From the Sunday Times (UK):
MMR doctor Andrew Wakefield fixed data on autism
THE doctor who sparked the scare over the safety of the MMR vaccine for children changed and misreported results in his research, creating the appearance of a possible link with autism, a Sunday Times investigation has found.
From Bad Astronomy:
About 10 years ago, [Andrew] Wakefield published a study dealing with children who were autistic, developing symptoms shortly after getting their shots, and linked this with irritated intestinal tracts. This study came under a lot of fire, and eventually most of the authors retracted the conclusion that autism was associated with "environmental factors", that is, vaccinations. By then, though, it was too late, and the modern antivaccination movement was born.
In 1998, Andrew Wakefield published data in the Lancet purporting to claim that Measles, Mumps and German Measles (MMR) vaccines were associated with autism. From that time on, arguments have ensued about the safety of vaccinations and their relationship with autism. Wakefield's data has been challenged before, as well as his relationship with sponsored research, which he did not fully disclose. From the Beeb, in 2007:
His study focused on tests carried out on 12 children who had been referred to the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead for gastrointestinal problems.
At the same time, Dr Wakefield was paid to carry out another study to find out if parents who claim their children were damaged by the MMR vaccine had a case. Some children were involved in both studies.
The Lancet says it was not informed of this and that together they represent a potential conflict of interest which would have led it to reject the paper.
And there's more on the impact of the original study. From the Sunday Times (UK):
Despite involving just a dozen children, the 1998 paper’s impact was extraordinary. After its publication, rates of inoculation fell from 92% to below 80%. Populations acquire "herd immunity" from measles when more than 95% of people have been vaccinated.
And because of that, children became ill. As ScienceBlog's Aetiology (Tara Smith) notes:
This is truly incredible. Even being familiar with Wakefield's statements over the past decade about his research, and his complete denial about studies that have contradicted his own findings, it's still pretty shocking that he completely made up data, and then pushed it for ten years as children around the world became ill and even died in light of his research. It's even more disgusting in light of the fact that I doubt this new information will change many minds when it comes to vaccination--the meme has already spread too far to let a little thing like atrocious scientific misconduct rein it in now.
Sigh. Some things just make you sick to your stomach. The only silver lining is what we all hope will be a return to fact-based science (the hallmark of which is reproducibility) going forward.
Added: Wakefield's response is here.