February 4, 2010 The Lancet Retracts Paper Linking Vaccine to Autism The Lancet has retracted a paper it published by Wakefield et al. According to the British Medical Journal, the paper “implied an association, later shown to be spurious, between gastrointestinal illness, the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, and an autism-like disorder in a sample of 12 children.” The paper, appearing as it did in one of the UK’s most prestigious journals, was frequently cited in support of arguments that MMR vaccinations had a strong association with reported increased rates of autism and autism spectrum disorders. In making the announcement, the Lancet editors stated, "We fully retract this paper from the published record."   See also: The Lancent: Official Website CDC: Autism Spectrum Disorders

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