Progressive Commentary Hour – 01/23/12

PT1  Recent lawsuits against the British Medical Journal and Brian Deer.

Isabella Thomas has two autistic children who were part of the original 12 patients in the Royal Free study reported in the Lancet by Drs Wakefield, Walker Smith, Murch and colleagues. It is this 1998 study by Wakefield, subsequently retracted by the publication, that has caused such a furry over the MMR vaccine and which is now the basis for the witch hunt against Wakefield in the UK.

Dr. David Lewis is a former senior research microbiologist for the US Environmental Protection Agency’s R&D department, and a respected expert in institutional fraud.  This year Dr. Lewis issued official report calling for a formal investigation into the practices of the British Medical Journal, in particular the journal’s chief editor Dr. Fiona Godlee and the freelance journalist Brian Deer, regarding Dr Andrew Wakefield’s research & published papers about the measles virus & GI disorders in autistic children. While at the National Whistleblowers Center, Dr. Lewis’ investigation into medical records has led him to the conclusion that the British Medical Journal & Brian Deer have espoused a theory that is tabloid science at best.

 

Pt2  Interview with British journalist Brian Deer 

Brian Deer is an award-winning British investigative reporter, best known for inquiries into the drug industry, medicine and social issues for the Sunday Times of London.  In a series of reports between 2004 and 2010, Deer investigated concerns over the MMR vaccine, their publication in The Lancet medical journal in February 1998, and their chief proponent Andrew Wakefield. Deer’s investigation led to the longest-ever inquiry by the UK General Medical Council. In January 2010, the GMC judged Wakefield to be “dishonest”, “unethical” and “callous”, and on 24 May 2010, he was struck off the UK medical register.

Responding to Deer’s findings, The Lancet partially retracted Wakefield’s research in February 2004, and fully retracted it in February 2010 following the GMC findings.

In 2011, Deer published his findings in the BMJ with an endorsement by the editors.

Brian Deer puts for his challenges against Dr Andrew Wakefield.

 

Pt3 The Wakefield Files- the case against John Deer & the British Medical Journal

Dr. Andrew Wakefield is an academic gastroenterologist specializing in inflammatory bowel disease and the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine or MMR. He is a former Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and has published over 130 original scientific papers and book chapters. In 1998, he and his colleagues at the Royal Free Hospital in London reported a novel inflammatory bowel disease in children with developmental disorders such as autism.

Dr. Wakefield lost his job at the Royal Free Hospital, his career and medical license; he is officially banned from practicing medicine. Living in Austin Texas, Dr. Wakefield continues to conduct his research in the effects of the MMR vaccine and the causes for autism spectrum disorders. “Callous Disregard: Autism and Vaccines, The Truth Behind the Tragedy”

Clifford Miller is a lawyer in Kent, UK & a solicitor of the supreme court of England civil proceedings, who has specialized in intellectual property, anti-trust & legal issues in the electronics & communications fields; he has been investigating vaccine issues & science.  

Jim Moody is Dr. Wakefield’s US attorney; the current director of the family advocacy organization The National Autism Association, and the research think tank Safeminds, providing excellent resources on autism & vaccine related issues.  He consults with the Petitioners Steering Committee on autism cases in Vaccine Court.

Dr. Edward Yazbak is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics & a Medical Expert for the Social Security Administration Office of Disability Adjudication and Review. He has practiced pediatrics for 35 years;  since 1998 he has researched the prevalence & causes of auto-immune regressive autism & vaccine injury. He has written extensively on those subjects and testified as a medical expert.  His grandson is autistic and was treated at the Royal Free Hospital by Drs Wakefield and Walker-Smith

Isabella Thomas discusses her experiences  with Dr Wakefield &  Brain Deer.

Richard Gale discusses the lack of evidence proving the safety & efficacy of vaccines.

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