News archive

WHO · 6 Mar 2025 · Research

WHO and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia sign agreements in support of health priorities

The Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum 2025 was a significant event that underscored the continued partnership between WHO and KSrelief, as well as with other international partners to address critical humanitarian health crises. The agreements made during the forum are pivotal in combating diseases like malaria, cholera, and polio, and ensuring better healthcare for displaced populations. The forum also highlig

Read at WHO →♡ Save

• news

UC San Francisco / JAMA Psychiatry · 1 Oct 2026 · Supplements / medicine

In 20 adults with depression, cutting ultra-processed food by more than 85% tracked better symptom scores

Study (small crossover pilot). Nyasha Chagwedera, Andrew Krystal, and colleagues at UC San Francisco report in JAMA Psychiatry (23 September 2026; doi 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2026.2320; ScienceDaily 1 October 2026). Twenty adults with depression (average age 44; 70% women; 14 also had anxiety; high BMI and at least one metabolic disorder) spent four weeks on their usual eating pattern and four weeks choosing foods low in ultra-processed products, with guidance from the team. They cut ultra-processed intake by more than 85%. Depression scores improved by a moderate to large amount on three measures. Anxiety scores improved modestly. The authors describe a possible leaky-gut and low-grade inflammation path; this pilot did not prove that path. Phase 2 enrollment is planned for 2028. Twenty people cannot show that avoiding packaged food treats depression. Educational notes. This is not a diet prescription.

Read at UC San Francisco / JAMA Psychiatry →♡ Save

• 40–59

• study
• nutrition
• gut
• inflammation
• off-label-context

Mount Sinai / Cell and Cell Stem Cell · 1 Oct 2026 · Supplements / medicine

APOE4 changed brain-vessel support cells in human tissue models; blocking a scar signal reversed part of that in aged mice

Study (human tissue models, postmortem brain, and mice). Joel W. Blanchard and colleagues at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai report two papers carried by ScienceDaily on 1 October 2026. In Cell (24 September 2026; doi 10.1016/j.cell.2026.08.058), Braxton R. Schuldt and colleagues mapped gene activity in human brain blood-vessel cells and found that APOE4 pushed pericytes toward scar-making myofibroblast-like cells, with more fibrosis and amyloid around vessels. Blocking TGF-beta signaling restored pericyte coverage and reduced that fibrosis and amyloid, including in aged APOE4 mice. In Cell Stem Cell (2026; 33(9):1459; doi 10.1016/j.stem.2026.08.001), Louise Mesentier-Louro and colleagues used stem-cell “miBrain” tissue. APOE4 tissue built up more alpha-synuclein. Cholesterol piled up in astrocytes and weakened lysosomal cleanup, and the protein spread to neurons. These are laboratory and animal findings, not a treatment tested in people with Alzheimer disease. Educational notes.

Read at Mount Sinai / Cell and Cell Stem Cell →♡ Save

• Cognitive / dementia research

• study
• cognition

CNIC and Rigshospitalet / New England Journal of Medicine · 1 Oct 2026 · Supplements / medicine

In 16,808 adults without known heart disease, silent artery plaque was already present in about 1 in 13 people ages 18 to 29

Study (cross-sectional imaging). The REACT study, presented in a Hot Line session at ESC Congress 2026 on 29 August and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, was carried by ScienceDaily on 1 October 2026. Researchers in Denmark and Spain imaged 16,808 adults ages 18 to 70 (mean age 45) with no known atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, balanced by sex within each age decade. Three-dimensional ultrasound covered carotid and femoral arteries; coronary arteries were imaged by CT. Plaque was present in 57.1%. About 1 in 13 people ages 18 to 29 had plaque in at least one territory. About 9 in 10 people ages 60 to 70 had plaque. Prevalence rose earlier in men, by about 5 to 10 years, while women showed a steeper rise in midlife around the usual age of menopause. Most people with coronary plaque also had plaque in the neck or leg arteries. This is a snapshot of who already has plaque, not a test of a prevention program. Educational notes.

Read at CNIC and Rigshospitalet / New England Journal of Medicine →♡ Save

• Women
• Men
• Under 40
• 40–59
• 60+
• Cardiovascular / lipids

• study

University of Liverpool and University of Leeds / British Journal of Nutrition · 1 Oct 2026 · Nutrition

In 493 adults, diet drinks and water were statistically equivalent for weight change across 104 weeks of a behavior program

Study (open-label randomized equivalence trial). Jo Harrold, Jason Halford, and colleagues report long-term SWITCH results in the British Journal of Nutrition (doi 10.1017/S0007114526108150; University of Leeds news 1 October 2026). The trial randomized 493 adults with BMI 27 to 35 who regularly drank cold beverages to water (246) or diet beverages sweetened with aspartame, acesulfame-K, and sucralose (247), inside a group behavior program: weekly meetings for 12 weeks, monthly meetings for 40 weeks, then a voluntary year without routine meetings. At week 104, 220 people remained (water 117, diet drinks 103). Mean weight change from baseline was −3.7 kg with water and −4.8 kg with diet drinks; the difference was not significant, which was the equivalence result. Both groups reduced waist and hip measures. Sugar intake fell in both, a bit more with diet drinks. Trial coverage describes ages 18 to 65. The American Beverage Association funded the work; the universities say the team controlled the analysis. Open-label and large dropout limit the claim. Educational notes. This does not mean a diet drink is a health drink, and it does not override other reasons someone might avoid sweeteners.

