Vaccine articles needed

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I am in need of a few good articles on the vaccine/autism issue for someone I know writing a paper on it in school. Thanks! Heidi Here you go Heidi... Shane Avery ----- Forwarded Message ----- To: Down Syndrome Autism Support Group on Yahoo < > Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2011 2:43 PM Subject: FYI: Published in British Medical Journal this week RE: MMR vaccine and autism

Investigator Planned to Make Vast Profit From Autism/MMR Vaccine Scare, BMJ Says

Deborah Brauser

Authors and Disclosures

Physician Rating: ( 6 Votes ) :

January 13, 2011 — Wakefield, the lead author on the 1998 study that

reported a link between the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and a new

condition of regressive autism and bowel disease called autistic enterocolitis

(AE), was planning to market a prestudy diagnostic testing kit with expected

yearly sales of 28 million pounds (43 million US dollars), a new paper published

online January 11 in the BMJ reports.

In the second of a series of 3 investigative articles examining the MMR vaccine

scare, UK journalist Deer reports that Mr. Wakefield planned several

businesses to develop not only the new test but also immunotherapeutics and a

"safer single measles shot" — which he held a patent for. Mr. Deer writes that

these would only be successful if public confidence in the MMR vaccine was

damaged.

There was hope of a financial gain from all these businesses that were set up

and I think the important thing was that these commercial dealings were

undisclosed. Some of the people at the Royal Free Hospital where Wakefield

worked were involved and others were aware. Yet these dealings remained

undisclosed as the vaccine scare unfolded.

"I think this new article very clearly lays out the extent of the financial

motivation behind what we now know was a falsified paper," Fiona Godlee, MD, BMJ

editor-in-chief, told Medscape Medical News.

"There was hope of a financial gain from all these businesses that were set up,

and I think the important thing was that these commercial dealings were

undisclosed. Some of the people at the Royal Free Hospital where Wakefield

worked were involved and others were aware. Yet these dealings remained

undisclosed as the vaccine scare unfolded," said Dr. Godlee.

Following the Money

In the first article in the BMJ series, published last week and reported by

Medscape Medical News at that time, Mr. Deer reported that the investigators

altered and falsified medical records of the 12 children involved. This study

was published in The Lancet in 1998 and subsequently retracted early last year.

In this new article, Mr. Deer "follows the money." He found that although the

first study patient was still in the hospital, Mr. Wakefield met with managers

from the Royal Free Medical School in London, England, to discuss forming a

joint business. A week after publication of his research, he brought in business

associates to the Royal Free to continue negotiations.

A prospectus obtained by Mr Deer that was aimed at raising an initial 700,000

pounds from investors says, "it is estimated that the initial market for the

diagnostic will be litigation driven testing of patients with AE from both the

UK and the USA.

Dr. Fiona Godlee

"In view of the unique services offered by the company and its technology,

particularly for the molecular diagnostic, the assays can command premium

prices," adds the document.

Several other businesses were planned and/or registered, including Carmel

Healthcare Ltd, which was named after Mr. Wakefield's wife.

"His magnitude of ambition was really quite surprising to find. I had no idea

that there was this scale of commercial involvement," said Dr. Godlee.

The article also explains in detail how a lawyer hoping to bring a lawsuit

against vaccine manufacturers funded much of the study on the MMR vaccine.

"The lawyer...was forthright when later asked. He said he paid for The Lancet

research," writes Mr. Deer.

Other new details unearthed include the following drug industry support for Mr.

Wakefield during 1999:

* Overseas airfare from Axcan Pharma Inc;

* Consultancy negotiations with & ; and

* "Longstanding connections" with both Merck and Kline Beecham.

However, the "commercial deals" ended when Mr. Wakefield received a letter

voicing concern that conflicts existed between his academic employment and

involvement with Carmel, especially as "the company's business plan appears to

depend on premature, scientifically unjustified publication of results."

Although the school offered Mr. Wakefield a year's paid absence and help to try

to replicate his results with a validated study of up to 150 patients, he did

not do the work, citing a need for "academic freedom."

Damaging Health Scare

He's still promoting his ideas and I think it's important for people to know

that the science behind them is fraudulent and that he had extremely

sophisticated and well-developed plans to benefit from this personally in ways

that were not made apparent.

"This isn't personal. We're focusing on what Wakefield has done, and he has

fueled a very damaging health scare," said Dr. Godlee.

"He's still promoting his ideas, and I think it's important for people to know

that the science behind them is fraudulent and that he had extremely

sophisticated and well-developed plans to benefit from this personally in ways

that were not made apparent," she said.

The third and final article in their series will be published next week and will

focus on what happened when study concerns were first raised by Mr. Deer in 2004

and why they weren't taken more seriously.

"None of what has appeared in the BMJ should imply for a moment that we don't

sympathize with parents making very difficult decisions. What we're left with is

that we need much better research into the cause of autism," said Dr. Godlee.

[As a result of the Wakefield study], a generation of parents and their children

have grown up afraid of vaccines, and the resulting outbreaks of measles and

mumps have damaged and destroyed young lives.

In a new "Perspectives" article published online January 13 in the New England

Journal of Medicine, 2 clinicians from the Mayo Clinic write that there has been

opposition since the very first vaccine was introduced, with particular mistrust

over the smallpox vaccine in 1910.

"Little has changed since that time, although now the antivaccinationists' media

of choice are typically television and the Internet...which are used to sway

public opinion and distract attention from scientific evidence," write

A. Poland, MD, and M. son, MD, from the Mayo Clinic Vaccine Research

Group and the Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine in Rochester,

Minnesota.

"Even though more than a dozen studies have demonstrated an absence of harm from

MMR vaccination, Wakefield and his supporters continue to steer the public away

from the vaccine," they add.

"As a result, a generation of parents and their children have grown up afraid of

vaccines, and the resulting outbreaks of measles and mumps have damaged and

destroyed young lives."

The editorialists note several recommendations to "hasten the funeral of

antivaccination campaigns," including the following:

* Fund and publish studies that investigate vaccine safety concerns;

* Maintain monitoring programs, including the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting

System;

* Instruct healthcare workers, parents, and patients how to counter false

claims; and

* Expand public education.

"We believe that antivaccinationists have done significant harm to the public

health. Ultimately, society must recognize that science is not a democracy in

which the side with the most votes or the loudest voices gets to decide what is

right," conclude the editorial authors.

Mr. Deer's original investigation was funded by the Sunday Timesof London and

the Channel 4 television network. The current articles were funded by the BMJ.

He reported receiving no other funding except for legal costs from the Medical

Protection Society on behalf of Mr. Wakefield. The Perspective authors report

several financial disclosures, which are listed in the original article.

BMJ. Published online January 11, 2011.

N Engl J Med. Published online January 13, 2011.