A Presentation in the U.S. by Dr. Andrew Wakefield on a Vaccine Safety 5-Year Project

This series of 10 YouTube videos, posted on June 26, 2010, shows a presentation by Dr. Andrew Wakefield, who is working in the U.S. now, about a collaborative project between Thoughtful House and the University of Pittsburgh looking at aspects of vaccine safety.

From the Thoughtful House website:

Basic Science Research

A primate model of gut, immune, and central nervous system interaction in response to childhood vaccines.

In 2002, Thoughtful House Center for Children embarked on a 5-year collaborative study with researchers at the University of Pittsburgh to develop a primate model for assessing the role of childhood vaccinations in regressive autism. Led by Dr. Laura Hewitson, this non-human primate model for studying vaccine safety enabled us to fully explore the neurodevelopmental, gastrointestinal, and immunologic effects of combined infant vaccine regimens in the most appropriate animal model, the rhesus macaque. Previous vaccine safety studies have tended to examine individual vaccines; none have looked at the potential for synergy and interaction in the context of adverse events. This research model is uniquely capable of providing insights into disease mechanism and cause, as well as having utility in translational studies concerning treatment and prevention.

Based on the success of the pilot study, Phase II of the study is already underway in collaboration with researchers at the University of Washington, Seattle. Phase II is investigating more closely which vaccine(s), or vaccine combinations, result in behavioral and gastrointestinal impairments in infant male rhesus macaques to try to identify any synergistic effects. The study is expected to be completed in 2012.

For more information please see our published papers.

I'm glad Dr. Wakefield has a role in the U.S. now advocating for vaccine safety research.

Dr. Wakefield talks about the age of exposure phenomenon - that the age of exposure influences the risk of adverse outcome - in Part 3 of 10. The Hepatitis B vaccine is administered on the first day of life. But Hepatitis B is a disease of those who are sexually promiscuous or are intravenous drug abusers:

This is a confusing topic, I think, because vaccination, itself, may be a bad idea - so what difference does it make how vaccines are tested before being used on humans??

That's the way I feel.

But people assume vaccination is good medical practice so I guess the best approach is to post on vaccine safety research.

Originally posted by Mary Rose
Dr. Wakefield

He is just Mr Wakefield now, as he has been struck off for money-grabbing malpractice.

He is no more a doctor than I am.

reply to post by FatherLukeDuke


Not true at all.

But people have to do their research on this.

Originally posted by Mary Rose
But people have to do their research on this.

I strongly recommend the 1 hr 2 min video of an interview with Dr. Andrew Wakefield (his medical degree remains intact) at this website: Goldenhawk Projects.

I also recommend this 10 part interview of him by Dr. Mercola:

This is testimony from a parent of an autistic child who sought help from Dr. Wakefield for her child's symptoms of gastrointestinal distress:

Originally posted by Mary Rose
Not true at all.

But people have to do their research on this.

A UK medical degree is not a higher degree. He does not have a doctorate and he has been stuck off by the General Medical Council. He cannot practice medicine, or call himself a "Medical Practitioner".

You can refer to him as "Dr" if you like, but to me his is just Wakefield. That's the most polite term I will use...

Andrew Wakefield has been struck off as a Doctor in the UK. His research was fraudulent and can quite clearly be demonstrated to be so. I know in saying this, that it is a futile argument when dealing with proponents on anti-vax. Clearly such people have a clear lack of understanding about science and how health has improved since the advent of vaccination. Unfortunately, by supporting anti-vax you are lowering herd immunity and putting peoples lives in danger. I have three people who work for who are unable to be vaccinated and it could well be the result of some idiots who refuse to be vaccinated, that their lives are put in danger and their children suffer the consequences of someone else`s actions.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, you should however, be clear that your opinion and its actions kills.

www.jennymccarthybodycount.com...

Originally posted by cassini
His research was fraudulent and can quite clearly be demonstrated to be so.

So demonstrate it.

As an aside, one thing I've learned by researching vaccination-related issues is that Wikipedia cannot be trusted for anything that has to do with medicine. Thank God for other internet sources.

It's interesting to me that none of the videos posted in this thread mention Wakefield's partnership with lawyers filing suits related to the fraudulent autism-vaccine link, nor do they reference the $400,000+ he made from this partnership.

Very interesting indeed.

