A History of Fraud and Deceit in Medical Research

There have been many cases of fraudulent research work in recent years. Science has progressed through years of research and trial of pioneering ideas. However, the intentions for promoting such research have not always been pure. In some cases, fraudulent research has been used as means to promote personal and financial gains. In this study, cases of previous fraudulent research are reviewed. Grey areas of misconduct and fraud are clarified. The aims of the study are to define misconduct and grey areas of research fraud. The study will also review famous cases of research fraud and the reasons of why such cases may have been committed are outlined. A review of Medline between the years 1960-2009 has yielded studies reviewed by this study. Cases involving research misconduct and fraud are identified. All cases are discussed and inferences to why such acts committed are outlined. There are insufficient protocols in place to limit fraudulent research. However, an international coordination of effort in defining research misconduct and invoking legal and procedural accountability may be a solution to this problem.