For more news, see Dr. William London's Consumer Health Digest
KCAHF ON FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/KyCAHF
AUGUST 2026 NEWS JULY 2026 NEWS JUNE 2026 NEWS
SEPTEMBER, 2026
Featured topic: measles
David Gorski (Science-Based Medicine): “Making measles great again in Ohio.”
Paul Offit (Beyond the Noise): “Like the velociraptors in Jurassic Park, RFK Jr. is learning.” “RFK Jr. has apparently stopped pushing vitamin A to treat measles.”
Washington Post: “Infant died of measles in Pennsylvania, coroner confirms.”
CBS News: “New measles cases associated with metro Atlanta day care outbreak confirmed, health officials say.”
Truthout: “Amish country is seeing a major measles outbreak. RFK Jr. is making it worse.”
Washington Post: “Pennsylvania woman dies of measles-related complications, local coroner says.”
New York Times: “Pennsylvania officials report fourth measles death, as outbreak grows.”
Washington Post: “Sen. Cassidy says measles surge will be administration’s terrible legacy.”
Shreveport Times: “Bill Cassidy says Trump, RFK Jr. advance vaccine lies as measles cases grow.”
NewsGuard’s Reality Check: “New measles deaths, new denials.”
New York Times: “Pennsylvania measles outbreak grows to nearly 900 cases.”
Featured topic: anti-vaccine conference
Edzard Ernst: “Amid measles outbreaks, RFK Jr. teams up with Andrew Wakefield and headlines a major anti-vaccine conference.”
Ars Technica: “RFK Jr. headlines sold-out anti-vaccine conference alongside Andrew Wakefield.”
Washington Post: “RFK Jr. says Americans worried about vaccines have a ‘friend at the White House’.”
Hastings Center for Bioethics: “Accomplishing the unthinkable, RFK Jr. takes a bow.”
USA Today: “RFK Jr. goes rabidly anti-vaccine in face of measles outbreak.”
Washington Post: “I attended an anti-vaccine conference. The joke ended quickly.”
Featured topic: vaccines (other)
David Gorski (Science-Based Medicine): “Once again, The BMJ, wittingly or unwittingly, reinforces an antivax narrative.”
Paul Offit (Beyond the Noise): “Why is RFK Jr. ignoring outbreaks?” and “The 'S' word.”
St. Louis Public Radio: “More Missouri parents are opting for religious exemptions as vaccine rates fall statewide.”
Women’sHealth: “I’m an infectious disease doctor. Here’s the problem with 'doing your own research' on vaccines.”
Consumer Health Digest: “Evidence reviewed for immunization in 2026-2027 against flu, COVID-19, and RSV.” “Three new systematic reviews of randomized clinical trials and observational studies from August 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026 have reaffirmed the effectiveness and safety of immunizations used to prevent respiratory diseases.”
Military.com: “Army doctor tapped by RFK Jr. and Hegseth is investigating 2,544 troop death reports after COVID vaccination.”
New York Times: “Covid vaccines delayed for half of U.S. children.”
Washington Post: “States can now access covid vaccines for low-income children, after delay.”
Talking Points Memo: “HHS appears to be prepping for big changes to childhood vaccine recommendations.”
The Hill: “Democratic senators accuse Kennedy of not adhering to ethics agreement in vaccine lawsuit.”
Featured topic: other political developments
David Gorski (Science-Based Medicine): “Dr. Remington Nevin: Michigan’s own RFK Jr. or Dr. Joseph Ladapo?”
Steven Novella (Science-Based Medicine): “The CDC has been hollowed out.”
David Weinberg (Science-Based Medicine): “Hidden in plain cite: HHS backs teen pregnancy program priorities with phantom references.”
Edzard Ernst: “RFKJr has now decided to investigate the alleged dangers of wireless technologies.”
Axios: “How MAHA ideas could outlast RFK Jr.”
Poynter: “RFK Jr. says Americans have the sickest children in history.’ History says otherwise.”
New York Times: “White House moves to take control of N.I.H. grants.”
Ars Technica: “RFK Jr. names 8 new members to influential preventive medicine task force.”
New York Times: “Kennedy drew $4 million in book advances from publisher who also monetized MAHA.”
Politico: “RFK Jr.’s movement now has corporate sponsors.”
Axios: “1 big thing: FDA nominee's murky prospects.”
New York Times: “’Zombified’ C.D.C., hobbled by cuts, struggles to fulfill scientific mission.”
