[Update - Sunday Times Defies Press Complaints Commission – News Release 9/Jul/09]
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Here we expose one of the biggest lies of this century.
The claim that The Royal Free Hospital London’s and Andrew Wakefield’s research into children with autistic spectrum disorders was ever “discredited” are shown here to be false. We provide the references.
The false “discredited research” claims were first made in the now discredited journalism of freelancer Brian Deer in The Sunday Times London: [ Sunday Times Ordered ‘Remove Wakefield MMR “Data Fixing” Story’ and see related stories below]
The result of The Sunday Times’ “journalism” – republished wrongfully around the world ever since – has been that hundreds of thousands of children suffering these medical conditions are being denied the medical help they need but which is available.
The overall boss for The Sunday Times, James Murdoch, CEO of News International, is also on the Board of MMR vaccine supplier and litigation defendant GlaxoSmithKline. Murdoch’s Glaxo job is expressly to oversee:-
“external issues that might have the potential for serious impact upon the group’s business and reputation“:[James Murdoch takes GlaxoSmithKline role - Chris Tryhorn The Guardian Monday 2 February 2009.
Some have now dubbed the paper "The Sunday Glaxo".
The principal findings of the eminent team of 13 authors from The Royal Free Hospital, London a teaching hospital with an international reputation were published in a 1998 Lancet journal paper. These were of "intestinal inflammation" in children with an autistic spectrum disorder [pervasive developmental disorder] and “intestinal symptoms”. The findings have also been replicated by other researchers [references below] and have never been retracted or discredited. Not one of the 13 authors has ever retracted those findings.
Dr Richard Horton, editor of the Lancet and one of the architects of the ongoing GMC trial of Dr Andrew Wakefield has confirmed that:-
The essential clinical findings remain unchallenged as far as their accuracy is concerned”
“Half-Truths and Baloney“. British Medical Journal 28 June 2009, Bill Welsh, President Autism Treatment Trust
The additional possibility of a link between the MMR vaccine, autism and the “Lancet children’s” conditions was raised in the 1998 paper in a single sentence as an “Interpretation” under that express heading.
It is logically impossible to retract the possibility of an association. And the parental histories of the children’s conditions remain what they are as found by the Royal Free hospital experts and published in The Lancet in 1998, so the possibility remains:-
Interpretation. We identified associated gastrointestinal disease and developmental regression in a group of previously normal children, which was generally associated in time with possible environmental triggers.“
Despite this and under severe pressure from UK media health and medical authorities, 10 of the 13 authors “retracted” the “Interpretation“ in the hope that would put an end to the matter. Three of the authors did not retract the “Interpretation“.
The principal finding of the Lancet paper was made by Dr Dhillon at The Royal Free Hospital who was and is independent of Dr Wakefield [intestinal pathology (inflammation and lymph node swelling) in children with an autistic spectrum disorder [pervasive developmental disorder] and intestinal symptoms]. This was revealed in the long running General Medical Council proceedings against eminent gastroenterologists Professors Murch, Walker-Smith and Dr Wakefield.
The Sunday Times must also know this as their journalist Brian Deer has been present at almost every day of the proceedings. He and The Sunday Times have refused to publish any of the defence evidence. Deer is the complainant in the GMC case and has watched each of his claims demolished by Defence evidence. Instead he has made new claims now shown not to stand up: Sunday Times Ordered ‘Remove Wakefield MMR “Data Fixing” Story’
In his evidence in the General Medical Council Dr Horton said he had the highest regard for the method in the 1998 Lancet paper. Horton said the Lancet paper was an excellent example of a ‘case series’. That this was a standard and an entirely reputable way of reporting on a possible new syndrome. He likened it to how the first cases of HIV/AIDS were reported in the early 80s and how the new variant CJD issue broke more recently. He said unequivocally that the science reported in the 1998 Lancet paper ‘still stands’ and that he ‘wished, wished, wished‘ that the clock could be turned back and the paper be considered in the light it was first presented, without everything that followed. Horton was happy to say that Dr Wakefield had been honest throughout his dealings with the Lancet.
