#LyonBordeauxGate: Study confirms that the alleged 17,000 deaths attributed to hydroxychloroquine are based on a fraudulent study. Pradelle, Lega et al. authors of false science ?

Pixabay, France-Soir #LyonBordeauxGate: Peer-reviewed study confirms that the alleged 17,000 deaths attributed to hydroxychloroquine are based on a fraudulent study. Pradelle, Lega et al. authors of false science ?

HEALTH – Science is a combat sport, but could it also be an endurance sport? For example, the publication of letters of concern challenging the fraudulent studies that are now flourishing in scientific journals is often a real obstacle course.  Censorship of these publications by unscrupulous editors, who do not hesitate to satisfy their sponsors or shareholders to the detriment of science and potentially the health of patients.  A revealing example of the evil that is eating away at these scientific journals, most often largely financed by the pharmaceutical industry.

A fraudulent study published on January 4th was very quickly called into question

Since January 4, 2024, a study published in a peer-reviewed journal had been heavily promoted in the media by Mathieu Molimard of the University of Bordeaux. It falsely concluded that “17,000 hospitalized people died from taking hydroxychloroquine in six countries and that this figure could be underestimated!” A conclusion taken up by the media in unison without any verification and this, despite the numerous comments in the scientific community.  

Jean-Christophe Lega and Mathieu Molimard praised the merits of this study, ignoring the objections raised on Pubpeer (a social network for scientific comments) or on X, while the other authors of the study, Alexiane Pradelle, Sabine Mainbourg and Emmanuel Massy, ​​remained absent. One of the close friends of this small world, who knows Sabine Mainbourg well, had declared to France-Soir: “She distanced herself from Lega after having served as his guarantor for his articles on meta-analyses. In exchange, she got the position she coveted.” On the other hand, in the scientific community, many consider this study to be a fraud equivalent to that of #LancetGate, a fraudulent study published in the prestigious medical journalThe Lancet in May 2020, before being retracted 15 days later. It is because of this study that the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment against Covid had been suspended in the ongoing clinical trials aimed at proving or not its effectiveness.Since January 5, 2024, the mainstream media have given a lot of space to Mathieu Molimard and Jean-Christophe Lega, from the University of Lyon 1, but without any opponent in front of them, while Alexiane Pradelle, the main author of the study, does not seem available to comment on it. Contacted by France-Soir, Sabine Mainbourg and Emmanuel Massy, ​​two other authors, were also not available to respond.    

A letter of concern was sent to the editor of the journal on January 8, 2024, and has still not been published in July 2024

On January 8, 2024, nine scientists, including Professors Perronne and Zizi, submitted a ”letter of concern”  to the editor-in-chief of the journal Biomedecine & Pharmacotherapy.

It is important to understand what a “Letter of concern” is. In the field of scientific publishing, when scientists believe that a publication contains errors or inconsistencies, they are entitled to write a letter of concern to the editor. Normally, the editor must then publish this letter so that the entire scientific community knows that there are concerns surrounding this publication.  In the normal course of scientific literature, authors also have the right to respond to each other's concerns. This is how scientific publishing works ethically.

Yet, seven months later, this letter had still not been published despite an alert from the publisher explaining that “many criticisms were pouring in on this study “.

A real obstacle course that Dr. Alexis Lacout and Xavier Azalbert, two of the nine authors of the letter of January 8, 2024, endured in exchange with the publisher. The latter having constantly shirks his obligations, thus allowing false information to persist in the media. An obstacle courseAlexis Lacout and Xavier Azalbert had no less than ten exchanges with the editor and his staff in order to explain the importance of their letter to the editor and especially the consequences on the disinformation of the public. Xavier Azalbert, who is also the publication director of France-Soir reminded them of the duties of a publication director who must modify an article or at least put a warning as soon as ” the publication director is informed of a problem with the article”.  None of this was done.  And, the media continue to cite this sulphurous study as if nothing had happened. Disinformation is growing, leading to a loss of opportunity for patients, supported by careless media outlets.

Professor Perronne, Professor Zizi and their co-authors were not the only ones to express their concerns since other letters were written to the editor. The editor found nothing better in June 2024, more than five months after receiving the first letter, than to change the rules and consider appealing to the Principles of Scientific Publication Ethics (COPE), an organization that governs the ethics of scientific debates. Why did you wait so long for this, if not to gain time and let a situation continue ?

