People with diabetes suffer from depression more frequently than average – with sometimes considerable consequences for their quality of life and the course of the disease. Researchers from the German Diabetes Center (DDZ), the Research Institute of the Diabetes Academy Mergentheim (Forschungsinstitut an der Diabetes Akademie Mergentheim, FIDAM) and the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) were able to show in a large-scale analysis that biomarkers for chronic inflammation levels influence the therapeutic success of depressive symptoms – however, with considerable differences in type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The findings could help to customize the treatment of depression in people with diabetes in the future. The results were recently published in the ‘Diabetologia’ journal.

Gait assessment plays a critical role in the diagnosis and management of neurological disorders. Although AI-based models offer the potential to enhance the objectivity and accessibility of clinical gait analysis, most existing models are limited by their dependence on specific patient populations and sensor configurations, largely due to the scarcity of diverse clinical datasets. In a recent study, researchers from IBM Research, Cleveland Clinic, and University of Tsukuba addressed this limitation by developing a novel framework that integrates synthetic gait data generated by generative AI with physics-based musculoskeletal simulation. This approach supports the development of scalable and generalizable gait analysis models applicable across heterogeneous patient groups and sensor environments.

A new report published in The Lancet issues a fresh clarion call: plastic pollution is a grave and growing danger to human and planetary health. As Ministers and diplomats arrive in Geneva for the final round of talks to conclude a global plastics treaty, the report provides the most up-to-date assessment of the links between health and plastic pollution across the full life cycle of plastic. 

Ahead of the expected finalisation of an UN global plastics treaty [1], a group of international experts call for a greater focus on health impacts when considering plastic pollution. The Health Policy published in The Lancet reviews the current evidence on how plastics – including microplastics and plastic chemicals - impact health and announces the launch of a new project tracking these impacts: the Lancet Countdown on Health and Plastics.

Boston College researchers co-lead the launch of The Lancet Countdown on Health and Plastics, an online dashboard that will track the health and environmental impacts of plastic pollution and monitor UN-guided efforts to curb plastics’ use and mitigate their harms.