Here is a recap of the stories that appeared last week at Science-Based Medicine, a multi-author skeptical blog that separates the science from the woo-woo in medicine.

The final nail in the coffin for the antivaccine rallying cry “Too many too soon”? (David Gorski) http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/the-final-nail-in-the-coffin-for-the-antivaccine-rallying-cry-too-many-too-soon/ Vaccine critics claim that infants can’t handle all those antigens in vaccines so early in life. A new study clearly put that concern to rest: it showed no association between the number of vaccine antigens a child was exposed to and the development of autism. Doctors who advocate a delayed vaccine schedule have tried to discredit the study but have only succeeded in demonstrating their ignorance of immunology and the scientific method.

AAFP CME Program Succumbs to “Integrative Medicine” (Harriet Hall) http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/aafp-cme-program-succumbs-to-integrative-medicine/ “Integrative medicine” is a marketing term that encourages mixing quackery with science-based medicine. The Continuing Medical Education program of the American Academy of Family Physicians has gone over to the dark side and produced a whole monograph on integrative medicine. There are obvious flaws in its “evidence” and reasoning.

Homeopathic regulation diluted until no substance left (Jann Bellamy) http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/homeopathic-regulation-diluted-until-no-substance-left/ Selling homeopathic remedies is akin to selling batteries that don’t produce electricity. The history of homeopathy regulation in the US explains how the current deplorable situation came about. The approval of homeopathic remedies is left to the unscientific homeopathic pharmacopeia and is exempt from regulation by the FDA. The foxes are legally assigned to guard the henhouse.

Boundaries (Mark Crislip) http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/boundaries/ There are various boundaries that separate SBM from CAM. For some people, facts are simply not important. People fail to understand the flaws in thinking that define human behavior. They see conspiracies where none exist. And scientists don’t realize that the usual standards of evaluating the medical literature don’t apply to evaluating the alleged effects of CAM.