Staying #Up2Date 🚨

1: Tenecteplase Before Thrombectomy: A One-Two Punch for Stroke?

This RCT assessed the safety and efficacy of IV tenecteplase before endovascular thrombectomy in acute ischemic stroke due to large-vessel occlusion. 90 days post-stroke, functional independence was observed in 52.9% of tenecteplase-thrombectomy patients, compared to  41.1% in thrombectomy alone (RR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.01-1.43; P = 0.04). Similar rates of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage and death were observed in both groups, suggesting this combo could become a new standard for stroke care. 

2: Early Hunger, Lasting Harm

A cohort study of 1K children in 20 US cities examined associations between early childhood food insecurity and cardiovascular health in young adulthood. After 25 years of monitoring, early food insecurity was linked to poorer cardiovascular health and elevated BMIs in young adults. Additionally, food insecurity was more common in households who did not participate in a nutrition assistance program, underscoring the importance of policies that promote food security among children. 

3: Combined Albuterol-Budesonide for Asthma Relief

This phase-3 trial evaluated use of as-needed albuterol-budesonide for patients with moderate-to-severe asthma. After a year, the combo lowered the rate of severe exacerbations compared to albuterol alone (RR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.34-0.64). It also reduced the total dose of systemic glucocorticoids required annually — letting patients breathe a sigh of relief. 

One Mammogram Doesn’t Fit All 💗

Are contrast-enhanced mammograms the future?

What happened: A new type of mammogram is making it easier to scan women with dense breasts.

Why it’s interesting: A large study group examined different types of scans and found that mammography enhanced with iodine-based dye can detect three times as many invasive cancers in breast tissue as an ultrasound.

The scans were given to women with dense breast tissue who’d already had mammograms that didn’t show any abnormalities. Tumors usually show up as white spots on mammograms, but dense breast tissue also shows up white, hiding the tumors.

A member of DenseBreast-info said the contrast-enhanced mammogram could save lives. They’ve found more tumors and were able to detect them before they could spread to the lymph nodes.

But: Contrast-enhanced mammography is only available in some places in the US and hasn’t been approved by the FDA. There’s concern over possible severe allergic reactions to the contrast agent.

Also, while the scans could detect possible tumors in dense breasts, researchers said it could increase overdiagnosis and overtreatment of non-life-threatening medical conditions. Moreover, the study didn’t follow patients long enough to see whether using contrast-enhanced mammography would increase chances of survival.

Bottom line: Mammograms may not be anyone’s favorite pastime, but knowing that a new kind of procedure has the opportunity to save millions of lives is pretty cool.

Hot Off The Press

1: 🦠 A new species of bacteria has been discovered aboard China’s Tiangong space station — one that doesn’t exist on Earth. Named Niallia tiangongensis, it likely hitched a ride from the ground but has since adapted to space conditions like microgravity and radiation. Researchers say it’s not harmful, but it’s a sign that microbes adapt fast. Especially in orbit.

2: 😴 A sleep apnea pill has shown great promise in a large clinical trial. Apnimed, the company behind the drug, said that 56% of patients experienced fewer instances where their breathing was shallow or ceased, while 22% had “complete control of the disease.” Still, more research must be done before it hits the shelves.

3: ☀️ Daily vitamin D3 supplements may help slow cellular aging, according to 4-year data from the VITAL trial. In over 1,000 adults, vitamin D3 reduced telomere shortening — a marker linked to aging and disease — by 140 base pairs compared to placebo. Omega-3s, meanwhile, had no effect.

4: 🦟 Researchers may have found a new way to stop Plasmodium falciparum — the parasite behind the deadliest form of malaria — before it ever reaches humans. The lead compounds worked inside mosquitoes, even when insecticides failed, and stayed potent when embedded in bed net–like materials. This study opens the door to smarter, more resilient malaria control.

Notable Numbers 🔢

300: the number of people in the US who are still dying of COVID-19 each week. Public health experts said that while the US has gotten much better at tackling the disease, COVID is still a threat to high-risk groups. A drop in vaccines could be why the death toll is so high, as only 23% of adults and 13% of children got the shot during the 2024-25 flu season.

1,046: measles cases in the US so far, according to the CDC. The illness has spread throughout 30 states, and 12% of patients this year have been hospitalized and are under 19.

11: the age of Yaqeen Hammad, one of over 53,000 Palestinians killed since the Gaza war began in October 2023. Yaqeen died on May 24 in an Israeli airstrike on a school shelter that also killed 35 others, including 18 children. The conflict has displaced nearly 1.9 million people (approximately 90% of Gaza’s population) and shows no signs of ending.

Picks

🎧 Listen: to the newest episode of Money Meets Medicine. The hosts discuss sudden inheritances of money, cars, stocks, and trusts this week. They discuss the importance of having a strategic financial plan and what to do if you ever come across this.

🤑 Save: Time to open your pool? Pool Supply Unlimited has what you need to make this summer the coolest. 

📺 Watch: the new trailer for Netflix’s TITAN: The OceanGate Disaster documentary, premiering June 11th.

😂 Laugh: at these medical one-liners:

🦴 What do you call a doctor who fixes websites?
 An URL-ologist.

🩺 Why did the nurse carry a red pen?
In case they needed to draw blood.

Relax

First Question: Kleihauer-Betke ____, used to quantify fetal blood in maternal circulation

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