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A study of female sex workers in Japan found that doxycycline pre-exposure prophylaxis (doxyPrEP) is tied to significantly reduced overall incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) without increasing other vaginal infections, researchers reported today in JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance. (Dall, 4/9)

A pair of new studies finds no significant benefit of the antiviral drug nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) in alleviating the symptoms of adult long-COVID patients or in preventing the development of the condition in adolescents. (Van Beusekom, 4/7)

Opioid exposure in the second or third trimester was associated with smaller brain volumes in newborns, a prospective U.S. study found. ... The exposed group also had significantly smaller volume compared to the control group for cortical gray matter, deep gray matter, white matter, cerebellum, brainstem, and the right and left amygdala, they reported in JAMA Pediatrics. (Henderson, 4/7)

Biomarker and cognitive data supported treatment with the anti-amyloid agent lecanemab (Leqembi) for up to 36 months in early Alzheimer's disease, initial findings from the CLARITY AD open-label extension study suggested. Continuous treatment led to greater changes in plasma amyloid-beta 42/40 levels, reported Christopher van Dyck, MD, of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, in a poster presented at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) annual meeting. (George, 4/6)

People diagnosed with various mental health disorders can sometimes start engaging in intense political behavior, such as violent protests, civil disobedience and the aggressive expression of political views. So far, however, the link between political behavior and the brain has been rarely explored, as it was not viewed as central to the understanding of mental health disorders. Researchers at Harvard Medical School, Stanford University School of Medicine and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine recently carried out a study investigating the neural underpinnings of political behavior. Their findings, published in Brain, unveil the existence of a brain circuit that is associated with the intensity of people's political involvement, irrespective of their ideology or party affiliation. (Fadelli, 4/9)