How Do you Say, "If you Can't Trust the Integrity of the (Autism) Researcher" in Danish?
By Anne Dachel
Dr. Max Wiznitzer: ‘If you can't trust the integrity of the researcher, you can't trust the research.’ (HERE)
On April 4, Dr. Max Wiznitzer spoke at Marietta College in Marietta Ohio about autism and vaccines. Wiznitzer is considered an autism expert because he’s a pediatric neurologist at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland, OH and he’s got 25 years experience working with autistic children. He’s also testified a number of times against parents who claimed that vaccines caused autism in their children.
In his speech at Marietta College, his message was clear: Vaccines don’t cause autism and British doctor Andrew Wakefield’s research on the MMR vaccine was a fraud. Wiznitzer said, ‘If you can't trust the integrity of the researcher, you can't trust the research.’
Wiznitzer claimed that “Wakefield's hypothesis was fueled by media attention and peoples' willingness to believe an unscientific study because it was published in a journal.”
Wakefield was the center of huge media storm back in January when British reporter Brian Deer had a lengthy article published in the British Medical Journal. It was all about how Wakefield had manipulated his patients’ medical records to create a link between vaccines and autism.
The American media ate it up. Newspapers ran stories and the major TV networks gave it lots of coverage, even bringing in their medical experts for commentary.
Lost in all of this were the actual people involved in Wakefield’s work. Not one source talked to any of the parents of the 12 children Wakefield wrote about in his original 1998 Lancet paper. These were the autistic children he treated as a gastroenterologist. He found they had a novel form of bowel disease. Their parents had come to him for help. These parents reported that their children regressed after receiving the MMR vaccine. The U.S. press left most of this out of their reporting, alleging only that Wakefield linked vaccines to autism and he did it for personal gain.
Righteous indignation flowed from news anchors and network doctors. Medical fraud would not to be tolerated by CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, and CNN.
Sanjay Gupta went on CBS NEWS and interviewed Wakefield. Gupta told him, "These charges are a big deal in the world of science. The most damning evidence of all is that perhaps these numbers, the dates, were all fabricated to sort of make a case.”
George Stephanopoulos at ABC NEWS during an interview of Wakefield said, "Given all this [fraud], why should anyone trust what you have to say about this matter?"
Dr. Nancy Snyderman at NBC NEWS: "They're [the BMJ] saying he fabricated data, that this was fraud, that he willingly changed the details about the kids he reported on. They do not mince their words. ...This is a shock that is going to be heard around the world."
“Let me read to you from the British Medical Journal, ‘Who perpetrated this fraud? There is no doubt that it was Wakefield. Is it possible that he was wrong, but not dishonest? That he was so incompetent that he was unable to fairly describe the project?
‘No.’
“That’s not editorial opinion. That’s scientific opinion.”
Dr. Manny Alvarez at FOX NEWS in a segment entitled, Stop Lying About the Autism-Vaccine ‘Link,’ had this to say: “Now, to find out that Dr. Wakefield’s research was an “elaborate fraud,” with alleged financial motives, hurts me more than anything.
“In my opinion, scientific fraud is one of the most lethal crimes that any person can commit. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Doctors take an oath of ‘do no harm.’ And for a doctor to knowingly publish fraudulent “data” to support bogus claims for personal and professional gain is disgusting.
“I feel angry, but more importantly I feel sad, not only for my Ryan, but for the millions children and their families that are still searching for answers.
“I have no doubt that understanding autism and its roots will be identified in the near future. Hopefully, not by doctors like Wakefield, but by doctors who are really looking out for our children.”
By far the most damning coverage of Wakefield came from CNN, specifically from news anchor Anderson Cooper.
“A now-retracted British study that linked autism to childhood vaccines is an ‘elaborate fraud,’ according to a medical journal -- a charge the physician behind the study vigorously denies.”
During an interview of Wakefield, Cooper said, “Not only did you do a study that was scientifically and ethically flawed, it was…an elaborate fraud….You altered numerous facts about patients’ medical histories to support your claim…”
“Sir, if you’re lying then your book is also a lie. If your study is a lie, then your book is a lie.”
From the outside, it looked like the American media was doing its job and was devoted to uncovering the truth.
In reality however, this was coverage of convenience. Look at the recent breaking news reports revealing that a top vaccine researcher paid by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been charged with multiple counts of fraud and money laundering.
