Wakefield’s Lancet Paper Vindicated – [Yet Again]

[STOP PRESS: New papers keep emerging – see additions below 22nd May & 5th June 2010]

New independent research presented at the 2010 Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada confirms unequivocally the findings of Dr Andrew Wakefield’s 1998 Lancet paper of an association between autism and serious gastrointestinal disease in children [Full Details Below].

And do vaccines cause autistic conditions?  If you read nothing else we strongly recommend you read this PDF Download:– Text of email from US HRSA to Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News].  In it the US Health Resources Services Administration [HRSA] state to CBS News reporter Sharyl Attkisson

We have compensated cases in which children exhibited an encephalopathy, or general brain disease. Encephalopathy may be accompanied by a medical progression of an array of symptoms including autistic behavior, autism, or seizures.”

Despite all the lies and deceit by health official worldwide, the question was answered when the Hannah  Poling story broke in the USA [see CHS article here].  Hannah developed an autistic condition after 9 vaccines administered the same day.  Under the media spotlight the question was answered by numerous US health officials and agencies and broadcast on nationwide TV news from CBS and CNN.  The answer is “Yes”. Full details with links to the original sources can be found in this CHS article: Vaccination Causes Autism – Say US Government & Merck’s Director of Vaccines. [Blue Text added 10 April 2011]

The new study was conducted by the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network and covered data from 15 treatment and research centers in the United States and Canada.  Of 1185 children aged 2 to18 years with an autistic condition 45% were reported to have GI symptoms. Abdominal pain was most common (59%) followed by constipation (51%), diarrhea (43%), other (40%), nausea (31%) and bloating (26%). Reports of GI symptoms increased with age.  Sleep problems occurred in 70% of children with than those without GI symptoms (30%).  The problems affected all children regardless of gender, ethnic background or intelligence.

Wakefield’s 1998 Lancet case series on 12 children stated:

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.”

A J Wakefield, S H Murch, A Anthony, J Linnell, D M Casson, M Malik, M Berelowitz, A P Dhillon, M A Thomson, P Harvey, A Valentine, S E Davies, J A Walker-Smith “Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children” THE LANCET • Vol 351 • February 28, 1998. The Lancet paper was retracted by The Lancet after the General Medical Council decision in January 2010 in the case of Professors Walker-Smith, Simon Murch and Mr Andrew Wakefield.  [Added 26 May 2010].

But this is not the first time Wakefield’s research has been confirmed by independent researchers around the world.  Read a previous article and see the list of papers replicating Wakefield’s Lancet paper research: Sunday Times’ Discredited – Wakefield’s Autism Research Verified

And another recently published paper in Pediatrics Journal by 27 authors confirms a medical consensus that

Gastrointestinal disorders and associated symptoms are commonly reported in individuals with ASDs, but key issues such as the prevalence and best treatment of these conditions are incompletely understood.”

Evaluation, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Gastrointestinal Disorders in Individuals With ASDs:PEDIATRICS Volume 125, Supplement 1, January 2010 [Added 22 May 2010].

And yet another just published paper [3 June 2010] from researchers at Imperial College, London also supports Wakefield and Walker-Smith’s original finding.

People with autism are also known to suffer from gastrointestinal disorders and they have a different makeup of bacteria in their guts from non-autistic people. Today’s research shows that it is possible to distinguish between autistic and non-autistic children by looking at the by-products of gut bacteria and the body’s metabolic processes in the children’s urine. The exact biological significance of gastrointestinal disorders in the development of autism is unknown

Children with autism have a different chemical fingerprint in their urine than non-autistic children, Imperial College News Release Thursday 3 June 2010, “Urinary Metabolic Phenotyping Differentiates Children with Autism from Their Unaffected Siblings and Age-Matched Controls,” Journal of Proteome Research, published in print 4 June 2010. [Added 5 June 2010]

Additionally, one of the witnesses in the GMC proceedings against Dr Wakefield writing to the British Medical Journal confirmed the validity of the histopathology on which the paper was based and illustrated how Sunday Times journalist Brian Deer had misrepresented her evidence.  Dr Susan E Davies, Consultant Histopathologist, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge stated in the British Medical Journal regarding a BMJ article by Brian Deer that:

There is some misrepresentation …. and lack of understanding of the process in studies involving histopathology.” and that there were significant findings “While a clinical gastroenterologist might consider caecal active inflammation with incipient crypt abscess formation to be normal in children (1), this is a significant finding to be recorded by pathologists“

“Caution in assessing histopathological opinions.” BMJ Rapid Responses 30 April 2010.

So will Dr Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet now “unretract” The Lancet paper?

Read the abstract of the new US research vindicating Wakefield’s work here:

[2320.7] GI Symptoms in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD): An Autism Treatment Network Study

Kent Williams, George J. Fuchs, Glenn Furuta, Margaret Marcon, Daniel L. Coury, Autism Treatment Network GI Committee. Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN; University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AK; University of Colorado at Denver, Denver, CO; Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of GI symptoms in children and adolescents with ASD is uncertain, with studies reporting conflicting results.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of GI symptoms as reported by parents in a large ASD registry, and to identify factors associated with GI symptoms in children with ASD.

DESIGN/METHODS: Autism Treatment Network Registry enrolled 1420 children, age 2-18 years, with an ADOS-confirmed ASD diagnosis (autism, Asperger disorder, or PDD-NOS) at 15 sites in the US and Canada. Parents completed a GI symptom inventory tailored to the needs of nonverbal children, as well as Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Child Sleep Health Questionnaire (CSHQ) and Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL) at time of enrollment.

RESULTS: GI symptom data were available for 1185 children. Overall 45% of children were reported to have GI symptoms at time of enrollment. Of GI complaints that occurred within the 3 months prior to enrollment, abdominal pain was most common (59%) followed by constipation (51%), diarrhea (43%), other (40%), nausea (31%) and bloating (26%). Reports of GI symptoms increased with age, ranging from 39% in those under 5 years to 51% in those 7 years and older (p<0.0001). Children ages 1 to 5 years with GI symptoms had higher CBCL t-scores for total problems and for the emotionally reactive, anxious/depressed, somatic complaints, sleep problems, internalizing problems, affective problems, and anxiety problems subscales, all p<0.05. Children ages 6 to 18 years with GI symptoms had higher CBCL t-scores for total problems and for all subscales (p<0.01). Sleep problems occurred more frequently in children with than those without GI symptoms (70% versus 30%, p<0.0001). Children with GI symptoms had lower PedsQL scores (overall score and all five subscales, p<0.01) compared to children without GI problems. Presence of GI problems did not differ by gender, ASD subtype, race, or IQ.

CONCLUSIONS: Parents of children with ASD report a high prevalence of GI symptoms in their children. This prevalence increases with age. GI complaints are significantly associated with behavioral abnormalities in all age groups. GI symptoms are also significantly associated with sleep disturbances and decreased health-related quality of life. Further definition is needed on the role and potential impact of treatment of GI disorders on behavior, sleep disturbance, and quality of life in children with ASD.

Date: Sunday, May 2, 2010
Poster Symposium Session: Autism (10:15 AM – 12:15 PM)
Presentation Time: 10:15 AM
Room: East Ballroom C – Vancouver Convention Centre
Board Number: 7
Course Number: 2320