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Angioplasty improves symptoms in chronic total coronary occlusion patients

In what is believed to be the first randomized placebo-controlled trial of its kind, patients with a chronic total blockage of a coronary artery who received a nonsurgical procedure to reopen the artery showed statistically significant reductions in chest pain and improvements in quality of life compared with patients who received a placebo procedure.

29 Mar 2026

Higher sugar intake raises gallstone risk in adults, study finds

A cross-sectional NHANES study of 8,975 U.S. adults found that higher total dietary sugar intake was associated with higher odds of gallstones, with each 100 g/day increase linked to a 41% rise after full adjustment. The findings suggest sugar intake may be a modifiable gallstone risk factor, but the study relied on self-reported gallstones and cannot establish causation.

29 Mar 2026

Chronic colitis reshapes colon stem cells in ways that can accelerate tumour growth

Researchers showed that chronic colitis leaves a long-lasting epigenetic memory in colonic stem cells, persisting for more than 100 days after recovery in mice. This memory is marked by durable AP-1-linked chromatin changes and later amplifies tumour outgrowth after oncogenic mutation.

29 Mar 2026

APOE4 alters brain immunity and cognition differently in females and males

APOE4 drove sex-specific changes in meningeal immunity, lymphatic drainage, brain lipids, neuroinflammation, and cognition in mouse models, with females showing greater inflammatory and cognitive vulnerability. Suppressing innate immunity improved some cognitive outcomes in female E4/E4 mice but worsened them in male E4/E4 mice, underscoring the need for sex-tailored approaches.

29 Mar 2026

Intensive LDL cholesterol-lowering shows major benefits for heart disease patients

Using cholesterol-lowering medications more intensively to achieve a more aggressive target for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) reduced the rate of major cardiovascular events by one-third among patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session (ACC.26).

28 Mar 2026

Evolocumab reduces cardiac events in high-risk diabetic patients

The cholesterol-lowering therapy evolocumab reduced the risk of major adverse cardiac events by nearly one-third among patients who had no known significant atherosclerosis and had diabetes, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session.

28 Mar 2026

Home-delivered DASH diet improves blood pressure and cholesterol outcomes

Black adults with high blood pressure who received dietitian counseling and home deliveries of groceries aligned with the DASH diet—meaning high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, nuts, seeds, legumes and lean proteins—had an average overall reduction in systolic blood pressure of 7 mm Hg at three months overall and a 5 mm Hg reduction compared with participants who received only basic dietary guidance and a grocery stipend, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session (ACC.26).

28 Mar 2026

Investigational drug lowers angiotensinogen but shows unclear blood pressure benefits

The investigational drug tonlamarsen—which is designed to lower blood pressure by reducing the production of angiotensinogen, a protein that turns into the hormone that regulates blood pressure—caused a significant and sustained drop in angiotensinogen but its impact on blood pressure was less clear, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session.

28 Mar 2026

Intensive cholesterol‑lowering therapy reduces first major cardiac event in high‑risk patients with diabetes

Mass General Brigham researchers found that the intensive cholesterol‑lowering therapy evolocumab reduced the risk of a first major cardiovascular event in high‑risk patients who did not have known atherosclerosis (the build-up of plaque inside artery walls) but did have diabetes.

28 Mar 2026

Hypercortisolism found in many patients with resistant hypertension

The MOMENTUM study found 27 percent of patients with resistant hypertension have hypercortisolism. This is a significant finding, demonstrating that hypercortisolism is more common in these patients than previously understood by researchers and clinicians.

28 Mar 2026

Microaxial flow pump fails to reduce heart damage in STEMI trial

Using a microaxial flow pump prior to and during cardiac stenting procedures for patients with severe heart attacks who don't have cardiogenic shock does not significantly reduce heart damage.

28 Mar 2026

Catheter-based approach improves prognosis in pulmonary embolism patients

Patients who had low doses of clot-buster drugs delivered directly to the site of a pulmonary embolism (PE) via a catheter using ultrasound to enhance their effect had significantly better outcomes than those who received standard systemic anticoagulants, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session (ACC.26).

28 Mar 2026

Temporary heart pump before PCI shows no significant benefit

The first randomized trial to test whether adding a small, temporary pump to allow the heart to rest and intentionally delaying percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), also known as coronary angioplasty, for 30 minutes to reduce heart damage compared with standard immediate PCI in patients with heart attacks at risk for a large amount of heart damage found no significant difference between the two groups, the study's primary endpoint. The research was presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session (ACC.26).

28 Mar 2026

Left atrial appendage closure matches anticoagulants in AFib patients

For patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AFib) who had no contraindications to taking oral anticoagulants, the use of a device to close off the left atrial appendage in the heart—a small pouch where blood can pool and form dangerous clots—was comparable to standard medication therapy in reducing the combined rate of all-cause stroke, cardiovascular death and systemic embolism at three years.

28 Mar 2026

Heart structure changes in midlife linked to long-term disease risk

Higher left atrial end-systolic dimension (LASD), an increased measurement of the left upper chamber of the heart, and left ventricular mass (LVM), a clinical measurement of the weight of the heart's left ventricular myocardium, are well-established indicators of cardiovascular damage that are associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the short-term (less than 10 years).

28 Mar 2026

Terahertz radiation alters metabolism and signaling in melanoma cells

Terahertz (THz) radiation is increasingly explored for biomedical applications, however, its non-thermal effects on cellular metabolism and regulatory networks remain insufficiently characterized.

28 Mar 2026

Ultrasound advances offer noninvasive assessment of portal hypertension severity

Portal hypertension (PH), a serious complication of liver cirrhosis, is defined as a pressure gradient > 5 mmHg between the portal vein and the inferior vena cava.

27 Mar 2026

Global meningitis deaths remain high despite progress since 1990

In 2023, globally 259,000 people died from meningitis and 2.5 million people were infected with the disease, suggests a study published in The Lancet Neurology.

27 Mar 2026

Gut immune responses found to trigger brain inflammation in MS

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating neurological disorder caused by malfunctioning immune responses that target the brain and spinal cord of the central nervous system (CNS).

27 Mar 2026

UMGCCC awarded $3 million to train the next generation of oncology researchers

The University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC) has been awarded a prestigious $3 million National Cancer Institute (NCI) Career Development Award to train the next generation of oncology researchers focused on treating patients of all backgrounds.

27 Mar 2026