Danish scientist, Dr. Poul Thorsen has long been a hero to the American medical community and federal health officials. He’s one of the major players in the famous “Danish Studies” that soundly disproved a link between vaccines and autism. This research has been used for years to silence the experts who believe vaccines are seriously harming our children. The media has cited it endlessly as proof of vaccine safety. The Institute of Medicine relied on it for their famous 2004 report that declared the overwhelming evidence showed no link between vaccines and autism. And the federal vaccine court used this research against parents who claimed that vaccines caused autism in their children.
This past month we learned that there’s a dark side to Thorsen. While he’s been a favorite of U.S. officials who need his research to back their claims that vaccines don’t cause autism, he’s now accused to stealing some of their funding. U.S. federal prosecutors are seeking to extradite him on 13 counts of wire fraud and nine counts of money laundering. He’s supposed to have stolen over $1 million of autism research funding. A Danish news source said that in 2002 Thorsen moved to Denmark and became the principal investigator for the grant, and was responsible for administering the research money awarded by the CDC.
Thorsen was hired to investigate a possible link between vaccines and autism and he gave the agency the findings they wanted. They were happy to continue paying him through 2008.
During the time he was researching vaccines, he submitted over a dozen fraudulent claims, signed by a laboratory section chief at the CDC, each for repayment of expenses that he claimed were related to his research.
That is huge. What does this do to the credibility of his findings that supposedly cleared vaccines of any link to autism? Why isn’t the media demanding that CDC officials explain how this could have happened?
It seems no one cares, at least not the people at the major networks in the U.S.
Dr. Nancy Snyderman, Anderson Cooper, Dr. Manny Alvarez, George Stephanopoulos, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta haven’t said a word about it. Not a word.
The emotional attack we witnessed when the issue was Dr. Wakefield’s research seemed to show that these news people really cared about the safety of childhood vaccines. They were right there telling us that when someone creates false claims of damaging side effects it could cause parents not to vaccinate and put kids at risk.
Where is their concern when charges involving Thorsen’s findings are being made? What is his safety claims aren’t valid?
This brings up a recent PBS interview HERE on the same subject with Dr. David Amaral, research director at the MIND Institute at the University of California, Davis. Amaral is one of the top experts in the country when it comes to autism. Robert MacNeal, a veteran journalist, talked to Dr. Amaral about the possible cause of autism.
MacNeil asked, “What is your position today on vaccines and autism?”
In response to this, Amaral gave the broad disclaimer, “I think it's pretty clear that, in general, vaccines are not the culprit.” And the reason was the standard, studies show no link.
Then he added this blockbuster, “It's not to say, however, that there is a small subset of children who may be particularly vulnerable to vaccines.”
He went on to say, “And in their case, having the vaccines, or particular vaccines, particularly in certain kinds of situations -- if the child was ill, if the child had a precondition. Like a mitochondrial defect. Vaccinations for those children actually may be the environmental factor that tipped them over the edge of autism. And I think it is incredibly important, still, to try and figure out what, if any, vulnerabilities, in a small subset of children, might make them at risk for having certain vaccinations.”
MacNeil asked if more studies of these possibly susceptible kids should be done.
Amaral answered, “Yeah. So I think, personally, it's a reasonable thing to do. Because I think that autism is ultimately going to have many, many causes. There are going be many, many subsets of children that are going to have different etiologies. Some of which are going be more environmental, some of which are going be more genetic. And I frankly don't think that there's going to be a large group of children that -- their autism is caused by their standard immunizations. But you know, it could be a small subset.”
Isn’t this what Wakefield did? Didn’t he propose the possibility that vaccines were harming certain children and more study was needed?
So why haven’t we heard from Alvarez, Cooper, Gupta, Snyderman, and Stephanopoulos regarding the public statements of David Amaral? Isn’t Amaral also perpetrating a fraud, in the words of Nancy Snyderman? Isn’t he also lying, according to Anderson Cooper?
This selective coverage can only be seen as blatant hypocrisy.
When considering Poul Thorsen’s actions, the words of Max Wiznitzer need to repeated, ‘If you can't trust the integrity of the researcher, you can't trust the research.’
And I’d like to add, if you can’t trust the integrity of members of the media, you can’t trust their reporting.
