A three-paper series in The Lancet argues that governments should act now on health risks from digital media for children and young people. The papers, written by 13 experts in 10 countries, draw on research covering about 9 million people under 25. A related review of 2,790 studies found consistent links between problematic use, meaning addiction-like patterns rather than screen time alone, and depression, anxiety, sleep disruption and self-harm. The authors say responsibility should shift from families to technology companies and governments, and that simple screen-time caps or school phone bans are not enough on their own.
Florida's dengue outbreak now appears to be the largest in the continental United States in decades. The state has reported 252 locally acquired cases this year, according to an update this week. Hillsborough County accounts for 223 of them and has extended a state of emergency. The virus is spread by infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which bite during the day. Florida recorded only 62 locally acquired cases in all of 2025. The national record is 264 cases in Hawaii over six months in 2015 and 2016.
The US Food and Drug Administration said it found two samples of the cyclospora parasite during an inspection of Taylor Farms operations in central Mexico. One sample came from the lettuce processing facility, and the other from a drainage ditch at a farm run by an independent contract grower. The agency closed its probe and said the evidence supports a link between the outbreak and recalled shredded iceberg lettuce. The CDC has received more than 15,000 laboratory-confirmed US cases of cyclosporiasis since May 1, compared with about 1,180 cases in the same period in 2025.
A 24-week study of 122 adults with overweight or obesity found an average weight reduction of 15.8% during tirzepatide treatment combined with a low-carbohydrate diet and activity guidance. Fat mass fell by about 35%, while skeletal muscle mass stayed fairly stable. Metabolic markers also improved. The authors say the results come from routine care rather than a tightly controlled trial, and that diet and exercise support likely helped protect lean tissue.
A low-calorie diet combined with an exercise programme put early-onset type 2 diabetes into remission for 54 percent of participants in a new trial, offering an alternative to lifelong drug treatment for younger patients. Separate research found that almost one in three adults develop cardiorenal disease or die within five years of a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Short steroid courses were linked to higher risks of pneumonia and heart failure, and vitamin B12 deficiency was tied to a higher fracture hazard after age 50.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is asking whether artificial intelligence should play a larger role in the annual wellness visit, a yearly preventive check-up covered for Medicare beneficiaries. The question sits in the proposed 2027 Physician Fee Schedule rule as a request for information with eight parts, covering realistic uses, tasks that still need a clinician, adoption barriers, payment policy and evaluation. Possible jobs for AI include pre-visit collection of health risk data, flagging patients for extra assessment and drafting follow-up steps. The American Academy of Family Physicians supports careful use; others worry about automating a conversation.
Structural changes in the brain can be seen on MRI scans at least seven years before the amyloid plaques linked to Alzheimer's disease become detectable, according to a study in Nature Neuroscience. Researchers compared longitudinal MRI data from cognitively healthy older adults with amyloid-PET results and found that thickening of the cortex preceded high amyloid levels. Most recent drug approvals target amyloid, and the finding suggests other processes are already at work. Authors say the result supports work on treatments that act on mechanisms other than amyloid.
Researchers at the University of Southern Denmark reexamined all eight major randomised mammography trials, adjusting for differences between trial arms in follow-up time, screening frequency and screening that continued after a trial ended. Earlier estimates of overdiagnosis had ranged from 1% to more than 50%, with critics often citing 30% to 50%. After the adjustments, the results point to an overdiagnosis rate below 5%. The analysis was published in JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Overdiagnosis means finding a cancer that would never have caused symptoms.
Researchers at the University of Florida used artificial intelligence to search deidentified health records from 2012 to 2024 for patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias, or with mild cognitive impairment. About 8% of both groups reported taking glucosamine — 1,896 patients with dementia and 2,750 with mild cognitive impairment. After adjusting for age, sex and demographics, glucosamine use was associated with a 25% higher likelihood that mild cognitive impairment progressed to dementia. An analysis of records from nearly 42,000 people with mild cognitive impairment found a similar link. The study is observational and shows an association, not proof that the supplement causes the change.
The European Commission granted marketing authorisation for NEZGLYAL (leriglitazone), the first approved medicine for cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, a rare and progressive brain disease. The decision, dated 21 September, covers boys aged 2 to 12 with early, Gadolinium-negative brain lesions. Leriglitazone is an oral, brain-penetrant selective PPAR gamma agonist developed by Minoryx Therapeutics of Barcelona, assessed under exceptional circumstances on the basis of the Phase 2/3 NEXUS1 study and compassionate-use data. Neuraxpharm will commercialise the product in Europe, with a first launch expected in Germany by the end of the year.