Copenhagen Police Investigating Autism Vaccine Researcher Dr. Poul Thorsen for Fraud
This report is from CPHPost Online:
WEDNESDAY, 17 MARCH 2010 12:19 RC NEWS
Critics of MMR vaccines say Danish researcher’s alleged fraud casts doubt on studies refuting connection between shots and autism
A Danish autism researcher is being investigated by police for defrauding an estimated 10 million kroner from Aarhus University while he was employed there.
Dr. Poul Thorsen, one of the researchers involved in two well-known autism reports that appeared in the influential New England Journal of Medicine, was accused of fraud last month by the university and East Jutland Police have now got involved in the case.
Thorsen resigned on Tuesday from his position in the US as adjunct professor at Drexel University in Philadephia, Pennsylvania in the wake of the investigation.
Thorsen’s fraud charges stem from the time of the reports, when he was employed at Aarhus University. Police are currently investigating the disappearance of around 10 million kroner from grants given to it by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, used to help fund the autism project.
According to Aarhus University, Thorsen was in charge of appropriating the funds from the CDC. In addition to the fraud charges, Thorsen was allegedly working for Emory University in the US since 2003 in violation of his contract at Aarhus University.
The timing of the investigation and Thorsen’s resignation from Drexel coincide with a US Court of Federal Claims last Friday, which ruled against parents asserting that the MMR vaccines were responsible for their children’s health problems.
Two Danish studies from 2002 and 2003 are at the heart of that issue because they are widely referred to by groups refuting the vaccine connection and are considered to be among the most comprehensive studies ever done on the subject. A spokesman for the US Surgeon General’s Office called the reports’ conclusions that no connection exists ‘irrefutable’.
The issue has been one of heated controversy in the US between two opposing sides – the more powerful one that supports the research and the one that believes many more studies need to be done in the area.
The first report was based on studies of over 500,000 children born in Denmark from 1991 through 1998. The study indicated conclusively that there was no connection between measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccines and autism.
The other report used a much smaller group in its study but came to the same conclusion.
US Senator Robert Kennedy Jr. has been the most high-profile person to question the acceptance of the studies’ results, ruffling feathers within the pharmaceutical industry, the medical profession and with other politicians. Kennedy came out this week to say that if Thorsen is found guilty of fraud then it would cast serious doubt on the validity of both studies.
Numerous internet-based autism groups have also indicated that Thorsen’s research should be considered compromised if he is convicted.
Two other scientists behind the Danish reports, Mads Melbye of Statens Serum Institut and Kreesten Meldgaard Madsen of Aarhus University Hospital, told the Philadelphia Enquirer newspaper that Thorsen was only one researcher in the groups behind the studies and had little or no influence on the ultimate conclusions.
Denmark ceased to use mercury-based substances in its vaccines in 1992. However, autism cases continue to rise here as well, although the percentage continues to be far under that of children in the US.
Many experts also say that the increase can be partly explained by the fact that more doctors are now recognising the disorder.
Interesting longer story from Denmark.
In Danish but processed through the Google Translation system. Mostly in English, but some Danish still there.
See if this works:
http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.information.dk%2F227065&sl=da&tl=en
Posted by: Anonymous | March 18, 2010 at 01:54 AM
Again, where are the Congressional Hearings into the CDC and Emory into the misappropriation of TAXPAYER funds???
Ha! We will never see it...
Posted by: Kevin | March 18, 2010 at 01:54 AM
The American media is understandably cautious concerning this word.
This story marks twice CP reporting has contained occupational errors.
The reasons behind these errors might relate to simple oversight. And the sooner corrected the free press may be about the business of relaying word from Copenhagen.
However, until they are corrected the press is obligated to remain cautiously silent.
I have sent word to the CP concerning the errors and hope they will oblige the free press in correcting them.
I am thankful that American news editors have refrained from throwing the baby out with the bath water and hope they may be able correct the situation.
The trail to the truth continues.
Posted by: Media Scholar | March 18, 2010 at 01:52 AM
Anyone notice that this article says Thorsen stole US taxpayer dollars?
One of the explanations going around is that Thorsen stole money from Aarhus and forged something saying the CDC would reimburse. But then the information in this article says something different. Are we getting the spun yarn version of the facts here because taxpayers knowing that taxpayer money was stolen would put heat on our authorities to hunt him down with more enthusiasm? And would this knowledge force more scrutiny to the CDC's dealings with Thorsen?
Was it our money that Thorsen embezzled?
Posted by: Gatogorra | March 17, 2010 at 11:58 PM
"The issue has been one of heated controversy in the US between two opposing sides – the more powerful one that supports the research and the one that believes many more studies need to be done in the area."
That's actually not a bad summary of the two sides. Kudos to the journalist.