Anne Dachel is media editor for Age of Autism.
could do with the articles being dated.
Anderson Cooper, CNN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC_4w9xOvvo
Posted by: john | April 28, 2011 at 09:34 AM
Christine, il y a un homme qui parlait avec les familles - attendez s'il vous plait! :) (And my spell check goes bananas.)
Posted by: La Stagmom | April 27, 2011 at 02:04 PM
Thank you very much for this great article Anne!
« Si vous remettez en question l’intégrité d’un chercheur, vous remettez en question sa recherche. » we say in French.
It is an outrage that “Not one source talked to any of the parents of the 12 children Wakefield wrote about in his original 1998 Lancet paper”. How many more genetically predisposed children do we need to see fall into autism hell before mainstream doctors and media start questioning the integrity of some researchers? As former FL Congressman and physician, Dave Weldon said it in 2004 "Something is rotten but not just in Denmark". http://www.co-brass.com/AutismOneWeldonRemarks.pdf
Posted by: Christine | April 27, 2011 at 01:17 PM
Benedetta
Scots hero William Wallace was another 'Braveheart' who attempted to stand up to powerful political forces. He got hung drawn and quartered!!
Posted by: Jenny Allan | April 27, 2011 at 11:11 AM
cmo-The Marietta College Times issued the following correction.
Note they are attempting to blame the reporting NOT Nitwitzer!!
http://www.themariettatimes.com/page/content.detail/id/535498/Correction-for-4-23.html?nav=5015
"Autism expert Dr. Max Wiznitzer did not say that Dr. Andrew Wakefield claimed mercury was used in the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Incorrect information appeared in the April 5 Marietta Times."
Posted by: Jenny Allan | April 27, 2011 at 12:36 AM
Was in not Dr. Max Wiznitzer who stated that the "mercury in the MMR shot" was what Dr. Wakefield thought was causing Autism ????? This would obviously make Dr. Wiznitzer a complete medical bozo.
I am sure Dr. Wakefield knows there was never any mercury in the MMR vaccine.
The complete silence of the Dr. Thorsen CDC theft by the American networks sadly shows that they have no interest in the truth of anything. Sadly this is where American families get their medical information.
Posted by: cmo | April 26, 2011 at 09:04 PM
You go Jenny Allen!
I sent your last response to Dr. Carmel Wallace of the University of Kentucky --for the doctor's half way mention of Dr. Wakefield in local medical article.
I told the good doctor that with a last name like Wallace why would he be so beleiving of anything to do with British justice when it involved buisness with lots of money and power.
Your last response was even better - I will save it untill the next go around.
Posted by: Benedetta | April 26, 2011 at 08:49 AM
This was my Johns Hopkins Gazette comment following that outrageous talk by Brian Deer last week!! Needless to say, after a long spell being 'moderated' it was 'quietly dropped'!! Did anyone else attempt to 'speak your mind' on the JHU Gazette? There were no other comments published!!
*John Stone was very cynical about my comment about a Deer
UK university platform!! Let's just say some of Deer's comments would NOT have survived UK libel laws!!
"I live in Scotland. In the UK Brian Deer, who has NO medical or scientific qualifications whatsoever, would never be given a 'platform' in any university to spout this malicious and slanderous venom against Dr Andrew Wakefield and his Royal Free Hospital colleagues. Paediatric gastroenterologist Professor Walker-Smith who was 'struck off' by the GMC alongside Dr Wakefield is appealing this decision in the High Court. He was 'dragged' into the GMC dock along with his clinician colleague Professor Simon Murch, because Dr Wakefield was employed as a research scientist and had no clinical contact with children. (Simon Murch was exonerated of all charges by the GMC).
The GMC 'trial' took three years and cost an estimated £7million (around 10 million dollars). The GMC is NOT even a REAL court but is quasi judicial. The GMC is presently going through a reform process after an avalanche of public criticism which accused them of neglecting to protect patients, and instead involving themselves in protecting political and medical establishment interests with these so called 'ethical' allegations and trials.
