A 2015 paper on how proteins work to reduce inflammation in cow cells has been retracted by the authors “because of inappropriate statistical analysis and inability to reproduce some of the results.” The journal Inflammation posted the retraction in August, just six months after it was published in February. It has only been cited once, according … Continue reading “Inability to reproduce” retracts inflammation paper
The antidepressant Paxil isn’t safe or effective for teens after all, says a re-analysis of a 2001 study published today in The BMJ. The original 2001 paper in Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry — study 329, as it’s known — helped greenlight use of the drug (generically known as paroxetine) in young people. … Continue reading Re-analysis of controversial Paxil study shows drug “ineffective and unsafe” for teens
Two papers on a potential cancer drug have been retracted following an investigation that found “inappropriate manipulation of bands in gels.” This makes four retractions by our count for Roman Perez-Soler, an oncologist at the Einstein College of Medicine, and for co-author Yi-He Ling, whose current affiliation is unknown. Their previous two retractions, which we reported on in … Continue reading Fourth retraction for Einstein oncologist due to image manipulations
A JAMA clinical trial that suggested a blood pressure drug could help patients increase their physical fitness, and a sub-analysis of those data, have been retracted after “an admission of fabricated results” by the first author on both papers. The three-year clinical trial was published in JAMA in 2013. It was retracted this morning. The trial found … Continue reading “Fabricated results” retract JAMA clinical trial, plus a sub-analysis of the data
The week at Retraction Watch featured a call for the retraction of a paper in NEJM, and a withdrawal of a paper because authors couldn’t pay the page charges. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:
A journal has published a corrected version of a widely reported study linking severe illness and divorce rates after it was retracted in July due to a small coding error. The original, headline-spawning conclusion was that the risk of divorce in a heterosexual marriage increases when the wife falls ill, but not the husband. The revised results — published … Continue reading Divorce study felled by a coding error gets a second chance
The journal Blood has issued a correction in a 2009 letter about the molecular underpinnings of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Despite the extent of the changes to a figure, “the error does not change the scientific meaning,” according to the erratum. The article “p73, miR106b, miR34a, and Itch in chronic lymphocytic leukemia” was written in response to a 2009 Blood … Continue reading Correction “does not change the scientific meaning” of leukemia letter
Talk about a popular patient: A woman who developed a case of internal bleeding while taking the anticoagulant Xarelto (rivaroxaban) was written up in not one — but two — case reports. The trouble was, both groups didn’t realize what the other was doing, so the more recent article is now being retracted from the Journal … Continue reading Two groups mistakenly publish case reports on the same patient
A Canadian court has granted a review of two researchers’ application to quash the findings of a university investigation that found signs of falsified data, according to the researchers’ lawyer. Yesterday, the court ruled that the application by Sylvia Asa and her husband, Shereen Ezzat, to quash the University Health Network investigation’s findings be reviewed by a … Continue reading Court grants Toronto researchers review of misconduct findings
PLOS One has retracted a paper that links the most commonly used herbicide to ADHD, after it was “published in error.” According to the note, the paper was “editorially rejected following peer review and consultation with the Editorial Board,” but ended up going through the production process anyway. When we contacted the authors, they filled us in … Continue reading A mess: PLOS mistakenly publishes rejected ADHD-herbicide paper, retracts it