Health

Four late-breaking trials, presented at ESC Congress 2026 focused on post-acute coronary syndrome (ACS) antithrombotic therapy. LIBREXIA ACS examined adding the factor XIa inhibitor milvexian to antiplatelet therapy after ACS, PREMIUM looked at aspirin omission at the time of primary PCI for STEMI, SWITCH SWEDEHEART evaluated whether to switch from ticagrelor to prasugrel in ACS, and A-CLOSE compared clopidogrel monotherapy with extended dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after high-risk PCI. LIBREXIA ACS: Can Factor XIa Inhibition Improve Outcomes After ACS?

Screening of mouse hippocampus cells (pictured) identified an enzyme whose production rose with age. Credit: Talley Lambert/Science Photo LibraryAn enzyme found in the brain could help to preserve cognitive resilience with advancing age, according to research in mice, humans and cells1. Researchers found that high levels of the enzyme are linked to low levels of inflammation in the brains of aged mice. They also showed that the enzyme boosts the growth of neurons in ageing brains. The findings were reported on 15 October in Nature Neuroscience. The enzyme seems to act “as a compensatory cognitive-resilience mechanism”, says study co-author Amar Sahay, a neuroscientist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “This is a fantastic, very thoughtful approach to get at what could be protecting neurons,” says Timothy Hohman, a neuroscientist and geneticist at the Vanderbilt Memory & Alzheimer’s Center in Nashville, Tennessee, who was not involved in the study.

Joris T. Hepkema1, Isis Boeije2, Arend G. J. Aalbers3, Brechtje A. Grotenhuis3, Marinke Westerterp3, Freija Geldof1, Behdad Dashtbozorg1 & … Theo J. M. Ruers1 We’re sharing this article early to provide faster access to peer-reviewed, accepted research. It is citable and carries a permanent DOI. This version is subject to further edits and will be replaced automatically by the final Version of Record. All legal disclaimers apply.

A 15-month-old boy from Sarnia, Ont., is recovering at home after being bitten by a rattlesnake at a family cottage on the Thanksgiving long weekend, requiring treatment at two hospitals and 18 doses of antivenom. Wells Gladwish was bitten on the thumb around 12:45 p.m. on Sunday while spending the afternoon with family at their cottage in Cape Chin North, on the Bruce Peninsula. His father, Matt Huggett, said the toddler was walking near a family bonfire when he came upon a snake and tried to pick it up. The snake bit Wells on the thumb, which began to turn white within about five minutes. "We knew right away we were in a pretty bad situation," Huggett said. "The nearest hospital was Lion's Head, and we did everything we could to get him there as fast as possible. "Staff at Lion's Head Hospital needed multiple attempts to start an IV in the active toddler. After a test dose to check for a potentially severe allergic reaction, the team administered 10 vials of antivenom. The hospital had 14 vials in total.

Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are still the single biggest driver of overdose deaths in the US. They were involved in around 38,000 of the roughly 70,000 deaths recorded in 2025, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Europe’s figures are of a different order. In 16 countries that reported data, fentanyl and its derivatives were linked to a total of around 210 drug-induced deaths in 2024, up from about 130 in 2023. Most of that rise may involve medicines rather than illicitly made fentanyl.

For many women, menopause symptoms like sleep problems, joint stiffness, hot flashes, and more don’t bring just one doctor’s appointment—they bring multiple. On average, women see “five or six doctors to try and figure out all the little parts and pieces of what’s going on with your body” once they hit perimenopause and menopause, Paula Schneider, CEO of the Institute Advancing Women’s Health, said Tuesday at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in Santa Barbara, Calif. “And there’s no holistic health,” she said.

A device that fits in the palm of your hand could be the key to detecting a hidden and potentially deadly risk to the human body. It’s a personal issue for Marjan Monfared, who developed the PrevenTherm Monitoring System, a prevention and patient management tool. Her maternal grandmother Mitan developed a pressure injury while hospitalized in an ICU in her home country of Iran. She had just had surgery to address a stomach tumor, and died as a result of complications of a bone infection from the pressure injury, she said.

