Dr. Andrew Wakefield Summary

To most parents, their children are their most prized possession and most would stop at nothing to ensure their child is safe and healthy, that is until Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s “research” article was published in a British medical journal in 1998. On February 28, 1998, Dr. Wakefield, with the help of twelve of his colleagues, published an article in the peer-reviewed medical journal, The Lancet, claiming a link between the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism, as well as chronic enterocolitis (Andrade and Rao, 2011). The literature presented by Wakefield et al. and remarks following the completion of his research has resulted in severe criticism of Wakefield’s integrity regarding the facts of the study, widespread debate between

Wakefield conducted the study with a small population of twelve children who were referred to his gastroenterology practice with a history of unexplained abdominal pain and diarrhea. Detailed histories reported by the children’s parents were recorded and each child underwent further examination by Dr. Wakefield and his team. Dr. Wakefield noted the patient’s parents had observed neurological changes and the loss of learned abilities in addition to the gastrointestinal issues prior to entering the study (Wakefield et al., 1998). After assessing each child by way of endoscopy procedures, lumbar punctures, and radiology procedures such as, Barium swallow study and magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI), Wakefield et al. was able to conclude that the patient’s regressive developmental disorder, or autism, reported by the parents, was a result of receiving the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine (Autism Speaks, 2017). Wakefield explained his rationale claiming eight of the twelve children had regressive developmental disorders due to the MMR vaccine causing inflammation in the patient’s intestines creating a subsequent breakdown in the intestine’s normal function allowing a toxic peptide from the vaccine to affect the development of the children’s brain (Wakefield et al., 1998). The public reacted aggressively to the media attention of Wakefield’s findings as the vaccination rates dropped nineteen percent for the MMR vaccine in Britain alone (Coffin and Offit, 2003). But,

First, Deer dissected the study noting places within the study that were purposely designed to yield desired results. Deer suggested the small sample size of only twelve patients was far too limited in number to yield random results. His investigation into the study also noted the regressive developmental behavior was observed by the parents prior to the study’s beginning instead of being observed by those conducting the study. Deer also noted the diagnoses from numerous endoscopy procedures were intentionally changed to yield desired results and only one child of the twelve suffered from developmental regression, or autism, unlike the nine that were falsely diagnosed in the study (Coffin and Offit, 2003). Arguably the most troubling finding from Deer’s investigation into the MMR-autism study was Wakefield’s involvement with a group of British lawyers who were suing MMR vaccine manufacturing pharmaceutical companies. It was found that Wakefield’s involvement included over half of a million dollars in payment for his work in fabricating the study tying the development of autism to the MMR immunization (BMJ, 2011). Despite the fact that Deer’s investigation into Wakefield’s study exposed the truth behind the matter, six years of debate and controversy had passed between the time