OT: Autism articles concerning Wakefield and FDA panel

[Guest guest]

I was on Reuters this morning and came across these two articles:

http://www.onenewspage.co.uk/news/Health/20110126/19093342/Documents-emerge-prov\

ing-Dr-Andew-Wakefield-innocent-BMJ.htm

--------------------Portion of the article (Sourced from NaturalNews) New

documents have emerged that clear Dr Wakefield of the allegations of

fraud recently made by the British Medical Journal and its reporter Deer.

This new evidence " completely negates the allegations that I committed

scientific fraud. Deer and Dr. Godlee of the British Medical Journal (BMJ)

knew or should have known about the facts set out below before publishing their

false allegations, " says Dr Wakefield (see sources, below).

Newly-revealed documents show that on December 20th, 1996, a meeting of The

Inflammatory Bowel Disease Study Group based at the Royal Free Hospital Medical

School featured a presentation by Professor - on seven of the

children who would later become part of the group of patients Dr Wakefield wrote

about in his 1998 The Lancet paper (which was later retracted by The Lancet).

Remember, Dr Wakefield has been accused of completely fabricating his findings

about these same children in his 1998 paper, but these documents reveal that

*fourteen months before Dr Wakefield's paper was published, two other

researchers -- Professor - and Dr Amar Dhillon -- independently

documented the same problems in these children, including symptoms of autism.*

Thus, Dr Wakefield could not have " fabricated " these findings as alleged by the

British Medical Journal, which now finds itself in the position of needing to

issue a retraction, or it must now expand its accusations of fraud to include

Professor - and Dr Dhillon... essentially, the BMJ must now insist

that a " conspiracy of fraud " existed among at least these three researchers, and

possibly more, in order to back up its allegation that Dr Wakefield's study

results were fabricated.

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AND THIS ONE...........

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/12/15/dental-mercury-idUSN1517796020101215?p\

ageNumber=1

----------------Portion of the Article--------------------------------

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Dec 15 (Reuters) - Enough uncertainty surrounds

silver-colored metal dental fillings with mercury that U.S. regulators should

add more cautions for dentists and patients, a U.S. advisory panel said on

Wednesday.

While past data has backed the cavity treatment, the fillings should be

accompanied by warnings about unknown risks for vulnerable people such as

children and pregnant women, the Food and Drug Administration's panel of outside

advisers said.

" There really is no place for mercury in children, " Suresh Kotagal, a panelist

and neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said of the toxic

metal.

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Have a good day!

S.