Read at University of Liverpool and University of Leeds / British Journal of Nutrition →♡ Save

• Under 40
• 40–59
• 60+
• Metabolic / glucose

• study

UT Southwestern / Science Advances · 1 Oct 2026 · Research

In 9,879 ARIC participants, dozens of blood proteins sat on the path between social disadvantage and later heart failure

Study (observational proteomics). Amil Shah and colleagues, including UT Southwestern researchers Victoria Lamberson and Tammy Leonard, report in Science Advances (21 August 2026; 12(34):eaec5063; doi 10.1126/sciadv.aec5063; UT Southwestern roundup 1 October 2026). At ARIC visit 3 (1993–1995), 9,879 people free of heart failure (mean age 60, standard deviation 6; 46% men) had 4,955 plasma proteins measured. A social-disadvantage factor built from income, education, and area deprivation was linked to later heart failure through dozens of proteins: 36 in Black participants, 126 in white participants, and 12 shared. Eight proteins showed a mediation signal. Key results were checked in 49,396 UK Biobank participants. Mendelian randomization pointed to C1QTNF1 as a possible causal contributor; that is genetic evidence, not a treatment trial. Educational notes. This does not say a blood test should be ordered from a headline.

Read at UT Southwestern / Science Advances →♡ Save

• 40–59
• 60+
• Cardiovascular / lipids

• study

UT Southwestern / JAMA Network Open · 1 Oct 2026 · Research

In 381 women followed for two years after breast cancer treatment, depression and stress tracked lingering fatigue more than heart-function changes

Study (prospective cohort). A UT Southwestern roundup on 1 October 2026 describes a JAMA Network Open paper in which researchers followed 381 women for two years after breast cancer treatment. More than one-third of the women treated with chemotherapy and/or aromatase inhibitors had a clinically meaningful worsening of fatigue versus their pretreatment baseline. Some therapies were tied to lower measures of cardiac function, but those changes were not independently linked to fatigue at two years. Depressive symptoms were the strongest factor associated with persistent fatigue; perceived stress also contributed. The roundup does not give the women’s ages. Vlad Zaha of UT Southwestern contributed. This summary uses the university account, not the full journal text. Educational notes. This is not a mental-health protocol.

Read at UT Southwestern / JAMA Network Open →♡ Save

• Women

• study

BMJ Group / Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry · 1 Oct 2026 · Nutrition

In 1,647 Framingham adults, a higher MIND diet score tracked slower grey-matter loss, about 2.5 years over 12 years

Study (observational cohort). Changzheng Yuan and colleagues report in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry (online March 2026; June 2026 issue; ScienceDaily 1 October 2026). They followed 1,647 middle-aged and older adults in the Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort (average age about 60 at the start) for a median of 12.3 years, with repeated food questionnaires and MRI. Each 3-point higher MIND score lined up with 0.279 cm³ per year slower loss of total grey matter (about 20% less of the age-related change, which the authors equate to about 2.5 years). The same 3-point difference lined up with slower ventricular enlargement of 0.071 cm³ per year (about 8%, about 1 year). ScienceDaily notes berries and poultry tracked with healthier structural change, and sweets and fried fast food with more tissue loss. A Harvard Health brief described the cohort as about 54% female and average age 61. The design cannot prove the eating pattern caused the MRI difference, and the paper does not show that the structural change improved thinking scores. Educational notes. This is not a meal plan.

Read at BMJ Group / Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry →♡ Save

• 40–59
• 60+
• Cognitive / dementia research

• study
• cognition
• aging

University of Missouri / Cell Reports · 1 Oct 2026 · Supplements / medicine

Endurance training changed liver energy proteins differently in female and male rats; both sexes had less liver fat

Study (rats). Scott Rector and colleagues at the University of Missouri School of Medicine report in Cell Reports (2026; DOI 10.1016/j.celrep.2026.117416; MedicalXpress 1 October 2026), from the MoTrPAC endurance-exercise dataset. Female rats made more proteins in the Krebs cycle, the mitochondrial pathway that produces cellular energy. Male rats more often remodeled existing proteins by a chemical change that triggers that cycle. Rector said neither pattern is a better adaptation. In both sexes, training lined up with less liver fat, better cholesterol use and disposal, and fewer fibrosis markers. Males appeared to expel more cholesterol than females. The release does not give the number of animals. The authors say the sex difference might later matter for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, and that why the pathways differ is still unknown. These are rat findings, not a human training result. Educational notes.

