Lancet pulls discredited MMR study

2nd February 2010 - The medical journal which published the research suggesting that the measles-mumps-rubella triple jab was linked with autism and bowel disease has issued a full retraction of the original research paper.

The Lancet  says it now accepts that the claims made about the MMR vaccine in the 1998 paper were “false”.

Dishonest and irresponsible

The retraction comes after a General Medical Council (GMC) disciplinary panel said that the author, Dr Andrew Wakefield, and two of his colleagues acted dishonestly and irresponsibly in conducting their research.

The research caused a drop in parents opting to have their children vaccinated with the MMR jab and a rise in the number of cases of measles.

The retraction means the study will no longer be considered an official part of the scientific literature.

The Lancet  tells us that it has retracted "10 or 15" studies in its 186-year history.

False claims

So, why has Dr Wakefield’s MMR study joined the ranks of discredited research?

• His paper claimed that the study was approved by the appropriate ethics committee, when the GMC found it had not been
• The paper claimed that 12 children in the study were consecutive patients that appeared for treatment, when the GMC found that several had been specially selected

BMJ, formerly known as the British Medical Journal, has competed with The Lancet since 1840. BMJ editor Fiona Godlee says she welcomes the Lancet retraction. "This will help to restore faith in this globally important vaccine and in the integrity of the scientific literature," she says in a news release.

Last week the GMC’s Fitness to Practise panel heard evidence and submissions for 148 days and heard from 36 witnesses. It then spent 45 days deciding the outcome of the hearing.

As well as Dr Wakefield, two former colleagues were before the panel - Professor John Walker-Smith and Professor Simon Murch. They were all found to have broken guidelines.

“Callous”

The disciplinary hearing found Dr Wakefield showed a “callous disregard” for the suffering of children and abused his position of trust. He’d also "failed in his duties as a responsible consultant".

He’d taken blood samples from children attending his son’s birthday party in return for money, and was later filmed joking about it at a conference.

He’d also failed to disclose he’d received money for advising lawyers acting for parents who claimed their children had been harmed by the triple vaccine.

“Unfounded and unjust” - Dr Wakefield

The GMC will next decide whether Dr Wakefield and his former colleagues committed serious professional misconduct. That could lead to being struck off the medical register.

Dr Wakefield did not attend last week’s hearing, but told reporters that he was “extremely disappointed” by the outcome of the proceedings. He added that the “allegations against me and against my colleagues are both unfounded and unjust.”