health tech
Microdosing weight loss drugs?
Adobe
Telehealth companies Noom, Found, and Hims & Hers have all launched programs to prescribe "microdosed" GLP-1s in the last three months, following in the steps of many smaller direct-to-consumer brands. They claim that compounded GLP-1s in small doses can reduce diabetes risk, lower inflammatory markers, and lower the risk of cognitive decline. But doctors and researchers say there's no robust clinical evidence that these drugs are effective at very small doses, and the drugs aren't proven to help patients with many of those symptoms.
It's the latest move for telehealth companies that have been tweaking their formulations in order to continue selling compounded versions of GLP-1s after regulators decided there was no longer a shortage. Read more from STAT's Katie Palmer on how companies are rolling out these programs, what experts think about the approach, and which celebrities have signed on to endorse it.
another big number
5,000
That's the number of steps per day that could slow cognitive decline for people who are showing signs of Alzheimer's, according to a study published yesterday in Nature Medicine. Researchers followed nearly 300 older adults with no cognitive impairment at the start of the study. Particularly among those with high levels of beta-amyloid (an early sign of the disease), low or moderate exercise levels seemed to slow cognitive decline. But that didn't happen by slowing the buildup of beta-amyloid, as one might expect. Read more from STAT's Jonathan Wosen on how exercise interacted with Alzheimer's risk, and why some experts say interpreting the results can be tricky.
health
Study: Less teen vaping overall, but more daily usage
Fewer pre-teens and adolescents are vaping nicotine these days than in previous years. But a study published yesterday in JAMA Network Open found that among those who do, growing proportions are vaping daily — and they're having more trouble quitting.
Researchers analyzed nationally representative survey data from middle and high schoolers collected annually between 2020 and 2024. In that time, the number of young people who had vaped at least once in the past 30 days declined sharply — except for girls and young Black people, who saw stable rates or slower declines. Among all users, the proportion who vaped nicotine daily almost doubled from 15% in 2020 to 29% in 2024. At the same time, the number of folks who had unsuccessfully tried to quit rose from 28% of daily vapers to 53%.
The study authors were concerned by the increasing rates of daily nicotine vaping, as a daily habit could be more harmful for cardiovascular, respiratory, and mental health outcomes than occasional use. They also pointed out that "a history of unsuccessful quit attempts is a cardinal symptom of nicotine use disorder." It's hard to say exactly why teen use has trended this way. The products that young people vape tend to be high or "ultrahigh" in potency.
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