Dr. Andrew Wakefield and Thoughtful House
In 1998, British gastroenterologist Dr. Andrew Wakefield published a paper suggesting a possible association between childhood MMR immunization, bowel disease and autism. Wakefield’s study was published by the Lancet, one of the world’s top medical journals. Later, however, they called the study “fatally flawed.”Wakefield was asked to leave his position in Britain, and is now the head of a Texas-based research group called “Thoughtful House.” There, he and his colleagues continue their research. While virtually all mainstream research seems to disprove the MMR/live virus vaccine theory, interest in the idea continues to grow. Concern about live virus vaccines has already led many parents to consider forgoing vaccinations for major diseases such as measles, mumps and rubella.
To find out more about Dr. Wakefield’s ideas about how the MMR vaccine might actually cause autism, I contacted Thoughtful House with specific questions.