When Geraldine Levano, 31, was pregnant with her second son, the acid reflux didn’t alarm her. But it got to a point where “I couldn’t even take the pain,” Levano of Houston, Texas, tells TODAY.com. Working as a medical assistant, she asked her co-workers and OB-GYN if her reflux was normal. “And of course they’re like ... it’s just the baby, you’re fine,” Levano recalls. A few times when the pain became “unbearable,” she went to the hospital. But they just reassured her that her baby looked totally healthy and her symptoms were normal during pregnancy. Medication didn’t do much. “Nothing would help,” she says. “It just felt like like a burning sensation with pain, and I just felt like something was stuck there.” So she toughed it out until early April 2022, about two weeks after her son was born, when she felt a painful lump right under her ribcage on her left side. And he was still having reflux. She ended up seeing the doctor whose office she works in now, who ordered an ultrasound. What should have been a 15-minute appointment quickly turned into an hourslong ordeal as it became clear the doctors needed more imaging. Levano with her husband and new baby.

For patients battling neurodegenerative diseases like ALS, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other dementias, delivering disease-fighting antibody drugs directly to the brain has proven to be a difficult task. Our bodies set up tight walls to prevent infections from spreading to the brain, where they often become fatal.

Psychological stress has long been associated with worsening symptoms in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the underlying mechanism connecting psychological stress to the occurrence of joint inflammation has remained poorly understood. In particular, how psychological stress can trigger inflammation in joints that were previously affected, even after the disease has gone into remission, remains an important unanswered question.

The CDC reports 451 hospitalisations nationwide as health officials expand vaccination efforts. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recorded 4,410 measles cases so far in 2026, an increase of 330 in a week, and has dispatched an investigator to the state of Pennsylvania to help contain the country’s largest outbreak. CDC figures also show 451 measles-related hospitalisations nationwide this year. Children and teenagers aged five to 19 account for 42 percent of cases, followed by adults aged 20 and older, who make up 41 percent. Seventeen percent of cases were among children under the age of five. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3CDC reports two measles deaths in US as cases hit 35-year highlist 2 of 3Pennsylvania confirms fifth measles-associated death as US outbreak growslist 3 of 3New York state declares measles disaster amid resurgence of disease in USend of listPennsylvania reported 1,222 cases across 42 counties as of Wednesday, including 86 new infections since October 9, according to the state health department. The outbreak has led to 225 hospitalisations and five confirmed measles-associated deaths.

“I think something like this should actually be a crime, and we should be able to compensate for the damage they cause,” one angry user fumed as the woman’s battle with cancer resurfaces.

For the first time since 2014, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has updated its guidelines for the treatment of symptoms commonly associated with menopause. For the first time since 2014, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has updated its guidelines for the treatment of symptoms commonly associated with menopause. The doctor's group, known as ACOG, recommends hormone replacement therapy alongside certain antidepressants, nonhormonal medicines, and other treatments to address symptoms like hot flashes, insomnia and mood swings. "What's changing is the breadth of options that we now have … And the benefit of that is that we are better equipped to be able to take an individualized approach for patients," said Catherine Cansino, MD, MPH, an obstetrician/gynecologist, chair of ACOG's Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines and co-author of the new guidance.

A study by Australian researchers compared three mRNA-LNP vaccine platforms in human blood samples, generating findings that could advance cancer treatment and vaccine design.

The Futura Team represents the pulse of Futura’s editorial department, bringing together a collective expertise dedicated to the dissemination of scientific knowledge. Rather than the work of a single author, every article published under this signature is the result of a rigorous collaborative process involving journalists, editors, and fact-checkers. Specializing in news analysis via desk research and international wire services, the team focuses on transforming raw information into accessible, verified content. This curation and synthesis process ensures constant monitoring of technological innovations and major scientific breakthroughs. By cross-referencing sources and conducting multiple rounds of peer review, the Futura Team guarantees scientific accuracy and pedagogical clarity. This collective signature serves as a hallmark of trust, providing reactive, cross-disciplinary information at the forefront of current events Low-carb or low-fat? This nutrition debate has been raging for decades—pasta and potato lovers on one side, fat-phobics on the other, each fiercely defending their preferred team.

Quin Denfeld, PhD, discusses her findings from the BIOMES-HF study, indicating worsening symptoms in patients with HF over time. Although dyspnea generally improves in patients after heart failure (HF) hospitalization, symptoms can remain persistent or worsen in >1/3 of all cases, according to data from the BIOMES-HF study.1 Quin Denfeld, PhD, associate professor at Oregon Health & Science University, presented these data at the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) Annual Scientific Meeting 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona, by Quin Denfeld, PhD, associate professor at Oregon Health & Science University. In an interview with HCPLive, Denfeld discussed the implications of her research and why these symptoms are critically important.1“The cardinal symptom of heart failure is dyspnea, or shortness of breath. That’s what brings people into the hospital,” Denfeld told HCPLive. “We wanted to see, after that hospitalization, how did these patients fare afterwards in terms of their dyspnea? Did it go up? Did it go down?