There is a .pdf online entitled "Autism Advocacy Organizations and Parent Groups Support Dr. Andrew Wakefield" dated January 12, 2011:

Last week, an article in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), written by a freelance newspaper
reporter, Brian Deer, created a media firestorm in the United States. In his article, Brian Deer accuses Dr. Andrew Wakefield of deliberate fraud regarding his 1998 case series, which was published in the British journal, The Lancet. Dr. Wakefield reported that the children in his case series were suffering from a novel form of bowel disease and that parents reported a temporal link between the onset of symptoms and receipt of the MMR vaccine. Contrary to what has been reported in the media over the years, Dr. Wakefield never stated that the MMR vaccine caused autism. The full text of the original paper is available at www.generationrescue.org

These libelous accusations are based on the flimsiest possible construct. Deer claims fraud on the basis of differences between the case histories in the Lancet study and the children’s private medical records which Deer obtained under questionable circumstances. Since the team at the Royal Free Hospital never had access to the children’s private medical records, it was impossible for them to know what was in them and, therefore, impossible for them to fraudulently report something different. It is standard practice in medicine for a specialist seeing a new patient to take a new history. Of the parents involved in the original study, none have made any complaint, at any time, against Dr. Wakefield. In the case of the only parent we can confirm Brian Deer actually spoke to, Deer used false pretenses and the alias “Brian Lawrence” to obtain the interview. The parent did not turn over any medical records to him.

The undersigned autism organizations, representing thousands of parents, are deeply disturbed by this most recent character assassination of Dr. Andrew Wakefield. This is an attempt to discredit a doctor who has been extraordinarily courageous in treating and researching children suffering with both bowel disease and autism. He has paid a high personal price for his refusal to walk away from children who are suffering and has earned the utmost respect from the families of these children. We believe this is an industry‐driven attempt to shift public attention away from legitimate concerns about vaccine reactions and the development of autism. Science, even controversial findings, should not be distorted by fear or greed.

The truth in this story is that Dr. Wakefield’s findings of bowel disease in association with autism have been replicated (see references) and his work along with that of other doctors has advanced the treatment of these children to the point that the journal, Pediatrics, has published a paper on the treatment for gastrointestinal symptoms in children with autism. The issue of whether MMR is causal for this subgroup of autistic children remains an open question. The epidemiological studies that claim to prove there is no link between the MMR and autism have not had the statistical power to rule out a link for a subset of susceptible children. Much study remains to be done. Attempts to “shoot the messenger” will only result in further erosion of public trust. . . .

Age of Autism
Autism Action Network
Autism Media Channel
Autism One
Autism File Global
Autism Research Institute
Elizabeth Birt Center for Autism Law and Advocacy
Generation Rescue
National Autism Association
Schafer Autism Report
TACA‐Talk About Curing Autism
The Autism Trust USA/UK
The Coalition for SafeMinds

The following peer-reviewed papers support Dr. Wakefield’s original findings:

Furlano R, Anthony A, Day R, Brown A, Mc Garvey L, Thomson M, et al. “Colonic CD8 and T cell
filtration with epithelial damage in children with autism.“ J Pediatr 2001;138:366-72.
Sabra S, Bellanti JA, Colon AR. “Ileal lymphoid hyperplasia, non-specific colitis and pervasive
developmental disorder in children”. The Lancet 1998;352:234-5.
Torrente F., Machado N., Perez-Machado M., Furlano R., Thomson M., Davies S., Wakefield AJ, Walker-Smith JA, Murch SH. “Enteropathy with T cell infiltration and epithelial IgG deposition in autism.” Molecular Psychiatry. 2002;7:375-382.
Wakefield AJ, Anthony A, Murch SH, Thomson M, Montgomery SM, Davies S, Walker-Smith JA.“Enterocolitis in children with developmental disorder.” American Journal of Gastroenterology 2000;95:2285-2295.
Ashwood P, Anthony A, Pellicer AA, Torrente F, Wakefield AJ. “Intestinal lymphocyte populations in children with regressive autism: evidence for extensive mucosal immunopathology.” Journal of Clinical Immunology, 2003;23:504-517.