Ars Technica: “RFK Jr. thinks AI will free us from the ‘tyranny’ of medical facts, expertise.”
MS Now: “At MAHA Summit, RFK Jr.’s base asks if its champion is selling out.”
Featured topic: homeopathy
Edzard Ernst:
“ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HOMEOPATHY: possibly the most revealing (and funniest) story you will ever hear about this therapy.”
“The US administration plans the legal protection of homeopathy.” “The proposed bill therefore turns out to be a legal safe harbour for homeopathy, reduced FDA oversight, weaker FTC enforcement, and a serious risk that consumers will mistake traditional claims for scientifically established facts.”
“FAKE THERAPY, FAKE PAPER, FAKE AUTHOR, FAKE INSTITUTE, Homeopathy and women's health: a critical review.”
“A re-polished turd: Frass's retracted homeopathy trial has been re-published.” “The fundamental issue with the original 2020 Frass Oncologist paper was not just its statistics; it was a fundamental concern about data manipulation, ethics, and missing records. Eventually it forced the journal to pull the paper. Performing a ‘quadruple-checked analysis’ on a dataset with compromised integrity yields nothing more than noise and laughter. No amount of statistical laundering can transform untrustworthy data into valid evidence…A discredited study does not become credible simply because its authors insist on telling their phony story all over again…Whatever possessed ‘Support Cancer Care’, a previously reputable journal, to publish this unethical pseudoscience?”
“The effect of homeopathy on symptom severity and quality of life among menopausal women.” “Yes, the meta-analysis indicates that homeopathy is effective. And yes, we know that homeopathy does not work beyond placebo. So, the reason for the FALSE positive result is simple: the authors included studies that compared homeopathy with no intervention. Such studies do not control for nonspecific effects, including placebo effects. Therefore, the FALSE positive result is not due to specific effects of homeopathy but to the nonspecific effects of placebo, the failure to blind patients and other forms of bias. Consequently, the 1st sentence of the conclusions needs to be re-phrased as follows: Nonspecific effects may reduce menopausal symptoms, particularly hot flashes, in menopausal women.”
Other topics
On Science-Based Medicine,
Jann Bellamy:
“Medical intuitives: more integrative medicine pseudoscience.” “The integrative medicine industry is all in on making a ‘scan’ of your ‘biofield’ part of your physician’s diagnostic toolkit….Medical intuition is pseudoscience and has no place in medical practice. Yet, the integrative medicine industry, through its co-option of otherwise respectable medical institutions, creation of pseudoscience-promoting organizations, as well as support for, and publication of, trifling research, has created a ‘safe space’ in which such practices can flourish and metastasize into the public body.”
Scott Gavura:
“Transdermal vitamin and wellness patches: hype versus evidence.” “…There are so many scientific holes that it’s reasonable to ask if these products actually do anything at all. And in the absence of published evidence to show they are effective, that’s what the cautious consumer should conclude.”
David Gorski:
“The metastasis hoax?” “An anonymous blogger cites a virus denier who claims that our understanding of the mechanisms of cancer metastasis is a ‘hoax’.”
Steven Novella:
“Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine six years on.” New reviews continue to find no evidence of effectiveness for prevention or treatment of COVID.
Edzard Ernst:
“The endless discussion: experience versus evidence.” “I often have discussions with fans of this or that so-called alternative medicine (SCAM). After several decades of such disputes, you would think that I know how to best deal with them.”
“Spinal manipulation and clinician-supported biopsychosocial self-management for acute back pain.” “The authors concluded that for patients with acute or subacute LBP at increased risk of chronic disabling LBP, clinician-supported biopsychosocial self-management showed statistically significant but small reductions in disability, but not pain, vs medical care over 1-year follow-up, and spinal manipulation alone showed no significant difference for either outcome. Some of the authors were strong proponents of chiropractic; yet the results show spinal manipulation to be fairly useless.”
“China made a start in cracking down of research misconduct.” “While the new initiative is most laudable, I ask myself whether it is enough. Considering that one report stated that over 80% of Chinese research data are fabricated, it seems but a tiny drop in a very big ocean.”
“Conceptual pluralism in integrative medicine.” “Essentially, the authors argue in favour of positioning integrative medicine in the context of ‘conceptual pluralism,’ employing the example of TCM [traditional Chinese medicine] use alongside biomedicine. The idea might seem philosophically elegant. However, I fear that it is fundamentally flawed. The core challenge lies in an unresolvable epistemological mismatch. Biomedicine relies on falsifiable hypotheses and provable facts. TCM relies on pre-scientific metaphors, e.g. Qi, Yin/Yang, meridians, that have no basis in fact and were developed long before human anatomy, physiology, etc. became established knowledge. Treating these two as complementary creates a category error: it places empirical biology on equal footing with pre-scientific myths.”
