The stroke incidence rate among young adults nearly doubled from 1993 to 2020 while decreasing among older adults, according to research published in Neurology.
Over that same time, researchers saw an increase in the percentage of patients with stroke who had substance use as well as conditions associated with vascular risk, such as hypertension, diabetes and atrial fibrillation, said Emily R. Fisher, MD, a neurology resident and fellow at the University of Cincinnati.
“Our findings highlight the importance of regular primary care, even for younger adults without chronic medical conditions,”

When Hugo Aerts, PhD, started asking colleagues whether the thymus could play a role in determining which patients with cancer would respond to immunotherapy about 4 years ago, the responses were overwhelmingly dismissive.
“It’s irrelevant,” they told him. “[The thymus is] important in kids. Afterwards, it doesn’t matter.”
“Are you sure?” Aerts, director of the Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Program at Mass General Brigham, asked. “We have the data. Let’s investigate this.”
The data are showing thymus health could have wide-ranging implications for patients with and without cancer.
Aerts and

It was a summer of headline-grabbing foodborne outbreaks — the diarrhea-inducing iceberg lettuce, the jalapeños with Salmonella, and the class 1 recall of 19 million eggs, to name a few.
But was this past summer really worse for outbreaks than in previous years, or a case of media hysteria?
“When multiple outbreaks are in the news, it may seem that foodborne illnesses are increasing, but increased media attention doesn’t necessarily mean they are on the rise overall,” said Elizabeth R. Daly, DrPH, MPH, the director of infectious disease programs at the Council of State and Territorial

Long wait times for physician appointments are a common barrier to timely care across medicine. However, dermatology remains one of the specialties with the worst lead times.
According to a 2025 survey from AMN Healthcare, dermatology ranked third for longest wait times, with patients waiting an average of 36.5 days to see a dermatologist, behind obstetrician-gynecologists and gastroenterologists. This average wait time increased 6% since 2022 and 50% since 2004.
“This is not a new problem,” Nikki Perry, MD, MBA, current internal medicine intern at the University of Pennsylvania and incoming

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — According to presented results, 63% of pitchers in Major League Baseball returned to play after revision ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, with 16% returning to their pre-injury level of performance.
“While return to play after primary [UCL] surgery is well described, we know far less about return to play following a revision reconstruction and almost nothing about whether pitchers get back to their prior level of performance after revision surgery,” Michael A. Mastroianni, MD, from Columbia University Medical Center, said in his presentation at the

In September, several leadership changes were announced across the ophthalmic space.

The FDA has approved a once-weekly basal insulin to control glucose levels for adults with type 2 diabetes, Eli Lilly announced.
Insulin efsitora alfa-gobe (Onswik, Lilly) is a therapy that can deliver steady levels of basal insulin to adults with type 2 diabetes for 7 days. The FDA approved insulin efsitora alfa-gobe for use alongside diet and exercise to help maintain glycemic control.
The therapy was granted FDA approval based on data from four phase 3 studies in the QWINT trial program. As Healio previously reported, the QWINT-1 trial found insulin efsitora alfa-gobe was noninferior to

The hearts of tactical athletes, such as military personnel, firefighters and law enforcement, may require special consideration due to exposure to mission-specific environmental and CV stressors, researchers reported.
The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association issued a joint scientific statement detailing specific considerations for optimizing the CV health of tactical athletes, for which there has previously been a lack of uniform guidance.
The document contains recommendations for classification of tactical athletes’ tasks, preparticipation screening, ethical

Oral menopausal hormone therapy was linked to elevated risk for venous thromboembolism, and using high-dose oral estradiol may increase risk for ischemic stroke and myocardial infarction, researchers reported in The BMJ.
As Healio previously reported, the FDA approved changes to the black box warning labels for six menopausal HT products in February, with some of the changes being centered on cardiovascular risk. In data from a nested case-control study conducted in Denmark, researchers found that not all menopausal HT products confer the same risks. Transdermal HT was not linked to increased

Patients who used nicotine within 1 year before open reduction and internal fixation for ankle fracture had an increased risk for postoperative complications, according to results.
Results also showed patients who used both nicotine and cannabis within 1 year before open reduction and internal fixation had comparable complication rates to the nicotine-only group.
“Anytime people are using these substances, we have to give guidance on what the implications could be as far as outcomes, especially as it relates to medical and surgical complications,” Amiethab Aiyer, MD, FAOA, FAAOS,