Health Highlights: July 16, 2007

Mar. 23 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments,compiled by editors of HealthDay:

Doctor Who Sparked Vaccine-Autism Concerns Under Investigation

The doctor who ran a controversial British study that associated a common childhood vaccine with autism is under investigation for possible ethical misconduct, the Associated Press reported Monday.

Dr. Andrew Wakefield is being investigated by Britain's General Medical Council for allegedly failing to disclose his ties to autism litigators and for failing to secure the necessary ethical approval for the study, the AP said. Wakefield denies any impropriety.

Wakefield's study, published in 1998 in The Lancet medical journal, linked the combination measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine with autism, a little understood neurologic disorder. Widespread dissemination of the study's results led many parents to refuse to vaccinate their children with the MMR vaccine.

Ten of the study's 13 authors have since renounced the study's findings, and the medical journal has conceded that publishing the study was a mistake. The Lancet said Wakefield's ties to people involved in litigation against the makers of the vaccine were "a fatal conflict of interest," the AP reported.

Two of Wakefield's co-authors on the study also are under investigation by the British council, the wire service said. Hearings into the allegations are expected to last through October.

Wakefield's study suggested that children be vaccinated separately for the three diseases, although experts continue to favor the combined inoculation. Numerous studies conducted since the controversial research was published have found no link between the MMR vaccine and autism.

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New Test Spots Metastatic Breast Cancer

The first molecular laboratory test to help doctors detect whether breast cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the agency said Monday.

The GeneSearch BLN Assay detects molecules that are abundant in breast tissue but are normally rare in lymph nodes. The body's lymphatic system helps protect against infection.