Posted by: Schoolteacher in NYC | March 17, 2010 at 10:34 PM
Ray,
Thanks for the link.
Offit is unbelievable.
"Let's assume it is true that he embezzled money," Offit said. "The notion that it casts the science into question is false. For these big epidemiological studies, it is hard to believe that one person could effectively change the data."
For one disgusting side of Offit, the notion that if Thorsen is proven to be guilty, as Offit assumes, Offit is ready to stand by him all the way is pathetic.
After all, this is so much worse than procuring control group blood samples voluntarily from your Physician freind's children.
I am sure Bernie Madoff's buddies feel the same way about him, his investment advice was sound despite the fact he stole others blind....
And believe it or not, I have to agree with his next statement. It IS hard to believe that Thorsen is the only one who manipulated data in that study. I would guess if the "Denmark Study" ever comes up under the independant microscope it needs, that the rest of the authors might be a little harder for police to locate as well.
Posted by: Tim Kasemodel | March 17, 2010 at 08:15 PM
Katie,
Your such a tease!
Can't wait.
Posted by: Tim Kasemodel | March 17, 2010 at 07:31 PM
I wonder who contacted the police???
Per below
-------- Begin forwarded message --------
Subject: Poul Thorsen---Please Investigate Him---how many parents will ask?????
Date: 3/15/10 5:35:41 PM
From: "Raymond Gallup"
I submitted to the FBI and Interpol (and mentioned they should check with the Danish Police per below).........
Contact Interpol
http://www.interpol.int/Public/contact.asp
https://tips.fbi.gov/
FBI Tips and Public Leads
Please Investigate Poul Thorsen who lives at:
2657 Briarlake Rd
Atlanta, Georgia
For theft and fraud (Aarhus University and CDC) and you may want to coordinate with the Danish Police at...............
http://www.politi.dk/en/servicemenu/home/
The following story:
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/87437502.html
Autism-study doctor facing grant probe
A Danish scientist involved in two major studies that debunked any linkage of vaccines to autism is suspected of misappropriating $2 million in U.S. grants at his university in Denmark.
Poul Thorsen, a medical doctor and Ph.D., was an adjunct professor at the Drexel University School of Public Health for several months before resigning Tuesday.
On Jan. 22, Aarhus University said that it had uncovered a "considerable shortfall" in grant money from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for a research program that Thorsen had directed. The university referred the matter to police, who are conducting an investigation.
Anti-vaccine groups have seized on the allegations to contend that scientific studies disproving the vaccine link to autism are wrong. Those groups have long argued that thimerosal, a preservative in some vaccines, can cause autism, as can the MMR vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella.
"I think it is quite significant," said Dan Olmsted of the Age of Autism. "I think someone allegedly capable of ripping off his own university by forging documents from the CDC is capable of pulling off anything."
The CDC and coauthors of the two studies published in major U.S. medical journals maintain the studies remain valid.
"CDC is aware of the allegations by Aarhus University against Poul Thorsen," agency spokesman Tom Skinner said in a statement. Federal authorities are investigating.
Skinner noted that Thorsen was one of many coauthors on peer-reviewed studies looking at autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and alcohol use in pregnancy.
"We have no reason to suspect that there are any issues related to the integrity of the science," Skinner said.
Efforts to reach Thorsen for comment by phone and e-mail this week were unsuccessful.
In a statement, Drexel University said that Thorsen was an adjunct at its School of Public Health from Dec. 11 until "he resigned his appointment with the school of public health on March 9, 2010."
Drexel's statement noted that his role was limited to serving as a member of the thesis committee of one doctoral student.
"To our knowledge, Dr. Thorsen has performed no other work directly connected to Drexel while holding a title at Drexel University," the statement said.
In 2002, Thorsen was the sixth named author of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that analyzed whether where is a connection between the MMR vaccine and autism by examining 537,303 children born in Denmark from 1991 through 1998.
The researchers concluded that their data provided "strong evidence" that there is no link.
"Poul Thorsen had absolutely no influence on the conclusions regarding this paper," wrote Mads Melbye, head of the division of epidemiology at the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen and senior author of the study, in response to e-mailed questions.
"Thorsen was not actively involved in the analysis and interpretation of the results of this paper," Melbye said.
The second study, published in Pediatrics in 2003, examined 956 Danish children diagnosed with autism from 1971 to 2000. It concluded the incidence of autism increased in Denmark after thimerosal was removed from vaccines.
Kreesten Meldgaard Madsen, the lead author, said Thorsen played a minor role.
"Dr. Thorsen was not in a position to change or compromise the data," Madsen wrote. "Dr. Thorsen was part of the review cycle, but never very active in giving input. Dr. Thorsen never had access to the raw data nor the analysis of the data."
