Autism
pills were planned to be assessed in uncontrolled
[no placebo] experiment
This page is
research from an investigation by Brian Deer for the UK's Channel 4 Television
and The Sunday Times of London into a campaign
linking the MMR children's
vaccine with autism. | Go to part I:
The Lancet scandal | Go to part II:
The Wakefield factor
One finding from
Brian Deer's investigation was that Andrew Wakefield had filed patent claims for a vaccine and a
possible cure for autism, based on a fringe theory
of "transfer factors". His collaborator
and "co-inventor" was Hugh Fudenberg. Even before a press
conference, which launched the MMR scare in
February 1998, Royal Free hospital doctors had
sought approval to test an "autism
treatment", based on Wakefield's and
Fudenberg's theories. But there would be no
placebo safeguard against either natural parental
optimism, or misinterpretation of the varied
development commonly seen in autistic children.
The project was eventually abandoned
In July 2007, Dr
Berelowitz told a panel of the UK General Medical
Council, hearing disciplinary charges against
Andrew Wakefield, John Walker-Smith and Simon
Murch, that references to him with regard to this
project were untrue. He said that he didn't agree
to take part, that he didn't have any experience
of therapeutic trials involving autistic
children, and that he didn't believe an
uncontrolled trial of any such purported therapy
was appropriate.
|