BMJ  2004;329:72 (10 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7457.72

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Destruction of data prompts calls for Swedish agency to investigate research misconduct

London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Leading academics are pressing the Swedish government to set up an independent agency to investigate issues relating to scientific research misconduct after a long running dispute resulted in the destruction of years of patient data.

The man at the centre of the dispute is Christopher Gillberg, professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and St George's Hospital, London, and a world expert on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism.

In May, years of data relating to Professor Gillberg's research were destroyed by two of his collaborators, associate professors Carina Gillberg and Peder Rasmussen, and university administrator Kerstin Lamberg, in a bid to protect patient confidentiality.

Vice chancellor of Gothenburg University Professor Gunnar Svedberg says that he received a letter the following day from the three, explaining what they had done, and why. But it is illegal in Sweden to destroy archived material collected with public monies, . . . [Full text of this article]

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