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GLP-1 drugs promise wider health benefits, but experts urge caution on use

GLP-1 receptor agonists are reshaping care for type 2 diabetes, obesity, chronic kidney disease, and obstructive sleep apnea, with evidence for glycemic, weight-loss, cardiovascular, and renal benefits. The review urges nurse practitioners to balance expanding clinical promise with careful prescribing, patient education, monitoring, access advocacy, and vigilance for gastrointestinal, endocrine, pregnancy-related, and rare serious risks.

27 Apr 2026

Twice-yearly blood pressure treatment could reshape hypertension care, but doctors warn against a “fire-and-forget” approach

Long-acting RNA interference therapy for hypertension could shift blood pressure control from daily pill-taking to scheduled, system-led protection. But the authors warn that this “vaccine-like” model must preserve lifestyle support, monitoring, and follow-up to avoid clinical disengagement.

27 Apr 2026

GLP-1 weight loss is driven mainly by fat loss, not muscle loss

GLP-1-based therapies helped adults with overweight or obesity lose weight mainly by reducing fat mass and visceral adipose tissue, while lean body mass losses were generally modest. The findings suggest these treatments can support higher-quality weight loss when paired with individualized care, nutrition, and resistance training.

27 Apr 2026

Delaying hepatitis B birth vaccines increases infant infection risks

Delaying hepatitis B vaccination after birth increases infections among newborns and decreases their survival rates and quality of life, according to a new Cornell University study.

27 Apr 2026

Natural compound obakulactone shows therapeutic potential for rheumatoid arthritis

A new study published in Engineering reveals that obakulactone (OL), a natural tetracyclic triterpenoid isolated from Phellodendri cortex, exerts a therapeutic effect on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by promoting the degradation of acyl coenzyme A thioesterase 1 (ACOT1) via the ubiquitin‒proteasome pathway and restoring the homeostasis of unsaturated fatty acids.

25 Apr 2026

The heart's constant beating suppresses tumor growth in cardiac tissues

The heart's constant beating may actively suppress tumor growth in cardiac tissues, a new study reports. This is because cellular pathways in these tissues alter gene regulation in cancer cells to keep them from proliferating.

25 Apr 2026

Study reveals high use of complementary health approaches in seniors

Researchers say the finding highlights the need for more evidence and better conversations about risks and benefits of mindfulness, yoga, tai chi, acupuncture, and other complementary health approaches.

25 Apr 2026

WHO prequalifies first malaria treatment designed for youngest vulnerable patients

Ahead of World Malaria Day on 25 April, the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a significant step forward in the fight against malaria with the prequalification of the first treatment developed specifically for newborns and young infants weighing between two and five kilograms.

24 Apr 2026

Blood return system dramatically reduces blood loss during pulmonary thrombectomy

The first comparative analysis from the ENGULF (A Safety and Feasibility Single-Arm Study of a Novel Catheter Thrombectomy Device For the Treatment of Pulmonary Embolism) trial shows that using blood return during continuous aspiration thrombectomy dramatically reduces blood loss by 97%, while maintaining hemodynamic efficacy and improving procedural efficiency.

24 Apr 2026

Exploiting a new weakness in 'zombie-like' cells to treat senescence-associated diseases

A new set of drugs exploit a recently-revealed weakness in 'zombie-like' – or senescent – cells that could lead to new treatments for cancer and age-associated diseases.

24 Apr 2026

Long-term study supports tenofovir alafenamide for chronic hepatitis B

Tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) has demonstrated comparable efficacy to tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), with improved renal and bone safety, in Chinese participants with chronic hepatitis B enrolled in two Phase 3 trials.

24 Apr 2026

Teens skip sunscreen because they see it as inconvenient

Adolescents' sun safety practices are influenced by social norms and perceived costs, suggesting a need for innovative approaches in skin cancer prevention.

24 Apr 2026

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy shows dual effects in glioblastoma treatment

Glioblastoma remains a highly challenging malignancy with a pronounced tendency for recurrence. The hypoxic microenvironment is a key contributor to its therapy resistance.

23 Apr 2026

APOLLO AI learns from 25 billion medical events to predict future disease

APOLLO is a multimodal temporal foundation model trained on 25.2 billion medical events from 7.2 million patients across 33 years of Mass General Brigham records, integrating 28 medical modalities into unified “virtual patient representations.” Across 322 downstream tasks, the model showed strong performance in disease prediction, treatment-response stratification, hospital operations, and patient retrieval, supporting the idea of more computable, data-driven medicine.

23 Apr 2026

Transcatheter arterialization of the deep veins improves quality of life for no-option CLTI patients

Data from the PROMISE III trial suggest that chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) patients with no other treatment options experienced significant quality of life (QoL) improvements after undergoing transcatheter arterialization of the deep veins (TADV).

23 Apr 2026

Can exercise or ibuprofen fight chemo brain?

This study suggests exercise can mitigate cancer-related cognitive impairment, but combining it with ibuprofen offers no additional cognitive benefits.

23 Apr 2026

Experimental drug kills aggressive breast cancer by toxic fat buildup

An experimental drug targeting triple-negative breast cancer overwhelms cancer cells with toxic fats, according to new tests on human-derived tumors in mice.

22 Apr 2026

Patient outcomes vary by drug class despite achieving clinical remission

A study published in Rheumatology & Autoimmunity challenges the assumption that achieving clinical remission in rheumatoid arthritis is sufficient, showing that patient-reported outcomes vary significantly by drug class even when disease activity is comparable.

22 Apr 2026

Survey of families suggests high risks for electroconvulsive therapy

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which involves passing electricity through the brain under general anesthesia to cause a seizure, usually between six and twelve times, is used to varying degrees around the world for patients with depression and other mental conditions.

22 Apr 2026

Prostate cancer overdiagnosis risk increases substantially in older men

Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have found that the likelihood of prostate cancer overdiagnosis – the detection of a cancer that would never have been diagnosed during a patient's lifetime but for PSA screening – is low in younger men but rises substantially with old age.

22 Apr 2026