See below letter to the Guardian (London) by Clifford Miller which shows this latest study is junk.

Additionally, the following information from graduate physicist, mathematic and traditional medicine practitioner John Heptonstall confirms the latest study is junk and certainly not science. John advises:-


Dear Sir,

New study shows no MMR link to autism Sarah Hall, The Guardian, Thursday July 6, 2006

You need to check your sources more carefully. 

The International Cochrane Collaboration confirmed the author of the study you report on, Eric Fombonne is not qualified to be engaged in this kind of work. 

The last study Eric Fombonne carried out was dismissed as "impossible to intepret".  That was the conclusion of a comprehensive scientific review by the Cochrane Collaboration.  The Cochrane team investigated 5000 medical papers on the subject and cut them down to only 6 dealing with Eric's pet topic and those papers were pretty shakey too according to Cochrane.  Regrettably, they had to throw Eric's paper out completely - it was junk.  And if you check the BMJ, you will find an editorial dealing with the continuing problem of even the supposedly most esteemed medical journals in the thrall to drug companies publishing junk - Can we tame the monster?   BMJ  2006;333 (8 July)..

This is what the Cochrane Collaboration said in a review of the safety of MMR about Fombonne's last paper:-

"The number and possible impact of biases in this study is so high that interpretation of the results is impossible". (1)
That is a pretty damning comment.  If you need the .pdf of the paper with it highlighted - see the attached.

Fombonne is a psychiatrist and that means not a real clinician nor scientist.  Psychiatry is in the most unsuccessful branch of medicine in history.

Sadly, Eric goes around insisting "There is no scientific evidence that an association between MMR immunization and autism exists."  when there is plenty of evidence.  He just does not seem to want to admit it. 

Next time you are going to run a story on one of Eric Fombonne's studies, how about you put it in the "fiction" section? 

Sincerely,

Mr Miller
50 Burnhill Rd
Beckenham
Kent BR3 3LA
020 8633 0044

Reference

1. Cochrane MMR review page 21