About the Pradelle Lega study

The Pradelle study is based on a completely false mathematical modeling. This was demonstrated during a presentation on January 18, 2024 to the Independent Scientific Council by researchers and lecturers Vincent Pavan and Emmanuelle Darles accompanied by Xavier Azalbert. In accordance with the principles of ethics in scientific publications (COPE), Vincent Pavan, Emmanuelle Darles and Xavier Azalbert endeavored to raise the manipulation of data leading to the fabrication of results. Vincent Pavan went even further by showing that the mathematical model used is not only false, but that its use demonstrates the authors' lack of skills in mathematics. On January 21, 2024, the dean of the faculty of Namur, Professor Jean-Michel Dogné,published a commentary on the preprint site MedRix attacking the central point of this study, namely the grotesque extrapolation of the risk associated with the use of hydroxychloroquine from studies integrating a high dosage of this product. Professor Dogné thus confirmed the analyses of Pavan, Darles and Azalbert. France-Soir had also investigated Jean-Christophe Lega and Mathieu Molimard by questioning their activities leading to a laundering of false information with this study.

Decision to submit the “letter of concern” to another journal in the form of a publication

Faced with the obscurantism of the Elsevier journal, the authors of the letter of concern of January 8, 2024 decided to submit their article to a scientific journal in May 2024.  This letter is now published as announced by a tweet from Xavier Azalbert. 

The “Letter of Concern” on the fraudulent Pradelle Lega study supported by Mathieu Molimard was published in another peer-reviewed journal.
Misjudgement of the effect of hospital treatment – ​​The misleading creation of 17,000 deaths and its consequences for the good…

— Xavier Azalbert ◻ (@xazalbert) July 30, 2024

This tweet did not fail to provoke a reaction from the entire trollosphere, a group of people aiming to denigrate France-Soir and the authors of the study by using denigrating comments in order to distract readers from the heart of the matter. A revisited version of “to kill his dog he is accused of rabies”, which no longer takes on social networks.  However, it allows to highlight once again the harassment sphere which targets all those who oppose the official narrative.

Professor Martin Zizi will comment in his own words and at greater length on the complete analysis and especially the criticism of the Pradelle study:

ALERT – And one less dud! One… To share!

Peer review must stop being the worst review and become an Open Review

Several months ago, Pradelle et al. published a FALSE paper, which “said” that there had been 17,000 deaths in FR due to the use of HCQ…

— Martin Zizi (@MartinZ_uncut) July 30, 2024

Take a look instead:

The Pradelle Lega study used as justification by the Director General of Health Grégory Emery

To demonstrate the extent of the collateral damage caused by this fraudulent study, let us quote DGS Grégory Emery. He will use this study in a note, supposedly written by him, but not initially signed, for the attention of the Ministry of Culture to try to denigrate the articles of France-Soir. He thus tried to provide a justification that France-Soir would be a media dangerous for health! He did it of course without mentioning that the publisher had himself published a note warning readers. France-Soir will ask who the authors of this note were and the DGS will answer in person that he was, even though he has no scientific publications to his credit! Service rendered?

(Extract from the unsigned note from DGS Grégory Emery)

The consequences of these fraudulent studies are therefore numerous, because they cause patients to lose chances, but also affect the trust that the French, and even all readers, can have in science. Contacted in January by France-Soir, the universities of Lyon and Bordeaux on which the authors and associates depend did not respond. The authors (Pradelle, Lega et al) of the study in question were informed of the new publication, but were not available to respond.

Which shows that science is really both a combat and endurance sport.

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#LyonBordeauxGate: no, there were not 17,000 deaths due to hydroxychloroquine as claimed by a fraudulent study promoted in the media by Professors Lega and Molimard. HEALTH – Since January 4, 2024, a study published in a peer-reviewed journal has been heavily promoted in the media by Professor Molimar… January 22, 2024 – 5:42 PM Society #LyonBordeauxGate: are Professors Lega and Molimard laundering false information?? HEALTH – On January 4, 2024, a highly questionable and contested study was published by the peer-reviewed journal Biomedecine et Pharmacotherapy. Immediately, the … January 26, 2024 – 6:17 p.m. Society

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