Spinoff to ALL the recent threads about Andrew Wakefield

Has anybody read the original Lancet article? (I have). I'm reading all this stuff about the Lancet retraction (old news), Wakefield being stripped of his license (also old news), all this new stuff about fraud, and I'm sitting here .

The "big" study specifically says (and this is a direct quote):

"We did not prove an association between measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine and the syndrome described"

I don't understand how this simple, clear statement got twisted into the MMR vaccine causes autism.

Can somebody please explain that to me?

And while we're at it, since the original study actually says they didn't prove a link, why have countless resources been expended to disprove something that was never stated???

Re: Spinoff to ALL the recent threads about Andrew Wakefield

Its been known for a couple of years years, that he practically falsified the entire study, that none of his data is real, the retraction is long overdue

The reasoning given is a very polite one, they can't blatantly say "he was a liar, a demon, and an egomaniac, and we were idiots to publish him"

kwim?


eta:
I'm not sure if the original study did not prove a link specifically to autism, but I think he gave evidence as to how it could happen, based on his false data. Its not so black and white.

Message edited 1/7/2011 10:27:33 AM.

Re: Spinoff to ALL the recent threads about Andrew Wakefield

Re: Spinoff to ALL the recent threads about Andrew Wakefield

The article got the "trigger" information from questioning the parents & pediatricians.

Here is the last paragraph of the article:

We have identified a chronic enterocolitis in children that may be related to neuropsychiatric dysfunction. In most cases, onset of symptoms was after measles, mumps, and rubella immunisation. Further investigations are needed to examine this syndrome and its possible relation to this vaccine.

This sums it up... there is no concluded, proved LINK... but there was a heavily suggested link that got published in the Lancet (a VERY hot journal) and got a lot of media attention. He does STRONGLY suggest a link... and the media, and most people, never ask for actual "proof".