--- In AutAdvo@yahoogroups.com, "Ari Ne'eman" <Aneeman@...> wrote:

February 8, 2009
MMR doctor Andrew Wakefield fixed data on autism Brian Deer

THE doctor who sparked the scare over the safety of the MMR vaccine for
children changed and misreported results in his research, creating the
appearance of a possible link with autism, a Sunday Times
investigation has
found.

Confidential medical documents and interviews with witnesses have
established that Andrew Wakefield manipulated patients' data, which
triggered fears that the MMR triple vaccine to protect against measles,
mumps and rubella was linked to the condition.

The research was published in February 1998 in an article in The Lancet
medical journal. It claimed that the families of eight out of 12 children
attending a routine clinic at the hospital had blamed MMR for their
autism,
and said that problems came on within days of the jab. The team also
claimed
to have discovered a new inflammatory bowel disease underlying the
children's conditions.

However, our investigation, confirmed by evidence presented to the General
Medical Council (GMC), reveals that: In most of the 12 cases, the
children's
ailments as described in The Lancet were different from their hospital and
GP records. Although the research paper claimed that problems came on
within
days of the jab, in only one case did medical records suggest this was
true,
and in many of the cases medical concerns had been raised before the
children were vaccinated. Hospital pathologists, looking for inflammatory
bowel disease, reported in the majority of cases that the gut was normal.
This was then reviewed and the Lancet paper showed them as abnormal.
Times Archive

- 1922: Measles danger, a warning to parents

<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/viewArticle.arc?articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-19\
22-03-24-09-024&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1922-03-24-09>


- Infant schools closed

<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/viewArticle.arc?articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-19\
22-10-24-09-021&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1922-10-24-09>


- 89 deaths in measles epidemic

<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/viewArticle.arc?articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-19\
22-03-31-09-011&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1922-03-31-09>


- Measures against measles

<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/viewArticle.arc?articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-19\
36-04-24-17-009&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1936-04-24-17>

Related Links

- Hidden records show MMR truth

<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5683643.ece>


- How the MMR scare led to return of measles

<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5683687.ece>


- MMR: Key dates in the crisis

<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5683642.ece>

Despite involving just a dozen children, the 1998 paper's impact was
extraordinary. After its publication, rates of inoculation fell from
92% to
below 80%. Populations acquire "herd immunity" from measles when more than
95% of people have been vaccinated.

Last week official figures showed that 1,348 confirmed cases of measles in
England and Wales were reported last year, compared with 56 in 1998. Two
children have died of the disease.

With two professors, John Walker-Smith and Simon Murch, Wakefield is
defending himself against allegations of serious professional misconduct
brought by the GMC. The charges relate to ethical aspects of the project,
not its findings. All three men deny any misconduct.

Through his lawyers, Wakefield this weekend denied the issues raised
by our
investigation, but declined to comment further.


--
Ari Ne'eman
President
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network
1660 L Street, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036
http://www.autisticadvocacy.org
732.763.5530

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