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

Results presented at the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society Annual Meeting showed GLP-1 receptor agonists were not associated with increased fracture risk in patients with obesity or type 2 diabetes.
“We did not see the signal that I and many other doctors are worried about, that GLP-1-related weight loss is associated with more fragility fractures,” Christopher E. Gross, MD, FAAOS, FAOA, director of the foot and ankle division at the Medical University of South Carolina, told Healio. “In fact, we found the opposite association.”
In a cohort study, Gross and

Women who previously had gestational diabetes were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes earlier than those without a history of gestational diabetes, according to a presenter.
In an analysis of data from the Danish Centre for Strategic Research in Type 2 Diabetes (DD2) that will be presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes annual meeting, researchers found that women with a history of gestational diabetes were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at a median age of 43.5 years compared with 56.3 years for women who never had gestational diabetes (P

Click here to read the Healio Exclusive, “Resurgence of measles spreads deep concern among ophthalmologists.”
The cover story in this issue of Healio | OSN on measles and its ocular impact is comprehensive. I will add a few personal thoughts.
I practiced as a consultative cornea and external disease specialist for 10 years at the University of Minnesota and another 35 years in private practice at Minnesota Eye Consultants. In my 45 years of practice in Minnesota, I never made the diagnosis of measles keratoconjunctivitis, nor did I see anyone from Minnesota who was blinded from measles. During

Athletes at all levels — from playgrounds to elite venues — are at increasing risk for heat stroke and heat-related organ damage, according to Raeeda Gheewala, MD, a nephrologist and founder and CEO of Sports Nephrology in Austin, Texas.
With global temperatures rising, high heat conditions are more likely to affect individual sporting events, last longer into training seasons and occur in more geographic areas than in the past.
“In the United States, a high school football player dies almost every year of heat stroke, usually in the Southern states. Last summer, a 15-year-old

Clinicians should take a patient-centered approach when recommending nutrition and lifestyle changes to optimize long-term success with GLP-1s, according to two speakers.
During their presentation at the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists annual meeting, Kathleen A. Fincher, MS, RD, LD, CDCES, and Casey Fiocchi, RD, LD, CDCES, both certified diabetes care and education specialists at Prisma Health in Greenville, South Carolina, discussed how a nutrient-rich, high-protein diet, regular exercise and minimizing adverse events can augment the benefits associated with GLP-1

Patients with hereditary angioedema receiving daily deucrictibant extended-release tablets as long-term prophylactic therapy had a reduced monthly attack rate vs. placebo of 83%, according to topline data from a phase 3 study.
Those receiving deucrictibant (Pharvaris), a bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist, vs. placebo also had larger improvements in quality of life, according to a company-hosted webcast.
“The benefits of deucrictibant [extended-release] extend beyond attack prevention alone, translating into broader impact of the treatment on the meaningful improvements on patients’ day-to-day

Only about one in six U.S. adults eligible for lung cancer screening discussed the procedure with a health care professional in the past year, according to study results.
Current smokers and those with comorbidities more often reported having those discussions, a finding researchers say suggests clinicians prioritize individuals most at risk.
However, an analysis of Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) data revealed what investigators called “persistent gaps” in communication that appeared more pronounced based on individuals’ race, insurance status and social context.
“We know lung

Bariatric surgery decreased nearly 65% among Medicare beneficiaries between 2014 and 2024, with the trend beginning prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and increased use of GLP-1s for weight loss, according to a research letter.
“Bariatric surgery is ... a very resource-intensive service line, so below a certain threshold, hospitals may simply stop offering it,” Ryan Howard, MD, MS, DABOM, of the University of Michigan, told Healio, adding that several bariatric surgery programs have recently closed.
To identify shifts in bariatric surgery utilization, Howard and colleagues conducted a national

In this Healio video exclusive, Leonard H. Calabrese, DO, chief medical editor of Healio Rheumatology, highlights recent coverage examining the persistence of difficult-to-treat immune-mediated inflammatory disease in the biologic era.
“I think we’re taking a more holistic and realistic approach to these patients,” Calabrese said. “And we have some world experts weighing in on several high-impact publications just within the past 6 months.”
Calabrese additionally discussed coverage from the Rheumatology Nurses Society Annual Conference regarding integrative