Read at University of Missouri / Cell Reports →♡ Save

• Women
• Men
• Metabolic / glucose

• study
• fitness

University of East Anglia / Journal of Translational Medicine · 1 Oct 2026 · Supplements / medicine

A computational comparison linked long Covid, ME/CFS, PTSD, rheumatoid arthritis, and MS to shared energy and immune networks

Study (computational reanalysis, not a new patient cohort). Dmitry Pshezhetskiy at the University of East Anglia and colleagues, with Oxford BioDynamics, report in the Journal of Translational Medicine (2026; 24(1); doi 10.1186/s12967-026-08874-9; ScienceDaily 1 October 2026). They used the EpiSwitch Orion platform to predict three-dimensional DNA contacts. Published genome-wide association data for long Covid, PTSD, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis were combined with earlier 3D-genome data from people with ME/CFS. Individual genes barely overlapped. Network analysis connected the conditions through immune and inflammatory signaling, mitochondrial energy production, metabolic regulation, stress responses, and neuroendocrine signaling. Hub genes are candidates only. LAG3, tied to T-cell exhaustion, was highlighted for ME/CFS and still needs confirmation. The authors say a blood test for these signatures is not ready for clinical use. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust collaborated. Educational notes. This does not diagnose fatigue, and it is not a treatment.

Read at University of East Anglia / Journal of Translational Medicine →♡ Save

• study
• inflammation

QIMR Berghofer · 1 Oct 2026 · Supplements / medicine

In 58 people, a UV dose too low to redden the skin still left DNA damage, whether the dose came quickly or slowly

Study (human skin biopsies). Rachel Neale, David Whiteman, and colleagues at QIMR Berghofer describe the Low-Dose UV Study; ScienceDaily carried it on 1 October 2026. Fifty-eight people with light to olive skin had a patch of back skin exposed to lower-intensity ultraviolet (such as mid-morning) and higher-intensity ultraviolet (such as around noon) across several days, matched so the total dose could be compared. Biopsies showed DNA damage and a rise in p53, a protein that increases when skin cells are stressed, even when the dose was too small to turn the skin pink. Delivering the same dose slowly or quickly did not change that finding. Whiteman said the damage is not cancer itself; repeated incidental doses can add mutations over years. The release says sunlight also supports vitamin D and is a complete carcinogen, and that current advice is sun protection when the UV index is 3 or higher. The release names the paper as being in Photochemistry and Photobiology. The automatic journal line on the ScienceDaily page points at a different Nature Communications paper about nevus count, so that DOI is not used here. The release does not give ages or a sex split. Educational notes. This is not a vitamin D study and not advice to avoid daylight entirely.

Read at QIMR Berghofer →♡ Save

• study

Monash University / New England Journal of Medicine · 1 Oct 2026 · Supplements / medicine

In adults 70 and older with no prior cardiovascular disease, atorvastatin cut first major cardiovascular events; disability-free survival did not improve

Study (randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled). The STAREE trial abstract in the New England Journal of Medicine (2026; 395(13):1259-1272; doi 10.1056/NEJMoa2607314; epub 29 August 2026; issue date 1 October 2026; PubMed 42670961) reports community-dwelling adults at least 70 years old with no history of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or dementia, randomized to atorvastatin 40 mg once daily or placebo. Monash’s news account called it a trial of nearly 10,000 people, run with general practices across Australia and presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress on 29 August 2026. After a median 5.9 years, a primary cardiovascular event occurred in 297 people on atorvastatin (10.9 per 1,000 person-years) and 412 on placebo (15.5 per 1,000 person-years); hazard ratio 0.70; 95% CI 0.61 to 0.82; P<0.001. Death from any cause, dementia, or persistent physical disability occurred in 637 versus 676 (21.6 versus 23.0 per 1,000 person-years); hazard ratio 0.94; 95% CI 0.84 to 1.05; P=0.25. Serious adverse events were 131 (2.7%) versus 129 (2.7%). Musculoskeletal, hepatobiliary, and diabetes-related adverse events were more common on atorvastatin. The abstract does not give a sex split. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02099123. Atorvastatin is a prescription statin. Starting or stopping it is a clinician decision. Educational notes. This is not medical advice and not a substitute for a prescribed medicine.

Read at Monash University / New England Journal of Medicine →♡ Save

• 60+
• Cardiovascular / lipids

• study
• cognition
• off-label-context