Here’s a dose of health news from WellCommons, around town and elsewhere:

LINK BETWEEN AUTISM AND VACCINE 'ELABORATE FRAUD'

In an editorial published Wednesday, the British Medical Journal declared the 1998 study by Andrew Wakefield that implied a link between the MMR vaccine and autism “an elaborate fraud.”

The study already has been retracted by 10 of Wakefield's co-authors.

Dr. Fiona Godlee, BMJ editor in chief, says, “The MMR scare was based not on bad science but on a deliberate fraud” and that such “clear evidence of falsification of data should now close the door on this damaging vaccine scare.”

A series of three articles in the BMJ starting this week reveal the true extent of the scam behind the scare. The series is based on interviews, documents and data, collected during seven years of inquiries by investigative journalist Brian Deer.

Dr. Stephen Lauer, vice chairman of pediatrics at Kansas University Hospital.

In response to the editorial, Dr. Stephen Lauer, vice chairman of pediatrics at Kansas University Hospital, had this to say:

“One of the great frustrations in pediatric medicine today is the reluctance of parents to vaccinate their children against a variety of deadly diseases. Much of this resistance stems directly from Dr. Wakefield's paper and subsequent work on his part maintaining a tie between the MMR vaccine and autism.

“The fact that this work was not just wrong but fraudulent makes the situation even worse. In many cases, concerned but misled parents have declined to vaccinate their children against measles  - a disease that kills at least 150,000 children worldwide - as well as numerous other diseases. The recent increase in deaths from pertussis in California is another example of completely preventable deaths linked to the decline in vaccination rates.  

“Study after study in numerous countries involving hundreds of thousands of children have never shown any link between autism and any vaccination. That Dr. Wakefield's lies have led to increased illness and deaths among innocent infants and children is a social and medical disaster.”

KIM'S PAGE ON CARINGBRIDGE SITE

Lawrence resident Kim Banning-Bohmann - who has scleroderma, also known as the “hardening disease - now has a CaringBridge web site. (We first published her story on WellCommons in late November.)

To visit, click on CaringBridge.org. The name prompt is kimbanningbohmann.

Kim said her friend Jen Nelson set up the page for her.   She will be leaving Jan. 14 for Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where she will undergo an autologous stem cell transplant. Doctors expect she will be able to return home March 14.

While in Chicago, friends and family will be with Kim and updating her CaringBridge page.

“I feel it (the site) will be a wonderful way for me to feel connected to all my loved ones while being gone for such a long time,” she said in an e-mail.

National Stalking Awareness Month poster. by kbritt

STALKING AWARENESS

January is National Stalking Awareness Month.   In Kansas in 2009:

• 820 incidents of stalking were reported to law enforcement.

• 4,756 protection from stalking orders were filed in courts.

“We know that for every victim who reports to law enforcement or who seeks a protection order, there are countless others who aren’t coming forward. We encourage communities to work together to provide support for victims, to hold offenders accountable and to prevent future tragedies.”

— Joyce Grover, executive director of the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence

Nationally:

• In one out of five cases, stalkers used weapons to harm or threaten victims.

• In 76 percent of female homicides, the victims were stalked by their partner prior to their murder.  

• In 89 percent of female homicides, the victims had been both physically assaulted and stalked in the 12 months prior to their murder.

• 46 percent of stalking victims experience at least one unwanted contact per week.

• Three out of four victims are stalked by someone they know.

• One in eight employed victims lose time from work.

• One in seven victims relocate as a result of being stalked.

The Kansas Crisis Hotline number is 888-END-ABUSE (888-363-2287).

The KCSDV website includes information about where to find services for survivors. For Douglas County:

• GaDuGi Safe Center - 841-2345.

• The Willow Domestic Violence Center - 800-770-3030 or 843-3333.