Lancet retracts article linking Autism and Vaccines

[MarginOfError]

Following the judgment of the UK General Medical Council's Fitness to Practise Panel on Jan 28, 2010, it has become clear that several elements of the 1998 paper by Wakefield et al are incorrect, contrary to the findings of an earlier investigation. In particular, the claims in the original paper that children were "consecutively referred" and that investigations were "approved" by the local ethics committee have been proven to be false. Therefore we fully retract this paper from the published record. (Lancet editors)

This was the article that started the whole debacle of vaccine related autism. The investigation found that 8 of the 12 "consecutively referred*" patients were actually selected from the primary author's birthday party and paid $8 if he could draw blood from them. He also never received approval from the ethics board for some of his research, and was known to perform painful procedures (like spinal taps) on children without clear justification for why the procedures were needed.

A panel is Britain will now discuss whether Dr. Wakefield's (the principal author) medical license should be revoked.

*consecutively referred means that patients were recruited as they came, and not selected for inclusion by the researcher.

Other references

Controversial Autism Study Retracted by Medical Journal - BusinessWeek

Study Linking Autism to Vaccine Retracted

Lancet retracts study linking vaccine, autism - Washington Times

[Gwen]

is this going to mess up all the lawsuits against the makers of the vaccines?

(i don't know of any specific lawsuits just thinking of all the commercials of "did your family member.... and now.... call us we can help")

[MarginOfError]

is this going to mess up all the lawsuits against the makers of the vaccines?

(i don't know of any specific lawsuits just thinking of all the commercials of "did your family member.... and now.... call us we can help")

Those lawsuits were all thrown out last year. At least in the United States.

U.S. Court Finds No Link Between Vaccines, Autism - washingtonpost.com

[NeuroTypical]

I predict that this news will have absolutely zero impact on the anti-vax people.

(Easy prediction, since nothing ever has an impact on their problems with vaccines.)

[Guest]

Oh no. Jenny McCarthy will be very disappointed.

[confuzzled]

I would have to agree with Loudmouth. Their fears and sadly IMHO their misconceptions are deeply rooted. Having worked in the medical field for +10 years I have seen them all.

[Mahone]

The natural fear of things that you do not understand, when combined with the daily mail (the american equivalent is fox news I'm lead to believe) leads to this result :) (see link in my signature for an example of such articles the daily mail produce).

Edited February 3, 2010 by Mahone

[ADoyle90815]

My guess is that Jenny McCarthy and other anti-vax people will say that the retraction of that article was a cover up done by Big Pharma or something.

[ColorMEreal]

I suspect the Mercury preservatives in some vaccines CAN and DO cause autism. But I also wander about something else that caught my attention. Their are several forms of AUTISM AFTER ALL...

When we take our babies to daycare centers, where theirs at times a 7 to 1 ratio ( 1 DAYCARE WORKER FOR EVER 7 BABIES.) I wander what this does to say a newborn...neurologically.

Back in the 80's I use to hear about orphanages in Russia that had around this same ratio (1 nurse for every 6-10 orphans.) Some of the babies were dieing from lack of touch and stimulation. But far more had strange neurological problems that plagued them throughout the rest of their lives. They were deemed un-adoptable and ended up in Russian asylum's for the most part. They were labeled as mentally retarded and then forgotten about. I often wandered if these little Russian orphans just had a form of Autism?????

I have a son who has Asberger's. I'm always looking for those answer's that aren't so obvious. My son was born a preemie. He had to stay in the Nick unit for a month before we could take him home. During that month I always worried about how much touch, Love and stimulation he was actually getting when my spouse and I couldn't be there. The Nurses there were so Loving and caring. But as you know most hospitals hire the least amount of nurses that they can legally get away with. So in short, I often wandered over the years if my son's form of Autism came as a result of his hospital experience?

Any thoughts or ideas on this would be greatly appreciated...

[Wingnut]

I suspect the Mercury preservatives in some vaccines CAN and DO cause autism.

