Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1991. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle (SF); Thursday, November 21, 1991
Charles Petit, Chronicle Science Writer
The accused physician, Dr. Raphael B. Stricker, denied the charges that cost him his job in September 1990 as an assistant professor of laboratory medicine.
His dismissal, made public yesterday, followed a confidential investigation triggered by reports of irregularities in another paper of which Stricker was co-author.
Secrecy around the affair collapsed this week with publication of today's New England Journal of Medicine in which three UC San Francisco researchers formally retract a paper that they and Stricker published in the journal in 1985.
A letter to the journal by the three, Drs. Marc A. Shuman, Laurence Corash and Donald I. Abrams, and also signed by UC San Francisco Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Dr. Karl J. Hittelman, said the paper suffered from "unwarranted data selection" by Stricker.
Stricker, 41, a graduate of the Columbia University School of Medicine, is now staff physician at the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco.
He said the university "misinterpreted what happened," and said he is victim of an "agenda" at the university. "They have other cases where they covered up misconduct, and this (firing) is an attempt to show they can prosecute." He said he is considering suing the university.
In preparing the original paper, the scientists were trying to find out why many people with AIDS develop a condition called immune thrombocytopenia.
In people with the condition, platelets -- key cells in formation of blood clots -- became coated with infection-fighting antibodies and are scavenged from the blood by the liver.
The original paper reported that of 30 people infected by HIV and suffering the platelet condition, 29 carried an antibody that specifically attacks platelets. By contrast, 30 people not infected by the AIDS virus did not carry the antibody, the 1985 paper reported.
However, other researchers could not find the same pattern in other patients.
The university said Stricker covered up additional data showing that the same antibody is also present in people not infected by HIV, which would contradict the paper's conclusion.
Stricker maintains that the data he withheld is irrelevant because it pertains to a different antibody. Hittelman, however, said the committee concluded that Stricker had violated the "code of conduct relating to intellectual honesty. It was a very thorough review."
Copyright © 1991 - San Francisco Chronicle Press. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the San Francisco Chronicle, Permissions Desk, 901 Mission Street, San Franciso, CA 94103. You may also send a fax to (415) 495-3843, or an email message to chronperm@sfgate.com. http://www.sfgate.com.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Pacific Life Foundation and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1991. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 1991. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .