Smokers who make the decision to quit will experience immediate health benefits, including a rapid reduction in their risk of atrial fibrillation (A-Fib), according to new research published in JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology. The study, conducted by Dr. Gregory Marcus, a cardiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, offers compelling evidence for smokers to quit, showing that it’s never too late to avoid the damaging effects of smoking on heart health.

Dr. Marcus, the senior author of the study, emphasized that A-Fib can be prevented even in individuals who have smoked for years. "The findings provide a compelling new reason to show current smokers that it’s not too late to quit, and that having smoked in the past doesn’t mean you’re ‘destined’ to develop A-Fib," Marcus explained. "Even for the current and longtime smoker, A-Fib can still be avoided."

What is Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib)?

"There’s strong evidence that smoking increases the risk of A-Fib," Marcus said. "But the benefits of quitting smoking have been less certain." With this in mind, his team sought to determine whether quitting could significantly lower a person’s risk of developing A-Fib, or if the risk would remain the same.

The research team analyzed data from over 146,700 current and former smokers, tracking their smoking habits and health over a 12-year period using data from the UK Biobank database. The results were promising: former smokers had a 13% lower risk of developing A-Fib compared to current smokers, while those who quit during the study saw an 18% reduction in their risk.

"This is likely a testament to the potency of reducing atrial fibrillation risk pretty shortly after quitting," Marcus said in a statement from the American College of Cardiology.

The findings highlight the importance of quitting smoking, not only for general health but specifically for reducing the risk of serious heart conditions like A-Fib.

Tips for Quitting Smoking

Quitting smoking is one of the most effective ways to lower the risk of A-Fib and improve overall heart health. While it can be challenging, the benefits of quitting are clear and immediate. Here are some tips to help you quit smoking successfully:

1. Choose a specific date to quit smoking and stick to it. Prepare yourself mentally and physically for this change.

2. Reach out to family, friends, or a support group to help keep you accountable. Sharing your goals with others can provide encouragement.

3. Options like nicotine patches, gum, or lozenges can help ease withdrawal symptoms and reduce cravings.

4. Identify situations that make you want to smoke, such as stress or social gatherings, and find healthy ways to cope with them.

5. Regular exercise can help distract you from cravings and improve your mood during the quitting process.

6. Drinking water can help flush nicotine out of your system faster, reducing cravings.

7. Activities like yoga, meditation, or deep breathing exercises can help manage stress, a common trigger for smoking.

Quitting smoking offers immediate and significant benefits, particularly in reducing the risk of atrial fibrillation. The latest research provides smokers with more motivation to quit, showing that it's never too late to take control of their heart health.

A widely used supplement for joint health has been linked to a faster Alzheimer's progression, raising questions about whether glucosamine could turn mild cognitive impairment into dementia.

The study, published in Nature Metabolism, combined an analysis of health records of experiments involving human brain tissue and genetically modified mice. It showed that the supplement affected the brain in people already showing early signs of cognitive decline.

The findings, however, do not prove that glucosamine increases the progression of Alzheimer’s disease faster in humans.

What Is Glucosamine?

Glucosamine is a sugar-related compound widely sold as an over-the-counter supplement for joint discomfort and joint health. It is also found naturally in cartilage. It is used by older adults, the same age group in which cognitive impairment and dementia become more common.

Researchers at the University of Florida analysed health records collected between 2012 and 2024 to investigate whether glucosamine use was linked with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

"In the United States, there are about 7 million people living with Alzheimer's and millions more with related dementias such as Lewy body or frontotemporal dementia," said senior author Ramon Sun, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Advanced Spatial Biomolecule Research and associate director for innovation of UF's McKnight Brain Institute. "A lot of these people actively take an over-the-counter supplement that could be making their disease progression worse."

Also read: Muscle Loss In Middle Age May Signal Dementia Risk, Study Finds

What Were The Study's Findings?

