Staying #Up2Date 🚨

1: Skip the Clinic, Not the Test: Mailed Kits for Cervical Cancer Screening 

This RCT tested whether mailing self-collection kits could increase cervical cancer screening. In over 2K individuals, 41.1% completed screening when mailed self-collection was combined with a telephone reminder, compared to just 17.4% when participants received a telephone reminder for clinic-based screening. Self-collection reduces barriers to clinic-based screening, offering a promising approach for large-scale cervical cancer detection. 

2: More Complete Warnings Reduce Vaping Interest

This meta-analysis looked at whether vaping warnings that go beyond “nicotine is addictive” and focus on physical health consequences actually change belief and behavior. In a sample of 22K, these extended warnings were linked to: 1) greater belief about e-cigarette harm, 2) lower intent to vape, and 3) greater intent to quit. The takeaway: expanding e-cigarette warnings could shift perception, reduce vaping interest, and give users more reason to quit.

3: Peer Power: Former Patients Help Others Keep Weight Off

In this RCT, researchers compared a weight loss maintenance program delivered by trained mentors — people who had previously lost weight — to standard-of-care intervention led by professionals. After 18 months, participants who received support from former patients-turned-mentors regained significantly less weight compared to standard-of-care (0.77 kg, 95% CI, -0.14 to 1.68). Improvements in blood pressure, heart rate, and physical activity were also greater with mentor support, highlighting peer support as a practical model for sustained weight loss. 

Love’s Lethal Toll 💔

Real heartbreak may be deadlier than Cupid’s arrow

What happened: Recent findings suggest that men are more than twice as likely to die of broken heart syndrome than women.

Why it’s interesting: Broken heart syndrome (or if you want to be fancy, takotsubo cardiomyopathy) is a rare stress-induced heart condition caused by severe emotional or physical events. It happens when stress hormones flood the heart muscle, temporarily preventing it from pumping blood properly. The symptoms can feel like a heart attack, with chest pains and an irregular heartbeat.

The Journal of the American Heart Association examined data from almost 200,000 US patients hospitalized for broken heart syndrome between 2016 and 2020. Although women represented 83% of cases, researchers uncovered that more men died from the disease, with a mortality rate of 11.2%. Research showed that a majority of folks who were dying from broken heart syndrome were older white people, with Native Americans the 2nd most affected.  

During stress, the adrenal glands release catecholamines — fight-or-flight hormones that spike blood pressure and heart rate. Men produce more catecholamines during stress than women, which could help explain the higher death rates. Women, meanwhile, have higher levels of estrogen, which is believed to protect the cardiovascular system and lower the risk of severe complications from broken heart syndrome. 

Since the disease is mainly found in women, it may be overlooked or misdiagnosed in men. On top of that, men tend to seek care later than they should, causing deadly complications like blood clots and stroke.

But: Even though the study factored in age, race, income, and diabetes, patient data didn’t exist for other comorbid diseases like a history of stroke or COVID-19 infections. The analysis only included inpatient diagnostic data for those hospitalized with broken heart syndrome, so those who died from complications outside a hospital weren’t counted. 

Bottom line: Doctors are urging patients who experience severe chest pains or shortness of breath to seek emergency care. No one wins by “toughing it out” when your life’s on the line. 

Hot Off The Press

1: 🧬 A team in Melbourne may have just cracked one of the biggest challenges in HIV research: getting the virus to show itself. Using a newly engineered lipid nanoparticle, they successfully delivered mRNA into white blood cells where HIV hides — forcing the virus out of latency in lab models. It's early days, and human trials are a long way off, but researchers call it the most promising step toward a cure yet.

2: 🇺🇸 US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. just fired the CDC’s entire vaccine advisory panel, calling it a “clean sweep” to rebuild trust. It’s the latest in a string of moves that have public health experts sounding the alarm — including scrapping Covid vaccine recommendations for healthy kids and pregnant women, and threatening to ban NIH-funded researchers from publishing in top medical journals like NEJM and The Lancet. Critics say science is being sidelined — and the fallout for public health could be massive.

3: 💉Europe’s drug regulators just issued 2 new alerts on GLP‑1 drugs. The EMA confirmed a rare but serious risk of optic‑nerve damage (NAION) with semaglutide, while the UK MHRA urges women on these “skinny jabs” to use contraception — and avoid pregnancy during treatment and for 2 months after. Prompted by 26 reports of unintended pregnancies, the MHRA now warns against off-label use by cosmetic clinics. Both updates underscore the need for vigilance and clear patient counselling.

4: 🤖 Apple just announced new AI features — including live call translation and call screening — that process everything on your device, not in the cloud. It’s a cautious but deliberate move as Apple opens its AI to developers while sidestepping privacy risks and regulatory heat. It quietly sets a different tone from Big Tech’s race to the cloud.

Notable Numbers 🔢

2,000: the number of National Guard troops President Trump authorized to deploy to Los Angeles amid protests over immigration raids. Only about 300 have arrived so far — but the move (made without the governor’s approval) has sparked a legal challenge from Gov. Newsom, who called it "purposefully inflammatory."

1965: the last time a US president deployed National Guard troops to a state without a governor’s request. That move, by Lyndon B. Johnson, sent troops to protect civil rights marchers in Alabama — a sharp contrast to how federal force is being used.

3:54.18: the new women's 400-metre freestyle world record, set by Torontonian and swimming phenom Summer McIntosh. She broke the previous record of 3:55.38, set by Australian Ariarne Titmus at the 2023 World Championships.

Postcall Picks ✅

🤑 Save: on gift ideas for the dads (and dad figures) in your life from Canadian Tire.

🔍 Discover: the best coffee machines of 2025 — and level up your morning brew.

😂 Laugh: at this comic:

👂 Listen: to this timely segment from White Coat, Black Art where frontline healthcare workers, emergency responders, and public health experts unpack how the system adapted during last year’s wildfire season — and what still needs to change.

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