Others, such as Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a vocal opponent of the anti-vaccine groups, said even if the allegation against Thorsen is true, it does not mean his science is bad.
"Let's assume it is true that he embezzled money," Offit said. "The notion that it casts the science into question is false. For these big epidemiological studies, it is hard to believe that one person could effectively change the data."
Offit pointed out that a dozen major studies show no link between MMR and autism and at least a half dozen say the same about thimerosal, which contains mercury.
But the Internet was afire over the allegations.
"Questions about Thorsen's scientific integrity may finally force CDC to rethink the vaccine protocols since most of the other key pro-vaccine studies cited by CDC rely on the findings of Thorsen's research group," Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote on the Huffington Post. "The validity of all these studies is now in question."
In its statement, Aarhus University said the Danish Agency for Science, Technology, and Innovation (DASTI) has gotten grants from the U.S. National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities since 2001. Thorsen directed the administration of the grants, the university said.
After discovering that money was missing, DASTI and Aarhus "became aware of two alleged CDC funding documents as well as a letter regarding funding commitments allegedly written by Randolph B. Williams of the CDC's procurement grants office. . . ."
"Upon investigation by CDC, a suspicion arose that those documents are forgeries."
The university's statement goes on to say that in March 2009, Thorsen resigned from its faculty.
Last month, the Copenhagen Post Online reported on the issue without naming Thorsen. The paper pegged the shortfall at 80 million kroner, about $2 million.
In Atlanta, where Thorsen is thought to live, Emory University said he began working there Sept. 1, 2003, as a part-time adjunct professor in its School of Public Health. Emory said that from April 2008 to June 2009, Thorsen "served as a full-time research professor. He is no longer employed at Emory."
"It is a sad story," wrote Melbye of the Statens Serum Institut in an e-mail. "We are all here with one big question: What has happened and why?"
Posted by: Raymond Gallup | March 17, 2010 at 07:17 PM
Madsen is lying.
Thorsen was by far the most powerful person involved in these studies. BY FAR
I am working on a piece about what went on in Thorsen's offices and his relationship to the CDC. More later.
Posted by: Katie Wright | March 17, 2010 at 07:15 PM
I googled Thorsen and this link to Left Brain/RightBrain comes up, but I can't seem to follow it on the LBRB site.
Autism Blog - Update: Dr. Poul Thorsen not missing, NOT suspected in theft....
If this website says that he is not missing why are they not contacting the Danish police to let him know where he is? Why has Dr. Thorsen not come forward to redeem himself?
Any trolls care to answer this one?
If I got pulled over by the police it would be "yes sir, no sir". How anyone can defend someone who does not turn himself in or make contact when the police are looking for him? He is not doing himself a favor in the eyes of the law, or in the eyes of NORMAL folk.
The longer Thorsen takes to respond to the authorities the worse it is for him.
Makes you wonder if he is not capable of responding. After all, loose lips sink big ships. Maybe there is a reason he has not come forward? JMHO.
Posted by: Tim Kasemodel | March 17, 2010 at 06:54 PM
so, he isn't missing?
It says "Thorsen resigned on Tuesday from his position in the US as adjunct professor at Drexel University in Philadephia, Pennsylvania in the wake of the investigation. "
Posted by: Sheri Nakken, RN, MA, Homeopath | March 17, 2010 at 05:11 PM
Evidence piles up and still the "emasculated stenographers" of U.S. mainstream media avert their eyes.
The people who benefited from Bernie Madoff's financial shenanigans resisted exposing him for 9 years. That group of heel-draggers would also include the people who would be embarrassed or ruined by such an expose, as well.
Posted by: nhokkanen | March 17, 2010 at 04:51 PM
As before, if he is caught and confesses, it is doubtful he will be procecuted.
The CDC will simply say, "He is honest, he said he took the money..."
Posted by: cmo | March 17, 2010 at 03:09 PM
I think it is hysterical how some of the Oraccolytes are clinging to the idea that this is some elaborate hoax that AoA has concocted in order to discredit this poor man. I've even seen them go as far as accusing AoA of faking the original document.
The pathetic! It Burns!!
Posted by: Craig Willoughby | March 17, 2010 at 02:30 PM
Otto, we didn't write the post. It's from the Danish Press, verbatim.
Posted by: Managing Editor | March 17, 2010 at 02:22 PM
This report is riddled with errors and is not up to the normal high editorial standards of AoA.
Did your editors read this report? The Thorson studies as well all know investigated thimerosal, not MMR.
What's the deal?
Posted by: Ottoschnaut | March 17, 2010 at 02:15 PM
Time to remove Dr.Thornson's research from the New England Journal of medicine, don't you think!
Posted by: victor | March 17, 2010 at 01:46 PM