About 8% of patients in both groups were using glucosamine supplement. This included 2,750 people with mild cognitive impairment and 1,896 people who already had Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia.

After accounting for age, sex and demographic factors, researchers found that people with mild cognitive impairment who used glucosamine had a 25% higher likelihood of progressing to dementia compared with those without documented use.

Among people who already had Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia, glucosamine use was also associated with a 25% higher risk of death during the study period. However, these were findings were based on collective health records, not a controlled clinical trial.

“The electronic health record data are very provocative,” said Matt Gentry, Ph.D., a study co-author. “While it's an association and not proof of causality, it does raise an important clinical question that now deserves much more attention.”

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Glucosamine's Effects On Brain

The researchers identified a possible biological explanation involving a process called glycosylation. In simple terms, glycosylation involves attaching sugar structures to proteins. This is a normal process that helps proteins fold correctly, move around cells and perform their functions.

But the researchers found evidence that this process becomes excessively active in Alzheimer's disease. Their analysis suggested that glucosamine may intensify this abnormal “sugar-tagging” process in the brain.

The researchers tested the idea in genetically modified mice. Glucosamine increased the attachment of sugar molecules to proteins inside brain cells. The subjected mice's ability to recognise familiar animals also worsened.

When researchers used a chemical treatment to suppress the sugar-attachment process, the mice showed improved memory performance.

This does not prove the same mechanism occurs in humans, but it gave researchers a possible biological explanation for the association seen in the health records.

The researchers also examined brain tissue from people who had Alzheimer's disease. They found significantly more sugar attachment to proteins in Alzheimer's brain tissue compared to tissue from people without the disease. Taken together, the health-record analysis, mouse experiments and human brain-tissue findings point toward a connection between altered metabolism and Alzheimer's progression.

Despite the observation, a controlled clinical trial is needed to determine whether glucosamine itself accelerates Alzheimer's progression and whether certain patients are vulnerable.

Fighting cancer is “brutal and unrelenting,” said White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who is now cancer-free after undergoing treatment for early-stage breast cancer.

In an op-ed published Sunday in USA Today, Wiles described undergoing chemotherapy while continuing to lead the White House staff for President Donald Trump.

She said some days, simply getting out of bed and going to work took all her strength. The disease, treatment, test results and uncertainty about what came next occupied her thoughts from the moment she woke up and sometimes even while she slept.

‘Even The Strongest Mind Can Be Overtaken’

“Even the strongest mind can be overtaken by it. At times, mine was,” Wiles wrote.

“Fighting for your health while remaining fully committed to your work can feel impossible,” she said, adding that determination and “perhaps some measure of mind over matter” helped her maintain that balance.

Wiles acknowledged that continuing to work during cancer treatment may not be possible or right for everyone. For her, she said, work provided “a mission larger than myself.”

“Maintaining that balance was not easy,” Wiles wrote, saying the experience gave her “profound respect and empathy” for everyone undergoing cancer treatment.

“It drains you physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually,” she added.

Also read: From 365 Shots To 52: How Could Lilly’s Newly-Approved Weekly Insulin Injection Change Diabetes Care

Wiles said cancer can shrink a person’s world to chemotherapy appointments, blood tests, scans, medications and side effects.

“There is a temptation to measure each day by how sick you feel,” she wrote. She said she worked hard not to let breast cancer become the center of everything.

“I directed as much of my energy as I could toward doing my job,” Wiles wrote. “People depended on me to be strong and clear-eyed, and I was determined not to let them down.”

Her Team Helped Carry The Burden

Wiles said cancer affected her stamina, mobility and focus, making the support of her colleagues crucial.

“People stepped forward without hesitation, filled every gap, carried additional weight and never allowed me to feel that I was carrying this burden alone. I will never be able to repay them,” she wrote.

She also credited her family and two daughters, who “traveled every step of this road with me.”

