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MMR doctor Andrew Wakefield fixed data on autism

Almost as shocking as the
faked report is that such conclusions would be
drawn from the study of only 12
children.

by 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.

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.


— Brian Deer
The Times
2009-02-08
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5683671.ece

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