“Reiki is not an effective treatment for female infertility – results from a new RCT.”
“A journey into the dark heart of so-called alternative medicine (SCAM).” “By following Lauren’s digital footprint through Facebook groups and forums about chronic Lyme disease, Hannah saw how these spaces offered connection and identity to people with chronic illness, but also how they circulate dangerous advice and promote expensive quackery. A central theme of Hannah’s book [Wormhole] is how SCAMs are often presented in sophisticated, pseudo‑academic language that make unproven remedies sound credible to unsuspecting lay people. When such SCAMs fail, blame is routinely shifted onto the patient for not trying hard enough or not following instructions precisely.”
“Chinese clinical trials of Chinese herbal medicine cannot be trusted!” “I have regularly mentioned the notorious unreliability of Chinese studies of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which, of course, includes CHM. This study is a stark reminder of this fact. If we add to this methodological unreliability the fact that the vast majority of Chinese studies have been reported to be fabricated, we arrive at a dire conclusion: please, do take them with more than a pinch of salt!”
“Association between spinal manipulation and cervical artery dissection in patients with neck pain or headache.” “These findings are highly counterintuitive. There are many possible reasons for this. One is that the two groups were poorly matches for some prognostic factors. For instance, there were about three times more smokers in the ibuprofen compared to the SMT group…As SMT of the upper spine has very little benefit (other than that to the chiropractor’s bank account), my advice is: ERR ON THE SAFE SIDE AND DON’T DO IT!”
“No, ignorance isn’t bliss: ethics, honesty, competence, and the duty of care in so-called alternative medicine (SCAM).” “An ‘honest’ healer who ignores robust evidence fails the tests of beneficence and non‑maleficence, undermines informed consent, and risks injustice by diverting resources from effective care. Ethical practice therefore demands intellectual virtues – curiosity, critical thinking, and courage to revise beliefs in light of better data – so that honesty is matched by competence. Ignorance, however sincere, is not bliss in healthcare, it is an ethical liability.”
“High-intensity versus low-intensity laser acupuncture in chronic, non-specific low back pain.” “This is a well-designed study with interesting features; for instance, the success of blinding was quantified which happens far too rarely in such investigations. The results suggest that laser acupuncture is effective, a notion that is far from generally accepted. Those who doubt it, might point out that the sample size – 20 per group – was too low for drawing firm conclusions. I would insist on independent replications before I recommend laser acupuncture for back pain.”
“Tomato intake improves cognitive performance and modulates functional brain networks.” “The study is interesting but it does not support dietary claims that tomato products ‘rewire the brain’ or protect cognition. It also cannot separate lycopene from other tomato constituents, the food matrix, displacement of other foods, or nonspecific diet-study effects. Prior evidence cited in the literature includes observational findings and animal studies, which are useful for plausibility but cannot establish cognitive benefit in healthy people…I think, a more defensible conclusion would be this: Daily tomato paste was associated with small improvements in certain repeated cognitive measures under unblinded trial conditions.”
“The subjective experience of Reiki is associated with symptomatic improvements.” “This might easily be the largest study of Reiki ever reported! Is it good? Yes, it is excellent: it shows precisely what we all had known: SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE IS RELATED TO SYMPTOMATIC IMPROVEMENTS. Who would have ever suggested otherwise? Guess what: subjective experience is related to symptoms not just in relation to Reiki but to everything from consulting your dentist to seeing your hairdresser! Truly enlightening to see that Reiki researchers mounted the largest study in their therapy to confirm a platitude!”
“The many variations of untruths in so-called alternative medicine (SCAM).”
“Acupuncture-induced pneumothorax following thoracic acupuncture in a patient with Ehlers Danlos syndrome.” “Are cases of acupuncture-induced pneumothorax rare? We have discussed numerous cases on this blog…The vast majority of cases is never reported, I fear. The worrying consequence is that nobody knows the true incidence figures. Why? Because there is no systematic reporting system. Why? Because it does not suit the acupuncturers’ myth of a safe therapy. It follows, that we need to ask: DO THE MOSTLY MARGINAL BENEFITS OF ACUPUNCTURE OUTWEIGH ITS WELL DOCUMENTED RISKS? PERSONALLY, I DOUBT IT!”
