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Novel Alzheimer's therapy shows low risk of severe side effects

The Food and Drug Administration's approval in 2023 of lecanemab - a novel Alzheimer's therapy shown in clinical trials to modestly slow disease progression - was met with enthusiasm by many in the field as it represented the first medication of its kind able to influence the disease.

12 May 2025

Study reveals low rate of opioid addiction medications after overdose

Medications proven to effectively treat opioid addiction are rarely given after emergency department visits for overdose, and who gets them varies, sometimes greatly, depending on race, ethnicity or geography, University of Michigan researchers say.

12 May 2025

Tirzepatide outperforms semaglutide in weight loss clinical trial

Tirzepatide (trade name Zepbound) promoted greater weight loss in individuals with obesity than did semaglutide (trade name Wegovy) in a clinical trial that compared the safety and efficacy of the injectable drugs.

12 May 2025

Breakthrough discovery offers hope for treating neurodegenerative diseases

Researchers have discovered how to block cells dying, in a finding that could lead to new treatments for neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

12 May 2025

Effects of practice standards on opioid prescribing and chronic pain management

In an effort to curb misuse of opioids and prevent overdose deaths, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia released a legally enforceable practice standard, Safe Prescribing of Drugs with Potential for Misuse/Diversion, in 2016.

12 May 2025

An Arm and a Leg: A health policy veteran puts 2025 in perspective

News has been coming out of Washington, D.C., since the start of the second Donald Trump administration like water out of a fire hose. It can feel impossible to stay on top of all the changes.

12 May 2025

GLP-1RAs show added protection against cancer beyond weight reduction

New research being presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Malaga, Spain (11-14 May) and published in the journal eClinicalMedicine finds that first generation weight-loss medications like liraglutide and exenatide appear to show anti-cancer benefits beyond weight loss.

11 May 2025

New human ovaroid model offers insight into infertility and differences in sex development

A new model of tiny human ovary organoids, or ovaroids, has been developed from stem cells, according to research presented at the first Joint Congress between the European Society of Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) and the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE).

11 May 2025

GLP-1 receptor agonists improve mood and metabolic health in adults with mental illness

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) can lead to significant weight loss and improve blood sugar control in adults with severe mental illness, as well as having positive effects on mood, well-being, and quality of life in those both with and without mental illness, according to a systematic review of the available evidence being presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Malaga, Spain (11-14 May).

11 May 2025

Long term steroid use raises risk of adrenal insufficiency

Individuals taking steroid tablets for more than 3 months are over 6 times more likely to be diagnosed with adrenal insufficiency than those treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, according to research presented at the first Joint Congress between the European Society of Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) and the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE).

11 May 2025

Targeting METTL3 may offer new hope for oral cancer treatment

A new research paper was published in Oncotarget, Volume 16, on May 8, 2025, titled "METTL3 promotes oral squamous cell carcinoma by regulating miR-146a-5p/SMAD4 axis."

11 May 2025

Researchers uncover why women handle body fat more efficiently

Women’s fat cells break down fat faster than men’s once activated, even though they require higher hormone levels to initiate the process. This may help explain why women are less prone to metabolic complications despite higher body fat.

10 May 2025

Illicit fentanyl use in the U.S. far higher than previously reported

More Americans use illicit opioids such as fentanyl than previously estimated, highlighting the need for better methods to understand the depths of the opioid crisis, according to a new study.

10 May 2025

Long-acting HIV drug emerges from decades of research and advocacy

In the hunt for a remedy, when the baton is passed from dedicated academic scientists to an innovative company to trusted community advocates, outcomes for society can be especially powerful.

8 May 2025

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Cutting Medicaid is hard — even for the GOP

After narrowly passing a budget resolution this spring foreshadowing major Medicaid cuts, Republicans in Congress are having trouble agreeing on specific ways to save billions of dollars from a pool of funding that pays for the program without cutting benefits on which millions of Americans rely.

8 May 2025

Obicetrapib slashes LDL cholesterol by over 30% in high-risk heart patients

A large multinational trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that obicetrapib significantly lowers LDL cholesterol in high-risk cardiovascular patients. The CETP inhibitor also improved key lipid parameters with no major safety concerns, supporting its role in future combination therapies.

8 May 2025

Sen. Ron Wyden seeks answers on RFK Jr.’s purge of FOIA staff

The Department of Health and Human Services' mass dismissals of workers who release government records "raise grave transparency, accountability, and privacy concerns," Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden said Thursday.

8 May 2025

HIV drugs found to significantly reduce Alzheimer's risk in new study

UVA Health scientists are calling for clinical trials testing the potential of HIV drugs called NRTIs to prevent Alzheimer's disease after discovering that patients taking the drugs are substantially less likely to develop the memory-robbing condition.

8 May 2025

EULAR updates recommendations for antirheumatic drugs during reproduction and pregnancy

In 2016, EULAR - The European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology - published points-to-consider on the use of antirheumatic drugs in reproduction, pregnancy, and lactation.

8 May 2025