Thimerosal (mercury as a preservative) has been removed from vaccines for almost 10 years.

[Elgama]

I was not anti MMR until my daughter had a reaction to it , she now suffers seizures prior to which her behaviour does become autistic like, she now cannot have any other vaccinations because any raise in temperature is dangerous causing convulsions and hallucinations. Not to mention the fact she has also had German Measles and Mumps since both of which were more dangerous because of her seizures.

Needless to say my boys have had everything else, but middle child is probably autistic (I have chosen to avoid a diagnosis if we can get him speaking)

Edited February 6, 2010 by Elgama

[MarginOfError]

I suspect the Mercury preservatives in some vaccines CAN and DO cause autism.

Mercury was removed from vaccines several years ago, and there was no change in the rate of autism, nor has there been still. Peer reviewed research established that there was no real link between mercury and autism both before and after it was removed from vaccinations.

But I also wander about something else that caught my attention. Their are several forms of AUTISM AFTER ALL...

Which is actually part of the fallacy of vaccine-induced autism. When proponents of the theory say vaccines cause autism, they're being a little dishonest in their claim. Their actual claim is that vaccines cause autism spectrum disorders. The disorders on this spectrum don't necessarily share the same physiology, and so vaccines are getting blamed for multiple adverse outcomes, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense. If you break the outcomes down into their specific diseases, the associations disappear.

When we take our babies to daycare centers, where theirs at times a 7 to 1 ratio ( 1 DAYCARE WORKER FOR EVER 7 BABIES.) I wander what this does to say a newborn...neurologically.

Nothing. They don't know the difference.

Back in the 80's I use to hear about orphanages in Russia that had around this same ratio (1 nurse for every 6-10 orphans.)

This ratio was actually probably more like 1 nurse for every 20 - 30 orphans.

Some of the babies were dieing from lack of touch and stimulation.

More likely they were dying from malnutrition.

But far more had strange neurological problems that plagued them throughout the rest of their lives. They were deemed un-adoptable and ended up in Russian asylum's for the most part. They were labeled as mentally retarded and then forgotten about. I often wandered if these little Russian orphans just had a form of Autism?????

Again, probably more related to poor nutrition than to psychological disorders

I have a son who has Asberger's. I'm always looking for those answer's that aren't so obvious. My son was born a preemie. He had to stay in the Nick unit for a month before we could take him home. During that month I always worried about how much touch, Love and stimulation he was actually getting when my spouse and I couldn't be there. The Nurses there were so Loving and caring. But as you know most hospitals hire the least amount of nurses that they can legally get away with. So in short, I often wandered over the years if my son's form of Autism came as a result of his hospital experience?

Doubtful

Any thoughts or ideas on this would be greatly appreciated...

My suggestion would be to stop funding autism groups that want to pursue the vaccine link and give the money to groups willing to pursue other research. There is some promise in a link with mitochondrial diseases. The research is inconclusive right now, but shows some promise.

[MarginOfError]

I was not anti MMR until my daughter had a reaction to it , she now suffers seizures prior to which her behaviour does become autistic like, she now cannot have any other vaccinations because any raise in temperature is dangerous causing convulsions and hallucinations. Not to mention the fact she has also had German Measles and Mumps since both of which were more dangerous because of her seizures.

Needless to say my boys have had everything else, but middle child is probably autistic (I have chosen to avoid a diagnosis if we can get him speaking)

I doubt your daughter's condition is directly related to the MMR vaccine. As I said in the previous post, there's some research developing that ties high fever and mitochondrial disease to autism regression. But this isn't an argument against vaccination. It's an argument for better screening for mitochondrial disease and better fever management practices.

