The venerable British medical journalhasretracted a 1998 study suggesting a link between autism and childhoodvaccination with the measles -mumps-rubella MMR vaccine .

The Lancet tells WebMD that it has retracted "10 or 15" studies in

its 186-year history. The retraction follows the finding of the U.K.

General Medical Council (GMC) that says study leader Andrew Wakefield, MD, and

two colleagues acted "dishonestly" and "irresponsibly" in conducting their

research.

The Lancet specifically refers to claims made in the paper that the

12 children in the study were consecutive patients that appeared for treatment,

when the GMC found that several had been selected especially for the

study. The paper also claimed that the study was approved by the

appropriate ethics committee, when the GMC found it had not been.

"We fully retract this paper from the published record," The Lancet

editors say in a news release.

The retraction means the study will no longer be considered an official part

of the scientific literature.

BMJ, formerly known as the British Medical Journal, has

competed with The Lancet since 1840. BMJ editor Fiona Godlee says

she welcomes the Lancet retraction.

"This will help to restore faith in this globally important vaccine and in

the integrity of the scientific literature," Godlee says in a news release.

In 2004, 10 of Wakefield's 13 co-authors disavowed the findings of the 1998

study. Although the study never claimed to have definitively proven a

link between the MMR vaccine and autism, sensational media reports ignited a

public panic . MMR vaccinations fell

dramatically.

More rigorous studies have found

no link between autism and the MMR vaccine . Last year, the U.S.

"vaccine court" rejected U.S. lawsuits claiming that there was a plausible

link between the vaccine and autism.

Wakefield continues to proclaim his innocence and defends his earlier work.

He now resides in Texas, where he is executive director of an alternative

medicine center for autism treatment and

research.

By Daniel DeNoon

Reviewed by Louise Chang

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