A disturbing phenomenon of our times is the willingness of scientists to falsify their research data. The reasons, I suppose, must ultimately come down to money and fame. Take the recent example of disgraced Korean scientist Hwang Woo Suk, who announced groundbreaking stem cell research only to be exposed as a fraud. Three years on and another Korean scientist has copped to falsified nanotechnology data. The Google search ‘scientists falsification of data’ brings up thousands of reports of misconduct.
Most of the time, however, these lapses are not fatal. It’s just some abstruse data in a journal. But sometimes highly publicized ‘research’ profoundly influences public behavior.
Take the case of the Lancet report ten years ago that claimed a link between Autism and the MMR (Measles, Mumps & Rubella) vaccine. Parents in Britain reacted to the report – what parent wouldn’t? Vaccination rates went down, measles cases went up and children died.
But now comes word that the Lancet report was based on falsified data. From the Sunday Times of London:
THE doctor who sparked the scare over the safety of the MMR vaccine for children changed and misreported results in his research, creating the appearance of a possible link with autism, a Sunday Times investigation has found.
Confidential medical documents and interviews with witnesses have established that Andrew Wakefield manipulated patients’ data, which triggered fears that the MMR triple vaccine to protect against measles, mumps and rubella was linked to the condition.
The research was published in February 1998 in an article in The Lancet medical journal. It claimed that the families of eight out of 12 children attending a routine clinic at the hospital had blamed MMR for their autism, and said that problems came on within days of the jab. The team also claimed to have discovered a new inflammatory bowel disease underlying the children’s conditions.
However, our investigation, confirmed by evidence presented to the General Medical Council (GMC), reveals that: In most of the 12 cases, the children’s ailments as described in The Lancet were different from their hospital and GP records. Although the research paper claimed that problems came on within days of the jab, in only one case did medical records suggest this was true, and in many of the cases medical concerns had been raised before the children were vaccinated. Hospital pathologists, looking for inflammatory bowel disease, reported in the majority of cases that the gut was normal. This was then reviewed and the Lancet paper showed them as abnormal.
And as the Times’ investigative report states, the impact of the Lancet report was extraordinary – even though the research was based on just 12 children:
After its publication, rates of inoculation fell from 92% to below 80%. Populations acquire “herd immunity” from measles when more than 95% of people have been vaccinated.
Last week official figures showed that 1,348 confirmed cases of measles in England and Wales were reported last year, compared with 56 in 1998. Two children have died of the disease.
And yes, the original motive for the bad research and flawed report appears to be greed. As the Times’s research timeline shows, Dr. Wakefield probably conspired to ruin existing vaccine makers so he could patent and market his own vaccine.
October 1988 MMR triple vaccine starts in UK after use in America since 1971
February 1996 A solicitor, Richard Barr, hires Andrew Wakefield at £150 per hour to support a legal attack on MMR makers as some parents raise concerns over the vaccine
June 1996 Wakefield and Barr ask Legal Aid Board to fund research to show a link between MMR and autism. The board grants them £55,000
July 1996 First autistic child admitted to Royal Free hospital for research project. Of the 12 in the study, 11 will turn out to be litigants
June 1997 Wakefield files for patent on “safer” single measles jab and for products to treat autism
February 1998 The Lancet publishes paper proposing link between MMR and autism. Wakefield, making no disclosure of his interests, gives a press conference recommending that, instead of the MMR, single vaccinations be given at yearly intervals
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