A retrospective cohort study published in Cureus on January 31, 2026, assessed the effectiveness of a specialized vascular risk clinic in Portugal in controlling major modifiable cardiovascular (CV) risk factors. Conducted between January 2022 and April 2023 (16 months), the analysis included 229 consecutive patients referred to the clinic, predominantly those with established atherosclerotic CV disease (ASCVD), diabetes, or high/very high CV risk per ESC/EAS guidelines. The multidisciplinary approach involved cardiologists, endocrinologists, nutritionists, and nurses, emphasizing intensive lifestyle counseling (diet, exercise, smoking cessation) alongside evidence-based pharmacotherapy titration (statins, antihypertensives, antiplatelet agents, GLP-1 agonists/SGLT2 inhibitors where indicated).
Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) remains a leading cause of disability and death worldwide. The 2026 Guideline for the Early Management of Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke, from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA), replaces the 2018 guideline and 2019 focused update. It incorporates evidence from randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, and observational studies published through early 2025, addressing prehospital systems, emergency evaluation, reperfusion therapies, supportive care, in-hospital complications, and early secondary prevention for adults, with new guidance extending to select pediatric cases.
Metformin remains a cornerstone first-line therapy for type 2 diabetes mellitus due to its efficacy, low cost, and favorable safety profile in patients with preserved renal function. However, its use is contraindicated in severe renal impairment (eGFR <30 mL/min/1.73 m²) owing to the risk of accumulation and metformin-associated lactic acidosis (MALA), with encephalopathy representing a rarer neurological manifestation. This report details a 44-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes, hypothyroidism, insomnia, hypertension, and end-stage diabetic nephropathy requiring maintenance hemodialysis three times weekly. One month after initiating immediate-release metformin 1000 mg/day at a primary care clinic, she presented to the emergency department with two days of dysarthria and generalized weakness. She was slightly somnolent but communicative, exhibited difficulty maintaining posture, gait instability, and no focal motor or sensory deficits.
On January 5, 2026, Eisai Co., Ltd. and Biogen Inc. announced that China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has accepted the Biologics License Application (BLA) for the subcutaneous autoinjector (SC-AI) formulation of LEQEMBI® (lecanemab; brand name in China: “乐意保®”), a humanized IgG1 monoclonal antibody targeting soluble aggregated amyloid-beta protofibrils for the treatment of early Alzheimer’s disease (mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s and mild Alzheimer’s dementia).
Patients with minor ischemic stroke or high-risk transient ischemic attack (TIA) face elevated early recurrent vascular event risks, with guidelines recommending short-term dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with aspirin and clopidogrel initiated promptly. However, real-world data on the impact of initiation timing remain limited, particularly beyond the hyperacute phase.
Observational studies and autopsy findings have suggested a potential role for herpes simplex virus (HSV), particularly HSV-1, in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), prompting interest in antiviral therapies to slow disease progression. The study evaluated whether high-dose valacyclovir, an antiviral agent effective against HSV, slows cognitive and functional decline in patients with early symptomatic AD who are seropositive for HSV-1 or HSV-2.
