Alcohol Consumption Increases Liver Cancer Risk in Chronic Hepatitis B

Alcohol consumption was independently associated with a substantially higher risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), regardless of cirrhosis status. In this study of 1,010 CHB patients followed for a total of 3,684 person-years, 129 (12.77%) developed HCC. Compared with patients without HCC, those who […]

Sugar Intake During Antibiotic Treatment May Worsen Gut Microbiome Disruption

Consuming sweets and simple sugars during antibiotic treatment was associated with greater gut microbiome disruption, including reduced microbial diversity and expansion of the pathobiont Enterococcus. In this study, researchers precisely tracked 9,419 meals consumed by 173 patients undergoing haematopoietic cell transplantation and analyzed longitudinal microbiome changes in 158 patients with […]

Cancer-Associated Coagulopathy–Related Stroke

A systematic review of 82 studies found that stroke related to cancer-associated coagulopathy (CAC) is a distinct, often underrecognized condition characterized by early occurrence, frequent recurrence, characteristic imaging findings, and high mortality. CAC-related stroke occurs predominantly within six months of cancer diagnosis and is strongly associated with advanced or metastatic […]

Ultra-Processed Foods Linked to the Risk of Chronic Diseases

Higher consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) was associated with increased risks of multiple chronic diseases and all-cause mortality, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis of 51 prospective cohort studies involving 8,819,894 adults. Compared with lower consumption, higher UPF intake was associated with greater risks of cardiovascular events (HR 1.24), […]

Effects of Sacubitril/Valsartan Compared With ARBs or CCBs

A meta-analysis of 15 randomized controlled trials involving 4,824 patients with high blood pressure found that sacubitril/valsartan significantly improved multiple ambulatory blood pressure measures compared with angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) or calcium channel blockers (CCBs), with a favorable safety profile. Compared with ARBs or CCBs, sacubitril/valsartan reduced 24-hour systolic and […]

Chronic Inflammation: A Common Pathway Linking Genetic and Environmental Cardiovascular Risk

Higher levels of chronic systemic inflammation were associated with smaller left ventricular volumes, compensatory increases in heart rate, and substantially higher cardiovascular risk in a large UK Biobank study. Among 488,079 participants with metabolomic, proteomic, cardiac MRI, and longitudinal data, higher inflammation measured by glycoprotein acetyls (GlycA) was associated with […]

Carotid Revascularization Does Not Improve Cognition in Asymptomatic Severe Carotid Stenosis

In patients with severe asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis, carotid revascularization—either carotid artery stenting (CAS) or carotid endarterectomy (CEA)—added to intensive medical management (IMM) did not significantly improve cognitive function compared with IMM alone over up to 4 years. The CREST-2 randomized clinical trials included 2,366 US patients, of whom 2,165 […]

Exercise-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation Improves Outcomes in Coronary Heart Disease

A 2026 Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis of 107 randomized trials involving 26,886 adults with coronary heart disease (CHD) found that exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR), compared with no structured exercise, reduces myocardial infarction (MI) and all-cause hospitalizations, likely provides a small reduction in mortality, and improves health-related quality of life […]

Early Brain Ageing Linked to the Gut–Brain Axis

Higher functional-connectivity-derived brain age deviation was consistently associated with poorer cognitive performance—particularly working memory and executive function—and greater depressive symptoms in young and mid-life adults, while also showing links to gut microbial and metabolic signatures. In a discovery cohort of 674 participants, with replication in a cohort of 444 and […]

Nighttime Light Exposure Linked to Higher Cardiovascular Risk

Higher nighttime light exposure was associated with adverse changes in cardiac structure and function and increased risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events and death. In this UK Biobank population-based study, 11,071 participants with 7-day wrist-worn light measurements and subsequent cardiac MRI were evaluated, with high nighttime light exposure (>3 lux) […]