As President of The Autism Treatment Trust, Mr Bill Welsh confirmed in comments in the British Medical Journal responses:
The peer reviewers and other witnesses at the GMC trial have been most praiseworthy of the science, science that could benefit hundreds of thousands of autistic children worldwide. Lest we forget, Dr Andrew Wakefield and his team identified a new form of bowel disease affecting autistic children, an incredible discovery and one that has been lost in the ensuing brouhaha.“Half-Truths and Baloney“. British Medical Journal 28 June 2009, Bill Welsh, President Autism Treatment Trust
Papers Supporting the Original Finding
The claim to have found a new inflammatory bowel disease published in the 1998 Lancet paper as ‘consistent gastrointestinal findings’ involving ‘nonspecific colitis’ were supported first by a series of peer reviewed papers including in The Lancet itself:-
Furlano R, Anthony A, Day R, Brown A, Mc Garvey L, Thomson M, et al. “Colonic CD8 and T cell filtration with epithelial damage in children with autism.“ J Pediatr 2001;138:366-72.
Sabra S, Bellanti JA, Colon AR. “Ileal lymphoid hyperplasia, non-specific colitis and pervasive developmental disorder in children”. The Lancet 1998;352:234-5.
Torrente F., Machado N., Perez-Machado M., Furlano R., Thomson M., Davies S., Wakefield AJ, Walker-Smith JA, Murch SH. “Enteropathy with T cell infiltration and epithelial IgG deposition in autism.” Molecular Psychiatry. 2002;7:375-382
Wakefield AJ, Anthony A, Murch SH, Thomson M, Montgomery SM, Davies S, Walker-Smith JA. “Enterocolitis in children with developmental disorder.” American Journal of Gastroenterology 2000;95:2285-2295
Ashwood P, Anthony A, Pellicer AA, Torrente F, Wakefield AJ. “Intestinal lymphocyte populations in children with regressive autism: evidence for extensive mucosal immunopathology.” Journal of Clinical Immunology, 2003;23:504-517.
Papers Replicating The Original Finding
Another series of papers replicated the findings of The Royal Free Hospital London’s 1998 Lancet paper which journalist Brian Deer and The Sunday Times have falsely claimed is discredited:-
Gonzalez, L. et al., “Endoscopic and Histological Characteristics of the Digestive Mucosa in Autistic Children with gastro-Intestinal Symptoms“. Arch Venez Pueric Pediatr, 2005;69:19-25.
Balzola, F., et al., “Panenteric IBD-like disease in a patient with regressive autism shown for the first time by wireless capsule enteroscopy: Another piece in the jig-saw of the gut-brain syndrome?” American Journal of Gastroenterology, 2005. 100(4): p. 979- 981.
S. Walker, K. Hepner, J. Segal, A. Krigsman “Persistent Ileal Measles Virus in a Large Cohort of Regressive Autistic Children with Ileocolitis and Lymphonodular Hyperplasia: Revisitation of an Earlier Study” (last accessed June 2007) (paper submitted for publication)
Balzola F et al . “Autistic enterocolitis: confirmation of a new inflammatory bowel disease in an Italian cohort of patients.” Gastroenterology 2005;128(Suppl. 2);A-303.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
If you are concerned write to your political representative. Don’t complain when politicians do nothing if you do not write and keep on writing. It is their job to represent you. All our kids deserve proper science to protect their safety.
Contacting Your UK or US Political Representative
USA
UK Residents – Write To Your Politicians – Do It Now!
To email your MP, all you need to know is your MP’s name. MP’s email addresses are in the form:-
surname.initial@parliament.uk.
