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For the first time, scientists say, they have evidence that using a biologic drug to remove sticky beta amyloid plaques from the brains of people destined to develop Alzheimer’s dementia can delay the disease. The researchers have been testing amyloid-removing therapies in a group of people who have rare genetic mutations that make it almost certain they’ll develop Alzheimer’s. (Goodman, 3/19)

An experimental treatment appears to delay Alzheimer’s symptoms in some people genetically destined to get the disease in their 40s or 50s, according to new findings from ongoing research now caught up in Trump administration funding delays. The early results — a scientific first — were published Wednesday even as study participants worried that politics could cut their access to a possible lifeline. (Neergaard and Lum, 3/19)

Gavin Nielsen was 2 years old when he was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive brain cancer. The smiley toddler had diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG, a cancer that occurs in the part of the brain stem that controls vital functions including breathing, blood pressure and heart rate. Very few treatment options exist, and the prognosis for children diagnosed with the disease is, on average, less than one year. (Sullivan, Syal and Martin, 3/19)

The latest trend in treating hair loss may sound familiar — essentially, it’s a repurposed drug first popularized in the 1990s. Back then, TV viewers were inundated with ads for Rogaine, a sticky topical solution that could help treat thinning hair when applied to the scalp. Now dermatologists are increasingly prescribing the drug, known generically as minoxidil, in low-dose pills to help men and women maintain or regrow hair. (Perrone, 3/19)

An automated insulin delivery (AID) system boosted glycemic control in insulin-treated adults with type 2 diabetes using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), a randomized trial showed. (Monaco, 3/19)

Prescriptions for ADHD medications have been spiking in recent years, with the sharpest increase among middle-aged and older women. They’re also the least likely to misuse the prescription stimulants, a new study found. The rise among women ages 35 to 64 has been substantial. At the end of 2022, 1.7 million women in this age group were prescribed stimulants such as Adderall and Ritalin for ADHD, compared to 1.2 million prescriptions in 2019. (Carroll, 3/19)

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday classified Medtronic’s recall of its Pipeline Vantage embolization devices as the most serious type of recall. The recall removed Pipeline Vantage 027 models from the market, which have been linked to 13 reported injuries and four deaths. The action also updated instructions for Pipeline Vantage 021 models, which have been tied to four reported injuries. (Dubinsky, 3/19)

The practice of drawing blood has changed very little over the decades. It looks about the same now as it did 50 years ago. That process, however, may be about to get a modern makeover. Several health systems across the U.S. — including Northwestern Medicine — are gearing up to try a new way of drawing blood: using a robot. (Schencker, 3/19)