Deer's recent allegations of Wakefield et al 'fraudulently' altering GP records in THAT 1998 Lancet article are completely unfounded because the Royal Free clinicians DID NOT USE GP records; instead they used the childrens' developmental records or red books in which visiting health personnel record the vaccinations and child 'milestones'. Deer had NO access to these books, which he referred to as 'baby books' on a UK radio programme, but is alleged to have illegally obtained copies of the GP records(which are STRICTLY confidential)from a London Health Centre doctor. In the BBC Radio 4 'Science Betrayed' programme Deer said that Dr Wakefield is an 'incompetent doctor' because he used the 'baby books', when he 'should have used the GP records'. This Deer 'admission' completely negates EVERYTHING that Deer wrote about Dr Wakefield in his recent BMJ article 'How case against he MMR vaccine was fixed'. The only 'fixing' was by Deer himself!!I COULD also add that it was the clinicians who compliled the Lancet 12 children's medical histories. As a research scientist, based in his laboratory, Dr Wakefield only wrote up what the treating clinicians recorded.
Deer's talk at the Johns Hopkins seems to have completely failed to deal with the REAL issues concerning MMR autism and bowel disease, but instead used cheap jibes and allusions to poker playing and gambling, stating that Dr Wakefield was looking for a 'jackpot of money'!! These unproven sensationalist allegations were distasteful at best and slanderous at worse, but Brian Deer is not noted for his compassion towards those parents who are convinced that vaccines played some part in their childrens' illnesses and even deaths in some instances.
I hope no US taxpayer's money was used to pay Brian Deer's fees and expenses. I note that Johns Hopkins has recently reported an increase in inflammatory bowel disease in children; there has also been a corresponding exponential increase in autism spectrum disorders since MMR vaccine was introduced, in the UK now one child in 60 is autistic. This amounts to an epidemic and you cannot blame parents for demanding answers or for their anger over what appears to be a very uncaring and hostile medical and scientific community which sponsores cruel jokes at their's and their children's expense."
Shame on you Johns Hopkins!!
Posted by: Jenny Allan | April 26, 2011 at 02:20 AM
Are we hearing the faint foot steps of thimerosal approaching?
http://ppjg.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/listening-for-the-thimerosal-footsteps/#more-16238
Posted by: Wrusssr | April 25, 2011 at 11:44 PM
Anne,
You rock!
Keep it up for my Thomas!
;D
Posted by: Tim Kasemodel | April 25, 2011 at 11:39 PM
RE: And I’d like to add, if you can’t trust the integrity of members of the media, you can’t trust their reporting.
One more.
And if you can't trust the Pharma to make safe products that never get recalled because they kill or maim people in any other area of medicine, all the while using their enormous PR budget to deny any wrong doing, then you can't trust them to not do the same in the area of vaccines either.
Posted by: Adam M | April 25, 2011 at 10:14 PM
Love this, Anne. I sent it off to Dr. Nitwitzer so he CAN HAVE LOTS OF COPIES FOR HIS SCRAPBOOK.
Maurine
Posted by: Maurine Meleck | April 25, 2011 at 09:33 PM
The profiteers are circling their limousines...
The Wall Street Journal linked to Science-based Medicine's breathless announcement: Dr. Steven Novella appearing on the Dr. Oz show tomorrow!
Wiznitzer, Caplan, Offit and their financial friends make quite the cozy Venn diagram.
Posted by: nhokkanen | April 25, 2011 at 08:56 PM
The allegations are unfounded and unjust.
Carecrowe uploaded a new video (8 hours ago)
GMC 28th Jan 2010
Findings on fact. Dr Andrew Wakefield's fate at the GMC hearing 28th Jan 2010 reiterated. Video covers clips of the parents support outside the GMC building London, the journalists and features Danny Shine from the Love Police. Everything is OK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qtz-iGDM6c4
Posted by: Joan [email protected] | April 25, 2011 at 05:57 PM
CHS Challenge to Dr Max Wiznitzer: 8 Questions on Vaccines Causing Autistic Conditions
http://childhealthsafety.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/chs-challenge-to-dr-max-wiznitzer-8-questions-on-vaccines-causing-autistic-conditions/
Posted by: ChildHealthSafety | April 25, 2011 at 02:37 PM
http://gazette.jhu.edu/2011/04/11/gene-linked-to-severity-of-autism%e2%80%99s-social-dysfunction/
There's plenty of gene research into autism including this discovery at the John's Hopkins. However, as Steph's comment quoting Bernadine Healy's statement points out:-
"According to Dr. Bernadine Healy in 2008 video interview, she states that the right studies are not being done and when asked why, she states, "The govt advised us in 2004, do not pursue suseptibility groups. Don't look for those patients."