On McGill Office for Science and Society:
Jonathan Jarry:
“The organ that ‘proved’ that everything is connected.” “He says he discovered a new organ. He also thinks that dementia reveals the true face of the universe. What is going on?” Jarry discussed the science and claims concerning the interstitium. “It is unfortunate that new information on a known anatomical structure is being distorted by one of the physicians involved in the study to fit some cosmological agenda he has.”
“The ‘don’t trust your doctor’ Facebook videos that lie to you.” “Facebook is full of videos that claim to share a health secret you won’t hear anywhere else, but they are actually sales pitches for unproven dietary supplements. Red flags include a progress bar that lies; an overreliance on stock footage; making you fearful of something that isn’t real; appealing to natural, spiritual, and exotic things; suggesting that a conspiracy has prevented from hearing about this until now; and well-worn pressure tactics, like flattery and upselling.”
“Ivermectin for cancer is putting the cart before the horse paste.” “Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug that some claimed worked against COVID-19 (which we know is not true) and which is now being positioned as a cancer cure ‘they’ don’t want you to know about. Ivermectin is just one of a long list of drugs that show interesting potential in the lab to help treat cancer, but very few drugs that show promise in the lab are revealed to be safe and effective in humans. There is currently no good scientific evidence demonstrating that ivermectin can treat a certain type of cancer or help make chemotherapy more effective, although future studies could theoretically change this. While ivermectin is a relatively safe drug to take, cancer patients should know that the ‘protocols’ they find online may recommend very high doses that can cause severe side effects; that taking ivermectin while undergoing cancer therapy may alter how your body processes otherwise effective cancer drugs; and that underground laboratories are manufacturing ivermectin to questionable standards, leading to bodily harm.”
Joe Schwarcz:
“Barbie peptide merits a closer look.” Melanotan II is “supposed to produce a tan, curb the appetite, and enhance sexual performance….Unfortunately, melanotan II did not pan out as hoped due to side effects that include flushing, nausea, sweating, headaches and spontaneous erections. Changes in mole pigmentation have raised concern about an enhanced risk of melanoma. Since no clinical trials have shown an acceptable risk-benefit ratio, neither Canada nor the U.S. has approved melanotan II for any purpose.”
“Biohackers are reaching for wolverine peptides.” “The Wolverine stack consists of two peptides referred to on social media as BPC-157 and TB-500, neither of which is approved for any use by Health Canada or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration… the oral version is likely to be digested in the stomach before making it into the bloodstream.” Neither peptide is supported by clinical trials.
September – John Vincent: “Chromium: A decade as a nonessential trace element” (J Nutr. 2026 Sep;156(9):101751 Abstract). “Beneficial effects from dietary Cr supplementation of healthy or compromised humans have not been conclusively demonstrated; in fact, the evidence supports that such supplementation at doses used to date has no significant effects. Cr supplementation cannot be recommended unless future clinical trials, probably at doses of supplemental Cr an order of magnitude or greater than previously used, observe beneficial effects without also observing deleterious effects.”
September – Andrea Love (Skeptical Inquirer): “Selling immune tolerance as disease.” “Yet despite its commercial success, food sensitivity testing lacks scientific support and has been repeatedly rejected by allergy and immunology organizations.”
September – Three articles in Skeptical Inquirer dealt with Facilitated Communication and claims of telepathy in individuals with autism:
Stuart Vyse: “The Telepathy Tapes: A portal into a world of woo.” “Season 2 of The Telepathy Tapes podcast introduces even more pseudoscientific claims that harm nonspeaking individuals.”
Katharine Beals: “Telepathy via Facilitated Communication in profound autism: A 21st-century delusion.” “Though it seems like the result of a historical accident, the widespread delusion that individuals with profound autism are telepathic was inevitable.”
Janyce Boynton: “Debunking The Telepathy Tapes: The role of facilitator behaviors.” “A detailed investigation into The Telepathy Tapes discredits the facilitated communication used throughout the podcast.”
September – Brian Kerby (Skeptical Inquirer): “One man’s midlife crisis in a NatGeo docuseries.” Kerby reviewed Limitless: Live better now, featuring Chris Hemsworth. “Throughout the docuseries we’re asked to accept unreferenced evidence via statements such as ‘research shows’ and ‘a study suggests,’ along with the occasional appeal to ancient wisdom and cliché advice…One might find oneself on a path to valid research—or just as likely down a rabbit hole of pseudoscience.”