To find out who your MP is click on this link:-
More You Can Do
If you found this information helpful – share this page with others:-
- email the links to this page to others
- post links to this page
- on your website
- on your blog
- in comments on relevant websites and blogs
- email them to health journalists and journalists from your local newspapers, TV and radio stations – [phone them for details of email addresses or look them up on the internet]
Here is a link for you to copy and paste :-
Sunday Times’ Discredited – Wakefield’s Autism Research Verified
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RELATED STORIES – [Remember - Read it here on CHS first]
Sunday Times Ordered ‘Remove Wakefield MMR “Data Fixing” Story’
Sunday Times’ Stories Collapse In GMC Wakefield Prosecution
Times’ Group Journo Costs GMC £1M – But Blames MMR Doc!
Sunday Times’ MMR Lies Nailed At Last – Editor Witherow Should Resign
Brian Deer’s Boss Joins MMR Manufacturer Glaxo’s Board
Sunday Times Journalist In Cedillo Vaccine Case Controversy
Sunday Times Journalist Admits Wakefield MMR Data Fixing Allegation Is Unqualified Speculation
Sunday Times’ London Editor Must Quit Over False “Wakefield MMR Data Fixing” Story
US Federal Court, US Justice Dept & The Sunday Times – More Questions Than Answers
Sunday Times Journalist Made Up Wakefield MMR Data Fixing Allegation
Sunday Times – Sinks To New Low With Yet More MMR Junk Journalism
Filed under: ADHD, Aspergers, Barak Obama, Child Health Safety, Disease Statistics, Hannah Poling, John Poling, MMR, Obama, Vaccine Damage, Vaccines, autism, vaccination, vaccine, vaccine court | Tagged: ADHD, Andrew Wakefield, Aspergers, autism, Barak Obama, Baron Cohen, CDC, David Kirby, fraud, genetic, genetics, Hannah Poling, immunisation, Jon Poling, Julie Gerberding, MMR, Obama, Professor Baron Cohen, Professor Simon Baron Cohen, research, research fraud, Simon Baron Cohen, vaccination, vaccine, vaccine adverse reaction, Vaccine Damage, vaccine risks, Vaccines, Wakefield
i am pleased this has not been entirely buried with regard to glaxo and the power it wields over its minions
perhaps it is naive to believe James Murdoch might behave honourably.
Being in the money is far more relevant , and tangible than being in the right
Your implication that The Sunday Times is discredited because James Murdoch is on a GSK board is interesting. Murdoch started this position on the 20th of May 2009 and will earn 75,000GPB. Brian Deer has been investigating Andrew Wakefield since at least 2004, and, as far as I am aware, Brian Deer published his last article on this matter on the 8th of February 2009. That Murdoch, a man worth billions would sacrifice the integrity of one of his flagship newspapers for 75,000 a year, and that he somehow had the foreknowledge to do so 5 years before the cash started rolling in seems a little far-fetched.
And bringing conflict of interest into a posting praising Andrew Wakefield (paid 400,000+ by law firms representing Autism sufferers and proud owner of a patent for a single measles vaccine) is really throwing stones in glass houses, don’t you think?
However, I do commend you on your breathtaking use of “quotation marks” as if everything contained therein immediately becomes false.
I won’t even bother commenting on the science, which is pretty much irrefutable (MMR does not cause autism, sorry “MMR causes autism”) to anybody who actually looks at the totality of evidence rather than the usual cherry picking that occurs on this site.
I wonder how Judy Miklovits statements during her tV interview about a study on autistic children having XMRV retrovirus and explaining the way vaccines work that could cause the virus to get beyond the control of the immune system, may help comfirm Dr Wakefields findings.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/is-autism-associated-with_b_316986.html
or
how Dr Bransfield’s ( a psychiatrist) work with Autistic children which has found some to be suffering with Lyme disease and on treatment with antibiotics their symptoms improve. He acknowledges that Autism is complex and not just one factor. Vaccines could be a trigger as is suspected for some lyme Patients.
http://www.lymeinducedautism.com/
What a pity neither of these are reported in UK press.
What a pity the discredited 2006 Lyme Disease guidelines which are currently under review is preventing most doctors from diagnosing and adequately treating Lyme Disease patients.