Vaccine-autism link doctor faces misconduct inquiry

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Oh my gosh... that's all I have to say about that. ;-)

http://www.unison.ie/worldnews/stories.php3?ca=27 & si=1631951Vaccine-autism link doctor faces misconduct inquiryMonday June 12th 2006THE doctor who sparked a major scare over the safety of the MMRvaccine is to be charged with serious professional misconduct by theGeneral Medical Council (GMC) in a final bid by the medicalestablishment to lay the controversy to rest. Wakefield, who published a paper in 1998 purporting to show alink between MMR vaccine and autism, is accused of publishing"inadequately founded" research, failing to obtain ethical committeeapproval, obtaining cash "improperly" and subjecting children to"unnecessary investigations".The research, which ran in 'The Lancet', is said to have done moredamage than anything published in a scientific journal in memory. Itcaused alarm about MMR vacc

ine, immunisation rates slumped and casesof measles, mumps and rubella soared.The GMC will present charges in autumn and a public hearing isexpected next year. Dr Wakefield, (50), could be struck off themedical register if found guilty. Unusually, the GMC has brought thecase itself in the public interest. There is no complainant.The investigation has taken two years and lawyers for Dr Wakefieldcomplain he and his family are suffering distress caused by the delayin bringing charges.The research was carried out at the Royal Free Hospital, north Londonby Dr Wakefield and 12 other doctors and published in 'The Lancet' inFebruary 1998.The warning about MMR was amplified by Dr Wakefield at a pressconference - to the disquiet of his colleagues - and the subsequentscare led tens of thousands of parents to boycott the vaccine.Immunisation rates fell over the next five years from well over 90pcnationally to a low

of 78.9pc in early 2003.There was a resurgence in cases of measles, mumps and rubella (Germanmeasles), according to the Health Protection Agency.The number of cases of mumps soared from 4,204 cases in 2003 to 16,436in 2004 and to 56,390 cases last year. Since 2003, the MMR vaccinationrate has increased slightly and in mid-2005 stood at 83pc. In 2004 itemerged that at the time he was preparing his paper for 'The Lancet',Dr Wakefield was being paid by lawyers for parents of childrenallegedly damaged by the vaccine to look for evidence that could beused to help sue the manufacturers of the vaccine.He received stg£55,000 (€80,000) from the Legal Aid Board which waspaid into his research fund, but which he did not disclose to hisco-researchers. He was accused by 'The Lancet' of failing to declare aconflict of interest that could have influenced his findings. Editor Horton said if he had known in 1998 about the c

onflict ofinterest he would never have published the paper, and he partiallywithdrew it in 2004. Reid, Health Secretary at the time, calledon the GMC to hold an inquiry.Dr Wakefield, a consultant gastroenterologist, left the Royal Freehospital in 2001 "by mutual agreement". He has since worked mainly inAmerica where he has business interests and continues to researchautistic children.His claims about the link between MMR and autism have been repudiatedby a series of scientific studies. (© Independent News) nce

--Carol in IL