Translational Neurodegeneration – an academic and peer-reviewed journal published in August findings on the re-analysis of a 2004 paper that had been published in Pediatrics, the paper looked at MMR vaccines and autism.
The re-analysis of the data, by Brian Hooker of Simpson University, who is a biochemical engineer, claimed to find a higher rate of vaccination against MMR among a subset, African-American boys, of the original study population who developed autism than among those who did not.
Hooker claims that this finding was suppressed by the authors of the original paper from the Centers of Disease Control (CDC). One of the co-authors, William Thompson, released a press release were he states that data was omitted.
‘My name is William Thompson. I am a Senior Scientist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where I have worked since 1998.
I’ regret that my coauthors and I omitted statistically significant information in our 2004 article published in the journal Pediatrics. The omitted data suggested that African American males who received the MMR vaccine before age 36 months were at increased risk for autism. Decisions were made regarding which findings to report after the data were collected, and I believe that the final study protocol was not followed.’
The full press release by William W. Thompson, Ph.D. can be read here
The editors of Translational Neurodegeneration have retracted Hooker’s paper, stating on their site that:
“This article has been removed from the public domain because of serious concerns about the validity of its conclusions. The journal and publisher believe that its continued availability may not be in the public interest. Definitive editorial action will be pending further investigation.”