Staying #Up2Date 🚨

1: Polluted Minds: Air Pollution Exposure Impacts Brain Development  

This longitudinal study analyzed how childhood exposure to air pollution affects brain volume development. Higher exposure to copper and particulate matter (<2.5 μm) during pregnancy and early childhood was associated with smaller hippocampal volumes at age 8. However, as children grew, hippocampal volume showed rapid, compensatory growth. Otherwise, no associations were found between air pollution and volumes of white matter, cortical grey matter, or the cerebellum.

2: Quit While You’re Ahead? Safety of Smoking Cessation during Pregnancy

This retrospective cohort study of 5.2 million live births examined whether smoking cessation therapies used in the first trimester increase the risk of major congenital malformations. Compared with unexposed infants, there were no significant differences in MCM prevalence following exposure to nicotine replacement therapy (37.6 vs 34.4 per 1000 live births), varenicline (32.7 vs 36.6 per 1000 live births), or bupropion (35.5 vs 38.8 live births). These findings are reassuring, given the extensive harms of prenatal smoking.

3: A Closer Look at Postpartum Hemorrhage (PPH)

This systematic review and meta-analysis studied causes and risk factors for PPH — the leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide. Based on data from 327 studies, top causes included uterine atony, genital tract trauma, retained placenta, abnormal placentation, and coagulopathy. Risk factors included anemia, previous PPH, and caesarean delivery.

Mental Health Matters ❤️‍🩹

Taking care of patients, inside and out

What happened: A new study found that healthcare systems can reduce suicides through patient screening, mental health counseling, and safety planning.

Why it’s interesting: Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the US, with about 100,000 Americans taking their life each year. In 2001, a Detroit health centre created the “Zero Suicide Model,” which was designed to collaborate with patients by using suicide risk screenings, assessment, interventions and treatment.

In 2009, the program celebrated a win with no suicides among patients. Researchers then began to study another health system using the same method from 2012 to 2019 in four locations. Suicides and suicide attempts declined in three of the locations, while the fourth had a low rate of both. Suicide attempts were tracked in electronic health records, and suicides were proven using government health records.

The research helped to prove that the model works, and doctors have started asking patients if they’ve ever thought of harming themselves. Many states, like California, Oregon, and Washington, have begun using the Zero Model and are focusing on outpatient mental health care.

But: The Zero Suicide Model is currently being funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and could be at risk of being defunded by the Trump administration. Also, the study didn’t apply a randomized design, which could’ve caused unwanted bias, and since it was a clinical practice evaluation, doctors could implement the model how they saw fit.

Bottom line: Fixing broken bones and stitching patients back up are essential, but so is treating patients' mental health so that they continue to experience the joys of life.

Hot Off The Press

1: 🏥 President Trump’s tariff threats are making their way into healthcare. He announced that there will be major tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals. For many years, countries like the US have had little to no tariffs on finished drugs, thanks to a 1995 World Trade Organization agreement that kept medicine affordable. But that could all go away soon as Trump told reporters that pharma tariffs would be on a level that’s “never been seen before.”

2: 🫀 The world’s smallest pacemaker just dropped — and it’s light-activated, dissolvable, and tiny enough to fit in a syringe. Designed for newborns with heart defects, the wireless device sits on the chest, delivers pacing via pulses of infrared light, and dissolves when it’s no longer needed — no surgery required. In preclinical trials, it worked across human donor hearts and multiple animal models.

3: 🦠 RFK Jr. implied that the measles outbreak in western Texas was slowing down, but health officials say otherwise. The Texas Department of State Health Services shared data showing cases are increasing in many counties and that the curve isn’t going to flatten anytime soon.

4: 💘 Tinder just released Game Game — an AI-powered flirting simulator built with OpenAI’s voice model that scores users on their rizz in roleplay scenarios. It’s meant to be awkward on purpose, but early tests reveal buggy audio, robotic convos, and AI avatars accidentally talking to themselves on Bluetooth speakers. Tinder insists it’s “low-pressure practice,” but right now it’s more glitch than game.

Notable Numbers 🔢

16: the number of state attorneys general suing the Trump administration over NIH grant terminations. They argue that the cancelled grants are unlawful and could cause irreparable harm to public research institutions if they aren't resolved.

20%: the lowered dementia risk of older adults who received the Zostavax shingles vaccine. A massive Welsh study found the strongest evidence yet linking shingles vaccination to reduced dementia — especially in women. Researchers say the findings could have major public health implications, even if the mechanism isn’t fully understood.

895: career goals for Alex Ovechkin — officially passing Wayne Gretzky to become the NHL’s all-time leading scorer. The 39-year-old fired a power-play rocket past fellow Russian Ilya Sorokin on Sunday, marking a record-breaking goal 20 seasons in the making. Gretzky called it “truly incredible.”

Picks

😂 Laugh: at this meme at what doctors wish they could say!

🤑 Save: looking for a fun spring activity? Walmart’s got you covered with bike sales for you and the special people in your life!

👂Listen: to the new episode of the Funny Medicine Podcast. The latest episode continues last week's conversation about the rise in measles cases, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation!

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