A major international trial suggests that a widely available antidepressant may help ease one of long COVID’s most disabling symptoms, bringing patients and clinicians closer to a practical treatment option. A global research team co-led by McMaster University has identified one of the first medications shown to meaningfully reduce fatigue in people living with long … Read more
Despite experiencing significant reductions in triglycerides, patients with triglycerides over 150 mg/dL and a high risk of atherosclerosis did not experience any significant change in the amount of non-calcified plaque in their coronary arteries after taking the triglyceride-lowering drug olezarsen, in a one-year sub-study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session (ACC.26). … Read more
A new study from the Kwon Lab at the Ragon Institute, published in Cell Host & Microbe, provides the most detailed picture yet of how a promising bacterial therapy works to prevent recurrent bacterial vaginosis (BV) and why it works better for some women than others. BV is the most common vaginal condition worldwide, affecting more than 25% … Read more
In both traditional acupuncture theory and modern medical experience, acupoints are central to therapeutic outcomes, yet their biological nature has remained controversial. Conventional models assume static point locations, which have contributed to inconsistencies in clinical trials and debates over placebo effects. Meanwhile, studies of referred pain, neurogenic inflammation, and somato-visceral reflexes suggest that disease can … Read more
Despite hopes raised by earlier observational studies and biomarker shifts, The Lancet trials found that oral semaglutide did not meaningfully slow clinical progression in early Alzheimer’s disease over two years. Key Takeaways Oral semaglutide did not slow cognitive or functional decline in people with early Alzheimer’s disease. Two large phase 3 trials independently reached the … Read more
Amanda Miller was 30 and pregnant with her second child in Hershey, Pennsylvania, when she developed depression. After she gave birth, her depression worsened. It was joined by a slew of unexplained health problems. Miller, a neuroscientist, said she saw several psychiatrists and got prescriptions for drug after drug. Over two years, she tried four … Read more
Persons under stress may have a harder time spatially orienting themselves. Researchers in Bochum have discovered why. The stress hormone cortisol disrupts the brain’s navigational system. It impairs the function of the grid cells that play a crucial role in orientation. This has been verified by researchers from Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, in an imaging … Read more
A decades-long study of postmenopausal women shows that a simple blood biomarker may help identify individuals at higher risk of cognitive decline and dementia years before symptoms appear. Study: Plasma Phosphorylated Tau 217 and Incident Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia in Older Women. Image Credit: meeboonstudio / Shutterstock In a recent study published in JAMA Network … Read more
People with chronic back pain process everyday sounds differently, and more intensely, than people without pain, according to new research from the University of Colorado Anschutz. Published today in Annals of Neurology, the study is one of the first to tie this sound hypersensitivity to specific, measurable changes in the brain, indicating that chronic back … Read more
Can combining two gut hormone pathways unlock better obesity treatments? In the first human trial of dapiglutide, researchers found encouraging metabolic signals but no statistically significant edge over placebo, highlighting both the promise and the limits of next-generation dual agonists. Trial: Dapiglutide, a dual GLP-1 and GLP-2 receptor agonist, for obesity: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled … Read more