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A genetic test may one day predict a child’s risk of obesity in adulthood, paving the way for early interventions. Certain genetic variants can affect how a person’s body stores fat or make them more prone to overeating. Genetic variation can also predict how well a person will respond to different weight loss drugs. In a study published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine, more than 600 researchers from around the world worked together to compile genetic data from more than 5 million people — the largest and most diverse genetic dataset to date. They also used genetic data from 23andMe. (Sullivan, 7/21)

Depression descended on Samantha Cohn about two months after her baby boy was born. He was thriving, but she became convinced she was a terrible mother. ... Clinical trials had found that the drug, zuranolone, marketed as Zurzuvae and taken daily for 14 days, can ease symptoms for some women in as little as three days, while general antidepressants can take weeks. For Ms. Cohn, its impact was swift and striking. On her fourth day of taking it, she said she suddenly “felt so much clarity in my head, like I didn’t have nagging thoughts about not being good enough.” Now, a year and a half after the drug became available, thousands of women have tried it, and their experiences have run the gamut. (Belluck, 7/22)

Urgent care clinics often inappropriately prescribed antibiotics, glucocorticoids, and opioids for common conditions, found a cross-sectional study involving more than 22 million U.S. patient visits from 2018 to 2022. For antibiotics, there were high rates of prescribing for "never appropriate" indications such as otitis media (31%), genitourinary signs and symptoms (46%), and acute bronchitis (15%), reported Shirley Cohen-Mekelburg, MD, of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and co-authors in Annals of Internal Medicine. (Firth, 7/21)

With few treatments available to stop or reverse Alzheimer’s disease, scientists have turned to cancer drugs as a potential means of walking back cognitive decline. Alzheimer’s cases are rising in the United States and worldwide due to an aging population, but there is no cure for the disease. Attempts to develop new treatments that slow the disease’s progress, rather than lessen symptoms, have frequently failed. (Bendix, 7/21)

An experimental mRNA vaccine developed at the University of Florida has shown the ability to supercharge the immune system and shrink tough-to-treat tumors in mice — even without targeting a specific cancer type. A study, published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, suggests the vaccine could one day serve as a universal cancer treatment, especially when paired with existing immunotherapy drugs like checkpoint inhibitors. (Mayer, 7/22)

In Nature Communications, authors describe a novel web platform for genomic surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus called CoVerage, which could identify variants of concern (VOCs) up to 3 months before the World Health Organization (WHO) is able to classify the variants that can lead to surges of COVID-19 activity. (Soucheray, 7/21)

The clinical trial changed Shayna Bhalla’s life. After years with long Covid — debilitated by fatigue, headaches, and neurological issues — her symptoms dramatically receded. While not fully back to her pre-Covid-19 baseline, she was able to resume university classes and other daily activities. “In the last few months, I have literally regained life,” Bhalla said in an interview last November. (Ladyzhets, 7/22)

A race to develop a new class of narcolepsy drugs could not only transform treatment for patients with the rare sleep disorder, but also many people with common health conditions who struggle with a core part of human functioning — staying awake. (Chen, 7/22)

American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines that set off a new era in obesity treatment — and a national debate about whether children should be prescribed weight loss drugs — may have been shaped by pharmaceutical industry influence, a new analysis suggests. (Cueto, 7/22)

Patients using isotretinoin, an acne treatment that can cause birth defects, had lower rates of pregnancy compared to other acne treatments, though fetal exposure persisted, according to an analysis of Medicaid and MarketScan data. (Robertson, 7/21)

Children with twice the level of the antimicrobial chemical triclosan in their urine were 23 percent more likely to report eczema symptoms than those with lower concentrations, according to research published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. ... According to the Cleveland Clinic, triclosan can still be found in some toothpastes, deodorants, cosmetics and detergents. (McMahan, 7/21)