September 1 – Elizabeth Barber (New York Times): “How a teenager’s cancer treatment became a MAHA crusade.” “Dayna Mooney chose alternative remedies over the recommendations of her son’s doctors. Was that her right as a parent or a threat to his care?”
September 1 – Truveta: “Rising rate of non-receipt of vitamin K for newborns, 2019–June 2026.” “This suggests that vitamin K refusal may be part of broader hesitation about newborn preventive care, even though vitamin K is not a vaccine.”
September 10 – Ariana Cha (Washington Post): “Why scientists are starting to worry popular supplements could harm the aging brain.” Older adults may be sensitive to side effects from vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, and glucosamine.
September 14 – Netana Markovitz (Washington Post): “I’m a doctor. Here’s why I wouldn’t get a full-body MRI scan.” “Beyond just the lack of data, here are three other reasons I wouldn’t get a full-body MRI and don’t recommend them for the vast majority of people. They lack important detail…They can provide a false sense of security…They could lead to excessive testing…The bottom line is that, in 2026, I don’t think the evidence is there yet to justify the risks for a person with an average risk of developing cancer.”
September 15 – CDC: “Adverse events linked to injectable glutathione compounded with dietary supplement grade ingredient: Current situation.” “CDC has recently received reports of people becoming sick after receiving glutathione injections. The illnesses are likely linked to elevated levels of endotoxins in the injected products… glutathione ingredients labeled for dietary use should not be used to compound injectable products.” Consumer Health Digest notes that “evidence is lacking that glutathione supplementation is safe and effective for any kind of health enhancement, except in symptom management for some conditions in which bodily glutathione may be depleted, such as H.I.V. infection.” Edzard Ernst also discussed the story.
September 17 – Anahad O’Connor (Washington Post): “Why probiotics don’t usually help your gut – and what to do instead.” “…There’s little evidence that they can improve or benefit gut health in healthy people, and studies suggest that, in some cases, they can actually disrupt the composition of your gut microbiome.”
September 20 – Hasmeena Kathuria (Washington Post): “I’m a pulmonologist. Here’s why new wellness claims about nicotine worry me.” “…Findings from laboratory and animal studies have not translated into evidence that nicotine promotes healthy aging, extends lifespan or prevents age-related disease in humans.”
September 24 – Daniel Wu (Washington Post): “One blood test could screen you for 50 cancers. Here’s why it’s controversial.” “False positives could cause patients undue stress and lead to unnecessary additional tests and procedures, while false negatives risk creating a false sense of security…the Galleri trial’s failure to reduce late-stage diagnoses called the test’s effectiveness at early detection into question.”
September 24 – Nick Tiller (Skeptical Inquirer): The Enhanced Games: A commercial legacy.” “Each success will be another ad for its supplements, hormones, peptides, and AI-supported telehealth. And there’s a rich vein to tap in a global wellness market worth nearly $8 trillion, where baseless claims abound, longevity is life, and experimental peptides are the flavor of the month. The Enhanced Group needn’t forge a New Frontier in human performance to reach paying customers. Like a tick, it only needs to attach itself to the wellness industry and siphon off enough to sustain itself.”
September 28 – Jordan Metzl (Washington Post): “As a sports medicine doctor, here’s what I want you to know about peptides.” “For some of the most popular recovery peptides, the excitement comes largely from animal studies, laboratory experiments or very small human studies. What we don’t have is enough high-quality human evidence to know whether these treatments work, who should take them, what dose is appropriate and most important, what happens after years of use.”
September 30 – John Gregory (NewsGuard): “Radioactive health hoax from the 1920s returns.” “Spurred on by a popular health influencer, social media users are claiming that exposure to the radioactive element radium in drinking or bathing water is safe and actually provides health benefits, a dangerous false claim that was discredited nearly a century ago.”
Addition to previous months
June 26 – Yang, Yang, and Xi: “Effects of nutritional supplementation on social impairment and behavioral dysregulation in autism spectrum disorder: a network meta-analysis” (BMC Psychiatry. 2026 Jun 26;26(1):735 Paper). “Current evidence does not support recommending any nutritional supplement over usual treatment for children with ASD. Although some network estimates suggested possible benefits for social functioning and irritability, these findings were limited by non-significant direct evidence, small sample sizes, sparse networks, heterogeneity, and imprecision. No clear effect was observed for hyperactivity.”