The following peer-reviewed papers replicate Dr. Wakefield’s original findings:

Gonzalez, L. et al., “Endoscopic and Histological Characteristics of the Digestive Mucosa in Autistic Children with gastro-Intestinal Symptoms“. Arch Venez Pueric Pediatr, 2005;69:19-25.
Balzola, F., et al., “Panenteric IBD-like disease in a patient with regressive autism shown for the first time by wireless capsule enteroscopy: Another piece in the jig-saw of the gut-brain
syndrome?” American Journal of Gastroenterology, 2005. 100(4): p. 979- 981.
Balzola F et al . “Autistic enterocolitis: confirmation of a new inflammatory bowel disease in an Italian cohort of patients.” Gastroenterology 2005;128(Suppl. 2);A-303.

These are the articles on treatment of gastrointestinal symptoms in autistic children:

Buie T, et al. Pediatrics. 2010 Jan;125 Suppl 1:S19-29. Recommendations for evaluation and
treatment of common gastrointestinal problems in children with ASDs.
Buie T, et al. Pediatrics. 2010 Jan;125 Suppl 1:S1-18. Evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of
gastrointestinal disorders in individuals with ASDs: a consensus report

reply to post by Mary Rose

It is always good to keep sharing information like this. There will always be people that will tow the company line and say that anyone not agreeing with the mainstream is a quack. They actually help the cause though,, since everytime they argue their point, someone with the opposite/different stance has to come up with more information. This only gets more info out there for everyone to read, analyse and learn for themselves.

And this is why I believe that vaccines, in their combinations and treatment schedules for infants, are dangerous to many. To be clear here, because of some topic like this on ATS, I go do research and make my own decisions on whats best for my family. That is ok in America, at this point, right? When we don't have that choice anymore it will be a sorry day.

reply to post by Mary Rose


here we go quite simple

www.bmj.com...

if you actually understand what is happening here rather than listening to the rhetoric of people such as Age of Autism you would understand why.

The evidence here is quite clear. As I said in my previous post your "opinion" could unfortunately, cause someone to loose their life. I hope you are clear on the ramifications of your actions.

reply to post by cassini


I had checked out the article on the BMJ website entitled "How the case against the MMR vaccine was fixed" by Brian Deer previous to starting this thread. I noted in the footnotes that funding of Brian Deer's investigation was provided by the Sunday Times of London and the Channel 4 television network. It also says that legal costs were paid to Deer by the Medical Protection Society "on behalf of Andrew Wakefield." This means that in case Andrew Wakefield sues Brian Deer, Mr. Deer's legal costs are covered?

The article also links to Mr. Deer's website briandeer.com. I checked that out. It strikes me as unprofessional - sensationalist.

In the interview of Dr. Wakefield that I previously mentioned on this thread - on the website Goldenhawk Projects - ("Doctor Blamed for the MMR Scare Speaks Out - Dr. Andrew Wakefield") Dr. Wakefield points out that the complaint filed against him at the General Council was made by Brian Deer and perhaps others, rather than a parent, and that this is highly irregular. A medical complaint is supposed to be to give patients a recourse for damages.

Also in this interview it was pointed out that the government in the UK had a stake in this complaint, because they had given indemnity to the UK based vaccine manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline against damages caused by their vaccines. This, of course, is contrary to the mission of the government to protect the health and welfare of the public.

Dr. Wakefield is the person in this story who is protecting the public, and paying a heavy price for it.

Geez, Mary. You're an apologist for Andrew Wakefield? How many more fraudulent manipulative deceitful individuals do you create support pages for?

My god.

Surely you must sometimes wonder why people disagree with you so much? Do you?

Originally posted by Mary Rose
Dr. Andrew Wakefield,[/url] who is working in the U.S. now, about a collaborative project between Thoughtful House and the University of Pittsburgh

Wakefield doesn't work at Thoughtful House (and hasn't since early 2010). He was "asked to resign" once it came out that he not only published falsified research, but was being paid to do so. Wakefield hasn't been listed as a staff researcher for Thoughtful House since February 2010.

Good overview of the whole case

I'm glad Dr. Wakefield has a role in the U.S. now advocating for vaccine safety research.

He doesn't have a role in advocating for vaccine safety. No one takes an admitted liar and con-artist seriously.

Glad to see some people coming out on the side of sense on this issue. There is just no place for the promotion of someone like Andrew Wakefield.

Originally posted by FatherLukeDuke

Originally posted by Mary Rose
Dr. Wakefield

He is just Mr Wakefield now, as he has been struck off for money-grabbing malpractice.

He is no more a doctor than I am.

edit on 14/1/11 by FatherLukeDuke because: (no reason given)

Untrue. His medical degrees have not been confiscated. He has been prohibited from practising as a doctor.