Cubic News

Twelve years after the original publication date, the fraud behind the 1998 study thought to link the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine with the onset of autism in children with bowel problems has been exposed. The article has been fully retracted. This situation highlights the need for the scientific community to not place an undue amount of attention and significance to findings from a study where such a small sample size (12 patients) was used. It also highlights the significant consequences of the general public jumping to conclusions.

Despite the efforts of other researchers, the findings from this study could not be reproduced. In hindsight, this was not surprising since the “link” between the MMR vaccine and autism was actually preconceived by one of the primary investigators and supported by tampered findings and flawed scientific research methodology:

• Selective recruitment of study participants: The 12 children included in the study were selectively recruited or self-referred through the anti-vaccine community. The selection process also sought to include only those with diagnoses and/or symptoms that would “fit” the hypothesis.
• Altered medical records: Patient medical records were altered to establish a temporal link between receiving the MMR vaccine and the onset of behavioural symptoms. To achieve this outcome, the onset of autistic symptoms was erroneously reported to have occurred within days of receiving the vaccine. In reality, 5 of the 12 children in the study had developmental concerns prior to receiving the vaccine; other children began showing autistic-like behaviours months after receiving the MMR vaccine. In addition, several children reported to have “regressive autism” did not have autism at all.¹

It appears that there was an undisclosed conflict of interest where the primary researcher was employed by a lawyer for an anti-vaccination organization for two years prior to the release of the study. It is also suggested that the objective of the study was to create evidence with which to launch a class action suit against the manufacturers of the MMR vaccine.

How could a study involving only 12 participants have the impact that it did on vaccination rates around the world? The most likely answer would be the timing of its release. This study was reported at a time when autism rates were on the rise and parents were looking for answers. The findings linking vaccination to autism hit a nerve with the public, and exploded through the media.

As a result, there was a reduction in vaccination rates among children, which ultimately lead to the resurgence of infection rates. There were over 1,000 cases of measles in the United Kingdom in 2008² – the greatest number of cases since the Health Protection Agency began monitoring the incidence of measles in 1995.

References

1-Deer B. How the case against the MMR vaccine was fixed. BMJ. 2011;342:77-82.
2-Health Protection Agency. Measles figures soar. 2008. Accessed January 24, 2010. Available:http://www.hpa.org.uk/NewsCentre/NationalPressReleases/2008PressReleases/081128measles/