Accessible treatments gain evidence, but health risks remain unsettled

Summary

A randomized clinical trial of 399 adults found that fluvoxamine reduced long COVID-related fatigue and improved quality of life versus placebo. The results position a low-cost, widely available antidepressant as a potential treatment option for one of long COVID’s most disabling symptoms.

Why it matters

An inexpensive, existing drug with trial-backed benefit could quickly expand treatment capacity for long COVID fatigue and reduce disability at population scale.

Summary

A 12-week intermittent fasting program led to weight loss that remained evident one year later. People who restricted eating to an eight-hour window maintained more weight loss than those who kept a longer daily eating schedule, with both early and late windows working and early timing aiding fat-loss preservation.

Why it matters

Weight regain is the default after dieting, so an approach that sustains losses for a year could change routine obesity care if it holds up in larger trials.

Summary

Higher consumption of artificial sweeteners was associated with faster declines in memory and thinking in adults, especially among people under 60 or those with diabetes. The highest intake corresponded to cognitive aging about 1.6 years faster than the lowest, though researchers cautioned that causality is not established.

Why it matters

If the association reflects a causal effect, a widely used diabetes and weight-management tool could be trading sugar reduction for cognitive risk.