Excerpt from David Kirby's Animal Factory on HuffPo | Main | Bloomington Alternative on Autism, Vaccines and Mercury
March 07, 2010
Danish Scientist Absconds with $2 million, Poul Thorsen "Proved" Vaccines Don't Cause Autism
This startling story, as yet unseen in the mainstream media, is from our friends at The Autism Action Network.
A Danish scientist who was a key researcher in two studies that purport to show that mercury used in vaccines and the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine do not cause autism is believed to have used forged documents to steal $2 million from Aarhus University in Denmark according to reports in the Copenenhagen Post Online and a statement from Aarhus University. Poul Thorsen, MD PhD, headed up a research unit at Aarhus University that was hired by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to prepare a series of studies that would exonerate thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative and adjuvant used in vaccines, and the MMR vaccine from any role in causing autism. The veracity of the two studies he co-authored is now in doubt. These studies formed the foundation for the conclusions of several Institute of Medicine reports that claimed that it was highly unlikely that thimerosal or MMR were implicated in autism. In a statement Aarhus University officials said that believe Thorsen forged documents supposedly from the CDC to obtain the release of $2 million from the University. Thorsen resigned abruptly in March 2009 and left Denmark. Since then Thorsen has held several jobs in the US, first at Emory University in Atlanta and then at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Documents show that as late as January 22, 2009. Thorsen was employed at Drexel. Any reference to Poulsen has now been deleted from the Drexel website. Investigations also revealed that while employed full-time for the University of Aarhus in Denmark, Thorsen simultaneously held a fulltime position at Emory University in Atlanta, and drew salaries from both Universities despite a contract with Aarhus forbidding outside employment. According to the statement from Aarhus University. Autism advocacy groups have published extensive analyses on Thorsen's studies and found many problems in methods, assumptions and conclusions that are supported by the data. And Thorsen is the lynchpin in the series of studies used to dismiss concerns about thimerosal and MMR causing autism. See SAFEMINDS analysis of Thorsen's role in the discredited studies HERE.
See the Copenhagen Post Online article HERE. See the statement from Aarhus University HERE.
Read more at: Age of Autism this week. The two studies now in doubt include: Thimerosal and the occurrence of autism: negative ecological evidence from Danish population-based data.
Madsen KM, Lauritsen MB, Pedersen CB, Thorsen P, Plesner AM, Andersen PH, Mortensen PB, Pediatrics. 2003 Sep;112(3 Pt 1):604-6. A population-based study of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination and autism.
Madsen KM, Hviid A, Vestergaard M, Schendel D, Wohlfahrt J, Thorsen P, Olsen J, Melbye M., N Engl J Med. 2002 Nov 7;347(19):1477-82.Share on Facebook %u2022 Digg This!
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Just wrote a letter to "Whom it May Concern"
at the New England Journal of Medicine, asking them to completely redact any and all of Dr. Thorsen's work as his intentions, credibility, and reputation are now in question. I refrenced the articles listed on this site. I urge you all to do the same. Here is the link:
https://secure.nejm.org/services/contactus/contact_home.aspxPosted by: Natasha | March 08, 2010 at 11:51 AM
I dont get it . I thought that "Science has spoken" . I guess not. I think it was just the Wizard of Oz. Nevermind, I guess the guys at the IOM just made a mistake.
Seriously, Who WERE the stupid guys at the IOM? Could we have some names please, so that maybe, just maybe, some future scientist will think twice before he plays roulette with the lives of children.Posted by: Cherry Sperlin Misra | March 08, 2010 at 10:55 AM
Bl**dy hell! This is dynamite! I hope it ends up blowing the 'rats nest' to smithereens.
Posted by: Cybertiger | March 08, 2010 at 07:37 AM
I thought Thorsen was involved in the Thimerosal studies, not the MMR studies.
Posted by: Craig Willoughby | March 08, 2010 at 05:56 AM
Madsen KM, Hviid A, Vestergaard M, Schendel D, Wohlfahrt J, Thorsen P, Olsen J, Melbye M., N Engl J Med. 2002 Nov 7;347(19):1477-82. These supposed scientist and physicians as well the AAP and the CDC and the FDA AND YES THE NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE can only be described as completely and utterly corrupt. A nest of rats as it were.I am absolutely going to call the New England journal of medicine tomorrow and write them a letter and say WTF!?! I will also encourage every physician I know to do the same and everybody on this blogg should also contact them and ask them how dare they not be more discriminating in who they allow to publish in their journal as this is way beyond scandalous this is out right heresy with the NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINES NAME ALL OVER IT.
For good measure I am going to go over and give those monkeys in ORAC'S peanut gallery a good going over as well and so should everybody else they deserve it.