[Elgama]

I doubt your daughter's condition is directly related to the MMR vaccine. As I said in the previous post, there's some research developing that ties high fever and mitochondrial disease to autism regression. But this isn't an argument against vaccination. It's an argument for better screening for mitochondrial disease and better fever management practices.

she has a highly qualified pediatric neurologist who has advised postponing all vaccinations in my daughter's case until we know what causes her condition. I know what i went through will Ellie in the 3 weeks following the jab and the fact she has had seizures since, I don't know if the MMR caused it but its a possible factor. Ellie is not autistic, she just behaves that way in the build up to a seizure, after the seizure there is no sign of autism, Given my youngest has a similar metabolism to her I felt letting him have it would be foolish until we know what is wrong with her at least,.

If it turns out she has a brain tumour then I'll get the boys done....

[Elphaba]

When we take our babies to daycare centers, where theirs at times a 7 to 1 ratio ( 1 DAYCARE WORKER FOR EVER 7 BABIES.) I wander what this does to say a newborn...neurologically.

Back in the 80's I use to hear about orphanages in Russia that had around this same ratio (1 nurse for every 6-10 orphans.) Some of the babies were dieing from lack of touch and stimulation. But far more had strange neurological problems that plagued them throughout the rest of their lives. They were deemed un-adoptable and ended up in Russian asylum's for the most part. They were labeled as mentally retarded and then forgotten about. I often wandered if these little Russian orphans just had a form of Autism?????

. . . .

Any thoughts or ideas on this would be greatly appreciated...

I have an idea. Check your facts before you post. I'm not being sarcastic.

The orphanages you're talking about were in Romania, not Russia, though it was occupied by the Soviet Union. It was with the assassination of Romania's communist dictator in 1989 that the world discovered the horror that was the Romanian orphanage.

The ratio was not one nurse to seven children. It was zero nurses to hundreds of children, and only a handful of staff took care of them, although "care" is not the word. The treatment these children received is comparable to that of prisoners in the Nazi concentration camps.

Our daycare system is NOTHING like what these children suffered, and it is irresponsible of you, who insists we encourage our young women to be responsible, to say so.

At least look things up on Wiki for crying out loud.

Elphaba

Edited February 7, 2010 by Elphaba
typo

[Wingnut]

The orphanages you're talking about were in Romania, not Russia, though it was occupied by the Soviet Union.

That's what I thought, too.

[ColorMEreal]

Actually I was referring to a show (60 minutes, or possibly 20/20) that I watched when I was a teenager about an orphanage in Russia, not Romania. I'm sure the more notable stories of suffering that you refer to came out of Romania.

To this day Russia still maintains many of these orphanages, although they've cleaned up their act greatly since their is much more money involved in International adoptions.

Mercury was removed from vaccines several years ago, and there was no change in the rate of autism, nor has there been still.

My daughter recently had a tetanus shot and I was told by her Pediatrician that the mercury preservative does remain in a few vaccines (still) including tetanus shots. The

H1N1 vaccine also contains the Mercury preservative.

I too am torn on these autism theories. By no means am I ready to rule out Mercury, but I think their are some other toxic metals and substances we ought to look at too. For instance, most of us have formaldehyde in our homes since it is commonly used in the construction of most homes. Then you can't rule out arsenic that is used on weather treated playground wood and on out door decks. ect...

[Guest]

There's this member here, Feathertail, I believe, who is autistic. He claims autism is inherent to a person - meaning it is not caused by something, it just is. Kinda like how gay people say they are born gay kinda thing...

[Mahone]

There's this member here, Feathertail, I believe, who is autistic. He claims autism is inherent to a person - meaning it is not caused by something, it just is. Kinda like how gay people say they are born gay kinda thing...

Well, having a condition doesn't necessarily mean you know more about why it happens or what causes it, however I would agree with anyone who says that autism and the related conditions are present at birth. I have a condition which is on the autistic spectrum and have had the MMR. I do not know how long it would take for the MMR vaccine to "cause" autism, if it does, however I distinctly remember a number of experiences I had as a small child, some time before attending school for the first time (children here attend school at 5 years old) where I had thoughts similar to the thoughts I have now. My parents obviously remember far more than I do about my early years, and they confirm the little bits that I can remember regarding my actions. I was later told these were caused by having aspergers. I have never been someone who socialized much with anyone, not because I was rejected by others, but because I never wanted to be with others. I always wanted to be on my own, being with others became exhausting very quickly. Even as a very small child, I was like this.

