Latest Health News Today: 13 November 2026

A review of 361 studies published in Cell Press Blue found that dietary protein restriction may promote metabolic health and lifespan across diverse organisms. The researchers noted that while protein is essential for muscle maintenance, reducing intake may lower inflammation associated with aging. They suggest protein needs should be tailored to individuals, particularly those who are physically active.

A brain implant startup has paused its clinical trials, though the specific company and reasons for the pause are not detailed in the provided text. The news was reported by STAT, which also covered other health topics including teen phone usage and dementia risk.

A JAMA study reported a second version of the US Candidate Risk Score, developed from data on 33,097 adult heart transplant candidates from 2019 to 2025. The continuous score could prioritize the sickest patients without increasing donor heart travel distances, potentially reducing manipulation of the current six-status system. About one in five US adult candidates waitlisted in 2020 died or were removed without a transplant within three years.

A Lancet Planetary Health study found that voluntary fortification in the UK may be insufficient if people shift from dairy to plant-based alternatives. The UK has no formal salt-iodization program and relies heavily on dairy for iodine, while only 12% of plant-based dairy products in a 2020 market survey contained added iodine. Fortifying plant-based alternatives and everyday bread could help protect iodine intake in teenage girls and women.

A 2024 study of 1,425 generally healthy people found that bowel movements once or twice a day were linked to the healthiest profile, while extremes were tied to health issues. ISB researchers analyzed habits, blood metabolites, genetics and gut microbes. Diarrhea participants had more upper gastrointestinal bacteria in stool and liver-damage biomarkers, while constipated participants had more bacteria linked to protein fermentation.

The European Medicines Agency's CHMP recommended seven medicines at its November 2026 meeting, including Aumseqa for non-small cell lung cancer and Baxfendy for insufficiently controlled hypertension. It also gave positive opinions for Zybrivo for non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer, two insulin aspart biosimilars, and expanded uses for Gazyvaro and Isturisa. The moves affect cancer, diabetes, hypertension and rare disease treatment options.

Researchers at VIB and KU Leuven found that hibernation in golden hamsters triggers brain cell changes resembling those in Alzheimer's disease. The study, published in Science Advances, identified increased tau phosphorylation and gene expression changes in microglia during hibernation. These natural adaptive responses may provide new ways to study and develop therapies for dementia.

A study in mice led by Penn State researchers found that vitamin D receptors help control inflammation and virus clearance during H1N1 influenza infection. Mice without these receptors had 21% mortality and more severe symptoms compared to normal mice. The researchers noted that while the findings are preliminary, they suggest vitamin D helps the immune system return to normal after infection.

A study presented at the ESC Digital & AI Summit 2026 found that a discrepancy between AI-estimated heart age and actual age predicts long-term mortality. In a cohort of 568 adults, each five-year increase in the cardiac age gap was associated with a 61% higher risk of death from cardiovascular or dementia-related causes over 20 years. The findings suggest AI-derived signatures can identify people with long-term vulnerability.

An outbreak of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome on the M/V Hondius in April 2026 affected 13 passengers, three of whom died. Researchers from the UNIGE/HUG Geneva Center confirmed the Andes strain spread from a rodent to a human and then directly between passengers. Genetic sequencing showed the virus was highly similar across all cases, supporting the conclusion of secondary person-to-person transmission.

A review of about 2.8 million people found smoking is associated with higher dementia, Alzheimer's and vascular dementia risk, rising with cigarettes per day. Smokers had 31% higher dementia risk than never smokers, 40% for Alzheimer's and 52% for vascular dementia; 10 cigarettes daily was linked to 16% higher risk and 20 to 34%. Former smokers did not face higher risk than never smokers, though causation was not proven.

A pilot programme in Cornwall gives people with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes free weekly vegetable boxes plus group cooking and gardening sessions. Many of the more than 100 participants in the WellFed scheme have reported improvements in blood sugar levels, weight and wellbeing, and the project is believed to be the first of its kind in England. Sessions run at 20 sites across Cornwall, with GPs from over 20 surgeries referring patients.

A 25-year follow-up of the COURAGE trial found that adding percutaneous coronary intervention to medical therapy did not significantly reduce the long-term risk of death or heart attack in patients with stable coronary artery disease. The study, published in JAMA, showed a 93.3% cumulative incidence of death or heart attack in the stent group versus 91% in the medical therapy group.

The findings suggest that opening blocked arteries may not offer lasting survival benefits beyond medication.

STAT's investigation of three-parent IVF found an international fertility tourism industry offering mitochondrial replacement techniques. International Fertility Group promoted the experimental procedure to older women seeking better IVF odds, while the U.K. allows it at one academic center to reduce mitochondrial disease risk. It found no peer-reviewed human studies supporting it for age-related infertility, especially in women 35 and older.

