Epilepsy clinicians who also specialize in women’s health and work with women during the perinatal period can consult with a new set of data to provide a road map for adjusting antiseizure medications.
The Maternal Outcomes and Neurodevelopmental Effects of Antiepileptic Drugs (MONEAD) study, conducted between 2016 and 2020, followed almost 300 women with epilepsy and their children from pregnancy through age 6 years.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Medical Center, as well as 20 other academic medical centers, logged instances of real-world epilepsy care

Nirsevimab may offer infants stronger protection against severe respiratory syncytial virus than maternal vaccination, real-world data suggests.
Many studies have shown that both the maternal RSV vaccine (Abrysvo, Pfizer) and nirsevimab (Beyfortus, AstraZeneca and Sanofi) are effective at reducing infants’ odds for severe RSV. The new study is the first to compare the two.
“What surprised us most was the magnitude and consistency of the difference we observed in real-world conditions,” Marie Joelle Jabagi, PharmD, PhD, MPH, an epidemiologist at the French National Agency for Medicines and

Remote screening with a smartwatch detected new-onset atrial fibrillation more often vs. standard care among patients at elevated risk for stroke, researchers reported.
Use of smartwatch screening (Apple Watch Series 5 or 8, Apple) may expedite diagnosis of new-onset AF and initiation of anticoagulation therapy in those who may benefit from earlier intervention, according to a study.
The results of the EQUAL prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial evaluating the use of smartwatch-based screening to detect new-onset AF in patients at increased risk for stroke were published in the

Almost six in 10 adults diagnosed with mpox during the 2022 outbreak had lingering physical symptoms for 11 to 18 months after acute illness, a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine showed.
According to Preetam A. Cholli, MD, a medical resident at Vanderbilt University, and colleagues, mpox remains an international public health threat, with WHO declaring public health emergencies in responses to outbreaks in 2022 and 2024. Yet the long-term physical, behavioral and psychosocial aftereffects of the clade II mpox virus, “and specifically clade IIb, have not been well documented,” they

WAIKOLOA, Hawaii — In this Healio Video Perspective from Hawaiian Eye 2026, Audrey Talley Rostov, MD, of Bellevue Precision Vision, discusses how to choose the right IOL.
Rostov said surgeons have a lot of factors to consider, such as the ocular surface and higher-order aberrations, when choosing a lens.
“You need to listen to your patients, determine their visual needs and desires, and [you can] have a lot of success,” she said. “You have a lot of great choices today.”

Patients with opioid use disorder who received yoga as an adjuvant therapy experienced improved autonomic regulation and accelerated withdrawal recovery, according to a two-arm, randomized clinical trial published in JAMA Psychiatry.
“Over 90% of participants completed at least eight of 10 [yoga] sessions, demonstrating feasibility even during acute withdrawal when cognitive therapies like CBT may be difficult to initiate due to high distress and impaired concentration,” study author Hemant Bhargav, MD, PhD, associate professor at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in

A previously healthy 25-year-old mother of two preschool children, aged 2 and 4 years, was seen by her primary provider for evaluation of progressive worsening influenza-like illness over the last few days.
The mother’s symptoms included fever, fatigue, chills, myalgias, sore throat, enlarged cervical nodes and mild abdominal pains. Her vital signs revealed a fever of 102°F, and her exam showed large, inflamed tonsils (shown in Figure 1) and enlarged cervical lymph nodes (shown in Figure 2). Her abdominal exam revealed a mildly enlarged spleen and evidence of early pregnancy, which was

Chain dialysis facilities may disproportionately benefit from recent Medicare Advantage policy compared with independent facilities, according to data published in Health Affairs.
The 21st Century Cures Act, enacted in January 2021, allows Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage kidney disease to access Medicare Advantage plan benefits, including lower cost sharing, out-of-pocket spending limits and additional benefits compared with fee-for-service Medicare, according to Daeho Kim, PhD, senior research scientist at the Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research at Brown University, and

Initiating testosterone in transmasculine patients and estradiol in transfeminine patients increases acne risk, according to a study published in JAMA Dermatology.
“Dermatologists knew that testosterone often triggers acne, but large, long-term, population-level data were lacking,” Howa Yeung, MD, MSc, associate professor of dermatology at Emory University School of Medicine, told Healio. “As more transgender and cisgender patients access hormone therapy, dermatologists need accurate risk estimates to guide counseling and care.”
For the retrospective study, Yeung and colleagues analyzed data

Fitbit-recorded physical activity showed no definitive relationship with the diagnosis of primary open-angle glaucoma in an analysis of NIH data published in Journal of Glaucoma.
“Many of our patients with open-angle glaucoma frequently ask what lifestyle interventions, beyond medications and procedures, might help with their disease,” study author Patrick Akarapimand, of Hamilton Glaucoma Center at Shiley Eye Institute, told Healio. “Physical activity and exercise are among the most common topics raised in these conversations, as patients are eager to understand whether