Posted by: WILLIE | March 08, 2010 at 04:00 AM
This guy must be very greedy. I would think that with two full time positions and a good reputation (not) with what would have to be a better than average income. 2 MIL?? How in the world would stealing 2 million dollars be worth what you would lose.
This whole thing is fishy.Posted by: kathleen | March 07, 2010 at 11:22 PM
What a scumbag. But will the major news media pick it up? "Dear Matt Lauer, could you ask Nancy if it is a controvercy yet?" LOL!!!
Posted by: jen | March 07, 2010 at 11:03 PM
Ok one more then I'm going to stop...
RUN! POUL! RUN!!! er, I mean Forrest.
Keep running you tight ass son of a bitch because the longer you run the more damned they look. Am I just getting some sort of sick pleasure out of this?? I am ain't I?Posted by: rileysmom | March 07, 2010 at 08:25 PM
Help me, I've fallen into a giant pit of cynicism and I feel sure this will never make it to mainstream media. Please let me be wrong.
Posted by: alison macneil | March 07, 2010 at 08:24 PM
Why can't Dr. Thorsen just use insider trading and scam someone like Dr. Koop ??? A two million dollar research scam.....whoa Nancy.
Dr. Fancy and Dr. Offit will probably on tomorrow and explain the whole mess. They should be able to calm fears and renew fears of the H1N1 virus that may still kill millions in the US.
Dr. Fancy should then be able to change the subject, and spend 15 minutes talking about the measles.
Posted by: cmo | March 07, 2010 at 08:02 PM
Damn. What are the usual suspects going to cite now for their "iron-clad" corroborations?
I'll repeat this info just in case anyone's filing it. Emory is also connected to Thomas Insel and the scandal involving millions of NIMH and NIH grants given to academic researchers who failed to declare they were on the pharma payroll (the NIMH and NIH may have known this).
So I wonder if the Danes might have announced the problem with Thorsen now because Charles Grassley is closing in on Emory for conflicts and possible research fraud?
Read the letter sent by Grassley to NIH demanding all of Insel's correspondences:
http://freepdfhosting.com/c8e742ce71.pdfInsel was director of Yerkes, professor of psychiatry in the School of Medicine, and adjunct professor of psychology at Emory.
Coverage of NIH/NIMH/Emory/Grassley issue:
http://www.pharmalot.com/2010/01/grassley-targets-nimh-funding-of-academics/
http://www.pharmalot.com/2008/10/nih-suspends-big-grant-to-emory-university/
Posted by: Gatogorra | March 07, 2010 at 07:09 PM
Posted to Dr Nancy's FB page...highly doubt it will go through but SOMEONE reads them before they go through her "fan filter".
"Is this a controversy? Danish Scientist Absconds with $2 million, Poul Thorsen "Proved" Vaccines Don't Cause Autism. The fact that our own CDC is frantically trying to "find" this man? Answer honestly. I realize you have your "fan filter" but even YOU need to be accountable for your statements and actions in the media. Yes, even YOU."
See even on FB she can't be honest. She can't take the heat. Welp, I tried.Posted by: rileysmom | March 07, 2010 at 07:06 PM
Dear Matt Lauer, Could you ask Nancy if it is a controvercy yet?
HA AHA HAAHAAA HAAA!!! OH HEE HEEE HEEEE!!! I have a feeling that Dr Nancy pants will make herself "unavailable" for interviews at this time.
Still, I laughed out loud for that one...a simple LOL just wouldn't do!!!
I may just post this on her FB page...doubt it will go through but still worth a try.Posted by: rileysmom | March 07, 2010 at 06:57 PM
Full applause for this comment!!
"A brief google search seems to indicate that CDC and Emery U. are rather interconnected, and that CHOP and Drexel U. seem to be as well, but maybe that's "confusing correlation with causation."
Posted by: Beth | March 07, 2010 at 06:55 PM
A brief google search seems to indicate that CDC and Emery U. are rather interconnected, and that CHOP and Drexel U. seem to be as well, but maybe that's "confusing correlation with causation."
Posted by: JenB | March 07, 2010 at 06:15 PM
Where's Thorsen's GMC-style investigation into ethics charges? Why aren't years and millions spent burning him at the stake Wakefield-style? I won't hold my breath waiting for this to happen.
Posted by: Amy Becker Clark | March 07, 2010 at 05:26 PM
Any idea what the documents were that he forged????
Ahhhh, I see, working for two places at once was just starting to turn over a rock
Forged documents - the rock is turned over.
And what is beneath?
Posted by: Benedetta | March 07, 2010 at 05:19 PM
Dear Matt Lauer, Could you ask Nancy if it is a controvercy yet?
Posted by: K Fuller Yuba City | March 07, 2010 at 05:07 PM
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