A global Microsoft outage affecting Outlook, Teams and Copilot disrupted UK hospitals, GP surgeries, pharmacies, police and schools. NHS England told patients to keep attending appointments unless told otherwise, while staff used paper records and warned of possible prescription delays. Microsoft said services were gradually being restored and the problems did not appear to be a cyber-attack.

A Stanford Medicine study found a brain connectivity signature that may identify vulnerability to cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease before symptoms. Researchers derived the Alzheimer's Resilience-Vulnerability Connectome from fMRI scans of 180 superagers and 110 age-matched adults with Alzheimer's disease. The score distinguished the groups with about 80% accuracy in the discovery cohort and 71% in a 143-person replication cohort.

A study of more than 35,000 US patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer found that broad genomic sequencing before first-line therapy was associated with a two-month average increase in overall survival. The Flatiron Health analysis also found 19% of sequencing recipients received targeted therapy, compared with 16% of those receiving narrow testing. Researchers said broad testing should be the default in advanced disease.

A University of California, San Francisco study presented at the Association for Molecular Pathology 2026 Annual Meeting profiled DNA methylation in 219 tumors to identify patterns associated with recurrence of low-grade, limited-stage, copy number-low endometrioid adenocarcinoma, the most common type of endometrial cancer. The data showed a spectrum of methylation changes that strongly correlated with recurrence risk.

Twenty-four-month randomized trial results showed sustained responses to SetPoint neuroimmune modulation for rheumatoid arthritis. In 242 patients with inadequate response or intolerance to at least one biologic or targeted synthetic drug, 92.1% continued one-minute daily vagus nerve stimulation at 24 months.

ACR20 rate was 70.9% without add-on therapy, and 80.6% met the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology good or moderate response.

Researchers at MD Anderson Cancer Center created a single-cell and spatial atlas of more than 850,000 cells from normal breast tissue, ductal carcinoma in situ and invasive breast cancer. The Science study mapped the tumor microenvironment around DCIS, the most common preinvasive breast cancer, to understand why some lesions become invasive. The findings may help identify patients at higher risk of progression and avoid unnecessary treatment.

A multicenter randomized trial in Ireland, the UK, Spain and Australia found that a continuous mobile coaching app from early pregnancy to 12 months postpartum reduced gestational diabetes among high-risk women. The Bump2Baby and Me study, published in The Lancet Digital Health, found no difference in average postpartum BMI between app and routine-care groups. Metabolic improvements can occur without weight change.

Utah researchers blocked AEBP1, a protein that triggers excessive heart scarring, and prevented severe heart failure in a mouse model of heart attack. Lowering AEBP1 in scar-producing cells after heart attack improved heart function four weeks later, but lowering it after failure had progressed did not. The team found AEBP1 is more active in human hearts with advanced heart failure and said it may be a target to slow progression.

A telemedicine-based heart failure program was well accepted and improved quality of life and self-care, according to results presented at ESC Digital and AI Summit 2026. HerzMobil Steiermark program at nine centers from 2019 to 2025 used an app linked to a weighing scale and blood pressure and heart rate monitor. Nurses and physicians reviewed data. 90% reported independent device use, and 90% rated handling and data transmission as easy.

Researchers at QIMR Berghofer and Flinders University developed a polygenic test that can identify people at up to 10 times normal risk of open-angle glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness. The score, built from genetic data on more than six million people including almost 300,000 with glaucoma, was published in Ophthalmology and may help detect the disease before sight is lost.

Europe is preparing hospitals and public health systems for a wider conflict, including missile, drone, chemical, biological and radiological threats. Norway's Surgeon General Petter Iversen, chair of NATO's Committee of the Chiefs of Military Medical Services, called a prepared health system national security. HERA's Laurent Muschel said AI could help bad actors create biological agents, so Europe needs regulation and surveillance.

PlaqueTec said its BIOPATTERN trial has recruited its 100th patient and expanded to eight NHS specialist cardiac centers in England. The trial uses an intracoronary liquid biopsy to sample blood at the site of coronary plaque, aiming to identify patient-specific mechanisms of coronary artery disease and new drug targets. Recruitment toward a 300-patient target is expected to finish in 2027.

A Pan American Health Organization advisory commission is examining genetic evidence to decide whether the same measles virus has spread for at least a year in the United States and Mexico. If confirmed, the countries would no longer be considered to have eliminated measles, a status Canada lost.

PAHO officials said an announcement is scheduled for next week, and CDC Director Erica Schwartz said vaccination, not the designation, protects Americans.

Mayo Clinic surgeons are adapting techniques for stomach cancer surgery, including double-tract reconstruction for upper stomach cancers and a J-pouch concept from colorectal surgery. The approaches aim to preserve part of the stomach or create a food reservoir, reducing reflux and dumping syndrome while helping patients eat and recover.