Obviously this is far from conclusive, but in my mind, from my own experiences, I have had this from birth.

Edited February 8, 2010 by Mahone

[Just_A_Guy]

My daughter recently had a tetanus shot and I was told by her Pediatrician that the mercury preservative does remain in a few vaccines (still) including tetanus shots. The H1N1 vaccine also contains the Mercury preservative.

I remember hearing something to this effect from my kids' pediatrician. AFAIK the H1N1 vaccine is being released in two versions, one of which has thimerosol and one of which doesn't--but the timerosol-free version isn't available in all areas.

Autism seems to run in my family (grandfather and great-grandfather almost certainly had it, three nephews have been diagnosed, and both my mother and I have some Aspergers-like tendencies though we've never been diagnosed) so with our kids, my wife and I figured we wouldn't tempt fate. We're still having our kids vaccinated, but we're spacing them out a bit--our general rule of thumb is no more than two shots per doctor's visit.

[Elphaba]

Actually I was referring to a show (60 minutes, or possibly 20/20) that I watched when I was a teenager about an orphanage in Russia, not Romania.

You just made that up.

There was no Russia in the 1980s. It was the Soviet Union, though I don't consider that your most significant mistake. However, I do not believe you saw a 60 Minutes, 20/20, or any other news show on this in the '80s because the Soviet Union would never have allowed American cameras into one of its most dismal failures, which certainly describes its orphanages.

It's important to reiterate there is no comparison whatsoever between Russian orphanages and our American day-care center system, and it would be irresponsible of you to continue to perpetuate THAT myth.

Elphaba

[Elgama]

I don't think it was the 80s but there was a British show on former USSR orphanages and children who have autism, it focused on the Ukraine I think. it was an undercover operation, I remember watching the very bouncy hidden camera.

I am going to be controversial - I don't know what daycare is like in the US, but there have also been BBC undercover operations on nursery's and daycare facilities in the UK and the conditions that some children live in day to day are appalling. Our system is highly regulated but childcare professionals are not the best paid,

There have also been some studies suggesting children in UK society who are carried for long periods of time in bucket car seats, transported in prams, left to sleep in cots for long periods of time, are showing some similarities to Romanian Orphans that one is fairly recent since I had Ellie.

[ColorMEreal]

Elphaba, I'm going by my recollections from when I was a teenager. I may not remember the exactness of it all to a T, but I do remember the long lasting impression it left on me. The impression for which I wanted to share. I wasn't stating facts, but rather I wanted to throw a few questions out.

Your reaction to people's posts seem very angry.

I feel science must be talked about, theories tested and retested and no rock should go unturned (no matter how ridiculous something initial sounds)

[MarginOfError]

Elphaba, I'm going by my recollections from when I was a teenager. I may not remember the exactness of it all to a T, but I do remember the long lasting impression it left on me. The impression for which I wanted to share. I wasn't stating facts, but rather I wanted to throw a few questions out.

Your reaction to people's posts seem very angry.

I feel science must be talked about, theories tested and retested and no rock should go unturned (no matter how ridiculous something initial sounds)

The problem with what you say here and what you've said earlier is that teenage recollections and impressions have no place in a discussion of science. It's these ungrounded impressions that have opened the whole debate to begin with. If you can't be bothered to look up the facts of what you saw, then let's not discuss its scientific merits.

[sensibility]

There was a very prominent 20/20 episode about Romanian orphanages in 1990; I know several people who were adopted from Romania after their parents saw that episode. I suspect that's what you're remembering.

You're also right that many of these children did come out of the experience with Reactive Attachment Disorder, which is severe and heartbreaking but unrelated to autism.