While many experts have offered that rising obesity rates are due to declining physical activity as societies become more industrialized, new research shows that people in wealthier countries expend just as much — or even more — energy daily. In an article recently published in PNAS, Duke researchers point instead to higher caloric intake as the primary driver, suggesting that diet rather than idleness plays the bigger role in the global obesity crisis.

Three studies presented today at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery’s (SNIS) 22nd Annual Meeting discussed whether using GLP-1 inhibitors could lessen the impacts of stroke and related brain injuries or reduce the risk of stroke altogether. These medications, which lower blood sugar and often cause weight loss, are commonly prescribed for type 2 diabetes and obesity and include drugs like semaglutide (Ozempic).

 

Sickle cell disease can lead to a severe complication known as acute chest syndrome (ACS), but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. A new study by Mass General Brigham investigators identified an ancient immune pathway that is activated in patients with ACS and serves as a key driver of the disease. Blocking this pathway with clinically approved drugs alleviated disease severity in preclinical models. The results are published in Science Translational Medicine.

Thomas McElrath, MD, PhD, of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, is the lead and corresponding author of a paper published in JAMA Network Open, “Utility of the US Preventive Services Task Force for Preeclampsia Risk Assessment and Aspirin Prophylaxis.”

A new study raises concerns about a widely used shortcut in approving rectal cancer drugs, showing that the absence of detectable tumors after treatment—known as pathologic complete response (pCR)—does not reliably predict longer survival. The FDA-approved metric could be fast-tracking new rectal cancer drugs without evidence they help patients live longer. 

A new study sponsored by Mirvie, which is the first to evaluate U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) guidelines for preeclampsia risk and aspirin prescription in a single, nationally representative, prospective population, found while high-risk factors had sufficient value in estimating risk, there’s limited value for the moderate risk category - leading to nonspecific recommendations for aspirin use, a recognized prevention tool.

Several local factors — including the minimum temperature reached in autumn, the water level in lakes and ponds in winter, and the presence of mute swans (Cygnus olor) — could be key for predicting the potential of an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian flu (HPAI) occurring in Europe. The findings, published in Scientific Reports...