Retracted autism study an 'elaborate fraud,' British journal finds

[The Straight Story]

Retracted autism study an 'elaborate fraud,' British journal finds

A now-retracted British study that linked autism to childhood vaccines was an "elaborate fraud" that has done long-lasting damage to public health, a leading medical publication reported Wednesday.

An investigation published by the British medical journal BMJ concludes the study's author, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, misrepresented or altered the medical histories of all 12 of the patients whose cases formed the basis of the 1998 study -- and that there was "no doubt" Wakefield was responsible.

"It's one thing to have a bad study, a study full of error, and for the authors then to admit that they made errors," Fiona Godlee, BMJ's editor-in-chief, told CNN. "But in this case, we have a very different picture of what seems to be a deliberate attempt to create an impression that there was a link by falsifying the data."

Britain stripped Wakefield of his medical license in May. Efforts to reach him for comment were unsuccessful Wednesday.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/01/05/autism.vaccines/index.html

[lumberjack_jeff]

1. Dupe. n/t

[The Straight Story]

4. My x Said that when she left me (nt)

[walldude]

2. The cause may have been a fraud but the increase in Autism

is real. I have a son with it. Lucky for me he is not only functional but incredibly brilliant.

[mmonk]

3. They could have asked my family.