I put the following comment on to the above Johns Hopkins article. It spent a week 'in moderation' before being scrapped. There are no other comments published after this article either. The invitation to comment states 'speak your mind' I just DID Johns Hopkins!!:-
"How interesting!! A genetic predisposition to autism was also postulated in this extract from a scientific paper, published more than 13 years ago:-
"A genetic predisposition to autistic spectrum disorders is suggested by over-representation in boys and a greater concordance rate in monozygotic than in dizygotic twins. In the context of susceptibility to infection, a genetic association with autism, linked to a null allele of the complement C4B gene located in the III region of the major-histocombatibility complex, has been recorded by Warren and colleagues. C4B-gene products are crucial for the activation of the complement pathway and protection against infection; individuals inheriting one or two C4B null alleles may not handle certain viruses appropriately, possibly including attenuated strains."
This paper, in addition to the papers by Warren et al 1991 and 1996, also referenced a paper by Rutter et al (no date given).
What was this paper?? It was titled:-
'Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children.' The Lancet 1998
A J Wakefield, S H Murch, J A Walker-Smith et al (another 9 co-authors)
On Tuesday 19th April, the Johns Hopkins University hosted a talk by Brian Deer who has devoted the past 13 years to destroying Dr Wakefield and his colleagues at the Royal Free Hospital, London, (now University College London). A complaint by Deer led to a three year GMC 'show trial' after which Dr Wakefield and Professor Walker Smith were struck off, although Professor Murch was cleared of all charges. Prof Walker Smith is appealing this decision in the High Court. Sir Michael Rutter was a principal expert witness for the 'prosecution' on disclosure, although he failed to mention he had himself been a well paid expert witness for defending vaccine manufacturers in the US. Not content with this, Brian Deer now claims the entire paper was fraudulent via a specially commissioned article in the BMJ, 'How the case against the MMR vaccine was fixed', (5-01-11).
The 1998 Lancet paper clearly states "We did not prove an association between measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.' The concluding sentence states 'Further investigations are needed to examine this syndrome and its possible relation to this vaccine.'
Am I missing something here?... or have the scientists failed to follow up an opportunity to screen out children with a possible genetic predisposition to autism? These children could have been immunised with monovalent vaccines instead of MMR. Instead, countless millions of dollars were spent on useless epidemiological studies to prove that autism levels were NOT rising. Well THEY ARE and the numbers have reached epidemic levels! Can we please do something NOW, before an entire working age population instead become damaged and dependent."
Posted by: Jenny Allan | April 25, 2011 at 11:20 AM
“It's not to say, however, that there is a small subset of children who may be particularly vulnerable to vaccines.”
According to Dr. Bernadine Healy in 2008 video interview, she states that the right studies are not being done and when asked why, she states, "The govt advised us in 2004, do not pursue suseptibility groups. Don't look for those patients, those children that may be vunerable. I really take issue with that conclusion. The reason why they did not want to look at those suseptibility groups was because they're afraid, if they found them, however big or small they were, that that would scare the public away".
As I see it, we have wasted years because our government and researchers feel these children (sub group) are expendable. Too me, that is criminal.
Posted by: Steph M | April 25, 2011 at 09:41 AM
John, if we can't trust Max Wiznitzer to correct himself when he makes a mistake, then we can't trust him as well.
Posted by: victor pavlovic | April 25, 2011 at 08:21 AM
Presumably, when David Amaral (and Bernardine Healy) exclude the possibility that vaccines are implicated in the statitical rise of autism they are still crediting CDC studies. We know, of course, also that that vaccines are implicated individual cases as has been conceded by the US government on a number of occasions.
http://childhealthsafety.wordpress.com/2011/04/09/silent-mnookin/
Posted by: John Stone | April 25, 2011 at 06:54 AM
http://www.themariettatimes.com/page/content.detail/id/535498/Correction-for-4-23.html?nav=5015
Nitwitzer said a lot more that was incorrect at that Marietta's college talk. It took them more than a week to issue this correction and they had to be forced to do this via a commenter on their comment thread. There was NO apology!!
How about some 'corrections' from CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, and CNN!!!
Posted by: Jenny Allan | April 25, 2011 at 06:44 AM