disorders in children.
For the allegation in Deer’s story to be true meant that for 10 years, a
single-handed action by Wakefield had to have gone completely unnoticed by
the other 12 authors on the well-known paper. While 10 of the authors have
partially retracted the suggested interpretation in the paper of a possible
link between the MMR vaccine and autism, the bulk of the Lancet paper still
stands and has been replicated in other scientific studies.
The Times also did not mention as part of the story that an investigation
into Wakefield was triggered by a complaint from Brian Deer himself, meaning
that his article was a report on the hearing into his own complaint.
I have enormous respect for Dr. Wakefield, as in my opinion he is one of the
most well-respected academic researchers on autism in the world. This latest
attempt to smear his name, in which freelancer Brian Deer said he “changed
and misreported results in his research, creating the appearance of a
possible link with autism,” has been called out for what it is: fraud.
In order to understand the graveness of this latest attack, it helps to
first know a bit of background.
Sadly, Dr. Wakefield has been persecuted for more than a decade by both
Pharma-funded special interest groups as well as public health officials
maintaining close relationships with vaccine manufacturers.
His crime?
Daring to publish a study in The Lancet in 1998 calling for more scientific
investigation into the possible link between the MMR vaccine and
autism .
What he and colleagues identified was a previously unknown combination of
bowel disease and autism in 12 children. Bowel symptoms are common in
autistic children but had until then been regarded as simply a manifestation
of their behavioral problems.
The finding that these children had real and severe bowel disease was a
groundbreaking discovery in and of itself, but then, against the advice of
others in the team, Dr. Wakefield explained in the paper that eight parents
said their previously normal child had fallen ill after receiving the MMR
inoculation -- a mixture of weakened but live measles, mumps and rubella
virus.
Dr. Wakefield has found evidence of measles virus infection in damaged bowel
tissue from some of the children, and later revealed he had seen 170
children with the bowel effects and
autism ,
and that a majority of the parents involved had said their children fell ill
after being given the MMR vaccine.
After these findings were publicized, rates of MMR vaccine in the UK
promptly fell, Dr. Wakefield was fired from his position and later was
charged with professional misconduct by the UK's General Medical Council
(GMC). The paper was also removed from The Lancet amidst all the
controversy.
It should be noted that through it all, Dr. Wakefield has defended his
findings and said he did not regret his decision to get involved in the MMR
controversy. Back in 2001, he said:
"Losing a London hospital teaching job doesn't do much for my CV but there
are bigger issues at stake. What matters now most of all is what happens to
these children."
Then, just last month, writer Brian Deer published an article in The Sunday
Times London attempting to further tarnish Dr. Wakefield’s reputation by
saying he “fixed” data for the study.
What’s Really Going On Here?
It has now come out that Brian Deer’s allegations were totally false and
amounted to nothing more than a smear campaign. But it’s not just a simple
case of a reporter with mistaken facts, because Brian Deer was the one who
originally furnished allegations against Dr. Wakefield in the first place.
In other words, the GMC’s investigation was triggered by a complaint made by
Deer, so he was essentially reporting on a disciplinary hearing that he
himself instigated.
Ironically, the article came out just days before the U.S. “vaccine
court” ruled
that the MMR vaccine does not cause
autism ,
and Deer is now being challenged to explain his potential role in all of
this
.
On top of that, MMR vaccine manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline has just appointed
James Murdoch, the head of News International and boss of The Sunday Times
(the paper that published Deer’s story) to its board!
The conflict of interest appears so blatant that some have now dubbed The
Sunday Times “The Sunday Glaxo”!
A Reminder to Always Read Between the Lines
Whenever you hear or read something in the news, it is so important to
examine the source and look for any hidden agendas. This is especially true
when it pertains to your health or the health of your children.
It appears the truth may just come out and Dr. Wakefield may get the
vindication he’s deserved all along. In the meantime, if you’re looking for
information to help clear up the whole vaccine controversy in your own mind,
the Related Articles below are an excellent starting point.
Lynn Cremona wrote:
--
Imagine Peace