A survey of 326 volunteer firefighters in Texas found that 86, or 26.4%, reported receiving an annual occupational health screening. The researchers said volunteer firefighters make up about two-thirds of the state's firefighting workforce and face limited healthcare access, long wait times and inadequate resources. The study highlighted barriers despite efforts to improve health screenings for career firefighters.

A study in the American Journal of Public Health comparing the 2018 and 2024 #MeToo National Surveys found past-year sexual harassment reports among US adults rose from 10.7% to 24.3%. Women's reports rose from 14.3% to 31.8%, and men's from 6.7% to 15.2%. The authors said the increase may reflect greater awareness and disclosure rather than a true rise in incidents.

The PERISCOPE project developed machine-learning models, presented at ESC Digital and AI Summit 2026, that predicted in-hospital and six-month mortality after percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-elevation myocardial infarction. Trained on 38,489 U.S. database records, tested on 119,035 U.S. records and validated on 6,776 Amsterdam UMC records, the models outperformed GRACE 2.0 for both time points across the three databases.

The American College of Cardiology launched ADVANCE-ASCVD to reduce events from atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, a leading cause of death worldwide, by translating evidence into practice. The initiative will focus first on lipid management and lowering LDL-C-related risk, aligning with the 2026 ACC/AHA dyslipidemia guideline. Merck is a founding sponsor, and the framework is designed to expand to other cardiovascular risk factors.

Washington University researchers developed the first human model of CRYAB-linked desmin-related cardiomyopathy using micro-engineered tissues and induced pluripotent stem cells. It expresses mutant CRYAB at levels close to human levels, addressing limits of mouse models that require massive overexpression. The team reported findings on impaired protein quality control and treatment implications in Science Advances.

Three cases presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology 2026 Annual Scientific Meeting showed anaphylaxis in children and teenagers from a fish collagen ingredient in an energy drink, castor oil applied to the skin and a children's sensory toy. Each child or teen required epinephrine, and the cases illustrate how to identify an allergic trigger when the cause is unclear.

A survey of 300 clinicians who ordered at least one food allergy panel in 2024 found that 43 completed it, most of them primary care doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants. Many knew the panels often produce false positives but continued ordering them despite guidelines advising against use, and one hospital system ordered more than 1,700 panels in a single year.

Lithuanian researchers measured telomere length in blood samples from 84 adults, most middle aged with an average age of 51, and found associations with perceived stress and chronic disease rather than lifestyle or physical function. The cross sectional study used high throughput quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization to estimate telomere length and a telomere based biological age.

A Georgia Tech model developed by Abel Sapirstein and faculty showed that improving roads can complement investments in new cancer treatment facilities, expanding access in Rwanda where heavy rains can wash out roads to Butaro Cancer Center of Excellence. The model helps health systems allocate limited resources for facilities and roads while accounting for oncologist shortages and unpredictable weather.

Researchers at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center and collaborators found that MOCCI, a component of mitochondrial complex IV under inflammatory conditions, is linked to OXPHOS pathway activity in lung cancer cells. In lung cancer cell lines and mouse models, MOCCI knockdown reduced migration and invasion by more than 50%, while overexpression increased mitochondrial respiration, reactive oxygen species and lymph node metastasis.

Experts in The BMJ warned that pharmaceutical companies could shape public conversation and policy through obesity destigmatization campaigns, citing Eli Lilly's UK Obesity Is a Disease campaign. They said the campaign's compassionate framing is scientifically defensible but commercially useful, risking a view that puts clinical treatment first and overlooks upstream causes such as urban planning and the food environment.

Researchers from University College London and other institutions compared a new clinical obesity framework with BMI using data from the 1970 British Cohort Study at age 46. The study examined whether body weight alone can distinguish adults with obesity-related complications from those without. The framework classifies no obesity, preclinical obesity and clinical obesity using excess adiposity, organ dysfunction and functional limitations.

The General Medical Council said obstetrics and gynaecology trainees report more overwork, sleep deprivation and hesitation to raise concerns than trainees in other specialties. Its 2026 national training survey found 70% at moderate to high burnout risk, versus 61% across all specialties, and one in three regularly suffered sleep deprivation.

The regulator warned that doctors who feel unable to speak up could have a critical impact on maternity patients.

Researchers analyzed 9,416 US children and adults from NHANES and found adults who read nutrition labels frequently consumed 42.8g less added sugar per day than those who read them infrequently. Among children, the difference was 14.5g. The study, published in Nutrients, highlights the public health potential of food labeling while pointing to socioeconomic differences in its use.

Researchers tracked more than 6,000 Australian adults over 12 years and found longer daily TV viewing was associated with faster kidney function decline. Type 2 diabetes strengthened the association, and exploratory analyses suggested it may be stronger among women and physically inactive people. The findings suggest reducing prolonged sedentary time and promoting activity may matter for kidney health, though behavior change was not tested.