David Colquhoun is also in error stating that original Lancet
research [1] has been retracted. 10 of the authors published a statement
'Retraction of an Interpretation' in March 2004 distancing themselves from
the unconfirmed possibility of a link between MMR and the health of the
patients and 3 did not [2]. This left the study as piece of work
untouched. The Lancet's editor, Richard Horton, told Carol Stott in a
written communication:-
'The essential clinical findings remain unchallenged as far as their
accuracy is concerned.' [3]
and I heard Horton praise the design and conduct of the study at the
GMC hearing in August 2007 despite the fierce disagreements over Andrew
Wakefield's alleged non disclosure.
David Colquhoun insists the study is of poor quality but here he
finds himslf in apparent disagreement not only Horton but with Ben
Goldacre who wrote in another award winning article 'Don't Dumb Me Down':-
'Now, even though popular belief in the MMR scare is - perhaps -
starting to fade, popular understanding of it remains minimal: people
periodically come up to me and say, isn't it funny how that Wakefield MMR
paper turned out to be Bad Science after all? And I say: no. The paper
always was and still remains a perfectly good small case series report,
but it was systematically misrepresented as being more than that, by media
that are incapable of interpreting and reporting scientific data." [4]
[1] Wakefield AJ, Murch SH, Anthony A, Linnell J, Casson DM, Malik M,
Berelowtiz M, Dhillon AP, Thomson MA, Harvey P, Valentine A, Davies SE,
Walker-Smith JA. Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis,
and pervasive developmental disorder in children. Lancet 1998; 351: 637-
641, http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-
6736(97)11096-0/fulltext
[2] Simon H Murch, Andrew Anthony, David H Casson, Mohsin Malik, Mark
Berelowitz, Amar P Dhillon, Michael A Thomson, Alan Valentine, Susan E
Davies, John A Walker-Smith, 'Retraction of an Interpretation', The
Lancet, Volume 363, Issue 9411, Page 750, 6 March 2004, http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(04)15715-
2/fulltext
Rapid Response:
Re: Evidence is not bullying (addendum 2)
David Colquhoun is also in error stating that original Lancet
research [1] has been retracted. 10 of the authors published a statement
'Retraction of an Interpretation' in March 2004 distancing themselves from
the unconfirmed possibility of a link between MMR and the health of the
patients and 3 did not [2]. This left the study as piece of work
untouched. The Lancet's editor, Richard Horton, told Carol Stott in a
written communication:-
'The essential clinical findings remain unchallenged as far as their
accuracy is concerned.' [3]
and I heard Horton praise the design and conduct of the study at the
GMC hearing in August 2007 despite the fierce disagreements over Andrew
Wakefield's alleged non disclosure.
David Colquhoun insists the study is of poor quality but here he
finds himslf in apparent disagreement not only Horton but with Ben
Goldacre who wrote in another award winning article 'Don't Dumb Me Down':-
'Now, even though popular belief in the MMR scare is - perhaps -
starting to fade, popular understanding of it remains minimal: people
periodically come up to me and say, isn't it funny how that Wakefield MMR
paper turned out to be Bad Science after all? And I say: no. The paper
always was and still remains a perfectly good small case series report,
but it was systematically misrepresented as being more than that, by media
that are incapable of interpreting and reporting scientific data." [4]
[1] Wakefield AJ, Murch SH, Anthony A, Linnell J, Casson DM, Malik M,
Berelowtiz M, Dhillon AP, Thomson MA, Harvey P, Valentine A, Davies SE,
Walker-Smith JA. Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis,
and pervasive developmental disorder in children. Lancet 1998; 351: 637-
641, http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-
6736(97)11096-0/fulltext
[2] Simon H Murch, Andrew Anthony, David H Casson, Mohsin Malik, Mark
Berelowitz, Amar P Dhillon, Michael A Thomson, Alan Valentine, Susan E
Davies, John A Walker-Smith, 'Retraction of an Interpretation', The
Lancet, Volume 363, Issue 9411, Page 750, 6 March 2004,
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(04)15715-
2/fulltext
[3] Bill Welsh, 'Half truths and baloney' BMJ Rapid Responses 28 June
2009, http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/338/jun22_2/b2435#215847
[4] Ben Goldacre, 'Don't Dumb Me Down' Guardian Science, 8 September
2005, http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2005/sep/08/badscience.research
Competing interests:
Autistic son
Competing interests: No competing interests