News
Posted on September 23, 2026
The durations of total, deep and rapid eye movement sleep were tied to risks for 156 diseases, according to a study published in PLoS Medicine. Previous studies have established links between sleep and risks for mortality and morbidity, Jingsong Luo, PhD, a researcher at Peking University in China, and colleagues wrote, although “most have primarily focused on sleep duration as measured by self-reported questionnaires.” “Moreover, there remains limited understanding of how other real-world sleep patterns, such as sleep stages and fragmentation, relate to health outcomes,” they wrote. The
Posted on September 23, 2026
Treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors can significantly increase risk for major adverse cardiovascular events among patients with cancer, including heart failure, myocardial infarction and stroke. A retrospective analysis of more than 30,000 patients showed individuals treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors had a 40% higher risk for hospitalization from these events than those who received guideline-concordant frontline chemotherapy. “These drugs have taken cancers that used to be a death sentence and made them survivable. That is not in dispute,” Salim S. Hayek, MD, chair of internal
Posted on September 23, 2026
MUNICH — Statin initiation after a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes was associated with lower absolute and relative risk for all-cause dementia compared with no statin initiation, a speaker reported. The effect was most pronounced in patients who initiated statin therapy within 1 year of their type 2 diabetes diagnosis, according to the researchers. Addressing traditional CV risk factors could also prevent development of dementia among people with diabetes, according to data presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress and simultaneously published in The Lancet Regional Health –
Posted on September 22, 2026
CMS said it is taking action to combat alleged fraud in the Affordable Care Act program. One expert told Healio the move could further strain the nation’s healthcare system. In a press conference Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance and CMS administrator Mehmet Oz, MD, announced CMS is canceling 315,000 “unauthorized enrollments,” removing coverage for more than 760,000 people believed to be fraudulently enrolled in the ACA. “We are announcing $2.2 billion in American taxpayer money that we’re saving by doing this amazing common sense and what should have been an obvious thing: We’re actually making
Posted on September 22, 2026
The FDA approved a next-generation sirolimus-eluting balloon for the treatment of coronary in-stent restenosis, Cordis announced. The drug-eluting balloon (Selution SLR, Cordis) is the first sirolimus-eluting balloon to be approved in the U.S. and is designed to provide sustained limus release for up to 90 days without requiring a permanent implant, according to a company press release. As Healio previously reported, in 2024, the FDA approved a paclitaxel-coated balloon (Agent, Boston Scientific) to treat coronary in-stent restenosis. Approval of the sirolimus-eluting balloon was based on the
Posted on September 22, 2026
MUNICH — High serum levels of the artificial sweetener xylitol was independently associated with increased risk for major adverse CV events in the general population, a speaker reported. CV risk associated with the artificial sweetener was independent of other risk factors, including age, BMI, BP, diabetes status and lipids, according to data presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress. “Xylitol is a 5-carbon sugar alcohol sweetener [that] can be endogenously produced to a small extent, but it’s also highly enriched and added to artificially sweetened processed foods,” Marco
Posted on September 21, 2026
The American Society of Nephrology issued new kidney health guidance on cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome, highlighting the specific role of the kidneys in the disease’s treatment paradigm. Nisha Bansal, MD, MS, professor of medicine and nephrology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and Alexander R. Chang, MD, MS, professor in the departments of nephrology and population health sciences at Geisinger Medical Center, lead authors on the kidney health guidance, said the recommendations were developed to be “complementary rather than contradictory” to the recent American
Posted on September 21, 2026
MUNICH — Compared with anticoagulation alone, catheter-directed thrombolysis plus anticoagulation greatly reduced grave outcomes in patients with intermediate-high-risk acute pulmonary embolism, researchers reported. For the PRAGUE-26 trial, presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress and simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers randomly assigned 558 patients (median age, 64 years; 40.9% women) with intermediate-high–risk acute pulmonary embolism (PE) to catheter-directed thrombolysis with alteplase plus anticoagulation or anticoagulation alone.
