Texas Biomed researchers find that long-term, low doses of THC mitigate many harmful side effects and inflammation caused by HIV and antiretroviral therapy. The preclincial study shows promising benefits for gut health, serotonin levels and more – and could have broad implications for other diseases linked to gut inflammation.

MUSC Hollings Cancer Center researcher Benjamin Toll, Ph.D., co-led a new American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) policy statement supporting a proposed FDA rule to cap nicotine levels in cigarettes. The proposed policy, still in the public comment stage, would reduce nicotine content by about 95%. By making cigarettes minimally or non-addictive, the policy could help millions of Americans quit smoking and prevent countless new addictions. Toll and his colleagues say the policy could save lives, reduce health care costs and transform cancer prevention, but emphasize the need to pair the policy with strong cessation support services and public education initiatives.

A study from the Institute of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism (NUTRIM) at Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, Netherlands, has found that the consumption of unsalted, skin-roasted peanuts can significantly improve brain vascular function and memory. The findings were recently published online in the international, peer-reviewed journal Clinical Nutrition.

A new poll reveals large gaps in older adults’ knowledge about two types of care that could help them or their loved ones cope with a major illness or the end of life: palliative care and hospice.