After surgery, pathology showed no residual cancer. Wiles announced on September 16 that she was cancer-free after receiving clear pathology results at the Mayo Clinic. She had disclosed her early-stage breast cancer diagnosis in March.

She said chemotherapy tested her in ways she could never have anticipated. Her next stage, she added, will involve rebuilding what treatment took from her.

“Cancer does not have to take away who you are,” she wrote.

Wiles Thanks Trump And Her Family

Wiles thanked Trump “for the kindness and compassion” he showed while she was undergoing treatment.

Trump had publicly praised Wiles during her cancer battle, saying in a prerecorded message in May that she was winning her fight.

Wiles also credited her family, friends, colleagues and doctors for helping her through the ordeal.

In a post on X, she said she rarely writes about herself but wanted to share what it was like to fight cancer while continuing to do a job she loves.

“Cancer tried to make my world smaller. I was determined not to let it,” she wrote. She said she hoped her account could offer strength to someone still fighting the disease.

For years, people with type 2 diabetes who needed insulin had to administer an injection daily. Eli Lilly’s newly approved insulin is set to bring a dramatic reduction in that burden from roughly 365 injections a year to just 52.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Onswik (insulin efsitora alfa-gobe), a once-weekly basal insulin for adults with type 2 diabetes. It is designed to provide a steady level of insulin over seven days and is used alongside diet and exercise to control blood sugar. Find out how different weekly insulin is from the daily shots that patients are used to?

Lilly's Once-Weekly Insulin Gets FDA Approval

Insulin is a hormone that helps glucose move from the bloodstream into cells, where it can be used for energy. It also helps reduce the amount of glucose produced by the liver. People with type 2 diabetes may eventually need insulin when their bodies do not produce enough of it or cannot use it effectively.

Basal insulin is long-acting insulin designed to work in the background throughout the day and night, helping keep blood sugar levels under control between meals and overnight.

Until now, commonly used basal insulins like insulin glargine and insulin degludec have generally required daily injections.

Onswik is a long-acting insulin analogue designed to remain active for an entire week. Instead of injecting a smaller amount every day, patients receive one subcutaneous injection on the same day each week. That could reduce the number of basal insulin injections by more than 300 a year compared with daily treatment.

For someone who finds daily injections difficult to maintain, that development could be gamechanging.

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Comparison Between Weekly Insulin & Daily Insulin

Lilly's late-stage QWINT programme included more than 3,400 adults with type 2 diabetes across four Phase 3 studies. Onswik met its primary goal in each study, reducing HbA1c, a measure of average blood sugar over time, by an amount that was not inferior to daily basal insulin.

The studies included people who had never previously used insulin as well as people already receiving insulin treatment.

So the significance of the approval is not that weekly insulin necessarily works better than daily insulin. Rather, it offers comparable blood-sugar control with far fewer injections.

Taking insulin every day can become another task in an already demanding diabetes care routine. Missed or delayed doses can make blood sugar management more difficult. A weekly option could simplify treatment for some patients and potentially make it easier to stay consistent. But convenience does not mean the treatment becomes risk-free.

Also read: Hundreds Of American GLP-1 Users Sue Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly Over Vision Loss: What Is NAION?

What Are The Risks & Who Can Take It?

The most important risk remains hypoglycaemia, or dangerously low blood sugar, which is a known risk with insulin.

Severe hypoglycaemia can cause confusion, seizures, loss of consciousness and, in serious cases, death.

Other reported adverse effects of Onswik include allergic reactions, injection-site reactions, changes in fat tissue at injection sites, itching, rash, swelling and weight gain.

The FDA also warns about medication errors and accidental overdose, low potassium levels and fluid retention or heart failure when the medicine is used with certain other drugs.

The FDA approval is specifically for adults with type 2 diabetes. Onswik is not recommended for people with type 1 diabetes due to the risk of severe hypoglycaemia. It is also not a replacement for other aspects of diabetes management.