Posted on September 18, 2026
The United States Special Senate Committee on Aging recently held the first-ever congressional hearing on menopause, discussing barriers to care and potential solutions. Lynne Coslett-Charlton, MD, FACOG, MSCP, a board-certified gynecologist, told Healio she was proud to testify during the hearing “on behalf of my patients and women across the country to advocate for increased federal investment in research and expanded access to menopause care.” “Too many women suffer needlessly with burdensome symptoms of menopause due to substantial barriers to care such as physician shortages in rural areas
Posted on September 18, 2026
On Sept. 23, Healio Community will host its first Mentorship Networking Event at 4 p.m. EDT, featuring an opportunity to connect with a mentor and gain career advice. The free webinar includes insights from four mentors in a range of specialties: Priya Bansal, MD, clinical assistant professor at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, is in private practice at the Asthma and Allergy Wellness Center in St. Charles, Illinois. Chandana Keshavamurthy, MD, associate professor of medicine and program director of the rheumatology fellowship at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, is a
Posted on September 18, 2026
Using a virtual reality headset may improve patient experience during noninvasive cardiac imaging for those who reported anxiety or claustrophobia related to the ordered study, a speaker reported. The VR headset was well tolerated by patients and not disruptive to staff workflow during PET or CT imaging and may save procedural costs by reducing aborted studies, according to a study presented at American College of Cardiology Quality Summit. “The project began with a very practical clinical problem. We were seeing patients who needed cardiac PET/CT imaging but struggled to tolerate the
Posted on September 18, 2026
The inflection point has arrived. More than a dozen studies presented at ASCO Annual Meeting added to a growing volume of research that suggests GLP-1 receptor agonists may protect against several types of cancer. However, as evidence mounts, so do reminders that findings have emerged entirely from database-driven retrospective cohort studies, which are prone to systematic biases and cannot prove causality. “The signal is as strong as it has ever been — and probably as strong as it will ever be — but we are still talking about associations,” Colton Frisco Jones, MD, a hematology/oncology fellow
Posted on September 18, 2026
The inflection point has arrived. More than a dozen studies presented at ASCO Annual Meeting added to a growing volume of research that suggests GLP-1 receptor agonists may protect against several types of cancer. However, as evidence mounts, so do reminders that findings have emerged entirely from database-driven retrospective cohort studies, which are prone to systematic biases and cannot prove causality. “The signal is as strong as it has ever been — and probably as strong as it will ever be — but we are still talking about associations,” Colton Frisco Jones, MD, a hematology/oncology fellow
Posted on September 17, 2026
On Thursday, HHS announced the appointments of eight new members to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, reshaping the group responsible for developing evidence-based recommendations on preventive services. It is the first time the USPSTF includes specialists. The task force has traditionally consisted of experts in prevention and primary care. “Prevention is one of our most powerful tools for confronting chronic disease. The Preventive Services Task Force’s recommendations influence preventive care across America, and Americans deserve recommendations grounded in rigorous, objective
Posted on September 17, 2026
Lawmakers questioned Nicole Saphier, MD, on abortion bans, vaccines and other preventive health issues during Wednesday’s hearing to be the next surgeon general. In May, President Donald J. Trump announced Saphier would replace Casey Means, MD, as his nominee for the position after months of a stalled process. In a post to Truth Social, Trump described Saphier, a radiologist and director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Monmouth, as “a STAR physician.” “She is also an INCREDIBLE COMMUNICATOR, who makes complicated health issues more easily understood by all Americans,”
Posted on September 17, 2026
The FDA has approved finerenone as a therapy to lower urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio among adults with chronic kidney disease associated with type 1 diabetes, Bayer announced. Finerenone (Kerendia, Bayer), a once-daily oral nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist, received approval for adults with CKD associated with type 1 diabetes based on data from the phase 3 FINE-ONE trial. As Healio previously reported from ASN Kidney Week, adults who received 10 mg to 20 mg of once-daily finerenone had a 34% decrease in urinary albumin-to-creatine ratio from baseline to 6 months compared
Posted on September 17, 2026
The CDC announced it is investigating reports of illnesses across four states associated with glutathione injections. More than 25 illnesses have been identified. They are linked to injections containing dietary supplement grade glutathione, not pharmaceutical grade glutathione. Dietary supplement grade glutathione “is not an appropriate ingredient to make injectable drugs,” according to the FDA. Glutathione is a naturally produced antioxidant. There are no FDA-approved glutathione products, but compounded formulations have been used for skin care and wellness. It also has been evaluated for
Posted on September 17, 2026
In a new analysis of the SELECT trial published in JAMA Cardiology, semaglutide 2.4 mg improved clinical outcomes compared with placebo regardless of frailty level. For the analysis, the 17,604 patients (mean age, 61.6 years; 72.3% men) from SELECT, a trial that demonstrated semaglutide 2.4 mg (Wegovy, Novo Nordisk) reduced risk for major cardiovascular outcomes by 20% compared with placebo, were stratified into three categories according to a 31-item frailty index: not frail (31%), more frail (47%) and most frail (22%). “Practice is currently highly variable, which is due, in part, to
Posted on September 17, 2026
Increased pulse pressure among older women, previously hypothesized to be menopause-related, may be an independent risk for cardiovascular disease among older women, researchers reported. Pulse pressure is defined as the difference between systolic and diastolic BP and may serve as a predictor of aortic stiffness and risk for heart disease among older women, whose pulse pressure is on average higher than men, according to data published in Hypertension. “Many people believe that the change in pulse pressure is linked to the hormonal shifts caused by menopause. Here, we are evaluating
Posted on September 17, 2026
The first step in making a big career change is recognizing your “early symptoms,” according to an expert. At the 2026 Women in Nephrology Annual Leadership Conference, Nuria Maria Pastor-Soler, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at University of Vermont, will speak to women in medicine considering a career change and how to navigate the complex emotions and practical concerns that come with making a career shift. “I want to talk about what it takes to start thinking about a career pivot and how to identify those ‘early symptoms’ of wanting to pivot,” Pastor-Soler told Healio. Healio spoke
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